By Kolawole Ojebisi
Bishop Mathew Kukah of Sokoto Diocese has said the modalities for the election of worldwide Catholic Leader are not based on the turn by turn sentiments which he described as “Emilokan”.
The Catholic bishop spoke while fielding questions on Channels Television’s Political Paradigm on Saturday night.
Kukah told those advocating for a Pope of African extraction to first ensure that a team from the continent win the World Cup to lay claim to the region’s prominence on the global stage.
The cleric also spoke about his experience in Rome and the possible impact of the new pope on Africa and the world in general.
“Well, let’s win the World Cup first. I think we still have a long way to go. I did write an article in the course of all of this and I remember remarking on something that happened when Pope John Paul II died and speculators thought that Cardinal Arinze came very close. But as you know, electing a pope is not like that; it’s not an ‘Emilokan’ scenario in which you say, ‘These people have had their turn, now it’s our turn.’ No, it doesn’t work like that.” Kukah said.
The word ‘Emilokan’, which has Yoruba provenance, meaning it’s my turn was popularized by President Bola Tinubu.
The word gained prominence in Nigeria’s public space when it was adroitly deployed by Tinubu in the buildup to the 2023 general elections.
Tinubu kept using the word on the hustings to exert his claim to the most exalted political seat in the country according to an unwritten agreement between him and some founders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
