Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Rev. Matthew Hassan Kukah, has urged advocates pushing for the election of an African pope to be more realistic, saying such matters are not decided by entitlement or regional rotation.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Political Paradigm, Bishop Kukah noted that the papacy is not an “Emilokan” situation—a phrase popularised in Nigerian politics to mean “it’s my turn.”
Addressing the question of whether there should have been an African pope by now, the respected cleric responded humorously:
“Well, let’s win the World Cup first. I think we still have a long way to go,” he said.
He recalled the period after the death of Pope John Paul II when many speculated that Nigeria’s Cardinal Francis Arinze was a strong contender. However, Kukah stressed that the process of electing a pope is not based on regional considerations or entitlement.
“Electing a pope is not like that,” he explained. “It’s not an ‘Emilokan’ scenario where you say, ‘These people have had their turn, now it’s our turn.’ No, it doesn’t work like that.”
Bishop Kukah, who also reflected on his experiences in Rome and the significance of the papacy for Africa and the world, emphasized the need for a deeper understanding of how leadership is chosen in the Catholic Church.
