Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki has saluted the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Revd. Matthew Hassan Kukah, on the cleric’s 71st birthday.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Saraki said, “From the pulpit to his faith-based philanthropy, all the way to his preaching, the Most Reverend Bishop Matthew Kukah has always stood firm as a loud voice for the unheard.
“Today, as we join his family, friends, and well-wishers across the nation and the world to celebrate his life, we pray that the Almighty will continue to bless Bishop Kukah with many more years of wisdom, strength, and great health.
“Happy Birthday, Sir.”
Kukah was born in Anchuna, Zangon Kataf Local Government Area, Kaduna State on August 31, 1952.
He received his primary education at St. Fidelis Primary School, Zagom, then St. Joseph Minor Seminary, Zaria, before proceeding to St. Augustine Major Seminary Jos, Plateau State, where he studied Philosophy and Theology.
He was ordained a Catholic priest on December 19, 1976.
After obtaining a diploma in Religious Studies at the University of Ibadan, he also received the Bachelor of Divinity at the Pontifical Urban University, Rome in 1976, followed by a master’s degree in Peace Studies, at the University of Bradford, United Kingdom in 1980.
Kukah’s academic pursuits culminated with a Ph.D. from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in 1990.
He has at various times studied at two of the world’s leading universities – the University of Oxford, United Kingdom, and Harvard University, United States.
A quintessential cleric, scholar and statesman, Kukah is currently Secretary of the National Peace Committee, and between 1999 and 2001, served as a member of the Nigerian Investigation Commission of Human Rights Violations, famously dubbed Oputa panel.
At various times, he served as Secretary of the National Political Reform Conference (2005) and Chairman of the Ogoni-Shell Reconciliation, among others.
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