Matthew Kukah, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, has stated that the election of a Catholic pope is not based on the ideology of ‘emi lokan’.
Kukah spoke on the subject during a Channels Television interview aired on May 21.
‘Emi lokan’ is a Yoruba phrase which means ‘it is my turn’. The phrase was popularised by President Bola Tinubu in June 2022.
Tinubu, then an APC presidential aspirant, had said it was his turn to become president after his political support for former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The phrase has since been mainstreamed into the country’s political lexicon.
Election Of New Pope
On May 18, Pope Leo XIV was inaugurated as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church following the death of Pope Francis.
Before the new pope’s election, social media was awash with conversations around the possibility of an African becoming the pope.
Asked for his take on the discourse, Kukah said a pope’s election is not based on human permutations, adding that Africa should first win the World Cup.
“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 the speculators thought that Cardinal Arinze came very close,” he said.
“But as you know, electing a pope is not like that, it’s not an ‘emi lokan’ scenario in which you say, ‘these people have had their turn, now it’s our turn’.
“No, it doesn’t work like that. And then the pundits who think that this is like betting on a horse or whatever. You always notice that by and large, when people begin to make their speculations, they are using human parameters of their calculation, and very often, most of those who make these calculations simply accumulate their data and suggest this is where it’s going to go.
“But always, people are shocked in part because the election of a pope is not like any other election anywhere in the world.”
Kukah said the Catholic Church believes that the cardinal elected as pope is the choice of the Holy Spirit.
He added that, unlike African politics, there are no advantages accorded to the pope’s home country.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
