Kukah, Sultan Spar Over Islamism at Irabor’s Book Launch

The launch of a new book by former Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor (Rtd), on Friday in Abuja turned into a lively exchange on religion, governance, and insurgency, as Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah and the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, offered sharply different perspectives.
Reviewing Irabor’s book “SCARS: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum”, Bishop Kukah described the fate of abducted schoolgirls such as Leah Sharibu and the Chibok students as enduring wounds on the nation.
“As long as Leah Sharibu is unaccounted for, every missing child remains a scar on the face of Nigeria,” he said.
The Sokoto Catholic Bishop warned that military might alone cannot defeat Boko Haram, arguing that ideology, misnaming of the group, and the manipulation of religion by politicians have weakened Nigeria’s strategy.
“They call themselves Jama’at Ahl al-Sunna li al-Da’wa wa al-Jihad. But we chose to call them Boko Haram and became comfortable with that, which has shaped our weak response,” he observed.
Kukah accused some Northern politicians of instrumentalising Islam for power, warning that such “Islamism” undermines democracy and corrodes the faith itself.
But the Sultan of Sokoto pushed back firmly, insisting that Jihad is widely misunderstood and that Islamism should not be equated with extremism.
“Jihad is not about killing non-Muslims. It means striving to be the best in whatever you do — as a Muslim, a Christian, a farmer, or an engineer. That is Jihad,” the Sultan clarified.
He added that Islamism in Nigeria is about promoting good governance, not seizing power.
“When President Goodluck Jonathan was in office, Muslims gave him 100 per cent support. Islam seeks good governance, not domination,” he said.
The Sultan further argued that Boko Haram’s anger is rooted less in opposition to education and more in resentment against corrupt, poorly governed leadership.
The spirited exchange between Kukah and Abubakar highlighted the fault lines in Nigeria’s search for peace — with one side warning against religion as a political weapon, and the other urging a rethink of long-held misconceptions.
Irabor’s book, launched at the Transcorp Hilton’s Congress Hall, attempts to capture these complexities, framing Nigeria’s bruising battle with Boko Haram as both a security and governance conundrum.