By Bisi Bamishe
Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto has been confirmed as the keynote speaker for the public presentation and official launch of three new books by Dr. Reuben Abati, a renowned journalist, intellectual and former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR.
The notable cleric, social crusader, bridge builder and advocate for an inclusive Nigerian democratic and economic society, will speak on the topic Nigeria: Time to Re-Load.
The three books to be presented on Friday, November 7th, 2025, at the
Nigerian Institute of International Affairs include:
1. Portraits: People, Politics and Society
2. A Love Letter & Other Stories
3. How Goodluck Jonathan Became President
Caltop Publications Nigeria Limited are publishers of the three books, and the event coincides with Dr. Reuben Abati’s 60th birthday celebration and an opportunity to reflect on a media icon, that has remained focused and dedicated to national development.
Event Details:
Date: Friday, November 7, 2025
Venue: Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA),
Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos
Time: 10:00 AM prompt
About the Keynote Speaker
Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah was ordained a Catholic Priest on December 19, 1976. He also attended the University of Ibadan, where he obtained a diploma in Religious Studies. Kukah 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 PhD from University of London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in 1990.
Between 1999 and 2001 he served as a member of the Nigerian Investigation Commission of Human Rights Violations. ln addition to his work as a parish priest of Saint Andrews parish in Kakuri, Kaduna from 2004 until his nomination as Bishop, he was secretary of the National Political Reform Conference (2005) and from 2005 onwards he has been serving as the chairman of the Ogoni-Shell Reconciliation.
Additionally, between 2007 and 2009 he worked also in the committee for electoral reform set up by the Nigerian government. He was a senior Rhodes fellow at St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford and an Edward Mason Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
Among his many publications are Democracy and Civil Society in Nigeria (Codestria, 2001), Religious Militancy and Self-Assertion: Islam and Politics in Nigeria (Avebury, 1997), and Religion, Politics and Power in Northern Nigeria (Ibadan, Spectrum Books, 1993). Other books are Witness to Justice (Udara, 2010) and Witness to Reconciliation and Broken Truths: Nigeria & Elusive Quest for National Cohesion (Adonis and Abbey, 2022).
Kukah was appointed as a member of the Dicastery on Integral Human Development in December 2020, by Late Pope Francis.
He is the convener of the National Peace Committee, established in 2014, with the commitment to facilitating and supporting credible and peaceful general elections in Nigeria, strengthening political stability.
