Crux

A renewed push for reparatory justice is sweeping across the Global South following the United Nations’ landmark resolution declaring the trafficking of enslaved Africans as the “gravest crime against humanity.” In a wide-ranging interview with Crux Now, Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto, Nigeria, welcomed the development and reflected on the need for African leaders – together with citizens and civil society – to respond. “The UN should be commended for offering a guide,” Kukah told Crx Now. “The duty falls on us to domesticate these ideas,” he said, “and so, it is up to our African and regional initiatives to embark on localizing these initiatives and taking memory seriously.” African and Caribbean leaders gathered in Accra, Ghana, recently to draft a comprehensive 19-point framework demanding everything from financial compensation and sovereign debt relief to the return of looted cultural artifacts, for which the resolution also called. Twelve to fifteen million African men, women and children were captured and trafficked to work as slaves in the Americas between the fifteenth and the nineteenth centuries. The human and cultural devastation was unspeakable and the effects are perduring. Crux Now asked Kukah for his perspective on what true justice looks like when viewed through the lens of Catholic moral theology, and whether the global push for reparations can avoid becoming a mere financial transaction. “When a wound heals,” Kukah says, “the scar is a reminder and it helps us avoid the mistakes that may have led to these wounds.” “We should not be ashamed or seek to deny the wounds,” he says, “but rather, open them up, cleanse then and face the future with hope.” Kukah also says the conversation about slavery is not just about what white people did to Africans historically. It is also about the abuse of power, which continues in many ways in the present. Here is a transcript of Crux Now’s exchange with Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto, Nigeria, edited for length and clarity … Crux Now: The UN recently adopted a resolution declaring the trafficking of enslaved Africans as the “gravest crime against humanity.” From a Catholic moral theology perspective, how do you interpret this classification, and does it adequately capture the sin of chattel enslavement? Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah: Slavery was the highest expression of human depravity, the evil that manifests the consequences of fallen man. The epicenter of Catholic moral theology has been around the notion of dignity of the human person which is why Jesus said: “I have come that you may have life and have it to the full.” So, yes, slavery qualifies to be the gravest sin or crime against humanity because any culture or law that diminishes the human person, made in the image and likeness of God falls within this category. African and Caribbean leaders met in Accra, Ghana recently and are urging former slave-trading nations to issue apologies and reparations for the trafficking of enslaved Africans. What is your view of this development? I am gladdened by the idea of taking this conversation forward and giving it impetus. I have been interested in this conversation since it started in the 90s with the campaign for reparations. Somehow, we dropped the ball and the campaign faded away. However, only last year, I was at a formal presentation of a book on this theme, titled, Lest We Forget: Slavery, Slave Trade, Colonization, Emancipation and Reparation. It is a very rich collection of essays by eminent African and Caribbean scholars, edited by our great statesman, Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria. The event was hosted by the Prime Minister of Barbados, Ms. Mia Amor Mottley, herself a passionate pan Africanist. I had the honor of reviewing the book. For me, therefore, this is a very positive development. Africa needs to rekindle the spirit of pan Africanism, to concretize the notion of ubuntu to respond to the corrosive impact of xenophobia spreading among our people. The Accra meeting drafted a document that lays out a 19-point global framework for reparatory justice, which included fair and adequate compensation for Africans and people of African descent affected by legacies of enslavement, colonialism, genocide and apartheid. The participants also called for expediting the return of cultural property, human remains, archives and heritage to their countries of origin. Do these demands adequately capture what reparatory justice would look like? It is significant that Ghana is in the spotlight. President, John Mahama is emerging in stature to feel the vacuum of leadership on the continent. So, there could not be a better advocate and location. We look forward to his making this an issue when he takes over as the Chairman of the African Union next year. We must be careful that we do not lose the essence and substance of this conversation. The issues of compensation, especially in financial terms, can easily become a distraction. Let’s all focus on the key issues of human dignity with each of us taking responsibility. Let us focus on a proper narration and context, ensuring that we avoid a repeat of the same mistakes that created the conditions for the exploitation of the time. Many African artifacts are currently held in European museums, but some are also held by Church institutions or missionary orders. Should the Church take a proactive lead in auditing and returning these items? In fairness, the Catholic Church is not a latecomer to this issue of slavery and the quest for human dignity. As the world headed towards the third millennium, St. John Paul II called for the purification of memory, he laid the foundation for reconciliation and showed the way by his public confession and appeal for forgiveness for the sins of the Catholic Church through history. Pope Leo has continued on this path by calling attention to the dangers that the new technology of Artificial Intelligence poses to human development. Furthermore, the Church has made some progress in the area of the return of artefacts. Both Pope Francis and Leo have demonstrated this commitment. However, the issues surrounding these artefacts are not as simple as we seem to present them. For example, here in Nigeria, the return of some of the Benin artefacts has been riddled with debates over curation and custody. It is hoped that our countries will take the issue of preservation seriously given how poorly our museums are often treated. The Accra framework explicitly calls for multilateral measures to address sovereign debt burdens in the Global South as a form of reparation. As a Church leader, how do you see the connection between the historical extraction of wealth during slavery and the crushing debt faced by African and Caribbean nations today? The timelines of history may have changed, but our insatiable appetite and greed have remained the same. Indeed, the cynics might even argue that we have proved to be more irresponsible in our exploitation and mismanagement of our resources than the colonialists. Whereas the colonialists exploited our resources to build up and develop their nations, our elites are drowning in the cesspool of prebendal, primitive accumulation. This accounts for the billions of dollars of illegal financial flows out of Africa. Imagine what the fate of countries like my Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo would have been today if the enormous resources in oil and minerals were judiciously used for the people. Some twenty years ago, Nigeria achieved full debt forgiveness. Yet today, we are drowning in new debts and one of the poverty capitals of the world. It is not enough for us as Church to simply fall back on our moral authority. Our Church must design new tools of advocacy, the kind that can make the state liable and accountable. We must move from merely issuing Communiques and falling back on the so-called idea of speaking truth to power to direct engagement through testing the limits of the rights enshrined in our Constitutions. The Church has significant influence in international financial hubs. How can the global Catholic Church use its moral authority to advocate for debt relief for African countries? The Catholic Church was at the forefront of the campaign for debt relief especially in Europe. Some of us were involved in these campaigns. But as I have said about Nigeria, debt relief is of no use if all our leaders do is squander the gains of debt relief. We cannot make a moral case for debt relief until there is a penitential culture of accountability and transparency in judicious pursuit of the common good. Reparations are often viewed purely through a political or economic lens. How does the Church view reparatory justice as a spiritual and moral imperative, rather than just a financial transaction? It is always tempting for us to think that slavery or racism is about white people doing horrible things to Africans. These dehumanizing concepts have no boundaries. They are about abuse of power. So, this recognition is a wakeup call for us to become more introspective. The UN has done its duty to us. Our task is to run with the ball. The corpus of the Catholic Church’s teachings on the common good is a place to start. The UN resolution mentions a ‘permanent memorial’ and remembrance. Beyond monuments, what specific programs or initiatives do you want to see the United Nations implement to ensure the next generation understands the gravity of this crime? The UN should be commended for offering a guide. The duty falls on us to domesticate these ideas and so, it is up to our African and regional initiatives to embark on localizing these initiatives and taking memory seriously. Here in Nigeria, my initiative, The Kukah Centre, has memory as one of our key pillars. We have undertaken the construction of memorials to commemorate some of the tragic and horrendous incidents of violence that has become part and parcel of our history. How do you respond to critics who say the current push for reparations reopens old wounds, and how do you balance the need for healing with the necessity of remembering? The question is not the option of opening these wounds, but we should ask: Are there wounds? If we deny these wounds, can we deny their stench? When a wound heals, the scar is a reminder and it helps us avoid the mistakes that may have led to these wounds. We should not be ashamed or seek to deny the wounds, but rather, open them up, cleanse then and face the future with hope.

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