Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, has told those advocating for the election of an African pope to first win the World Cup.

According to Kukah, electing a pope is not like that; it’s not an ‘Emilokan’ where people claim it is their turn.

The Catholic bishop made the remarks while fielding questions on Channels Television’s Political Paradigm.

Kukah also spoke about his experience in Rome and the possible impact of the new pope on Africa and the world in general.

On whether it’s palatable to hold on to the argument that there should have been an African pope, Kukah said:

“Well, let’s win the World Cup first. 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 speculators thought that Cardinal Arinze came very close. But as you know, electing a pope is not like that; it’s not an ‘Emilokan’ scenario in which you say, ‘These people have had their turn, now it’s our turn.’ No, it doesn’t work like that.”