Cardinal John Onaiyekan, Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, has hit back at the Presidency over its criticism of his decision to publicly discuss a meeting between Catholic bishops and President Bola Tinubu.
The 82-year-old cleric declared that he was not afraid of anybody and would continue to speak frankly about the condition of the country, regardless of who was unhappy with his comments.
Onaiyekan said his appearance on television was not aimed at pleasing the government or seeking favour from anyone, but simply to tell Nigerians what he believed was the truth.
“I didn’t go to Arise to please the government, or to just please people, but to tell the truth. That’s all I stand for,” he said.
He made the remarks in a video shared by Symfoni TV on Wednesday, days after the Presidency criticised him for publicly disclosing details of his interaction with Tinubu.
The controversy followed a July 28 meeting between the President and a delegation of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) at the State House in Abuja.
The delegation was led by the CBCN President, Archbishop Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso of Kaduna, and included Onaiyekan, Cardinal Peter Okpaleke, Bishop Matthew Kukah of Sokoto and other senior Catholic clerics.
The bishops raised concerns about economic hardship, insecurity, democracy and preparations for the 2027 elections. Religious freedom and the return of mission schools were also discussed.
Three days after the meeting, Onaiyekan appeared on Arise News and publicly spoke about the bishops’ concerns and their encounter with the President.
His comments later drew a response from the Presidency.
President Tinubu’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, criticised the decision to make details of the meeting public, arguing that the engagement was a private interaction.
But Onaiyekan has refused to be intimidated by the backlash.
The former Abuja Archbishop said he had reached an age where threats or criticism could hardly frighten him.
“I cannot be embarrassed. I’m 82 years old; nobody can embarrass me. And I’m not afraid of anybody,” he declared.
He added sarcastically that there was little the authorities could do to intimidate him at his age.
“Nobody, at this stage now, are they going to arrest me, carry me to where?” he asked.
Onaiyekan also warned Nigerians not to take the country’s relative freedom to criticise those in power for granted.
“And we are still lucky in this Nigeria that we can still talk. We shouldn’t take that for granted,” he said.
He noted that the situation was different in some other African countries, where religious leaders could face serious consequences for openly criticising governments.
“There are many countries in Africa where no bishop dares to talk like we do here,” he added.
The cardinal also rejected any suggestion that his television appearance represented his personal opinion or an attempt to attack the Tinubu administration.
He insisted that he was speaking for the Catholic bishops who took part in the meeting.
“No, mind you, I didn’t talk on my own now. I spoke on behalf of my fellow bishops,” Onaiyekan said.
According to him, the bishops had already agreed on the issues raised before he appeared on television.
“We drafted a statement which contained all that I said in the interview. So, all the bishops of Nigeria spoke that way. It was their voice I was echoing,” he explained.
Onaiyekan said the bishops believed they had a responsibility to draw attention to the difficulties confronting Nigerians, stressing that they were not speaking out for political reasons.
He also pointed out that several other religious leaders had expressed similar concerns about the state of the nation.
“I cannot speak on behalf of other religious leaders. Everybody has their own job to do, but many of the other religious leaders have supported us,” he said.
The cardinal maintained that the bishops were particularly concerned about the worsening hardship being experienced by ordinary Nigerians.
He argued that poverty and suffering were not issues that should be reduced to a disagreement between the Church and government.
“When it comes to what is happening to Nigeria, the poverty, the suffering, we are all in the same boat now, abi?” Onaiyekan said.
His latest comments are expected to further fuel the public debate over the boundaries of private engagements between government officials and religious leaders, as well as the right of influential clerics to publicly comment on national issues.
While the Presidency has maintained that the bishops’ concerns should be viewed within the context of the administration’s efforts to address the country’s challenges, Onaiyekan has made it clear that criticism will not silence him.
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