Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has rejected criticism from the Presidency over his public account of a meeting between Catholic bishops and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Onaiyekan said neither his age nor the reaction of government officials would stop him from speaking frankly about the situation in Nigeria.
The 82-years old cleric made the remarks in a video published by Symfoni TV on Wednesday while responding to criticism from the Presidency over his comments regarding the meeting between Catholic bishops’ and President Tinubu.
The controversy followed a July 28 meeting between a delegation of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the State House, Abuja.
The delegation led by CBCN President, Archbishop Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso of Kaduna, included Onaiyekan, Cardinal Peter Okpaleke, Bishop Matthew Kukah of Sokoto and other senior Catholic clerics.
During the meeting, the bishops raised concerns about economic hardship, insecurity, democracy, preparations for the 2027 elections, religious freedom and return of mission schools.
Three days later, Onaiyekan appeared on Arise News, where he publicly recounted aspects of engagement and spoke about the bishops’ concerns over the state of the nation.
Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Temitope Ajayi criticised the disclosure of details from the meeting, describing it as inappropriate because the engagement was a private interaction.
Responding to the criticism, Onaiyekan said he did not appear on Arise Television to please the government or anyone else, but to speak what he believes was the truth.
“I did not go to Arise Television to please the government or to please the people. I went there to tell the truth.That is what I stand for”, he said.
He dismissed suggestions that the Presidency’s response could embarrass or intimidate him, stressing that he was not afraid of anyone.
“I cannot be embarrassed. I am 82 years old, nobody can embarrass me. And I am not afraid of anybody”, Onaiyekan said.
He added: “At this stage of my life, are they go to arrest me?”
The former Archbishop urged Nigerians not to take their freedom to question or criticised those in government for granted.
According to him, there are some African countries where religious leaders do not enjoy the same level of freedom to openly express their views and criticise those in power.
The former Abuja Archbishop urged Nigerians not to take the country’s remaining space for public criticism for granted, noting that the situation was more restrictive in some other African countries.
“And we are still lucky in this Nigeria that we can still talk. We shouldn’t take that for granted. There are many countries in Africa where no bishop dare talk like we do here”, he said.
Onaiyekan further clarified that his televised comments were not personal position or an individual disagreement with the government, saying concerns he raised reflected the.collective position of Catholic bishops who participated in the meeting.
He explained that the bishops had prepared a joint statement containing the issues he discussed during the interview.
The cleric said the bishops remained entitled to express their concerns within their respective dioceses, adding that other religious leaders had also spoken about the challenges facing the country.
He said hardship confronting citizens was not widespread to be reduced to a disagreement between religious leaders and government officials.
-9News Nigeria.
