Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has pushed back against criticism from the Presidency over his public comments following a meeting between Catholic bishops and President Bola Tinubu, insisting that he neither sought to please the government nor spoke merely for himself.
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Onaiyekan, 82, said his remarks reflected the collective concerns of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria over economic hardship, insecurity, governance and other challenges facing the country.
The cleric spoke while responding to questions from journalists after an event, following reactions from presidential aides to his earlier appearance on Arise News.
“I didn’t go to Arise TV to please government or to just please people, but to tell the truth. That’s all I stand for,” Onaiyekan said.
Rejecting suggestions that the Presidency’s criticism should embarrass or intimidate him, the Cardinal said he had reached a stage in life where he was not afraid of anybody.
“I cannot be embarrassed. I’m 82 years old. Nobody can embarrass me. And I’m not afraid of anybody. At this stage, are they going to arrest me and carry me to where?” he asked.
Onaiyekan said he had also seen no need to engage in a prolonged public exchange with those criticising him because other Nigerians had already spoken in support of the concerns he raised.
“So I didn’t even have to reply to anything. Other people have spoken on my behalf,” he said.
The controversy followed a July 28 meeting between President Tinubu and a delegation of Catholic bishops at the State House in Abuja.
The delegation was led by the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, Archbishop Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso of Kaduna, and included Onaiyekan, Cardinal Peter Okpaleke, Bishop Matthew Kukah of Sokoto and other senior Catholic clerics.
During the engagement, the bishops raised concerns about economic hardship, insecurity, Nigeria’s democracy and preparations for the 2027 general elections, as well as religious freedom and the return of mission schools.
Tinubu, according to reports of the meeting, defended the direction of his administration, maintaining that the economy was improving and rejecting concerns about bias on the part of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
On the return of mission schools, the President reportedly urged the bishops to engage the relevant state governors, noting that he had similarly returned mission schools while serving as governor of Lagos State.
Three days after the meeting, Onaiyekan appeared on Arise News and gave an account of the bishops’ engagement with Tinubu, saying they had spoken frankly about the condition of Nigerians.
His appearance subsequently drew criticism from the Presidency.
The President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, reportedly faulted the Cardinal for publicly discussing details of what he regarded as a private meeting.
Responding to the criticism, Onaiyekan stressed that the views he expressed were not a personal interpretation of the meeting but were drawn from a collective statement prepared by the bishops.
“Mind you, I didn’t talk on my own now. I spoke on behalf of my fellow bishops,” he said.
“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. And each of them is free to say the same thing in their dioceses. And they are doing it.”
The Cardinal said the concerns expressed by the Catholic hierarchy were particularly focused on poverty, suffering and the difficulties confronting ordinary Nigerians.
He added that similar concerns had been raised by leaders of other Christian denominations and by Muslim leaders, although he stressed that he could not formally speak on their behalf.
“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.
“Non-Catholic leaders, Muslim leaders, they have all spoken. When it comes to what is happening to Nigeria, the poverty, the suffering, we are all in the same boat now.”
Onaiyekan also used the controversy to reflect on freedom of expression in Nigeria, saying citizens and religious leaders should not take for granted their ability to openly criticise those in power.
“We are still lucky in this Nigeria, we can still talk. We shouldn’t take that for granted,” he said.
“There are many countries in Africa where no bishop dares to talk like we do here. That we can still talk, and all they do is to insult you. They don’t carry you and lock you up in an unknown dungeon. That means we are not doing badly.”
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria has repeatedly spoken on the country’s economic and security situation, urging authorities to adopt measures capable of reducing hardship and protecting vulnerable citizens.
Onaiyekan maintained that his intervention following the meeting with Tinubu was made in that tradition and reflected the bishops’ collective concern about the condition of Nigerians, rather than an attempt to embarrass or antagonise the government.
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