‘Nobody Can Embarrass Me, I Echoed Voices Of Other Bishops’ – Onaiyekan Slams Presidency

Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has explained that his controversial comments after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu, alongside a delegation from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria at the State House, Abuja, reflected the collective position of all the clerics rather than his personal views.

Naija News reports that Onaiyekan said this in an interview with SYMFONI TV on Wednesday, while responding to a question about the Presidency’s reaction to his account of the bishops’ meeting with Tinubu.

The 82-year-old cleric said he is not afraid of the Federal Government or embarrassed by criticism that followed his public comments on the meeting between Catholic bishops and Tinubu.

Onaiyekan said he appeared on television after the meeting to present the concerns raised by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria and not to please the government or any individual.

He said, “I didn’t go to Arise to please government, or to just please people, but to tell the truth. That’s all I stand for. I cannot be embarrassed. I’m 82 years old; nobody can embarrass me. And I’m not afraid of anybody. Nobody, at this stage now, are they going to arrest me, carry me to where?

“No, mind you, I didn’t talk on my own now. I spoke on behalf of my fellow bishops. 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 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 dares to talk like we do here.”

According to Onaiyekan, the bishops remained free to express the same concerns in their respective dioceses, adding that other religious leaders had also spoken about the country’s condition.

He stated, “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.

“When it comes to what is happening to Nigeria, the poverty, the suffering, we are all in the same boat now, abi?”