Onaiyekan Hits Back at Presidency: Nobody Can Embarrass Me at 82
Cardinal John Onaiyekan, Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, has hit back at the Presidency over criticism of his decision to publicly discuss a meeting between Catholic bishops and President Bola Tinubu.
Onaiyekan said his appearance on Arise News was not aimed at pleasing the government or anyone else, but at speaking honestly about the issues raised during the bishops’ meeting with the President.
“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,” he said.
The 82-year-old cleric made the remarks in a video shared by Symfoni TV on Wednesday, days after the Presidency criticised his public account of the July 28 meeting between Tinubu and a delegation of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN).
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 at the State House in Abuja, the bishops raised concerns over economic hardship, insecurity, democracy, the 2027 elections, religious freedom and the return of mission schools.
Onaiyekan later appeared on Arise News and spoke about the engagement, prompting a response from President Tinubu’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi.
Ajayi criticised the public disclosure of details from what he described as a private interaction.
Onaiyekan, however, said the criticism would neither embarrass nor intimidate him, stressing that he had reached an age where he had little reason to fear the consequences of speaking his mind.
“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?” he said.
The former Abuja Archbishop also urged Nigerians not to take the country’s remaining freedom to speak openly for granted.
“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,” he said.
Onaiyekan further clarified that he was not speaking solely on his own behalf during the television interview.
“No, mind you, I didn’t talk on my own now. I spoke on behalf of my fellow bishops,” he said.
According to him, the bishops had already agreed on the issues raised during the meeting and prepared a joint statement reflecting their position.
“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 stated.
He said the bishops remained entitled to express their concerns within their respective dioceses, while noting that other religious leaders had also shown support for their position.
“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.
Onaiyekan said the hardship affecting Nigerians was a wider national concern that should not be reduced to a disagreement between religious leaders and government officials.
“When it comes to what is happening to Nigeria, the poverty, the suffering, we are all in the same boat now, abi?” he asked.
The Cardinal maintained that his intervention was driven by concern over the condition of the country and the need for Nigerians to continue speaking about issues affecting their lives.
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