Onaiyekan: I’m 82, Nobody Can Embarrass or Intimidate Me

Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has dismissed criticism from the Presidency over his public comments on a recent meeting between Catholic bishops and President Bola Tinubu, insisting that he has nothing to fear and will continue to speak truthfully about the condition of the country.

Onaiyekan said his decision to speak publicly about the engagement was not motivated by a desire to please the government or any individual, but by his responsibility to communicate the concerns raised collectively by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria.

The 82-year-old cleric made the remarks in a video shared by SYMFONI TV on Wednesday while responding to questions about the reaction from the Presidency to his account of the bishops’ meeting with the President.

Explaining why he appeared on television after the meeting, Onaiyekan 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.”

He rejected suggestions that the criticism had embarrassed him, stressing that his age and experience had left him with little reason to be intimidated by anyone.

“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 cautioned Nigerians against taking the country’s relatively open environment for granted, noting that religious leaders in some African countries could not publicly express criticisms of their governments in the manner Nigerian clerics do.

“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 the issues he raised during his television appearance were not simply his personal observations but reflected the position agreed upon by the bishops who participated in the meeting with Tinubu.

He said the bishops had jointly prepared a statement containing the concerns later reflected in his interview.

“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,” he said.

According to him, the bishops remain free to communicate those concerns to Nigerians in their respective dioceses, while acknowledging that other religious leaders have also expressed 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.

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

The controversy followed a July 28 meeting between President Tinubu and a delegation of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria 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.

During the engagement, the bishops raised concerns relating to economic hardship, insecurity, democracy and the 2027 elections. They also discussed religious freedom and issues surrounding the return of mission schools.

Three days after the meeting, Onaiyekan appeared on Arise News, where he publicly discussed the engagement and said the bishops had spoken candidly to the President about the difficulties confronting Nigerians.

His comments subsequently drew criticism from the Presidency.

The President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, faulted the decision to publicly disclose details of what he regarded as a private engagement with the President.

Onaiyekan, however, has refused to be deterred by the criticism, maintaining that the bishops’ intervention was driven by their concern about the welfare of Nigerians rather than any political or personal agenda.

His latest remarks underscore his determination to continue speaking on national issues, particularly those involving poverty, suffering and the broader condition of the Nigerian people.