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I’m Not Afraid of Anybody, Cardinal Onaiyekan Replies Presidency
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The Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has fired back at the Presidency over its criticism of his public account of a meeting between Catholic bishops and President Bola Tinubu, declaring that he did not appear on national television to please the government and was not afraid of anyone.
The 82-year-old cleric said he appeared on Arise News to tell Nigerians what he believed was the truth about the issues discussed during the bishops’ engagement with the President, insisting that neither his age nor criticism from government officials would silence him.
Onaiyekan spoke in a video shared by Symfoni TV on Wednesday, weeks after the Presidency criticised his decision to publicly disclose aspects of the meeting between the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) and Tinubu.
“I didn’t go to Arise to please the government, or to just please people, but to tell the truth. That’s all I stand for,” Onaiyekan said.
He also dismissed attacks against him on social media, saying he had no reason to engage those criticising him because other Nigerians had already responded on his behalf.
“I don’t have to respond to those attacking me on social media because other Nigerians have spoken on my behalf,” he said.
The cleric went further, declaring that he was not concerned about the possibility of being embarrassed or intimidated because of his advanced age.
“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 declared.
Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, who said his criticism of Cardinal John Onaiyekan was not intended to disrespect the cleric.
The controversy that followed a July 28 meeting between Tinubu and a delegation of the CBCN at the State House, 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 meeting, the bishops raised a number of issues concerning the state of the nation, including economic hardship, insecurity, democracy, preparations for the 2027 elections, religious freedom and the return of mission schools.
Three days later, Onaiyekan appeared on Arise News and publicly recounted aspects of the engagement while speaking about the concerns expressed by the Catholic leadership over the condition of the country.
His comments subsequently attracted criticism from the Presidency. The President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, criticised the disclosure of details from the meeting, describing the engagement as a private interaction.
The Presidency’s reaction sparked a debate over the extent to which details of engagements between government and religious leaders should remain confidential, particularly when the discussions concern matters of public interest.
Onaiyekan, however, has maintained that his intervention was neither personal nor intended to embarrass the government. The cleric rejected any suggestion that he had presented a personal opinion during his television appearance.
According to him, the issues he discussed reflected the collective position of the Catholic bishops who participated in the engagement with the President.
“No, mind you, I didn’t talk on my own now. I spoke on behalf of my fellow bishops,” he said.
Onaiyekan disclosed that the bishops had prepared a joint statement containing the issues he subsequently discussed during the television interview.
“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.
Onaiyekan also emphasised that Catholic bishops remained entitled to speak within their respective dioceses about issues affecting Nigerians.
“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,” Onaiyekan said.
Onaiyekan also broadened his comments beyond the dispute with the Presidency, stressing that the economic difficulties confronting Nigerians could not be dismissed as a disagreement between the government and religious leaders.
He said the widespread poverty and suffering in the country affected everyone.
“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 cleric urged Nigerians not to take the country’s remaining space for public criticism and expression 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
Meanwhile, Ajayi has sought to draw a line under the controversy, saying his earlier response to Onaiyekan was not intended to disrespect the Catholic cleric or the church.
Ajayi made the clarification during an interview on Arise TV on Thursday, days after criticising Onaiyekan for publicly discussing the details of the closed-door meeting between Tinubu and the CBCN.
The presidential aide said the matter had been resolved and insisted that there was no intention to disparage the respected cleric.
“Well, I think that episode has been closed. Cardinal Onaiyekan is a respected clergy and a statement in his own right,” Ajayi said.
He explained that his intervention was aimed at providing a different interpretation of the account given by the cardinal, rather than questioning his standing in the church or wider society.
“My response to him did not in any way disrespect him or disrespect his standing in the society and the church. He’s one of the leaders of the faith,” Ajayi said, adding that he only sought to offer another perspective on the account of the meeting between the bishops and the President.
“I only tried to provide a different perspective from his own account of the bishop’s encounter with the president, and I think that point has been made. And I think it’s not something we really want to dwell further on,” he said.
The Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa, has accused a former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, of deliberately planning the killing of people in Southern Kaduna.
Musa made the allegation while fielding questions on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Thursday.
The minister said El-Rufai’s administration created deep divisions in Kaduna State, alleging that the situation made it difficult for residents from Southern Kaduna to live freely in the northern part of the State and vice versa.
According to him, the administration of the current governor, Uba Sani, has made deliberate efforts to restore unity and rebuild trust among residents of the State.
“We know how it was when El-Rufai was there; it was toxic,” Musa said.
“El-Rufai did a lot of terrible things in Kaduna State. He divided the country, the State, into two. In that, if you are from the South, you cannot go to the North and live. Those ones from the North were moving to the South.
“Governor Sani within one year has been able to dissolve all that. You see, now everybody is free, everybody has a say. It’s not 100%. Let me tell you, it’s not 100%, but you can see that he’s making deliberate effort in uniting the state.”
Speaking on the feelings of people in Southern Kaduna towards the former governor, Musa said the people remained deeply pained over killings recorded in the area during El-Rufai’s tenure.
He alleged that El-Rufai deliberately planned the killing of people in the region.
“Well, I don’t know if unhappy is an issue. I think if there’s anything worse than unhappy, we can never be happy with somebody who has deliberately planned for the killing of our people,” Musa said.
“I mean, when you look at it, if you look at his videos, you know, his speeches, he was very proud of what he did.
“He told us he paid bandits. He told us he did this, he did that. He didn’t hide it. He was that arrogant to come out and tell people that this was what he did.”
The Defence Minister said residents of Southern Kaduna were still traumatised by the killings that occurred during the period, adding that the security situation in the area had improved under the current administration.
“The Southern Kaduna people are still very pained. Of course, definitely. I mean, if you look at the number of killings that was done there and what is going on now, you can’t compare at all,” he said.
Musa further accused El-Rufai of denying some people opportunities during his administration and alleged that the former governor’s policies affected even people from his own part of the state.
“I can tell you what he has done to people living in Kaduna from his own area. He did a lot of things that I’m sure even him is not proud of,” he added.
The minister, however, called on Nigerians to reject politicians who exploit religion, ethnicity and other differences to divide the country.
“We should get politicians that want to unite Nigeria. For me, any individual who is using either religion, tribe, creed, or anything to divide the state can never be a friend; can never be somebody we look up to,” Musa said.
“We shouldn’t have those kind of ones in government. Anybody who is using religion or tribe or whatever to divide Nigeria is an enemy of the State.”
President Bola Tinubu departed Abuja, the nation’s capital on Sunday for Europe to begin a three-week vacation as part of his annual leave.
Presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, in a release disclosed that Tinubu’s first stop will be London, United Kingdom.
The President is expected to return home after the working vacation to join the hectic campaign for the January 2027 election.
Vice President Kashim Shettima had earlier this month went on two-week leave, his first since the Tinubu government assumed office over three years ago. He has since returned.
President Bola Tinubu has raised concerns with the African Union (AU) over repeated xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks against Africans and other foreign nationals in South Africa.
Tinubu urged African leaders to take collective action and include the issue on the agenda of the AU’s 40th Ordinary Session, scheduled for January 2027.
The president’s position was presented by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the 21st Extraordinary Session of the AU Assembly in Luanda, Angola.
Tinubu called on African leaders to renew their commitment to protecting the safety, dignity and rights of all Africans across the continent.
He said: “Nigeria wishes to express its concern over the recurring xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks against Africans and other nationals in South Africa.
“While recognising South Africa’s sovereign right to enforce its immigration laws and acknowledging its contributions to the continent, Nigeria stresses that such attacks undermine African solidarity, unity and peaceful coexistence, and require urgent collective attention.”
He added: “It is on this note that Nigeria calls on this august Assembly to place the matter on the agenda of the upcoming 40th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly, scheduled for January 2027, for consideration and appropriate action.”
The president also urged the AU to strengthen efforts to tackle xenophobia and Afrophobia across the continent.
He stressed that “dialogue, preventive diplomacy, and collective action remained essential to preserving African unity.”
On Africa’s broader security challenges, Nigeria supported the adoption of the Luanda Action Plan as a way to improve conflict prevention.
Tinubu argued that preventing conflicts would be more sustainable and less expensive than dealing with them after they have started.
“For Nigeria, conflict prevention remains more cost-effective and sustainable than conflict management,” President Tinubu said.
He also warned that separate and uncoordinated peace efforts, as well as growing foreign involvement through military forces, mercenaries and private defence companies, could weaken Africa’s ability to manage its own conflicts.
Tinubu further called on countries that manufacture and export weapons to work more closely with African governments to prevent weapons and ammunition from being diverted to terrorists and other armed groups.
The president said the AU already has strong systems for preventing and resolving conflicts, but limited trust and poor implementation have continued to reduce their effectiveness.
