At 82, Nobody Can Embarrass Or Intimidate Me — Cardinal Onaiyekan Replies Presidency

Cleric says he spoke on Tinubu meeting to “tell the truth,” not to please government

Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has said he is neither embarrassed nor intimidated by criticism from the Federal Government over his public comments on a meeting between Catholic bishops and President Bola Tinubu.

The 82-year-old cleric insisted he is not afraid of anyone and appeared on television to present the concerns of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, not to please the government.

“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 in a video shared by SYMFONI TV on Wednesday.

He was responding to questions on the Presidency’s reaction to his account of the bishops’ meeting with Tinubu.

—“Nobody Can Embarrass Me At This Age”—

Onaiyekan dismissed the possibility of being silenced over his comments.

“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 cardinal noted that Nigerians should value the freedom to publicly criticise those in government, adding that such openness is not guaranteed in many other African countries.

“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.

When Official Directives Become More Powerful Than the Law, By Ibrahim Welye

Onaiyekan’s remarks follow a meeting between Catholic bishops and President Tinubu, after which he granted a television interview outlining the concerns raised by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria.

His account drew a response from the Presidency, prompting the cleric’s latest comments defending his right to speak out.

[Punch]