Cardinal John Onaiyekan has said the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has finished delivering its message to the Presidency and is only interested in seeing whether the concerns raised will translate into improved governance.
The Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja stated this while reacting to criticisms from the Presidency following the bishops’ recent meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the State House in Abuja, where they presented their assessment of the country’s economic and security situation.
Speaking during an exclusive interview on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State, Onaiyekan dismissed calls for the bishops to respond to government spokespersons, saying the conference would not be drawn into a public war of words.
He also dismissed claims that the bishops’ intervention represented only Catholic interests, stressing that their position was driven by a moral obligation to speak on issues affecting all Nigerians.
He said: “We didn’t go there just as Catholic bishops pushing the Catholic agenda. No. We went there as people who are with the spiritual mandate to speak to anybody in the name of God.”
Addressing the Presidency’s criticism, the Cardinal insisted the bishops had nothing more to say, maintaining that the focus should now be on the government’s actions.
He said: “I would not even answer that question. We have no response for them. We have spoken, and the only response we are waiting for is whether it is affecting the way they are governing.
‘’That some of the supporters of government and the state and spokesperson may have their own idea about what they think they should be saying on behalf of their principal, is their business, not mine.
“As for response to the things we are hearing, I don’t even have to say anything because social media is full of responses from Nigerian people, and that for me is more than enough.’’
Onaiyekan disclosed that the bishops sought the meeting with President Tinubu and had to wait several months before it was approved.
He explained that the visit was not aimed at advancing the Catholic faith or promoting church interests but was an opportunity to present concerns about governance and the welfare of Nigerians.
He said: “The Bishops visited President Tinubu last week and we requested for audience. It took some months before we were granted the audience, and we prepared to see him, and the main reason we wanted to see him was not to go on an evangelical mission.
‘’We didn’t go there to preach to him and try to see whether we could convert him to our Catholic Church, but we went there to share our views and thoughts about the government which he heads, hoping that our ideas would be taken into consideration, so that is what took us to the statehouse.”
The cleric expressed optimism that the meeting would not mark the end of engagement between the bishops and the Federal Government, saying they remained willing to continue discussions on issues affecting Nigerians.
He said the bishops hoped to be given another opportunity to provide more detailed input beyond the limited time available during their meeting with the President.
He said: “We are hoping that our meeting with the President or our dialogue with the government of Nigeria did not end with that visit.”
He added: “We are hoping that somehow, he will invite us, not necessarily to meet him, I mean President Tinubu, but at least to open up fairness for us to give more information, more concerns that we have, than we could give in the ten-minute talk that we gave to him.”
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