"I’m 82, I’m Not Afraid of Anybody" – Onaiyekan Replies Presidency 

By Victor Idajili

Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has brushed aside criticism from the Presidency over his public comments about a meeting between Catholic bishops and President Bola Tinubu, insisting that age and government reaction will not stop him from speaking the truth.

The 82-year-old cleric made this known in a video shared by Symfoni TV on Wednesday. 

Onaiyekan said he went on Arise News three days after the meeting not to please anyone, but to present what he believed was the true position of the Catholic bishops.

“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,” he said.

The remarks came after President Tinubu’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, faulted the disclosure of details from the private meeting. Ajayi described it as inappropriate.

But Onaiyekan dismissed the pushback, saying at his age he has nothing to fear.  

“I cannot be embarrassed. I’m 82 years old; nobody can embarrass me. And I’m not afraid of anybody,” he declared.  
“Nobody, at this stage now, are they going to arrest me, carry me to where?”

The exchange followed a July 28 meeting between a delegation of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria and President Tinubu at the State House in Abuja.  

The delegation was led by CBCN President, Archbishop Matthew Man Oso Ndagoso of Kaduna, and included Onaiyekan, Cardinal Peter Okpaleke, Bishop Matthew Kukah of Sokoto and other senior clerics.

They raised concerns with the President on economic hardship, insecurity, democracy, preparations for the 2027 elections, religious freedom and the return of mission schools.

Onaiyekan stressed that his televised comments were not personal. He said the bishops had jointly prepared a statement containing all the issues he spoke about on television.

“No, mind you, I didn’t talk on my own now. I spoke on behalf of my fellow bishops,” he said.  
“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 added that bishops remain free to speak on issues affecting their dioceses, and noted that other religious leaders have also voiced concern about the country’s condition. “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 also warned Nigerians not to take the country’s civic space for granted, saying other African countries are far more restrictive.

“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.

On the state of the nation, he said poverty and suffering were affecting 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.