Onaiyekan: Northern Christians, Atiku, Senator Shehu Sani defend Catholic Bishops

***Catholic priests not like ‘fake bishops’—Atiku

***Flays presidency’s attack on Onaiyekan

By Omeiza Ajayi

ABUJA — The Northern Christian Association, NCA, presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, and Senator Shehu Sani have defended the Catholic Bishop Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, over statements credited to the former Bishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, who accused President Bola Tinubu’s government of growing intolerant of dissent and uncomfortable truths.

Recall that after the CBCN met the President at Aso Villa on Wednesday, Onaiyekan had in an interview on Arise TV on Friday, said Nigerians were suffering serious economic hardships as a result of policies of government, in addition to the Tinubu administration’s growing intolerance of dissent and uncomfortable truths, which the Presidency frowned on.

He also alleged that the president was not receiving accurate briefings on the realities confronting the country and that he (Tinubu) was bent on winning the 2027 general elections “by all means”, warning that the government’s access to state resources could threaten the credibility of the electoral process.

However, Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, had in a reaction on X defended his principal, faulting Onaiyekan’s remarks as being politically motivated.

He also said the cardinal was speaking only for Catholics and not all Christians, adding that he was ‘’ more political than spiritual.’’

Northern Christian group backs Catholic bishops, rebukes Bwala

But defending the Catholic Bishops in a statement yesterday, accused Bwala of attempting to sow discord within the Christian community.

The association said the Catholic bishops spoke not only on issues affecting the Catholic Church but also on matters concerning Christians and Nigerians generally, insisting that their intervention was in the national interest.

In the statement, Chairman of the Northern Christian Association, Rev. Joseph Hayab, warned against what he described as divisive politics, saying the association would resist any attempt to pit one Christian denomination against another.

He stressed that the NCA comprised members from Christian denominations in Northern Nigeria, including the Catholic Church, Baptist, ECWA, Methodist, Anglican and Pentecostal churches.

“We should tell Bwala to know that Catholics are Christians and Nigerians. Our members are Catholics, Baptists, ECWA, Methodists, Anglicans, Pentecostals and people of all denominations. We refuse to be divided by Bwala’s politics of division,” Hayab said.

The cleric said the Catholic bishops and Cardinal John Onaiyekan deserved respect, noting that they met Tinubu to discuss issues affecting humanity, Christians and all Nigerians, not matters exclusive to the Catholic Church.

“Our Cardinal is our respected leader, and the bishops that visited the President went to speak to him about humanity, Christians and all of us, not only Catholics,” he said.

Hayab described it as “shameful and a disservice” to the President for his spokesperson to disrespect the Cardinal, maintaining that the bishops merely offered sincere counsel aimed at helping the administration address the nation’s challenges.

“It is, therefore, shameful and a disservice to Tinubu for his spokesperson to disrespect our Cardinal.

“An honest counsel has been given to Mr President for his own good and for a better Nigeria,” he added.

The NCA chairman also faulted what he described as the growing tendency of some government officials to dismiss legitimate concerns raised by religious leaders and other stakeholders.

According to him, appointees who resort to propaganda instead of confronting the realities facing Nigerians are doing the country more harm than good.

“Any voice of greed, propaganda or disconnect with the citizens by any government appointee like Bwala should be seen as those destroying the country for their selfish interest, not minding the larger population,” Hayab said.

He warned that unless Nigeria’s mounting challenges were urgently addressed, the consequences would affect all citizens, regardless of political affiliation.

“Sadly for people like Bwala, if things do not improve, we shall all suffer together and live to see our country not growing as it should be,” he said.

Reaffirming the association’s confidence in the Catholic bishops, Hayab described them as patriotic leaders committed to the country’s progress.

“The NCA knows that our Catholic bishops mean well and love the President and the country more than those insulting their honest counsel,” he said.

He urged political office holders to engage constructively with the concerns raised by religious leaders rather than making comments capable of deepening divisions among Nigerians.

On his part, Atiku in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said the Presidency chose intimidation and political attacks, instead of reflecting on the substance of the cleric’s message.

According to him, Tinubu and his officials present at the meeting were “not looking very happy” with the speech, and that it was a different speech from what the president usually listens to.

But the president slammed Onaiyekan, accusing him and the Catholic Church, among other things, of working for the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi. 

Atiku suggested the Presidency’s response reflected a habit of surrounding itself with fake and compliant clerics allegedly used in the lead up to the 2023 general election, contrasting this with the independence of Catholic bishops.

“Perhaps the Presidency has become so accustomed to inviting ‘fake bishops’ that it now assumes every cleric can be recruited into political propaganda. But Catholic bishops are different. 

‘’They are not political props, rented cheerleaders or praise singers. They are shepherds with a moral obligation to speak truth to power, regardless of whose interests are bruised. They cannot be used,” he said.

The former vice president said the Catholic Church had historically served as a moral voice for the poor and vulnerable regardless of who occupied Aso Rock, and praised the bishops for confronting President Tinubu directly.

He described the Presidency’s commentary against Cardinal Onaiyekan as arrogant and unbecoming of government, accusing officials of attempting to distort the cleric’s engagement with the President.

According to him, what the media managers of the Tinubu administration attempted to do was to cancel and overwrite the voices of the Catholic Bishops by selectively editing and reframing their engagement with the president in order to manufacture a narrative favourable to the government. 

He said Cardinal Onaiyekan’s decision to speak to the press afterward was merely an effort to place the facts on record.

“A government confident in its record welcomes criticism because it provides an opportunity for reflection and improvement. Only an insecure government wages war against honest voices, while rewarding those who tell it only what it wants to hear,” he said.

Atiku noted that the cardinal’s comments merely reflected the daily realities of hunger, insecurity, poverty, unemployment and the cost-of-living crisis confronting Nigerians, adding that attacking him would not erase those realities.

He demanded the Presidency apologised to the Catholic Church, Cardinal Onaiyekan and Catholic faithful nationwide, warning that the administration would continue to face accusations of arrogance and intolerance until it did so.

Catholic Bishops speak truth to power – Shehu Sani

Reacting in the same vein, former Kaduna Central senator, Shehu Sani, said Catholic Bishops had a long-standing tradition of speaking truth to power and had never been partisan.

He also defended Tinubu’s response to the bishops’ assessment of the economy, saying the president’s position was based on facts and statistics.

But in a post on his X handle on Saturday, Shehu Sani, also a public commentator, said the Catholic Bishops had consistently spoken truth to successive governments since the era of military rule.

“From the era of military rule and throughout the period of civilian governments, the Catholic Bishops have a consistent history of telling truth to power,’’ he said.

Senator Sani said the bishops had never been partisan in their dealings with political leaders, stating that they had always presented every president they visited with bitter kola instead of olive oil.

“They have never been partisan. Every President they visited, they bring him a gift of Bitter Kola instead of Olive Oil,” Sani wrote.