SIMONKOLAWOLELIVE! simon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com, sms: 0805 500 1961
Am I the only Nigerian alive who is neither surprised nor stunned by the drama that played out between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, the archbishop emeritus of Abuja? The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) had held a closed-door meeting with the president at the presidential villa. Initially, what we saw thereafter were short videos of Tinubu talking about his administration’s achievements, pointing out that a four-year undergraduate course now runs for four years because of the end of perennial strikes, insisting that INEC is not biased as alleged, and adding that he would not give his opponents a rope to hang him.
Onaiyekan later appeared on Charles Aniagolu’s programme on ARISE TV to reveal the details of the meeting, saying they told Tinubu the “home truths” about economic hardship, insecurity and the state of our democracy. He said: “When the nation is bleeding, you cannot expect a polite meeting with the head of state. We told him the economy is not helping our poor people; he told us the economy is doing fine. Frankly speaking, he told us quite clearly that he did not agree with us. We didn’t expect him to agree with us. We have done our duty, we have delivered our message, and we have a feeling that, somehow, along the line, somebody will show him a few of the things we said.”
