A political analyst, Kabiru Ojo, has defended the recent comments by Cardinal John Onaiyekan on Nigeria’s economy and security, insisting that the cleric merely repeated what President Bola Tinubu has publicly said on several occasions.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with DAILY POST, Ojo dismissed claims that the former Catholic Archbishop of Abuja was being political or acting on behalf of any political interest.
According to him, “What the Cardinal said is not politics. It is something even Mr President has stated time without number in the hearing of the public. He has always maintained that his administration is performing excellently in security and that the nation is safe.”
Ojo argued that many Nigerians do not share the President’s assessment of the country’s security and economic situation.
“That is why many average Nigerians don’t feel satisfied with this government. Everybody is seeing failure, but only him does not see it. He keeps saying he is performing excellently,” he said.
On the economy, the analyst said government officials often rely on statistics and reports to defend their policies, but insisted that ordinary Nigerians are not seeing any improvement in their daily lives.
“There is no economy that can be said to be improving while the masses are still suffering. It is impossible. People are finding it difficult to survive, but the President will never agree that there is a problem. He will only tell you he removed fuel subsidy and mention other policies.”
Ojo recalled that during the nationwide End Bad Governance protests, some northern Islamic scholars met President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa to discuss the country’s economic hardship.
According to him, the President maintained during that meeting that there was no hidden cabal controlling his administration and insisted that his government was performing well.
“He told them he single-handedly financed his campaign and travelled across the 36 states. He said there was no cabal in his government and that his administration was doing very well. That is why people believe that if things continue this way for another four years, many Nigerians will suffer even more.”
He maintained that Cardinal Onaiyekan was simply repeating concerns already shared by many Nigerians.
“The Cardinal was not saying anything political and he was not sponsored. He simply said what the President himself has consistently maintained.”
Recall that Cardinal John Onaiyekan, during an interview on ARISE NEWS’ Prime Time programme on Friday, expressed concern over what he described as the federal government’s determination to retain President Tinubu in office in the 2027 general election at all costs.
The former Catholic Archbishop of Abuja said President Tinubu rejected the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria’s assessment of the country’s economy and security during a meeting at the Presidential Villa on July 28.
According to the Cardinal, people close to the President were presenting a misleading picture of the country’s situation.
“When the nation is bleeding, you can’t expect a polite meeting with the Head of State. We need to let him know. His reply was that the nation is not bleeding. We told him the economy is not helping poor people. He said the economy is doing fine. Practically speaking, he made it clear that he did not agree with us,” Onaiyekan said.
He also warned that unless Nigeria strengthens its electoral process, future elections may not truly reflect the will of the people.
He expressed concern that the current administration could use the advantages of incumbency to weaken the credibility of elections.
In response, the Presidency, through the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Daniel Bwala, rejected the Cardinal’s comments.
Bwala argued that Onaiyekan was speaking for the Catholic Church and not for all Christians.
He also accused the cleric of making political remarks rather than spiritual ones.
According to Bwala, President Tinubu was entitled to disagree with the bishops’ assessment because his position was based on facts, statistics and numbers put into context.
He insisted that the broader Christian community had remained neutral on political issues.