A couple of times, I and other like-minds
succeeded in pricking the conscience of those in authority as to make them
re-think their anti-people policies. But for a larger period of time, it is on
record that we were able to help galvanize the civil societies into standing up
for their rights and hold their leaders accountable for their stewardship. How
well these agitations have been sustained to achieve set goals over time is a
topic for another day.
"Today, since I retired as Archbishop of
Lagos, and by extension from active public service, you may still wonder why I
still speak on the state of the nation when I should be enjoying my retirement.
Well, it may interest you to note that though I may not be as visible as I used
to be, I have however not relented in my commitment and desire to see to the
entrenchment of a truly
egalitarian society where justice, equity and
fear of God would reign supreme. These have always been my desire. You may say
that at my age, since I am near the departure wing to heaven, I should by now
be indifferent to the numerous challenges confronting the country. I beg to
disagree. How can I remain quiet when 17 years into our democratic
dispensation, the ship of our nation is being tossed about by self-inflicted
storms that are tossing the people up and down? How can I keep mute when
Nigerians have continuously been taken for a ride over the years by our
politicians, who rather than serve the masses, chose to play them like the game
of chess? I want to affirm here that as long as the good Lord gives me strength
and the breath of life, I will never remain silent while this country is in
turmoil. I
believe it is the responsibility of every one
of us to continue to contribute our quota to a better society for us and the
generations yet unborn.
May 29, 2016, we marked Democracy Day under
the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC. But is there much to really
celebrate about? 17 years into our
democratic dispensation; have we really mature
as a nation? What lessons have we learnt from the errors of the past and what
efforts are we making to avoid a repeat?”
He also spoke on the state of the nation;
It is the responsibility of government
everywhere in the world to provide the enabling environment for the citizens to
eke a living. In the case of my country Nigeria, it appears the reverse is the
case. The poor masses are
left to roam about without proper guidance;
and so majority continue to wallop in penury in the midst of plenty. So much have
been said and written about the 16 years misrule of the People's Democratic
Party. Many more policy analysts will readily tell you that the problem with
Nigeria originated right from independence in 1960. Be that as it may, the
swearing-in of President Muhammadu Buhari last year was perceived as a
milestone in the people's quest for positive change and improvement in their
quality of life.
But a year later, the people are still
grumbling. Indeed, the hardship has doubled. Thousands of workers are being
laid off every day; the value of the naira is falling while states are owing
workers months of unpaid salaries.
Buhari may mean well for the country, but so
far, his actions and utterances have failed to help put food on the table of
the average Nigerian. So, my advice to Mr.
President and his associates is this: do not
take the goodwill that you enjoy from Nigerians for granted. Do all that is
necessary to revamp the economy before things get out of hand.
On renewed N-Delta militancy he said;
"For the years that the late Musa
Yar'Adua and his successor, Goodluck Jonathan, held sway, we saw drastic
reduction in the activities of militants in the Niger Delta. Unfortunately, the
militants are now back to the trenches under different pseudonyms. Their recent
attacks on oil facilities in the region are daily crippling the country's
capacity to produce oil. The oil and gas pipelines bombed in Warri West Local
Government Area have also worsened electricity generation plan of government.
How long would this continue? One thing is certain. Ours is a mono-economy that
relies solely on
oil for our foreign exchange earnings. With
the sorry state of our economy, we cannot at this crucial time afford the
stalling of oil production in the Niger Delta.
That would further put the country's finances
in a precarious situation. I am aware that the Niger Delta Avengers have reeled
out a number of conditions to be met before they can agree on a ceasefire. I am
equally aware that President Buhari has vowed to deal decisively with the
militants. Only few days ago, the dailies reported that the military invaded
Gbaramatu Kingdom believed to be the hometown of a wanted ex-militant, Tompolo.
While condemning the disruption of our oil facilities under any guise, I
equally want to stress that the use of military force is not the best solution.
It would only aggravate the situation. I therefore want to plead with President
Buhari to consider dialogue as a major option to end the crisis. Considering
the high casualty rate and huge losses so far expended in our on-going fight
against Boko Haram, it would not be out of place to settle the Niger-Delta
issue without wasting human lives. Equally, I want to plead with the aggrieved
militants to please sheathe their swords and allow for mediation.
On herdsmen's excesses he said;
"One of the most contentious issues
facing the present administration is the carnage linked to herdsmen in some
parts of the country. We are all too familiar with the Agatu killings and the
massacre in Nimbo, Enugu State. Firstly, I want to use this medium to express
my condolences to families of the deceased and pray that the good Lord will
comfort them in their period of grief. The loss of lives in any form is very
sad, particularly if such lives are cut short in tragic circumstances as the
attacks by the herdsmen. Such barbaric acts only dehumanize us. Some have
opined that the failure of the President to make a public pronouncement
immediately the issue came to national discourse isborne out of his affinity to
those concerned. That aside,
I want to reiterate that it is the
responsibility of government to safeguard the lives of its citizens. No life is
more important than the other. The questions many are asking are: who provides
the herdsmen with AK 47 weapons? Are the herdsmen truly Nigerians or extension
of the Boko Haram sect members particularly as global terrorist watch have
listed them as a number on terrorist list?
However, I am glad at the outcome of the
recent courtesy visit of the Catholic Bishops to the President during which he
gave an express order to the law enforcement agents to fish out the
perpetrators of the dastardly acts and bring them to book. Such a move, ifmwell
executed, will go a long way to restore the people's confidence in government.
Meanwhile, a lasting solution must be found
to placate the herdsmen and restrain them from invading farmlands. I gathered
that the National Assembly is seriously considering creating designated areas
for them in the North for grazing purposes. This, I believe, is a right step in
the right direction.
On fight against corruption the Cardinal;
One of the slogans of the APC last year
during the electioneering campaigns was the fight against corruption. Coming in
the wake of alleged endemic
looting credited to past administrations,
cleansing the land of supposed corrupt elements was perceived as a sure way of
stabilizing the country and entrenching speedy growth and development. The past
one year has seen the present administration making spirited efforts to recover
looted funds and prosecuting the offenders.
Despite these, Nigeria's perceived reputation
as one of the most corrupt nations was re-iterated by Prime Minister David
Cameron of Great Britain on the eve of an international parley when he branded
Nigeria as fantastically corrupt. The psychological impact of that statement
made before Queen Elizabeth II is still fresh in the minds of many of us. While
it is true that
corruption has become endemic in this
country, I also want to stress unequivocally that there are still men and women
of high integrity who have not sold their birthrights to the monster called
corruption.
We must therefore not shy from telling the
rest of the world, when the occasion arises, that there are still honest
Nigerians among us. How can we best do this?
By joining government to expose the corrupt
and unrepentant elements amongst us, no matter their identity, tribe or
religious inclinations. I want to commend the President for his commitment to
clean the polity. There is also need for him to be systematic in the fight so
that even after he leaves office, the structure in place would make it
difficult for corruption to thrive as has always been the case. There have been
complaints by members of the opposing party that the fight has been selective
and only targeted at the PDP. The President must respond to this proactively by
allowing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to truly work
independently, based on facts and figures at their disposal. It does not matter
the party the accused belongs to; anyone found wanting should be made to face
the music. That is the only way the President can prove to all that "he
belongs to all and to no one,"
On Biafra agitation he said:
"Many of us who witnessed the pogrom
that is the Nigerian civil war between 1967 and 1970 are yet to come to terms
with the devastating effect that war
could have in a society like ours. That is
why it is imperative that we do not have a repeat of a civil war. God forbid.
Mr President should therefore do the needful by releasing Mr. Nnamdi Kanu as a
sign that he is ready to dialogue with his pro-Biafra group. He must remember
that it is the right of any group to peacefully seek for secession if they feel
marginalized in their present abode. The use of force is never the right
approach to quell such agitation. As the father of all, let him do the needful
by addressing the issues that led to
the agitation in the first place.
On the issue of Chibok girls, he said:
"It is good news that some of them are
trickling in but among those found, some people are still doubting if these
girls are among the over 200 girls we are talking about because not until there
is proof that they really belong to this group of girls. Right now, I have not
seen any parent or guardian that came out to claim that yes, the girl is his or
her daughter.
On the cannonisation of Iwene Tansi, he said:
The Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church
which I and some of you belong to do not just wake up overnight and say they
are canonizing people, I
remember during the funeral of Saint John
Paul, everyone in the arena was shouting that he should be made a saint but it
is not possible to push Rome in that way. There are certain things which they
will look out for and certain stages which must be followed.
Beatification is just one of these stages,
there are other first class three or four miracles that must be performed and
if these miracles are not seen, then it will be where it is. Beatification
cannot happen. For example, Mother Teresa will be officially canonized by
September 4 because all these stages have been fulfilled.
There are faithful who are looking at all
these things, not that somebody will just wake up and say because it is Tansi
due process should not be followed. All these stages should be followed and
fulfilled. It is the first class miracle that is delaying it.
On the Holy Father's visit to Nigeria he
said:
"His Holiness do not just go out of the
Vatican and start moving around as he likes. There was a time he visited Africa
but there was information from the Pope’s advisers that Nigeria was
not safe for him to visit and that is why he did not visit again. I think if
the atmosphere is clear, the Pope will come.
On the issue of pro-Islam bill which has
passed the second reading in the National Assembly, the Cardinal had this to
say:
"The issue of OIC has been on ground
since former military President Babangida enrolled Nigeria into that
organisation and both Christian and Muslims gathered and met in Abuja. I was
the one in charge of the Christian group and the meeting was very stormy. It
was not a new thing but what has been on ground for a long time and I think
they only forced this regime to go for it and I do not think they are going to
succeed.
They told us during that discussion that Nigeria
is just there as an observer and we asked what it will take to be a permanent
member and one of them got up and said our Minister of Petroleum, Education and
Foreign Affairs must be Muslims and once these three Ministers are Muslims,
what is left? When we shouted against the combination of Christian, Muslim and
traditional religion in the school curriculum that there will be a special
teacher that will teach the students these three religions, how can a Muslim
teacher teach Christian religion or traditional religion? They denied which is
the second check.
Now, they believe that the only way they can
be successful about it is to come through the National Assembly. But if our own
Christian Ministers will not speak against it, then the blame will be on their
heads."
On his most memorable years he said;
"As you can see I am still alive and not
dead yet. Well, my journey in life was not that smooth but so far so good. The
beginning was fair. I was brought up in a Christian way which I am still
keeping to by God’s grace and gradually we believe in the fear of the Lord which my
parents instilled in us firmly that once you believe in the fear of the Lord,
everything will work out well and probably that is what keeps me going.
My memorable days, I think in my second year
as a priest, I was shocked when I was asked to go to the war front. I ran to my
bishop, the late Archbishop Aggrey, thinking he would ask me not to go and take
someone
else there but he replied that there are
souls there and that is what I was trained for.
Another one that I still remember was the
death of my mother. I knew how she had been to us and the family especially in
keeping us in the right path.
Also when one of my juniors, Bishop Alaba
Job, became bishop and I was his senior, I was shocked and I said will I be
saying `My Lord' to him? You know, human nature is always there. Two weeks
later, he came to meet me in the cathedral where I was assigned to work and I
asked him 'how do I address you?' He said I should not worry about that and that
in two weeks my
own will come and, a few weeks later, I was
nominated as the auxiliary bishop of Oyo where I was rejected by my own brother
priests not to talk of the lay people but thank God it did not drag all long
like the Ariara incident.
Later I was transferred back to Lagos and
then ordained as Archbishop. The final one was when I was made a Cardinal. I
was in Okokomaiko when this gentleman said he had been looking for me for weeks
that I had to report to Rome and I was surprised; `Rome for what?'
He brought out two scrolls, one in Latin and
the other in English language; after reading them he referred to me as `Your
Eminence'.
On his successor, he had this to say:
"Archbishop Adewale Martins Lagos is a
very difficult place to handle. I know what I went through in my 39 years in
Lagos and I nurtured most of the priests. Archbishop Martins was born and bred
in this diocese and when he was made a bishop, he left here for Abeokuta
Diocese where he worked for 14 years. To me, I give him kudos because considering
his age, I did not expect him to do most of the things he is doing now. He is
the right man in the right place.
On Rev. Father Mbaka's claim that those who
transferred him wanted him dead, he said:
"As a priest I was shocked when I heard
that from his mouth. Nobody will take your life if God did not sanction it.
That he was wanted dead, who told him that? Were assassins sent after him or he
was only imagining it or he saw it in a vision as he always says he always sees
visions? These are highly contestable and as a priest what will he say about
death? Why must he fear about death?
And that he was not happy about the transfer,
why is he a priest? A priest should be ready to go anywhere. I was in the war
front two years after my ordination as a priest. If he was not happy about his
transfer, then there
is something wrong about his priesthood. His
priesthood should come to question.
On the issue of Buhari applauding former
President Goodluck Jonathan for conceding defeat in last year's elections, he had
this to say:
"The truth cannot be hidden. That
President Buhari commended former President Goodluck Jonathan is an open
confession. President Buhari has to be very careful because people are watching
him and people are saying
why can’t he take his inaugural
speech, meditate on it and start afresh. I think why the government is not
getting it right is because of the ministerial list, various candidates from
different quarters and he was trying to satisfy them and that is why we are in
this mess today.
On his reflections on CAN...
"When we started this association, the
CCN, CSN realized that there were other Christian groups who were not members
and decided to bring them in.
Gradually, other people that came in tried to
disorganize us. I was there for eight years as CAN President and the others
were not satisfied, they wanted to lead because they had hidden agenda, After
that, Sunday Mbang came in who was a Methodist and also a member of CCN. He
made a bad decision by warming up to President Olusegun Obasanjo and since that
time OBJ did not have respect for us (CAN) because we sold our birthright.
During my tenure as CAN leader, any time we
wanted to meet, we did not source for fund from government. We did it on our
own. During the Kaduna riot, I and my Secretary had to sort out ourselves
financially. But unfortunately when these gentlemen started coming in, they
wanted to see the governor, President and money started rolling in. In this
situation, what effect could they make?.
I know how Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor came in,
they were all saying it was time for the Pentecostals to be the President of
CAN and I replied that the leadership is not about turn by turn and that is why
we are where we are
today. In the last election, some people came
to me and asked me to vote for them and I asked why should I vote for them. I
am sorry to say this, what is happening there is a disgrace to Christianity.
On the Kaduna State religion regulation bill
he said:
"We are watching, these people are
attempting to islamise this country but they are failing. They have been on it
for a long time and God did not allow it to happen. El-Rufai has caused a lot
of problems since he assumed office as Kaduna governor. He will just get up and
take a decision without thinking about the repercussion. He said he did it in
Federal Capital Territory and people only shouted but he had his way.He is
always at loggerheads with Christians. There was a time he made a statement
that Jesus Christ is just an
ordinary human being like every other person,
no divinity about him. He admitted that Jesus Christ is a prophet but not a
great prophet while Prophet Muhammed is the greatest prophet. How can he be
uttering these
statements? Is it because of his position. He
has to be checked.
The second person we have to check is
Governor Amosun. He and El-Rufai are very close to President Buhari. Anytime
Mr. President is travelling, it is either Amosun or El-Rufai is there already
or meet Buhari in such place. Why will El-Rufai destroy this country with
religious statements. Does he know what is called war?
El-Rufai must be watched, he does things
without passing through the House of Assembly and the funny thing is that
Buhari will never talk and that is wrong. What kind of father is that? He's
supposed to be the father of the nation.
In one of my comments, I said they want to
destroy our youths so that they will not come up. Look at their own youths,
majority of them are Almajiris begging left, right and centre.
The Cardinal spoke on what the Christian
community can do in the face of all challenges, he said;
"They should hold fast to their faith;
even when they try to make them deny their God, deny their beliefs, they should
hold fast to their faith. When I was the President of CAN, the Federal
Government gave us N100 million to build a cathedral and also asked the Muslim
to build such a thing in Abuja but I told my colleagues that we were not
collecting the money but to show you the kind of people we have in Christendom,
some of my colleagues said even if we did not want it, we could put it in the
bank and when they need their money back we give it to them and we keep the
interest.
Christians should not be afraid but bold to
confront challenges. There is a pastor that abused El-Rufai and he said he will
die and they said he is not dead yet. I think that man should be checked and at
least warned,
he should remember that Nigeria is not his
whole constituency and he should not be talking carelessly because he is in
office, they are there today, tomorrow it will be somebody else.
As I said earlier, the real problem with the
Buhari administration is that this one will bring his candidate notwithstanding
if such person can perform or not, and another will bring his.
He should change three quarters of the
ministers. They did not know where they are going, that is the problem. Lai
Muhammed challenged me on a write up that I wrote tagged ‘Enough is enough’. He came to my house one
Sunday night with Chief Jim Nwobodo and said I should have asked for audience
with the Head of State and he would have granted me such instead of writing
such article. I asked him to tell me what was wrong with the article that I
wrote and that if not for Alhaji Bola Tinubu, he will not be where he is now.
He replied that he has been together with Tinubu right from his youthful days.
I know how Buhari came in. I warned Tinubu
seriously when they were debating about Muslim, Muslim ticket. I told him,
`Bola, I do not care if you produce two devils or Muslims provided the two
Muslims are patriotic and
fear God'. He said his main concern which was
giving him sleepless night was to drive the PDP away and that he had got the
solution. Tinubu asked me if I knew Buhari and I replied that was he not that
man that did examination three times and failed? I said `Bola, he will fail
again' but he replied that he will not fail because he had gone round and that
politics is a game of numbers.
He said if Buhari was dying tomorrow and he
went to the North to present him as candidate, he was sure to get over two
million votes. He was even boasting that Buhari had changed or that they will
change him.
On how he feels at age 80. He said:
"I am still strong though not as strong
as before. I forget things easily probably because I overuse my head but this
leg is causing me a lot of trouble.
On what he wants to be remembered for, he
said-
"That the man called Okogie passed
through this world and nothing less. I just want to fulfil the purpose God
created me .
On President Buhari's failure to mention the
names of treasury looters.
"Buhari thinks he is diplomatic but he
is not. Nigeria of 1916 is not Nigeria of 2016. They are dragging the people
gradually to the wall and once they get there, there will be revolution. What
kind of revolution? I cannot say but it will be bad if the revolution is from
the youths. He should call a spade a spade, he passed the issue to Lai Muhammed
and everybody is now calling them liars.
On some Catholic priests joining pro-Biafra
agitation, he said:
"Why should I not be happy? They are
free. The problem with our government is that they fear unnecessarily.
What has that boy (Kanu) done? Why can't they
sit back and think of how they can resolve the issue amicably and without
involving soldiers here and there.
Government should live up to their responsibilities
to the masses. This present administration should revisit their inaugural
speech and start afresh because they have not done anything at all.
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