Archbishop John Cardinal Onaiyekan has revealed that President Bola Tinubu appeared visibly unhappy during his meeting with members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria after they delivered what he described as the harsh realities facing the country.
Speaking on Arise News, Cardinal Onaiyekan said, “I was not surprised that he was not looking very happy,” adding that the bishops knew their message would differ from the praise the President often receives.
According to him, “There are so many people hanging around Mr. President giving him a rosy picture of what the country is, which it is not,” stressing that the bishops had a duty to present the true situation rather than flatter the President.
He said the meeting was never expected to be cordial given the state of the nation, declaring, “When the nation is bl£eding, you can’t expect a polite meeting with the head of state. We need to let him know.”
Cardinal Onaiyekan disclosed that the bishops told Tinubu that the economy was worsening the suffering of poor Nigerians, but the President rejected their assessment.
“We told him our economy is not helping our poor people. He told us the economy is doing fine,” he said, adding, “His reply is that the nation is not bleeding.”
While acknowledging that Tinubu did not agree with their position, the cardinal said the bishops had fulfilled their responsibility.
“We have done our duty, we have delivered our message,” he said, expressing hope that “somehow along the line, somebody will show him a few of the things we said.”
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