Media personality, Rufai Oseni, has berated the APC government for attacking Cardinal John Onaiyekan, who in a recent interview criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Onaiyekan in an interview with Arise TV, disclosed that President Tinubu disagreed with the assessment of the economy and security concerns raised by members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria during their meeting at the State House, Abuja, on July 28.
At the meeting with President Tinubu, the Bishops expressed concerns over the country’s economy, insecurity and political climate.
Speaking during an interview on Arise TV last Friday, Onaiyekan said President Tinubu rejected the Bishops’ assessment, insisting that his administration was on the right track.
“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,” Onaiyekan said
His revelation was highly condemned by Presidential media aides who insisted he wasn’t speaking on behalf of all Catholics but for himself.
Analysing this development on TV this morning, Rufai described the APC and Tinubu government officials as hypocritical. He said the same APC members who praised Onaiyekan when he spoke against the Goodluck Jonathan administration in November 2014 are now attacking the same cleric for speaking against their government.
‘’In November 2014, a certain Cardinal Onaiyekan came to the villa and said things were not well in the country. This same APC called Cardinal John Onaiyekan a voice of reason. They praised him to the high heavens. This same APC! They said everything good about Cardinal John Onaiyekan. Many of them saw him as the symbol of speaking truth to power. They were happy to take pictures with him in public. They took Cardinal Onaiyekan’s criticism and lapped it up.
The question we should ask now is, What changed?’ Isn’t Cardinal Onaiyekan a bastion of speaking truth to power anymore? Oh, there was no problem with Onaiyekan speaking truth to power against Goodluck Jonathan?’
Can’t you see that your hypocrisy speaks so loudly that people can not hear what you say? Can’t you see that you are also suffering the economic pangs in this country, that more people are asking you for money and depending on you because you are in government, can’t you see that it is hypocritical?”
Watch a video of Rufai speaking below…
Onaiyekan had accused the Tinubu administration of being more focused on winning by all means than addressing the country’s challenges. Onaiyekan and members of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria CBCN last week paid a courtesy visit to President Tinubu where they expressly informed President Tinubu about the poor state of the economy and the untoward effect it was having on all Nigerians.
In an interview with Arise TV, Onaiyekan revealed details of the meeting with President Tinubu. During the interview, Onaiyekan
