In Nigeria, it is difficult to say there is government in power –Cardinal Onaiyekan

According to Daily Sun, the Metropolitan Catho­lic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onai­yekan, has sensationally re­vealed the problems Presi­dent Muhammadu Buhari has.

Speaking with Daily Sun on the sideline of the cele­bration of the 30 years estab­lishment of the Amity Print­ing Press, in Nanjing, China, Onaiyekan said the problem President Buhari has is that many Nigerians want to continue as they were doing before and they want every­body else to change, but not themselves.

The member, Global Council of the United Bible Societies and immediate past president of the Chris­tian Association of Nigeria (CAN), added: “that is the problem which our presi­dent has. He has with him, a whole lot of people with whom he doesn’t share the same ideas.”

According to the Kabba, Kogi State-born Onaiyekan, “this is partly responsible for the slow pace of what he is doing.”

X-raying President Bu­hari’s anti-corruption war, Onaiyekan further said: “Anybody who is expecting that with Buhari as presi­dent, all corrupt practices will end, must be somebody who doesn’t really know what kind of corruption we have in Nigeria.”

He continued: “Corruption in Nigeria is not basically a question of individuals who are greedy or dishonest be­cause by the time you meet individual Nigerians, we are all struggling. Everybody knows one another and you don’t really want to point fin­ger at any particular person. Rather, it is a whole system that is corrupt, which needs to be changed – the system of governance, the way busi­ness is done in the govern­ment offices. All this have to change if corruption is to be tackled.

“It means also that those who claim, or those who have the job to tackle cor­ruption, must themselves do it in a non-corrupt fashion. This is where it is necessary that the rule of law must be followed. You cannot just pounce on somebody be­cause you think you don’t like him or because people are talking about him. This is the problem that Buhari has,” Onaiyekan declared.

Amongst other issues, Onaiyekan asked Buhari to hurry up and meet the expectations of Nigerians, even as he explained why the immediate past presi­dent, Goodluck Jonathan, was voted out of office.

Credit: Cardinal Onaiyekan, Daily Sun