John Onaiyekan, a cardinal and former Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, has voiced concerns over President Bola Tinubu’s chances in the 2027 election, arguing that if the president sticks to his current policies, it might seriously hurt his chances of winning reelection.
According to reports, Onaiyekan made the comments on Wednesday in an interview with reporters in Abuja after attending the public lecture held by the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) during Communication Week.
The cardinal warned that the president’s political prospects may suffer as a result of what he saw as a widening gulf between the Nigerian government and its people.
He emphasized the need for policies that are in line with the realities of the people and encouraged the president to recognize the hardships faced by regular Nigerians.
“My advice to Mr. President is to find ways and means to uncover what Nigeria is truly going through,” Onaiyekan stated.
Not the people in his immediate vicinity who are constantly giving him high praise. They ought to learn. Now, it is the responsibility of all leaders.
Although it wouldn’t be a horrible idea, I’m not telling him to move to Mpape and stay there for two days. However, he ought to be able to learn about the survival of the people in Mpape. He has to be aware of how families are making ends meet on a daily income of N30,000.
He need to do more to improve the standard of living for Nigerians as they are the ones he is supposed to serve.
“I don’t believe it is unfair to the government to suggest that we have seen a significant decline in our level of well-being over the past two years. The government may claim that they are not to blame.
They can claim to have given it their all. However, the purpose of the government is to prevent such from occurring. At the very least, the government exists to ensure that Nigerians’ standard of living is preserved and, if feasible, enhanced.
And it seems like a fantastic moment to me. He should at least strive to do that, and two years is halfway there.
They will never forget him if he shifts his focus in that area and implements policies that truly help Nigeria’s impoverished citizens.
However, if he keeps acting in this manner for the remainder of his tenure, he will lose in a free and fair election. Because if we’re not feeling well, how can the nation bring him back?
“Obviously, if they have already decided and are not waiting for us to vote, then if we win, then fine, we applaud the country; we will go on.” Going down, going down.
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According to him, the president should effectively lead the nation and make it livable for the average Nigerian.
“There are still 250 million of us in this country,” Onaiyekan stated. Even if we are having difficulties, we will succeed. Therefore, I’m hopeful that Mr. President will get that guidance from others around him.
More over two years have passed since the elections. Whether he won the election or not is no longer a concern for him. We now agree because the Supreme Court ruled that he won.
We’ve decided that he prevailed. The Supreme Court stated that there is nothing else for us to go. He should now simply govern, deal with security everywhere, raise the standard of living for Nigerians, combat corruption, and improve our people’s economic situation.
