…Sycophants Are Destroying The Leadership Of Our Country
The Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province of the Anglican Communion and Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Enugu North, His Grace, Most Reverend Sosthenes Eze, has faulted the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, over his claim that Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, was speaking for the Catholic Church and not the entire Christian community following the Catholic bishops’ recent meeting with President Bola Tinubu.
Bwala, in an August 1st post on X, had accused Cardinal Onaiyekan of making political rather than purely religious comments, alleging that the Catholic institution had supported Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi during the 2023 general election, citing Obi’s “take back your country” remark made at a Catholic gathering. Bwala maintained that President Tinubu was justified in rejecting the bishops’ assessment of the country’s economic situation, insisting that the administration’s position is supported by available data, statistics, and other measurable indicators.
But reacting in a television interview, the Anglican Archbishop said Bwala was absolutely wrong.
He said, “Absolutely he was wrong. He was not speaking for the Catholic Church. In fact, he was speaking for the entire nation, irrespective of religious background, because insecurity has no religious discrimination. Economy, educational failure, name it. It has no religious barriers or discrimination or choice. It affects every Nigerian, wherever we are.
“So, it’s very unfortunate that in a moment like this in this country, we’re having people who are very shallow. I mean, talking very shallowly about matters of life concerning Nigerians.”
On what bothered him most about the trajectory of the event, the Archbishop said, “Well, it is again a demonstration of the wicked mindsets and corrupt mindset of Nigerian political leaders, a good number of them. Because a very genuine, productive advice was given to our president, and somebody became so myopic to make it not even religious, I mean, not even religious denominational, which was quite embarrassing. Because yes, they went as a leadership of a particular denomination, but they were speaking the mind of all Nigerians. So, it’s very disappointing and very painful, to say the least.”
Asked whether Bwala made the statement to provoke other Christian leaders to counter what the Catholic bishops said, the cleric said, “It was purely political. It’s not denominational. No reasonable Nigerian Christian will see it from the point of view that he saw it. No reasonable Nigerian Christian. In fact, no reasonable Nigerian who is alive, who is not corrupt and terribly wicked will speak in that manner. I can say that with great emphasis.
“So, he was purely political and as usual for his stomach infrastructure. He wants to keep his job. And he thinks he’s pleasing the President. These are sycophants who are destroying the leadership of our country. And it is very painful.
“What worries me most really is the fact that the problem of Nigeria is quite complex. Very complex. The entire nation is in deep ruins of a generation of people who have been terribly corrupted, that every sector of our country, even in small office, people deal corruptly. So, you can’t get people who love righteousness and who love productive ventures. We keep saying that no foreign aid can develop our country. No foreign nation can develop us. No nation will come and develop another. The development and the growth of our nation is in our hands.”
On the true picture of the current Nigerian situation, the Archbishop said, “The current picture of Nigeria’s situation is terribly deplorable. Because virtually everything is collapsing. Every sector of our Nigerian society has been affected, whether politically or even religiously. Because I mean the man saying it is a Christian.
“What has been the reaction of the Christian Association of Nigeria or any other group? Only very few people are speaking on their own. I have been saddened that even the Church in Nigeria have not risen up to the challenge that we are having at our hands. I know that people are afraid if they get up it will look like it’s religious. Why don’t the entire nation rise up? It’s as if we’re bewitched as a nation. Everybody is silent everywhere.”
Warning of the consequence, he said, “We will be completely destroyed if we don’t change, if we don’t repent as a country.”
On the consequence of Bwala’s statement introducing a denominational conversation, he said, “The consequence is going nowhere. It is dead on arrival. Anybody supporting him is those on his political lineage. I said it at the beginning, no reasonable Nigerian will support him. None. Listen to those who are talking. They are people of the same group who are protecting their jobs. They are not speaking for the good welfare of Nigerians. In fact, I don’t even know why people are responding to him. The leadership of the Catholic Church has spoken the mind of Nigerians.”
On the President’s rejection of the bishops’ assessment of the economy and insecurity, the Archbishop said, “The Bible says, out of the heart comes the issues of life. A man cannot give what he doesn’t have. And a bad tree cannot be a good tree. A good tree cannot be a bad tree. So, whatever a man is made, that’s what he speaks. Every reasonable leader will listen. I have seen it everywhere.
“I have had one or two opportunities to speak with my governor here. And when I speak to him, he listens. In fact, he even takes notes. If I were him, he would have listened. He would have listened, taken notes. Yes, he’s making effort, but he’s not good enough. And we know the capacity of our military people. The entire security, economic challenges, and infrastructures are self-inflicted. It’s not because things are not there to do all of those things. One is the political will. Secondly, is the corrupt nature of us Nigerians.”
Illustrating the moral collapse, the cleric, who disclosed that he is an engineer who has worked in the construction industry, said, “You give somebody a contract, and he goes to do poor quality job to make profit. Is that the governor or the president that is doing it? Was he not paid for it? He wants to cheat to make profit. The same thing with average Nigerians. Somebody makes a quotation to even go and buy things, he must make money from it. He will not give correct response. So, you see there is a whole character collapse. It’s moral collapse.”
On what any serious leadership should do about what many describe as executive misconduct by presidential aides, he said, “Any serious leadership, number one, will be able to call that man to order. Of course, he said that because the leader himself did not agree that there was anything going wrong. At least he could have been able to say, I have tried this, I have tried that. Yes, I have not really achieved. This is what I plan to do. Nobody is saying he may not be doing anything, but what he’s doing is not sufficient.
“Two, is the fact that in executing these projects, he will only sit in Aso Rock to give order. All of the other lower officers, are they doing exactly what is expected of them? Because he can give order and they can sabotage it. And that’s why I say the problems of Nigerians are complex.”
Asked how he received President Tinubu’s “all is fair in politics” statement, considering the fragile nature of Nigeria’s political and election system, the Archbishop said, “Honestly speaking, like I said at the beginning, everything is according to the state of his heart. After the previous election, he said, ‘Snatch it and run.’ Does this speak of someone who is sincere for genuine election? So, why wouldn’t he say all is fair in politics?
“All cannot be fair. It means that whatever you do, whether by hook or crook. That’s my understanding of it. All can’t be fair in politics. Because there are things that they do that is wrong. So, if they rig election, it’s fair. If people are killed and destroyed, it’s fair.”
Asked if that was an honourable statement to be made by a president, he said, “It cannot be. It cannot be, sir. It’s very annoying to hear my leader saying such things in the public to us as Nigerians. It means that every hope for good governance in this country may be lost. And you know what it means? That kind of statement is engineering war. It means that other politicians — I’m really afraid about the next election. Seriously afraid. Because for the leader to be speaking this way, I’m not sure that we are protected. I’m not sure there’s anything going to be safe.”
On what prompted the current outspokenness of religious leaders, the Archbishop explained that religious leaders are in touch with the grassroots and feel the pains of Nigerians directly.
He said, “The religious leaders, we are in the grassroots. My diocese covers all the way to Akwa Ibom State, the last part of Udi local government. And just last weekend at Awhum, there was a kidnap. As soon as it happened, I communicated the security agencies, and even by the time I did, they had already gone into action. So, we are in touch with the people where it matters.
“And incidentally, the religious groups depend on the income of the parishioners. If you go to church to worship and offering used to be 2,000 and now is 1,000, what moves? Is that not a picture of what is on ground? If you go to church and suddenly the number of people asking for help has increased, what is that saying? People are hungry. Currently, I’m looking for money to rebuild a poor widow’s house that has collapsed. She can’t rebuild the house. And it’s even a mud house. In this country, with the level we have. So, we are in touch with the populace. Religious leaders understand the pains of Nigerians.”
The Archbishop also disclosed that he had been canvassing for the entire church leadership to meet the President long before the Catholic bishops’ visit. “For a very long time, for more than a year now, I have been canvassing for the entire church leadership to get up and go and see the President. It’s still in the program before the Roman Catholic Church went,” he said, adding that the process required getting the buy-in of other groups and those above him, and that they are in the process.
Reacting to the statement by the President’s Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, accusing Cardinal Onaiyekan of abusing clerical privilege, the Archbishop said, “Excuse me, that guy is very good for an animal. He doesn’t even understand the function of a religious leader. I’m not sure he has ever read his Bible. If he has read his Bible, he can’t be saying so.
“There is never a time that the religious leaders have been confined to the four walls of the church. No. Because they are the moral conscience of society. They are the only ones qualified, sir. David was the king. As soon as he sinned, God spoke to the prophets. He didn’t speak to his assistants. Nathan did it. Paul, the great apostle, did it. John the Baptist did it.
“That’s why I said I’m not sure the man reads his Bible. Because if he does, he wouldn’t even have the mouth to say such a thing. They were playing their godly role. And I’m proud of the Roman Catholic Church.”
On the allegation by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike that Cardinal Onaiyekan was partisan and had supported the Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi, in 2023, the Archbishop said, “Excuse me, I’m not sure I want to be replying to all these kinds of irresponsible remarks. It was irresponsible, as far as I’m concerned. He couldn’t be saying such things.
“Okay, so if it’s Peter Obi that is in power, and then things are going like this and they go and talk to him, he will now say, ‘Okay, you supported me. Why are you now against me?’ Assuming his claims are correct. When Jonathan was in power, the same people went to him and told him the same thing. And these guys who are now making these ungodly remarks were clapping for the Roman Catholic Church. Can you see people speaking from the two sides of the mouth? Inconsistency.
“I don’t want to waste my time talking about things that are very ungodly. So everybody should keep quiet. We should just leave them until they bury all of us. Of course, we are being buried everywhere. They are buried in Benue. Thank God for now in Enugu, they were no longer burying, but we were burying before. We buried in Benue, we buried in Plateau, we buried in Katsina, we buried in Borno. So, they should just be burying us. So, nobody should advise them. And as he is in that Abuja, he’s in his hometown. He’s not there. He doesn’t know what is going on there.”
On the conversation surrounding Christian genocide and whether Christians are being attacked, the Archbishop said the Nigerian problem is complex, noting that the gullible nature of Nigerians had also contributed to the complexity of insecurity.
He said, “Are you aware that in the matter of insecurity in Nigeria, almost everybody is involved? In cases where families or villages disagree, one group will go and invite the terrorists to come and invade the other place. It has happened. In families, people have organized for people to kidnap their parents, to kidnap their enemies in the village, create insecurity. In most of the arrests that have been made, some natives were involved.
“Particularly, let me use the south really, not the north. The north is different. The northern part of the country and what is beginning to happen in the south is purely religious. There’s a grand plan to exterminate Christianity, which has lasted long from the ancient times.”
Asked pointedly whether he believed there is a grand plan to exterminate Christianity, he said, “Yes, but it will never work, because Nigeria is God’s own nation. Oh, yes, I believe that very strongly. It will never work. It’s only that people’s lives are being wasted.
“It is the complexity that these things people use it to make money. You kidnap, you share money. Villagers are involved. Even some security people have been caught in this matter. And so, they just create, making it look childish, and worsening even the plan of government. That’s why I said, it is not entirely government’s responsibility. It is all of us’ responsibility. If we have produced a generation of godly and righteous people, these things won’t work.”
On where the buck stops on security and his view on state police, the Archbishop said, “Laws are made for man, not man for law. I will say ordinarily, we even have enough to bring peace in Nigeria. But the problem are the managers of the law. And the managers of the law depend on the state, the character, and the quality of the people concerned.
“If you make state police, it may look good. But the manager of the state police, what is his state of life? Just like the way it’s happening at the national level. You use security agencies against your opponents. Where you have advantage, you use it against your opponent. So, if we bring state police, how would the governors manage them? If you’re unfortunate to have a leader in a particular state who has become autocratic, a self-styled leader who will not listen, he can do anything with the security.
“So, the whole matter — what we need is a moral revolution. Moral revolution first. And that’s my prayer. Now, God has blessed this country. We don’t need to ask God to bless us because he has blessed us. What we should be asking God is to change our hearts, to use what God has blessed us with to bless Nigerians.
“For instance, all the minerals in the country, all the wealth in the country, where are they? The same leaders and the same people, not only the political leaders, others in other sectors have stolen money allocated to that establishment or to that group and taken it abroad and stacked it. And the people are using the money to develop their own country at the expense of us Nigerians. Is it the white people that came to carry it to their country? No. And you are even asking them to return the stolen goods. How can they return the stolen goods when they’re using it to run their economy?”
Delivering his message to President Tinubu, the Archbishop said, “By the grace of God, he should listen to criticism, whether good or bad. Note them. Look at the ones that can help the good of this country and take it. I even encourage him to talk less. A leader who is not a good listener cannot lead. So he should be a good listener. When he gets those informations, he should use them, analyze them, and put them into good use. The ones that are good. The ones that may not help the good of the country he can put aside. Don’t quarrel with anything.”
On expectations from the President, who had not made any rebuttal following the controversial statements, the cleric said, “I can assure you that some people are already talking to him privately. Because even his reaction in the interview was not good for him as the leader of this country. So if he goes on to make further remarks to the reactions, then you know that, my dear, we’re in trouble.
“And sycophants around him, I guess they are being called out that they are the problems. Of course, yes. Let me tell you, one of the things for those of us who are in leadership, the kind of counselors you get determine how far you may go. You know Mr. Ahithophel in the Bible? Counselors determine a lot about the leader. Except a leader who knows his onions and who understands the issue. You must be strong enough to resist bad counselors. Because most counselors will even watch your mood and watch your direction and know what is good for you and give you the advice.”
To Anglicans, the Archbishop said, “My message to the Anglicans who are watching this now, I’m encouraging us to really get to know the Lord more and continue to speak out the truth everywhere they are, both to authority and to the people. It’s not only authority — to the authority and to the people.”
