Cardinal Onaiyekan backs youth protests against bad governance

His Eminence John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Emeritus Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, has thrown his weight behind the youth-led protests against bad governance in Nigeria.

Speaking at an event organized by the Christian Youth for Peace and Development Initiative in Abuja on Tuesday, Cardinal Onaiyekan commended the young people for their bold stance against poor governance.

The cardinal reflected on the recent 10-day #EndBadGovernance protests, which saw thousands of young Nigerians take to the streets to demand better management of the country. He noted that the protesters were not out to insult anyone, but rather to express their desire for improved governance.

Cardinal Onaiyekan emphasized that the call to end bad governance is a collective responsibility, saying, “We all must be seen to be trying to end bad governance.” He also acknowledged the impatience of the young people, saying they cannot afford to be patient in the face of poor governance.

Read Also: Senate slams NNPCL, FIRS, 13 other agencies for snubbing audit queries, threatens consequences

The cleric said, “The 10 days of #EndBadGovernance protests saw the young people coming out in large numbers. From my own opinion, they were not coming out to insult anybody.

“They didn’t say that they were ending Tinubu’s government. They simply said they want to end bad governance. Is there anything wrong with that? We all must be seen to be trying to end bad governance.

“But what has come up is that we all seem to agree that we can do better than what we are doing as far as governance and management of Nigeria is concerned.

“I can understand the impatience of the young people. And when Mr President tells young people to be patient, I’m not sure whether he was very patient when he was 30 years old. He wasn’t patient. The young people cannot be patient, but they should not be patient. Because if they are patient, they will just sit down and do nothing.”

The cardinal’s comments come as a boost to the youth-led movement, which has been demanding accountability and transparency from the government. His support underscores the growing consensus that Nigeria deserves better governance and management.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now