With current hardship, Tinubu can’t win in free, fair contest – Onaiyekan

As President Bola Ahmed Tinubu celebrates his May 29th second anniversary, Emeritus Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, has said the president cannot win a free and fair contest due to the present suffering of the masses. He said this on Wednesday in Abuja at the 2025 Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) Communications Week […]

As President Bola Ahmed Tinubu celebrates his May 29th second anniversary, Emeritus Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, has said the president cannot win a free and fair contest due to the present suffering of the masses.

He said this on Wednesday in Abuja at the 2025 Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) Communications Week Public Lecture and Posthumous Award for late media mogul, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi.

Onaiyekan challenged the Tinubu-led administration to urgently elevate Nigerians’ living standards, urging the president to confront the harsh realities of the hardship facing Nigerians beyond the praise of his aides or risk electoral defeat in 2027.

The archbishop urged the president to find ways and means of resolving the suffering Nigerians are actually going through, cautioning against relying on aides who are always praising him to the skies.

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“I am not telling him to go and live in Mpape, in Abuja for two days, which would not be a bad idea. But he should be able to know how the people in Mpape are surviving. He should also know how families are managing with N30,000 salary a day.

“I do not think we are unfair to government if we say that in the last two years, our level of well-being has crashed considerably. The government is there to make sure that at least, the level of wellbeing of Nigerians is maintained and if possible, improved.

“If he continues like this for the rest of his term, if we have a free and fair election, he will not win. Because how can the country bring him back if we are not feeling good?” Onaiyekan asked.

The cardinal, while acknowledging the Supreme Court’s validation of Tinubu’s election, said, “The elections were over two years ago. Now, he should just govern, make life as liveable as possible for Nigerians, deal with security everywhere, improve the economic level of our people, and fight corruption. These were the things that his predecessor said he would do, Buhari. He did not do it. Eight years, and we expect him to do something.”

Onaiyekan addressing the lecture’s theme, ‘Media with Gentleness: A Path to Being Narrators of Hope in a Distracted Nation’, expressed disappointment that the media is massaging the ego of the government instead of serving the public.

He urged private media to uphold professionalism amid national distress, saying, “Tell the story while leaving people with hope that it’s not all bad. And it is a task that you must find a way of doing.”

Earlier, Secretary General of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Rev. Fr. Michael Banjo, honoured late founder of Daar Communications, owners of Ray Power FM and AIT for embedding ‘African and Christian values’ in broadcasting.

Banjo lamented Nigeria’s decline from principled media beginnings, citing today’s acrimony, aggressive party denunciations, and sensational content.

Quoting Pope Francis’ 2025 Communications Day message, Banjo warned against the media that fuels aggression, violence, unhealthy rivalry, and divisive ideologies, urging a return to ethics exemplified by Dokpesi’s legacy.

The Communications Week, established by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) aims to leverage media for evangelism and promotion of responsible journalism.

Delivering the opening remarks, Bishop David Ajang, CBCN Episcopal Chairman for Social Communications, noted the vital role of the media in shaping society and affirmed the Church’s commitment to promoting responsible communication.

“Inspired by Pope Paul VI and furthered by Pope Francis’ call for the ‘disarming of communication,’ the Church in Nigeria has embraced the annual ComWEEK as a platform for nurturing hope, unity, and truth in a time of growing media polarisation and digital toxicity,” Bishop Ajang said.

He noted that Communications Week, initiated four years ago, has gained recognition from the Vatican and among African bishops, marking it as a significant stride in the church’s media engagement.

Also, the Cardinal Onaiyekan Foundation for Peace (COFP) in a goodwill message reaffirmed the media’s role in peacebuilding.

Represented by Fr. Boniface Neibo, the foundation urged the media to be used as a tool for hope and healing, highlighting its own contributions through interfaith dialogue and conflict resolution training.

He said, “We must become narrators of hope, offering not just information but redemptive stories that affirm our shared humanity.”

He commended the CSN’s Communication Department, led by Fr. Michael Nsikak Umoh, for its commitment to authentic and value-based communication.

The 2025 Communications Week continues across Catholic dioceses nationwide until June 1, promising further engagements around media ethics, social responsibility, and nation-building.