Catholic Bishops: Why We Told Buhari the Truth

• Say Yahaya Bello’s comments reckless

By Paul Obi in Abuja

The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) sunday gave reasons why they had to confront President Muhammadu Buhari with the truth on several national issues facing the country. 

The bishops had last week met with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where they pointedly informed him of the failures of his administration.

They explained to Buhari that “nearly three years later,” his “goodwill is being depleted by some glaring failures of government.”

Speaking to THISDAY on the visit, CBCN President and Archbishop of Jos, Ignatius Kaigama, stated that the bishops “did not suddenly come up” with the decision to confront Buhari with the truth.

“It is the fruit of long experience of what our people are going through. We are at the grassroots with the people. So we see, we hear and we feel what the people are going through.

“That’s what informed our going to the president just to share with him what our people are going through.”

Kaigama, who told THISDAY that at the meeting, the president was calm, respectful and gave the impression that he took the message well, observed that “the need for equitable distribution of resources and appointments in security or high level appointments” remain a critical challenge to the administration.

The CBCN president also took a swipe at the Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, over comments credited to the governor that the bishops were not in tune with the fact that those grumbling and opposing the Buhari’s government were public treasury looters.

Kaigama said: “I don’t even want to dignify that reckless accusation with an answer. If the president met us, understood us and was courteous to us, why will a governor come up with such generalisation, a very wild generalisation, and rubbished everyone?

“Let our people deal with him, and we have millions of our people to tackle the governor. I don’t think any bishop will comment on such statement that has no prudence.”