Institutions for poll conduct have become partisan, says Onaiyekan (3)

John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Catholic Archbishop of Abuja and a former President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), spoke to NKECHI ONYEDIKA-UGOEZE in Abuja on critical national issues such as the Non-Violence Accord signed by the presidential candidates, controversy over Gen. Buhari’s certificate, militarisation of elections and the statement on the 2015 elections credited to Rev. Fr. Mbaka

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On the way the government has handled the problem of insurgency

THE insurgency is not only still there, but it has also increased. For more than two years, the government has been assuring us that they were on top of the situation and we can see the result. 

  Two years ago, they (insurgents) were a few small groups; today, we have a full-fledged army, well-armed, some of them with anti-aircraft guns and are controlling territories — territories that the Nigerian government cannot access; this is serious. 

  The first responsibility of government is to maintain the territorial integrity of our nation and ensure the safety of life and property of Nigerians. If a government cannot do it, it has no business staying in power. 

  Generally, what happens is that people will tell that government to move aside and for another government to try; that doesn’t mean that government has not tried, it simply means their best is not good enough.  

  But the case of Nigeria is a bit more complex because the alternative is not clear yet. Many Nigerians are actually not sure of what to do. 

The administration’s fight against corruption and Mr. President’s promise to use ICT to tackle corruption if he secures his 2nd term in office

  If the President says corruption is not a major problem with Nigeria, I hope he knows that he is not reflecting the views of most Nigerians. If he says he will use technology to tackle corruption, why did he not do it long ago? He had five years to do it. 

  I think this is not the time to deceive people. I am surprised that the president should say that corruption is not a major problem. He could say that he had not found a way of overcoming it, but when he says it is not a problem, it is very sad because it will practically make us begin to think that he is happy with it. 

  There is no country that is corruption-free but the difference is that in Nigeria, too many people get away with massive corruption. This impunity can be handled. It means that no matter whose ox is gored, there should be no sacred cows. But there seems to be. 

  We have seen too many cases that were obvious; that something should be done and nothing was done. Therefore, it leaves an impression that if you want to steal, steal a lot; it is only when you steal a chicken in the village that you will end op in Kuje (prison) for six months. This is the irony in our country.

On your reported statement that you would sanction Rev. Fr. Mbaka (for accusing the present administration of being insincere) if he were under your diocese

  I am glad I have this opportunity to clarify a few things but before I do that, I hope you realised that a day after the story broke — that Buhari should be the president — NTA came out with the story of what he (Mbaka) said two weeks earlier, totally in contradiction. 

  That kind of side-by-side goes to prove that in these matters, we (clergy) need to be more careful how we talk; otherwise, we make a fool of ourselves, especially when you are addressing a crowd that considers you as a mouthpiece of God. 

  As for his utterances, of course, we know that he has been going on to say all kinds of things, made pronouncements and prophesies but these are not our ways; it is not the way of Catholic priesthood. 

  That is what I mean: that if he were in my diocese, I would tell him to face his job because as a bishop, I have the right to supervise how he carries on. 

  But more seriously, I have nothing against his analysis of the ills of the society. I agree with him that the government should be honest and more transparent in what they say. 

  They claimed to have done various things, which they have not done, especially as these are areas everybody sees very clearly. When we are told there is a railway from Kaduna to Lokoja, we have not seen the railway; or that the 2nd Niger Bridge has been built when people living there have not seen anything. So, nobody is deceived. 

  He (Mbaka) is right to point out that it is not right to think you can bamboozle the people during election campaigns. 

  But where I don’t agree with him was where he specifically said that one candidate should be voted for and not another. It is not our job; we are not the ones to tell people who to vote for. The whole question of democracy is that the people make their choice. 

  My role as a bishop is to give clear guidance, as regards to what good politics is, and the kind of people you should consider when you are voting. I am not supposed to condition you, using my spiritual powers to take from your right and your freedom to make up your mind. 

  This is second area where, if any of my priests starts saying that kind of thing, I will tell the priest to take a leave of absence and join the political party that he wants to campaign for. 

  Yes, he is entitled to his opinion but the repercussion is that the Catholic Rev. Father that said it, the things he said, if it was any of you journalists that said it, nobody would care. 

  But as a Rev. Father, somehow or the other, his statements are taken seriously, even though, technically speaking, he doesn’t speak for the Catholic Church. And when the Catholic Church speaks, we measure our words very carefully. 

  So, when I said I would sanction him, people were saying what kind of sanction? We have our own ways of sanctioning priests; the sanction may even mean inviting him to my office and ask him to explain himself.

 Controversy over Buhari’s certificate and whether he is qualified to run for the office of the president

  It is a typical Nigerian problem — the question of whether somebody has a qualification or not should not be so difficult to ascertain. And the Constitution says a school certificate or its equivalent; who determines what is equivalent? 

  For me, I think that the opposition that is making a lot out of this is just looking for things to say. We should be talking about more serious things. 

  Even if he (Buhari) didn’t sit for WASC but entered the Nigerian Army and studied at the American War College and rose to the level of a General, why are you still looking for his primary school certificate? 

  I think we are not serious; we should be looking for something else. I have no particular love for Buhari but I think they should stop disturbing us with that story. 

  Yet, on the other hand, it should not be difficult to present your certificate — although if you ask me now to present my school certificate, I don’t know where it is; I have no need to present it anywhere. The only thing I can do is to refer you to my school — go to my college and I hope they will still find the result in our files there. 

  I did the Cambridge Certificate Examination; if you ask me to produce it now, I can’t find it because I have since gone further; I have done my First and Second degrees. 

  It is in Nigeria that I noticed that sometimes, after you got a Doctorate and you are going to do some work, they will still be asking for your WASC result.

 Assessment of the present administration

  All I can say is that however well they have done, I believe they could have done better. If all they have achieved is that we are still surviving; if that is an achievement, so be it.

CONCLUDED