Stop taking Nigerians for granted, Onaiyekan warns the political class

By Sola Omoniyi, Lagos

Emeritus Archbishop of Abuja Catholic Archdiocese, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, has warned the political class to stop taking the patience and resilience of Nigerians for granted.

He gave the warning on Monday, July 10, when he received a delegation of members of the Initiative for Fostering Unity in Diversity, Youths and Nation Building (IFFUIDYANB) at his home in Abuja.

The cleric expressed worry over what he described as the nonchalant attitude of Nigerian leaders to current issues in the country, especially in matters concerning the younger segment of the population.

He warned that the elite should desist from believing that Nigerians were resilient and could be taken advantage of anytime, anywhere. He said the thinking of some people about the resilience and patience of Nigerians to absorb all kinds of difficulties might be wrong.

“The best expression I have for what is happening in Nigeria is that we are dancing on the brink of chaos. Sometimes, we take two steps forward and four steps backwards. But, it is a game that we should not be counting on. There is so much that is being said about the resilience of Nigerians that we have unlimited capacity to absorb shocks. But this may not be the case forever.

“I have for more than 30 years been preaching all over the world that Nigeria is a special country where Muslims and Christians live together. But the belief by some elite that Nigerians had elastic capacity to absorb every form of difficulty is a dangerous gamble.”

Onaiyekan said those fomenting trouble in the country uses the resilience of Nigerians to continue to deprive them of their rights.

He called for urgent measures by political leaders to chart a new path for youths to discourage the increasing rate of brain drain, popularly known as ‘Japa.’

Onaiyekan said: “The question is, how long shall we continue on this path? The youths are anxious to work. They are not happy to be unemployed, underemployed or mis-employed. When I see able-bodied young men and women hawking groundnut, I tell myself: this is wastage. They should be producing.”

The cleric said that it was worrisome that people who should act to make a difference for the people, especially youths were keeping quiet and doing nothing.

He pleaded with well-meaning Nigerian to invest in youths as a priority to engendering a better future for Nigeria.

Onaiyekan, however, commended IFFUIDYANB members for making visible efforts at ensuring the unity of Nigeria by aspiring to bring youths together to forge a common future.

Leader of the delegation, Steve Ebo, said that the group was concluding plans to hold a reality show for youths in the country shortly.

He said the show aimed to bring several Nigerian youths together under one roof for a serious discussion on the future of youths in the country.

Ebo said that the show, which would commence soon, would last for more than 30 days and that it would feature eminent personalities, who would take housemates through salient national issues.

He said the show aimed at fostering unity, promoting peace and supporting good leadership as well as peaceful co-existence among youths.