2015-03-31 16:15:00

Nigerian Cardinal: priorities for nation’s new president


(Vatican Radio)  The head of the Catholic Church in Nigeria, Cardinal John Onaiyekan Archbishop of Abuja, says this week’s presidential elections had a higher degree of transparency than the past but warns there’s always a risk of post-election violence. Cardinal Onaiyekan, who was speaking to Susy Hodges, said Nigeria’s new president faces three main priorities.  

Listen to the full interview with Cardinal Onaiyekan, Archbishop of Abuja:

GREATER TRANSPARENCY

In his assessment of the electoral process, Cardinal Onaiyekan hailed the much higher “transparency” surrounding this poll, compared to past presidential elections in Nigeria with many of the results being “banded about” in the social media. At the same time, the Cardinal warned that there is “no perfect election” and there is always the risk of the result being rigged through the action of some corrupt election officials. 

When asked if he feared the risk of post-election violence by supporters of the losing candidate, Cardinal Onaiyekan conceded that this is “always a danger” in Nigeria, a country where the 2011 elections were marred by violence after the results were announced. However, he said the risk is not so great this time around because the two main candidates, Jonathan and Buhari publicly signed an agreement beforehand in which they pledged to accept the results of the elections and urged their supporters not to react violently to the outcome. 

VERY BAD RECORD ON CORRUPTION

Turning to the urgent issues facing Nigeria’s new president, Cardinal Onaiykan said he believed there are three main priorities: restoring stability to the nation by dealing with the Boko Haram insurgency, tackling lawlessness and stamping out corruption and bad governance.

“We have a very bad record on corruption … and there’s no doubt  this is pulling our nation down.”

The Nigerian Cardinal said another urgent priority was the need to promote “national cohesion” between the nation’s many different ethnic and religious groups. 








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