Northern youths urge faith leaders to prioritize welfare of Nigerians over personal gain

The Northern Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), has called on faith leaders to prioritize the welfare of the people and the survival of the country over personal gain, access to power, or self-serving silence.
Isah Abubakar, National President, Northern Youth Council of Nigeria, in a statement on Tuesday in Kaduna called on religious scholars, clerics, and traditional leaders of all faiths, Muslim and Christian alike across Nigeria, to emulate Cardinal Onaiyekan’s courage, saying that ​the Cardinal spoke the collective mind of the Nigerian people.

According to him, “​Cardinal Onaiyekan spoke the collective mind of the Nigerian people, and we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him in defence of truth, justice, and good governance.”

He added, “We call on religious scholars, clerics, and traditional leaders of all faiths, Muslim and Christian alike across Nigeria to emulate the Cardinal’s courage. Our faith leaders must prioritize the welfare of the people and the survival of the country over personal gain, access to power, or self-serving silence.”

He explained that NYCN stands in solidarity with Cardinal Onaiyekan, following his interface with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu alongside the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN).

N YCN said, “As a respected elder statesman and moral voice, Cardinal Onaiyekan did nothing more than articulate the daily lived realities of millions of Nigerians battling severe economic hardship, inflation, and pervasive insecurity.

“Humanity and future generations will forever remain grateful to His Eminence for his dogged, unwavering resolve to speak truth to power, regardless of the discomfort it causes in the halls of leadership.”

The statement enjoined the presidency and its aides, who have chosen to discredit the messenger rather than examine the message, asking what exactly did Cardinal Onaiyekan say that is not the present reality of the country?

Abubakar noted that attempts by presidential handlers to dismiss his courage as an “abuse of clerical privilege” reveal a concerning detachment from the struggles of the masses, saying that shielding the President from the truth through “sycophancy and political flattery only deepens the nation’s crises.”

​The leadership of the Northern Youth Council of Nigeria, therefore, appreciated Cardinal Onaiyekan for stepping into the gap as a true patriot, stressing that rather than seeking political favour or personal comfort, he choses to present the unfiltered condition of the nation directly to the Commander-in-Chief.