Onaiyekan Expresses Concern Over Worsening Hardship

• Cardinal John Onaiyekan calls for urgent economic policy reviews to address growing hardship in Nigeria and criticizes the gap between rich and poor
• He warns that the situation is reaching a breaking point and emphasizes the need to support Nigeria’s eroding middle class

John Cardinal Onaiyekan, the former Archbishop of the Abuja Catholic Archdiocese, has called for an urgent review of economic policies to reduce Nigeria’s growing hardship. He voiced his concerns during a Marian Concert in Abuja to celebrate the 2024 Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Onaiyekan criticized the widening gap between ordinary Nigerians and those in power, stating, “You can’t tell someone to be patient with poverty while we see the people who are supposed to address our poverty live flamboyantly.” He added that it was unfair to expect the masses to endure suffering while the wealthy live in luxury.

He warned that the situation is reaching a breaking point, saying, “There is a limit to what people can handle.” He called for a review of policies that have led to widespread poverty, particularly lamenting the erosion of the middle class, which he described as “being completely wiped out.”