Posted by By CHRISTOPHER OJI on
The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos Diocese, Cardinal Anthony Okojie, has advised the committee on the power probe panel to treat former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, with great respect.
The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos Diocese, Cardinal Anthony Okojie, has advised the committee on the power probe panel to treat former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, with great respect.
Cardinal Okojie, who gave the advice at St Denis Catholic Church, Bariga, Lagos yesterday during the dedication of the church, said that Nigerians and the public panel should understand that Obasanjo was the former president of this country. 'They cannot treat him like any other person. You must accord him that respect. He should be accorded that respect so that we do not make mockery of the exalted position of the presidency. If you approach him in a polite manner, I know he is a human being, he would behave himself," the cleric noted.
Okojie said that he knew that Obasanjo did not do much while in office, but that people should not insult him because of that. 'I bet you, if you insult an old man and former president, nemesis will not fail to catch up with you. I am on the side of the truth. Even if it is only the GSM that he brought, and that is the only thing we can remember him for, but for the fact that he sat on the chair and controlled this nation, rightly or wrongly, we must accord him that respect."
However, Okojie said he was not saying that if Obasanjo is found wanting he should not be punished.
'If he did any wrong, he should be held accountable, but what I am saying is method of approach. You cannot approach Obasanjo's issue the way you approach that of his daughter. If you give him the respect that is due to him and he abuses it, then we can talk."
Okojie said he was not satisfied with the manner the lawmakers were performing, 'I still expect a lot from them because lawmaking is a process of bringing sanity into the country. But the impression our lawmakers always give is that whenever they get there, the very first thing they do is to line their pockets. They just go there to say ‘let me make it now that I have the chance.' As a result they struggle to be in one committee or the other but they are not ready to sacrifice. Leadership is being a servant, but those lawmakers are there to serve their pockets and not the people."