Posted by By Sam Eyoboka on
PRESIDENT Olusegun Obasanjo's call, last week, for absolute loyalty from public servants was has been described by the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Anthony Cardinal Okogie, as a pointer to dictatorship.
LAGOS - PRESIDENT Olusegun Obasanjo's call, last week, for absolute loyalty from public servants was has been described by the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Anthony Cardinal Okogie, as a pointer to dictatorship.
Reacting to the president's speech, Cardinal Okogie also said it was only in the Army that you have absolute loyalty. 'There is nothing like absolute loyalty anywhere and in any institution in the world. To demand absolute loyalty from all is to point to dictatorship. To suggest that it is only in the Army that you have absolute loyalty is false.
'If so, why do you have coups and counter-coups and rancour in the Army if there is absolute loyalty there?" the cardinal asked.
In the statement released by the Rev. Fr. Gabriel Osu, the Lagos Catholic spokesman, the Cardinal said the disloyalty being experienced by the Federal Government was due to bad leadership and disgruntlement.
Cardinal Okogie asked: 'How loyal is President Obasanjo to the nation and the constitution?" According to him, 'only God is absolute." He, therefore, wanted the President to define absolute loyalty.
The spiritual leader and Prince of the Universal Catholic Church reminded President Obasanjo that he was dealing with human beings who were not perfect but God alone. 'It is not possible to call for absolute loyalty from the people. It is the good policies and programmes of government that command their respect and loyalty," he said.