The Presidency and APC’s attack on the Catholic Bishops Conference is not ordinary politics. It feels like history replayed in reverse.
During the Jonathan and PDP years, the APC, then in opposition, openly amplified voices of religious leaders who criticized government on insecurity, corruption, and the economy. Clergy were quoted in campaigns, invited to rallies, and praised as “voices of conscience.” The pulpit was a useful tool against the ruling party.
Now in power, the same APC is responding to clergy with hostility. The current outburst against the bishops did not come from nowhere. It reads like bottled-up anger. Years of criticism on inflation, security, and governance have stacked up. When the Catholic conference spoke, the response was swift, personal, and dismissive.
The irony is clear. What was once a strategy is now treated as a threat.
A government cannot celebrate religious voices in opposition and criminalize them in power. That erodes trust.
Religious leaders must speak to principles, not parties. Government must answer issues, not attack messengers.
If we normalize attacking the pulpit, we will all lose the space to speak truth when the country is drifting.
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bcradle@ymail.com
