Dr. Josef Onoh, who served as the spokesperson for President Bola Tinubu’s campaign in the South East, has issued a strong rebuttal to former Secretary to the Federal Government, Babachir Lawal, in response to Lawal’s criticism of President Tinubu’s recent participation in the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV in Rome.
In a televised interview on Wednesday, Lawal questioned the suitability of a Muslim president attending a significant Catholic ceremony, recalling his earlier opposition to the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket during the 2023 elections. Onoh, however, characterized Lawal’s remarks as misinformed, labeling the former SGF an ‘ignorant Christian’ whose lack of comprehension regarding interfaith dialogue renders him subject to mockery. He pointed out that numerous Islamic leaders have historically visited the Pope, and vice versa, citing examples of Popes engaging with Islamic leaders—some even visiting mosques—as part of ongoing religious diplomacy.
‘You cannot be more Catholic than the Pope himself,’ Onoh remarked, emphasizing that the Pope was fully aware of Tinubu’s faith yet still extended an invitation, a gesture that underscores Nigeria’s dedication to religious pluralism and harmonious coexistence. Onoh further asserted that Tinubu’s visit to the Vatican aligns with his domestic policies that advocate for inclusivity, a central theme of his political agenda. He criticized Lawal’s ‘holy roller’ demeanor for failing to acknowledge this historic occasion, which may mark the first instance of a Muslim Nigerian president attending such an event.
Onoh also sarcastically questioned Lawal’s silence when the late Pope Francis, in September 2024, proclaimed that all religions lead to God, likening them to different languages striving toward the same divine goal. He recalled Pope Francis’s 2019 comments in Morocco regarding God’s ‘permissive will’ that accommodates diverse religions, as well as Pope John Paul II’s 2001 visit to the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, marking the first papal visit to a mosque.
Additionally, Onoh referenced significant Catholic-Muslim interactions, such as the 2016 meeting between Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, held at the Vatican to foster peace and dialogue. He noted Sheikh Al-Tayeb’s invitation to Pope Francis, which culminated in the historic 2019 papal visit to the UAE and the signing of the ‘Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together’ in Abu Dhabi. Onoh also highlighted their ongoing discussions in 2018 and the 2024 ‘Joint Declaration of Istiqlal’ signed during Pope Francis’s visit to the Istiqlal Mosque, the largest mosque in Southeast Asia, located in Indonesia.
Furthermore, he recalled the 2021 peace meeting between Pope Francis and Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf, Iraq, as well as the earlier 2001 papal visit to the Umayyad Mosque, which reinforced the commitment to interfaith cooperation. Onoh criticized Lawal for his silence regarding these significant acts of religious diplomacy, contrasting it with Lawal’s current excessive criticism of Tinubu’s attendance at the Vatican. Onoh concluded with a pointed admonition: ‘Let us pray to maintain a state of religious clarity rather than being intoxicated in a pious manner, unlike Babachir Lawal, whose remarks about President Tinubu have become a source of embarrassment, not to Christianity, but to himself. In his advanced years, he articulates himself like a skilled orator, intoxicated by the fervor of his own rhetoric.’
