Guardian

FATHER David Iheanacho’s “Roots of Ahiara diocese crisis” (The Guardian, 06/05/2013) and from others in Ahiara diocese are causing avoidable socio-spiritual crisis among many Nigerian Catholics. It is irritating that the do-or-die competition for the sacred office of a Catholic Bishop,  directly derived from succession of the apostles, has been degraded to a Local Government Chairmanship in value and image consequent on its exposure to the chronic delinquency of the Nigerian socio-political environment. It is tragic that both sides underate the long-term collateral social and spiritual damage to themselves and third parties from the venomous and dredgy discharge of threats and blackmail since the Church is a communion of saints (and sinners).

Certainly “catholicity” is one of the four essential characteristics of the Church as professed in the Apostles’ creed along with her unity, holiness and apostolicity. Since she is both divine and human, she has developed time-tested capacity and established principles and procedures for resolving doctrinal and organizational disputes since early times as evidenced from the post-Reformation and post-Vatican II’s management efforts, despite the scandalous globalization of the Awka/Ahiara diocesan imbroglio to tarnish the image of the Nigerian church undeservedly. Regrettably, the virtue of humility was missing from Iheanacho’s descricption of the 50-year old Peter Okpaleke as “a young and unknown parish priest” given his excellent ecclesiastical administrative experiences and achievements, including nine practical publications on efficient diocesan administration for both the clergy and the laity.

There is no major difference between the Mbaise priests’ surprise at Okpaleke’s appointment and God’s selection of David, the “unknown” youngest shepherd-boy in the grazing field vis-a-vis the six older sons of Jesse. If the Catholic Bishops’ appointments have always followed the principle of “mbaiseism” (son-of-the-soil-episcopal-imperative syndrome), neither Michael Fagun nor Francis Alonge would have become the first indigenous Bishops of Ekiti and Ondo respectively. Also, neither would Felix Alaba Job have been the first indigenous Bishop of Ibadan, become an Archbishop and head the Ibadan ecclesiastical province nor would Emmanuel Badejo have become the second indigenous Bishop of Oyo. Similarly, Ekandem would not have been accepted as the first Archbishop of Abuja, John Onaiyekan’s transfer from Ilorin to Abuja as Co-adjutor Bishop of Abuja  to become its Archbishop and Nigeria’s only active-service Cardinal just as Anselm Umoren’s appointment as the auxiliary Bishop of Abuja and Makozi’s transfer from Lokoja to Port-hacourt would have been impossible. Late Emmanuel Udeh would not have been the Apostolic Administrator of  Jos Archdiocese during late Gabriel Ganaka’s protracted illness, let alone becoming a candidate to succeed him after his death. Martin Uzoukwu would not have been a Bishop of Minna, Kevin Aje (from Jos diocese) would not have been the first indigenous Bishop of Sokoto and  Peter Jatau, (also from Jos diocese) would not have become the first indigenous Archbishop of Kaduna and finally, Mathew Kukah (from Kaduna Archdiocese) would not have succeeded Kevin Aje as the current bishop of Sokoto. Thus “mbaiseism” would have been a disastrous principle for the Catholic Church’s episcopacy!

Indeed, the venomous media campaign and embarassing protests by Mbaise priests and the laity against Okpaleke’s appointment could be partly why Bishop Victor Chikwe could not nominate any of them as his successor before he died and partly a justification of his choice by the Pope as otherwise, if one of the over 500 Mbaise-priest-candidates was chosen, a very vicious and sinister reaction akin to Joseph-the-dreamer’s nightmare may have been a strong temptation to those who would have lost out in the contest, as in Warri, Uromi and Benin. Hence was it not better for the Holy See not to have led them into that temptation than struggling to deliver them from its evils subsequently? Is this not a part of the evils of “social climbers” and “carreerist clergy” in a “self-referent church” that has nurtured moral and pastoral “narcissism” which Pope Francis has been condemning since his election? Have the Mbaise Catholics learnt anything from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the election of three successive “non-indigenous” Cardinals as Popes since 1978?

The Mbaise priests should address themselves to the truism in William Shakespeare’s dictum: “the eye seeth not itself save by other senses” in “Julius Caesar” by flipping the coin to the other side to assess how the “other senses” i.e. Catholics in other parts of Nigeria, have been maturely putting up with the political excesses of their south-eastern counterparts from the following: Godfrey Onah was appointed a lecturer in the pontifical “Urbaniana” university in Rome and became its Vice-Rector before clinching the episcopacy of Nsukka. In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Jude Okolo as the Nuncio to Chad and Central African Republic which elevated him as an Archbishop and the first Nigerian, first in West Africa and third in entire Africa to hold such a post. Also in October 2009, the following eleven Nigerians were approved as officials to support the Church during the Second Synod of Bishops for Africa: Francis Ike, Mathew Kukah, Paulinus Odozor, Teresa Okure, Godfrey Onah, Mrs. Felicia Onyeabo, Anselm Umoren, Augustine Okafor, Maria Udorah, Kingsley Ihejirika and Paul Ijasan i.e. while each of the north, west and south-south areas had only 9 percent of the quota of officials, the south-east alone had 73 per cent! Also Fortunatus Nwachukwu, the fist-ever Nigerian to head the Vatican’s Protocol office, was recently promoted as the Papal Nuncio to Nicaragua. Despite these evidences of what “mbaiseism” would have decried as tribalism and Roman imperialism in appointments to service in the higher echelons of the Church’s administration, the affected and marginalized 90 per cent part of  Nigerian Catholicism shrugged it off stoically. Hence it is only being amused by “mbaiseism” as another facet of south-eastern ecclesiastical self-indulgence. Can the Mbaise priests benefit from this lesson in cultural/socio-political tolerance?

Furthermore, the Mbaise priests rebuffed the appeals from the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Nigeria and the Papal Nuncio to Nigeria. How will the south-eastern Catholics feel if the Catholics in those countries where Okolo and Nwachukwu serve were to behave the way they are doing to the first African (Uganda-born) Papal Nuncio to Nigeria? Have they learnt any lesson from the failure of similarly self-declared wars on the Church’s hierarchy in Oyo, Warri, Uromi and Benin? Do they realise the expensive social/pastoral stigma of being described as aggressive careerists which they are attracting to themselves in particular and the south-east in general with Bishops and priests from other parts of Nigeria in terms of their discomfort in accepting priests from the region to work in their dioceses? Having flagrantly, obstinately and contemptuously disobeyed the Vatican rule that a prelate must be consecrated/installed within 90 days of his appointment twice since 07/12/12, and resolutely decided to make Ahiara diocese ungovernable if “mbaiseism” is not respected/enforced (Catholic terrorism?) by word (spoken and written) and deeds, what will they do if the Vatican re-deploys Okpaleke to another ecclesiastical circumspection and either suspend the filling of the vacant episcopal seat in Ahiara diocese indefinitely or even annul the creation of that diocese by merging the 3-LGA-area diocese with another diocese since it is trite law that he who creates can uncreate; and are there not many 16-plus-LGA dioceses elsewhere in Nigeria? And if that happens, how will this help to develop the spirituality and holiness of Catholics as well as promote their boastful image of Mbaise as the “Ireland of Nigeria”? Even if a Deacon did not study Latin (the Church’s official) language, he knows and submits to the unwritten “Roma dicata, finita est” (Once Rome-has-spoken-(on any matter) it-is-finished) rule in Church governance on his ordination. What have the Mbaise priests made of this millenial convention obeyed by the clergy, religious and laity elsewhere in the world?

Therefore, it is in their best interests to imitate the equanimity of other Nigerian Catholics in managing their challenges, stop the vicious campaign of calumny that scandalises millions of people and recite their “Confiteor”s and “Miserere mei”s to lift themselves out of the psyche of ethnic enclavism for restoration into the universal openness which the Catholic Church provides all her children under the leadership and office of Peter during this pentecost season when all Catholics pray for the gifts of the Holy Spirit especially wisdom, fear of the Lord, piety, understanding and counsel to obtain some of its fruits of charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, mildness and modesty.

• Okunmuyide wrote from Lagos.