…Says Leaders must emulate his humility
Hon (Chief) Modestus Umenzekwe (Onwa Achina) a critical stakeholder in Catholic Church and the Patron of Christian Women Organisation (CWO) Awka and Ekwulobia Dioceses of Anambra State, is also a member of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA). In this interview with CYRIACUS NNAJI he bared his mind on the appointment of Bishop Peter Ebele Okpaleke as a cardinal by Pope Francis, and what Nigerian leaders should learn from the humility of the new cardinal. Excerpts:
Your reaction when you heard that Bishop Okpaleke will be made a Cardinal by the Holy Sea, Pope Francis?
Well that is a very cheering news. Bishop Okpaleke is my Bishop, he is my Lord Spiritual and he is the one loved by the Diocese of Ekwulobia faithful. All the parishes in Ekwulobia don’t joke with him. His coming into power as a Catholic Bishop of Ekwulobia was met with joy and great ovation. And incidentally he is the first Bishop of the newly created Ekwulobia Diocese, it is a welcome development. So I am filled with joy and happiness. In fact his humility has paid off. A young man for that matter, born about 1st March, 1963, in the town called Amesi in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State. The velocity with which he has risen to this rank is most unprecedented, and very exceptional. I thank the Holy Sea, Pope Francis for finding him worthy to come up to the rank of His Eminence.
You see, Okpaleke was appointed by Benedict XVI as Bishop of Ahiara Diocese on December 7, 2012, he was consecrated May 21, 2013, if I am not mistaken, at Seat of Wisdom Seminary Owerri. And you see, that politics came up. That politics in the church came in, unwarranted politics; the people of Ahiara Diocese rejected him for no just cause, probably he was not from the Diocese of Ahiara, not an indigene, and the young man in his humility piped low, kept quiet and kept looking unto God, they chased him away and they locked the Cathedral. He didn’t make noise about it, he didn’t discuss it on the pages of Newspapers, he refused to grant interviews, in short he made a statement, and I want to quote him, ‘I cannot discuss my spiritual life on the pages of newspaper’. Petitions started flying up and down to Rome, one allegation or the other, and I believe the church investigated all these things and found them to be very untrue. Today he has been recognized by the Pope as a Cardinal elect. When the pressure was much, he resigned as the bishop of Ahiara Diocese. That is humility in action. He is not a desperate man but very intelligent.
If you go to his life history, academic records, the time he was ordained priest, I think his record is exceptional and second to none. He resigned on February 19, 2019 as Bishop of Ahiara Diocese. Before the same Pope appointed him Bishop of Ekwulobia, March, 2020. You see, one thing stands him out, when you listen to his sermons, he has never mentioned Ahiara Diocese, he has never discussed his travails; he looked unto God. As a bishop, if he is to attend burial, for instance, he would come there even before the faithful, even before the congregation, you see him with his rosary. The people kept wondering, so the bishop can come before the priests? And he doesn’t make noise about it, you see priests running up and down, o bishop Okpaleke will come, you see all of them running to be there before him, because if the burial mass is 10 o’clock, 9 o’clock Bishop Okpaleke is already in that compound. He will start the rosary, follow the rosary and that is a sign of humility. He drew from our Blessed Virgin Mary because Virgin Mary was a very very humble woman; that was why she never made noise when his son was persecuted before her, she never uttered a word. Bishop Okpaleke, if he was a woman I would say that this is another Virgin Mary of our time, and today it has paid off. I congratulate him, I glorify God and I am happy with Catholic faithful. I must thank the Holy Sea, the Pope for finding him, in the remote area, so to speak, of Ekwulobia, in a small town like Amaesi, he went there and he went there and picked a cardinal.
Again I want to thank the Catholic Church, Catholic Church is very very unique, they are not in a hurry, they take time to examine and study the situation before taking action. I thank them for being solidly behind him. I also want to thank the Catholic Bishops of Nigeria because in as much as I have not attended their meeting, I am not a bishop, I know there was no dissenting voice, you can see ovation everywhere. And when you look at Bishop Okpaleke, very handsome man, he is even like the Pope, you will think he was born in Italy, and I believe that as time goes on he will go higher in that cardinal cadre. I am glad today my brother, my spiritual leader, my Nna ochie, because he is from my maternal home, is among those that will determine the faith of Catholic in the whole world. He is among those that will elect Pope, and he is among those that maybe elected as Pope, this is a big lesson to Ahiara Diocese, this is a big lesson to mankind, the rejected stone is now the pillar of the house.
What lessons do you think leaders, not just Religious leaders, but leaders of our nation should learn from the humility of Okpaleke?
Whether you are a bishop, a cardinal, a president, whatever, anytime you find yourself in a leadership position, try to be humble, make yourself available to people, listen to their problems, solve the ones you can solve without any personal aggrandizement, counsel them very well, carry their burden as if they are your own, be bold to say the truth at all times, when you want to make appointments, make it in line with the rules, with human conscience, and divine directive. Once you are able to do that the sky is your limit, then be very very prudent, show frugality in their finances, don’t be greedy, but above all you must ensure discipline and tough with decision making so that nobody pushes you around. Open yourself to criticism, once you are able to do some of these things the sky is your limit. You don’t need to blow your trumpet, Okpalaeke never blew his trumpet, you don’t know him as a rich man, the oat he took is even oat of poverty and chastity, you can’t see him bragging, call him on phone he will pick your call anytime, send him message he will reply, no much protocol in his office, just once it is your turn you can see him, if he is passing here you won’t even know that Bishop Okpaleke is passing here, and you see the glory of God following him all through the societal labyrinths, navigating his way, clearing the obstacles for him, and the same way He will take him to heaven at the last day. All leaders must emulate Bishop Okpaleke.
Do you think the appointment of Bishop Okpaleke as cardinal has enhanced the image of Nigeria?
Thank you for this question. This shows that Nigeria has come to stay. It has cleaned a lot of things, a lot of bad image being giving to Nigeria by some countries; it is a clincher, it has shown that Nigeria is not as bad as people paint her because the way people talk about Nigeria, you will think that everybody is devil, but today his ascendency to the position of cardinal, his Eminence as the title, has cleared a lot of things for this country. I want to encourage the international community to see Nigeria as their own, to invest in the giant of Africa. Yes there are shortcomings which is visible in almost all the countries of the world, including the super countries, we are learning, some of those countries, it took them 300 to 400 years before they come to that level, and that is the process we are going in this country, therefore Nigeria is a good country, and out of this country we have gotten a young bishop to the rank of a cardinal, it is a very good development. You can see commendations coming everywhere, all the churches, all the religions are jubilating. In this Lagos, close to my office here, when this news broke out everybody was drinking, praising God without saying this is religion A or Religion B. We all gathered and started singing, clapping and praising God for what he has done for Nigeria, so it is a good development, it is a good image for Nigeria in a comity of nations.
How much available will he be to Ekwulobia Diocese faithful now that he is a cardinal, don’t you think his focus now will be Rome?
I want to ask you, Cardinal Arinze who is close to 90, is he not available to Nigerians, is he not available to Onitsha Diocese, is he not available to Nkwerezunaka or so, is he not available to Ndigbo? So wherever he is doesn’t matter, I don’t know their law as to where he will be but wherever he is he is available. Is it not a question of, if he is in Rome, you call him on phone, you send him mail, and he visits, distance is not a barrier. The most important thing is wherever he is he will have access to the people, the grass-root, the church will also have access to him.
What way do you think he can contribute to nation building?
Ever before becoming a bishop, he has been contributing through his sermon, I am not armed with those materials but if I should present those things you can see his sermon, all talking about good governance, good character, love, evangelization of mankind, then the ultimate goal of getting to heaven. You see him talking about government policies, the ones that are not good, the ones that are good, so as a Reverend Father, he started the work, then when he came to the rank of Bishop, his voice started echoing more than, now he is a cardinal, he can reach the president of any country, he is part of the formulation of polices in every country, he can talk to any president in the world and bare his mind without minding whose ox is gored; and if such president is intelligent enough, he should listen to him. So his assignment is for the whole world, not just Nigeria. And incidentally, I think, when he is installed in August, he appears to be the only functional cardinal from Nigeria, because the other ones are either retired or getting to retirement age, Cardinal Arinze will be 90, Onaiyekan, I think is retired, Okogie is retired, Cardinal Ikandem the same thing, so he is the only functional cardinal and age is on his side, he is not up to 60, so wherever these other ones stopped he will start from there to build upon their successes and improve upon them as a young man.
Can you speak on his trials at Ahiara Diocese?
Ahiara, I don’t want to go into Ahiara, because he himself never discuss it and I don’t want to discuss it. But one thing outstanding about Ahiara is that they made a very big mistake. I must say that without mincing words. Then I want to commend Bishop Okpaleke because throughout his sermon he has never for one day gotten to the pulpit and start discussing Ahiara Diocese. He left everything to God. Even if you ask him question, he will say leave everything to God. When my mother was buried he attended the burial, the pressmen approached him, he dodged Ahiara issue, they wanted a word from him, he repeated, I am not discussing my spiritual life on the pages of Newspaper, allow God to do His work.
Do you think the elevation of Bishop Okpalaeke is a way God compensated him for all his travails at Ahiara Diocese?
Yes of course, God says when you humble yourself I will elevate you and you see, the way he behaves, he will still not discuss Ahiara Diocese, you may find out that if he gets to Rome he might keep mute, when cardinals gather to discuss dioceses, you may find Okpaleke keeping quiet once it comes to Ahiara Diocese, because he believes God has a way of doing things. But if there is going to be advice to be given to Ahiara Diocese; that is where you will see him, advice that will see them come out of the woods, advice that will make them have better understanding, advice that will make them grow in spirituality, advice that will make them fall in line with the teachings of the Catholic Church, that is where you may see him talk, he is not known to reward bad things with bad things, he will always tell you leave it to God.
So you are telling us that it pays to be patient and it pays to be humble?
Yes the patient dog eats the fattest bone, I said it before, you have to be humble, patient like our blessed mother Virgin Mary; she is an epitome of patience and humility. Then don’t be greedy, then God will give you that wisdom to get somewhere. People may laugh at you, people may call you all manners of name, people may call you mumu, idiot, but God will call you a wise man. Today God has called Bishop Okpaleke a wise man.
Now that Okpaleke is being made a cardinal what would you want him do for Ekwulobia Diocese?
I am not speaking for Ekwulobia Diocese, but as a staunch Catholic, as a subject in the Catholic faith, as a member of Christian Men Oganisation and as a patron of CWO, Awka and Ekwulobia Dioceses, I will advise and request him to always have us in his prayers, direct us well, lead us well, as he has been leading, he is from that diocese and he knows all our problems, so I don’t need to teach, like in your house now, I can’t come to your house and start teaching you, telling you the problems we have while you are the head of that house, so the way he has been carrying us as a shepherd let him continue, and do more, while we the faithful will put our kneels down, embrace our mother Blessed Virgin Mary and commit Bishop to the lord so that he will have long life, good health, wisdom, intelligence and what it takes to lead the people of God into heaven.
If there is something I did not capture, you can say it now
I will say Ekwulobia Diocese, congratulations, then our mother diocese, the Catholic Diocese of Awka, congratulations, our mother bishop, Bishop Ezeokafor of Awka Diocese, a perfect gentleman, a dogged fighter, negotiator, a time keeper, I will say congratulations to him in a most special way because Ekwulobia Diocese was carved out of Awka Diocese and at no material time did Bishop Ezeokafor object to that. His large heartedness helped these things to walk out. So till tomorrow we still see Bishop Paulinus Ezeokafor as our big father. And then all the bishops in Nigeria, I say thank you to all of them for speaking with one voice, for standing solidly behind Ekwulobia Dioceses, for standing solidly behind Bishop Okpaleke, for their happiness in this elevation. Then above all, Archbishop Valerian Maduka Okeke of Onitsha Archdiocese, he is the overall father in the east, I thank him so much for his support, for his advice, for his genuine moves to make sure things do not go wrong,
