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| His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan |
By Valentine Obienyem
As a student of the Nigerian Law School, Abuja, I had the privilege of witnessing a pastoral visit by His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan (then an Archbishop).
Now that the Cardinal is once again trending positively for his courage, wisdom, and commitment to truth, I decided to revisit an article I wrote at the time titled “An Archbishop at the Law School.”
It captures my reflections as a young law student encountering a remarkable churchman whose words, humility, and dedication to faith and service left a lasting impression.
Enjoy the article the titled: An Archbishop at the Law School…
Thus far, most lectures delivered at the Law School are by the learned members of the profession. Either they lecture on advocacy or other niceties of the profession. The moment I heard that the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, His Grace, John Onaiyekan, was coming to the Law School, most of us, regrettably not very active members of the Catholic community, tried to ascertain the purpose of his coming.
Were the Law School a Catholic school, one would have been persuaded to believe that he was coming to deliver a lecture on canon law, part of ecclesiastical law. Apart from being known as laws in name, canon and civil law, with which the Law School is concerned, do not have much affinity, perhaps except for the fact that ecclesiastical (canon) law contributed immensely to the foundation of jurisprudence.
As many theories struggled in our minds to explain the purpose of His Grace’s coming, I remembered the wise counsel of the Director-General of the School, Chief Kayode Jegede (SAN), in his address to students. The DG said, “Three things are required of you in the Law School: study hard, eat hard and, above all, pray hard.”
As it turned out, as the spiritual father of Catholics in the Archdiocese, His Grace had made it a duty to undertake a pastoral visit to the School every year. He came to strengthen the spirituality of his children through diverse means: the administration of the Sacrament of Confirmation, the teaching of the sound dictates of Christian living, and the propagation of the faith.
Besides the foregoing, the last visit, precisely on Saturday, January 25, 2003, was a special one in its own way: the Archbishop also laid the foundation of the new Catholic chapel.
Though there was already an existing chapel for all Christians and a mosque for all Muslims, Catholics believe, wherever they are, that they need their own chapel, suitable for the decorum and contemplation that Catholic worship requires for enhanced communion with the Creator.
As a Catholic, just imagine what the spiritual atmosphere would be when, amidst the transubstantiation, a group of Pentecostals are outside the church revelling in speaking in tongues. This would amount to “spiritual chaos.”
To avoid this, Catholics applied to the Council of Legal Education for land on which to build their own chapel, and the request was granted. The celebration of that event formed part of His Grace’s visit.
The event started with a pontifical concelebrated Mass led by the Archbishop himself and three other priests. It was a sign of good judgement that the event took place in the auditorium rather than the chapel, which could not have accommodated the over one thousand faithful who came. The occasion provided an opportunity to see the Archbishop at close range and to confirm all the superlative qualities usually attributed to his person.
The first insight into his disposition came through his sermon. The last time I attended his Mass, to dedicate the new site acquired by one of his local communities, St. Martin’s, Lugbe, he preached with the simplicity required by his audience, the local people of Lugbe. He used interesting local stories that conveyed his lessons with remarkable clarity. It was evident that the high priest was conscious of his audience.
At the Law School, he used the story of St. Paul as the foundation of his preaching. He advanced across the fields of exegesis and biblical theology as though he were walking down the Law School lane. Completely on a higher level than he had been at Lugbe, he laced his preaching with similes and metaphors as brilliant as any. The directness of his preaching, the vivid colours of his imagery, and the warm sincerity of his nature lifted his utterances to the realm of inspired discourse.
His Grace, concerned with governance and the governed, examined the state of the nation and pointed out its lapses. He used the demolition of Kado Village in Abuja to demonstrate the government’s callous attitude towards the masses. He decried the increase in vice among Nigerians. As he spoke, some people started shedding tears. It was obvious that the lash of his tongue fell upon contrite souls.
After the Mass, my friend, Mr. Patrick Ikedigwe, stood speechless for several minutes, looking at the Archbishop. Obviously, he was assessing the man based on the impression he had already created. At last, turning to me, he said, “Val, the Archbishop has a kindly and genial presence. His broad forehead and prominent chin give strength and intelligence to his features, while his stature and barrel chest, tongue in cheek, command attention and respect as well.” He is different from most questionable men who parade themselves as “men of God.”
In large measure, Patrick was right. The imprint of Catholic formation on the Archbishop was recognisably apparent in his preaching, his devotion to Catholic education, his speaking ability, the philosophical bent of his mind and temperament, and his unflagging zeal for duty and service to the Church.
All in all, the Mass was a grand one and spiritually edifying. We took some time to relax and take pictures with the Archbishop. Everybody jostled for a pose with him. The man, reading the situation, possessed both physical comeliness and spiritual magnetism that attracted people to him.
Thereafter, we went to the “locus in quo,” the site of the new church, which the Archbishop blessed canonically before laying the foundation stone. Joy was universal.
Back in the auditorium, fundraising took place. Committed to its success, the Archbishop called upon his fine qualities of tact, diplomacy, and psychological deftness in order to raise money for the project. He asked students to bring him the names of people from whom they intended to solicit donations so that he could write personal letters to them. This was part of His Grace’s zeal for the work of God.
One could even shout it from the rooftops that the event was a great success. Law students added colour to the entire occasion. Even the altar servers, garbed like miniature monsignors, were all Law students, mostly ex-seminarians still madly in love with the Church.
The church wardens were equally students. The choir thrilled everyone and reminded us of St. Augustine’s famous saying: “He who sings well prays twice” (Qui bene cantat, bis orat). The drama presented, though hilarious, was equally didactic.
Speaking with the Head of the Catholic Community (Seat of Wisdom), Mr. Charles Onyeneke, he expressed the sentiments of the other students. “I feel great and blessed to be a Catholic. When I see the Church, I imagine I see spirituality and grandeur themselves in person.” Thus spoke Onyeneke.
He was full of praise for his fellow students for making the occasion a success. He also commended the commitment of one of the lecturers, Dr. Paul Idornigie, whom the students fondly called “I Am in Charge.”
Dr. Idornigie was the chairman of the occasion. Completely Catholic, he had earlier remarked thus: “I read jurisprudence. I have always been made to understand that only one Church and one Empire existed, and that is the Catholic Church.” To most students, the occasion was a sort of spiritual reawakening, a renewal of faith in the divine foundations of the Catholic Church and in the need to draw closer to God.
The end
A Note on Dr. Paul Idornigie:
Dr. Paul Idornigie, who is today a Professor of Law and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), was one of our lecturers at the Nigerian Law School. He taught us Evidence, and we fondly called him “I Am in Charge” because he was truly in charge of his class.
His command of the subject, clarity of delivery, and authoritative presence made a lasting impression on us. The nickname was not merely a joke; it reflected the confidence, mastery, and discipline with which he handled his lectures.
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