AHIARA DIOCESE CRISIS: THE UNTOLD STORIES…6

Bishop Unegbu of Owerri Diocese

When in early 1970 the defeated Igbo people started coming to terms with their monumental loss of the Civil War, the churches were packed full again by many people who were desperate to make some meaning out of their almost hopeless situation. The morale of the Igbo people in almost everything concerning their existence on earth hovered around the zero percentage point. Thinking about the future seemed like a distant memory. Everybody lived for the moment and how to survive for the next day. Life was extremely hard. There was no employment and no income. Individuals were broke and communities were broken. Above all, there was a universal despair over what had happened to the Igbo nation in Nigeria.

For a short while there appeared some signs of a universal spiritual dryness among the Igbo people. Many people thought that God had not listened attentively and had not answered the outpouring of deep prayers to Him for victory in the war. A good number of heartland Igbo people flooded the Churches in utter desperation and hopelessness not for worship and celebration of anything but to bemoan their fate and ask God, why? Masses were like funerals and people lamented the fact that they were perhaps forever lost. The Igbo people needed somebody or something to lift them up, to tell them that all was not lost. In the absence of anybody or anything in particular to accomplish this all-important task, the Catholic Church stepped forward.

It is ironic even till today that the outcome of the civil war made Igbo people lose faith in everything concerning Nigeria except in the Catholic Church. This abiding faith and trust encouraged the Catholic Church to once again put back the toga it had worn since the outbreak of the civil war as “Comfort of The Afflicted” and “Help of Christians”. The highly disconsolate and traumatized mammoth crowd in Igbo heartland hung onto the Catholic Church as capable of providing succor to them during that most desperate period of their existence. They trusted the Church to be able to help them through their difficulties with counseling and sacramental nourishment. The makeshift leadership of Igbo Catholicism at that time in the vast diocese of the Owerri people did not disappoint.

The Catholic Church in Igbo land at that point in time had her hands full. In the whole of the biggest diocese in West Africa that was Owerri Diocese, there were only a handful of priests, about 25 of them, ministering to the mammoth crowds of disconsolate people in a very expansive territory. The stakes could not be higher for the few indigenous priests concerned. The workload was not only overwhelming but at the same time quite crushing. The normal ministrations of a parish priest like the Celebration of Masses, Hearing of Confessions, Distribution of Holy Communion, Visitation of the Sick, Attending to Burials, etc, made almost unsustainable demands on the few priests available.

The young Vicar Capitula, Msgr. Ignatius Okoroanyanwu and his secretary, Fr Theophilus Nwalo, all from Mbaise land, over-extended themselves moving the few priests around to minister to the entire diocese. All hands were on deck trying to provide adequate sacramental ministration and counseling to a highly traumatized people in the vast Diocese of Owerri. The horrendous situation of that period can only be imagined today. In hindsight; how the administrator and the few priests available to him managed to cope by holding on and holding together the precious Catholic faith of the Igbo people in that most crucial period is nothing short of a miracle.

There are no adequate words available in our language to praise the heroism, determination, courage, vision and zeal of the interim administration of Owerri Diocese championed by the Vicar Capitula of the diocese, Right Reverend Monsignor Ignatius Okoroanyanwu, and his staff, which included Fr [and now, Rt. Rev. Msgr.] Theophilus Nwalo, for their unforgettable efforts in keeping the flag of the Catholic faith flying during that crucial period when the civil war had ended disastrously for the Igbo people and the people were desperate for something meaningful to hang onto. It is most regrettable that the heroism and sacrifices of those noble men and women that secured the base of Catholicism in Igbo heartland Diocese of Owerri immediately after the civil war remain unappreciated till today.

Part of the reason for the forgetfulness of our indigenous heroes in the post-civil war Catholic faith was the almost unseemly manner in which Owerri Diocese transitioned into the administration of the new bishop of the diocese in the person of Bishop Mark Onwuha Unegbu. The mistrust that arose with the choice of Bishop Unegbu as the new bishop of Owerri Diocese and the immediate successor to the great Bishop J.B. Whelan had dire consequences on the morale and health of the diocese.

But everything regarding the emergence of Bishop Unegbu as the new bishop of Owerri Diocese has to be dumped at the feet of the Metropolitan of the then Onitsha Ecclesiastical Province, Archbishop Francis Arinze. These are some of the naked truths that must be told for present and future generations of Igbo Catholics to think through and learn from. The reason is the fact that the consequences of Bishop Unegbu’s emergence as the bishop of Owerri Diocese still run as an undercurrent in the present crisis in Ahiara Diocese.

According to a story which Msgr. Theophilus Nwalo loves to tell the Presbyterium of Ahiara Diocese, before the civil war broke out, Bishop Whelan began tacitly to give indication that he had started preparing for his retirement as the bishop of Owerri. As a result the indigenous priests of Owerri Diocese formed themselves into a makeshift organization to work towards the emergence of one of the priests of their choice from among the indigenous priests available to succeed him as their bishop.

This was both an exciting and frenzied moment for the indigenous priests of the diocese. It was a moment they believed that they would have to put their best foot forward by facilitating the appointment of one of the best among them who would step in and continue on the footsteps of the great works Bishop Whelan had been doing for the diocese. As a result they did not want to make any mistakes in the selection of the one to take up the challenge.

According to Msgr. Nwalo’s story, at the back of the mind of the indigenous priests of the organization was the fear that the highly respected but feared Fr Mark Unegbu of Umuahia Diocese might be appointed their bishop in Owerri Diocese if they did not organize themselves properly. In fact, the main goal of the Owerri indigenous priests’ organization was to make it almost impossible for Fr Unegbu to be appointed the bishop of Owerri Diocese.

To that effect, the indigenous priests of Owerri Diocese listed three names among whom they believed a bishop of the diocese could be chosen from. The three names were Fr John Ogbonna of blessed memory, Fr Edward Ahaji also of blessed memory, and Fr Innocent Onyewuenyi, in that order. Both Fr Ogbonna and Fr Ahaji belonged to Umuahia Diocese while Fr Onyewuenyi was from Owerri Diocese. (It is noteworthy that this popular choice made by the priests from old Owerri Diocese [Today's Owerri Archdiocese, Orlu and Ahiara Dioceses] featured two Mbaise priests; Frs. Ahaji and Onyewuenyi], showing that when justice and fairness are in play Mbaise land never loses).

At that point in time, the whole of Owerri and Umuahia Dioceses were living under the fear of the famous disciplinarian of Umuahia Diocese known as Fr Mark Unegbu. From his short spell as the Principal of Holy Ghost College Owerri to his position as education director in the Diocese of Umuahia, Fr Mark Unegbu had exuded nothing but a permanent aura of fear among the people he ministered to and interacted with. As a person he was disciplined, principled, forthright and direct to the core. He would not brook any nonsense from anybody. Nicknamed stiff neck [meaning, unbending disciplinarian per excellence] by the teachers under him and his parishioners, Fr Unegbu was feared by all including the Irish missionaries.

So, as the signal began to gain grounds that Bishop Whelan might retire and be replaced by an indigenous bishop, the fear became much more palpable that the famed disciplinarian of Umuahia Diocese might be tapped to take his place. As a result, many priests, lay people and most especially teachers who had experienced the strict discipline of Fr Unegbu as the director of their schools, set themselves to fight to prevent his appointment as bishop of Owerri Diocese.

However, the chief hope against Fr Unegbu being appointed the bishop of Owerri had rested on the fact that he would not be recommended by Bishop Whelan whom he had not had good relations with. The then Fr Mark Unegbu hardly had good relationship with any of the Irish missionaries. While studying in Ireland with the then Frs. Anthony Nwedo and Godfrey Okoye [who were eventually persuaded to join the congregation of the Holy Ghost Fathers and made bishops shortly afterwards], Fr Unegbu was the only one who fought his way through against being coerced into joining the Holy Ghost Congregation in Ireland. He resisted the Holy Ghost Fathers in Ireland to the last and incurred their wrath as a consequence. And when they returned home, his relationship with the Igbo land-based Irish Holy Ghost missionaries did not improve much. So many people were betting on that fact against his being appointed bishop of Owerri Diocese after the retirement of Bishop Whelan.

But the civil war and its outcome upturned all the betting of who would eventually emerge as the successor to Bishop Whelan. And complicating the problem of his succession was the fact that Bishop Whelan on his way out as Bishop of Owerri Diocese did not choose as Vicar Capitula any of the three names chosen by the indigenous priests’ organization as his potential successor. Rather he chose a young priest of seven years old in the priesthood in the person of Fr Ignatius Okoroanyanwu. And that apparently created the opportunity for the new Metropolitan to pounce and push for the appointment of Fr Mark Unegbu as bishop of Owerri Diocese.

When this happened, the entire Presbyterium of Owerri Diocese was in total shock. First, Msgr. Okoroanyanwu who had labored and sacrificed to keep the diocese running was almost ignominiously shoved aside against the wishes of some local clergy and the Irish missionaries. [It is not clear even till today whether there was ever any formal gathering initiated by the new bishop or his surrogates to appreciate the sacrifice of Msgr. Okoroanyanwu in keeping the diocese alive and active pending the appointment of Bishop Unegbu]. The transition from the administration of Msgr. Okoroanyanwu to that of Bishop Unegbu appeared to have been tense and mildly rancorous, to say the very least.

In fact, the appointment of Bishop Unegbu as bishop of Owerri Diocese had more telling implications for the clergy and laity of Owerri Diocese. According to one Fr. John of Awhum Monastery, who introduced himself to this author as the former Houseboy of Bishop G.M.P. Okoye in Port Harcourt, Bishop Mark Unegbu’s appointment for Owerri Diocese was the last straw that broke the Carmel’s back as far as the priesthood of former Fr Bede Onuoha was concerned. According to Fr John, Fr Bede Onuoha, the first priest ordained for Owerri Diocese in 1960, after all the indigenous priests had been swept into the new Diocese of Umuahia in 1958, thought he was a shoo-in to succeed Bishop Whelan. But when that did not happen, he chose to quit the priesthood and never to return.

The truth was that the appointment of Bishop Unegbu for Owerri Diocese had some ripple effects that reached as far as Ireland. Back home in Igbo heartland of Owerri, many priests and lay people resented the appointment and murmured against it in silence. Some complained that the appointment was a kind of a quid-pro-quo by the Metropolitan. Some thought, rightly or wrongly, that the Metropolitan had facilitated Bishop Unegbu’s appointment to repay his former mentor and guardian for bringing him to the seminary and helping him to become a Catholic priest against the wishes of his mother.

Even the missionaries back home in Ireland including the venerable Bishop Whelan murmured silently against the appointment. In his little biography Bishop Unegbu narrates how the repatriated and retired Bishop Whelan almost shunned him when he went to Ireland to pay courtesy call to him after his appointment as the bishop of Owerri and subsequent visit to the Holy Father in Rome. The retired Bishop Whelan who was busy watering his flowers almost ignored his greeting and simply told the new bishop to direct his inquiries about Owerri Diocese to his secretary. There was no doubt in Bishop Unegbu’s mind that Bishop Whelan was disappointed with his appointment as the bishop of Owerri.

Bishop Mark Unegbu resumed in Owerri Diocese after his ordination at Mount Carmel Church Emekuku in September of 1970, with the tacit support of his foster son who had become his boss and the Metropolitan of his province. But the apparent costly trade-off resulting from his ordination has continued to reverberate even till today on at least two levels. First, the reform agenda of Bishop Whelan that had presented Owerri Diocese as a different Igbo people with a slightly different language and culture from the people of Onitsha Archdiocese was decidedly abandoned. Under Bishop Unegbu Owerri Diocese became once again a baby of Onitsha Archdiocese after 22 years of relatively independent existence.

Second, there was added in the psyche of Mbaise people another layer of resentment over the way bishops were being chosen in Igbo land. It would be recalled that in 1958 when Fr. Anthony Nwedo was announced as the bishop of the new Diocese of Umuahia Diocese, it raised not a few eyebrows, according to the memoirs of late Bishop Unegbu. Not a few thought that the position was there for the taken by the holy man from Mbaise, Msgr. Edward Ahaji, who had apparently been trained in Canon Law in Rome specifically for the position. But Nwedo was announced instead leading to one of the most respected senior Igbo priests, who was the toast of Aba City in the 50s and 60s, to allegedly blurt out: Aghugho abatala n’ivea [Trick and manipulation has come into the selection of bishops in Igbo land].

So, when in 1970 another Mbaise man lost out in the selection of a bishop for Owerri Diocese after he had been strongly tipped and prepared by the departing Irish missionaries, resentment on the issue became sky high until its current explosion in the ongoing bishopric crisis in Ahiara Diocese. The current crisis in the diocese is deeply rooted in the way Mbaise people have continued to be treated in the selection of bishops in Igbo land and Nigeria throughout the history of Catholicism in Nigeria.

There is a palpable feeling among Mbaise Catholics, which has been building since the late 1950s that a section of the leadership of the Catholic Church in Nigeria loathes and discriminates against Mbaise priests and religious in everything including in the selections of bishops and heads of major religious congregations in Nigeria.

We will probe this issue further as we make progress in this series.

To be continued ….