AHIARA DIOCESE CRISIS: THE UNTOLD STORIES…12

Mbaise Settles Down To Work

The initial brouhaha and anxiety arising from torrents of negative commentaries on the creation of Ahiara Diocese by many non-Mbaise peoples quickly gave way to a deep appreciation by Mbaise people of what God had accomplished in their land. And realizing how huge a challenge they had in their hand, the people quickly settled down to begin the work of building their new diocese. What a joy observing the mammoth crowd of Mbaise Catholics converge each day according to zones, clans and parishes at Ahiara Centre, as it was called then, to begin the building of a diocese they had been dreaming of for more than thirty years! It was just like watching some gazillion ants converge at a spot to build an anthill.

Enthusiasm was astronomically high. Everybody wanted to participate in the work of building the new diocese. Men, women, youth, school children and even Block Rosary kids; everybody wanted to contribute one way or the other to the take-off of the new diocese. Every Mbaise person was ready and willing to volunteer time, money, materials and talents for the new diocese. People were longing to offer up something, to sacrifice something of great value to them so as to help the new diocese take off on a sound footing. It appeared as if there was a divine instruction hanging over everybody’s head to get the new diocese started off before the Christmas celebration that was only about two weeks away.

However, a few things needed immediate attention. They included addressing as a matter of urgency the infrastructure deficit of the new diocese. When Mbaise people made their request for a diocese in December of 1966, Bishop Whelan had lamented and pushed back on it as a result of the absence of infrastructure that could sustain a diocese in the place. The civil war that broke out shortly after the request was made had undermined the great plans of the late Shepherd of Owerri Diocese to raise the infrastructure level of Mbaise land to that of a potential diocese.

And for the 17 years Mbaise land would be shepherded by Bishop Unegbu not much was done to improve the infrastructure level of the area. Apart from the creation of a few more parishes coupled with the erection of a preparatory minor seminary in Nguru, Mbaise, Mater Ecclesiae Seminary, in 1982, after the loss of St Mary’s Minor Seminary Umuowa, to Orlu Diocese, following the latter’s creation at the end of 1980, Mbaise area did not record much improvement in infrastructure during the reign of Bishop Unegbu as her shepherd. And with the announcement of the creation of Ahiara Diocese, provision of basic infrastructure for the diocese to take off became an urgent matter.

The second issue that needed to be addressed immediately was the ordination of the new bishop which had been scheduled to take place at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome on January 6, 1988. The elite of Mbaise believed that the ordination date would be the day Mbaise land must make some significant statements about the new diocese to the rest of the world especially in the manner and number of Mbaise citizens that would be present in Rome for the ordination. So, work would have to begin immediately to get as many Mbaise citizens as possible to be physically present at St Peter’s Basilica during the ordination.

To begin the immediate execution of these tasks, as well as the many others that would be needed to ensure a smooth take-off of the new diocese, some committees and task-forces were created. The Protocol and Finance Committees that would serve as the engine of the whole effort fell on the great man of Mbaise at that time, Chief Donatus Onu of Umuokrika Ekwerazu, who was regarded as the bulldozer of both the struggle for the diocese and now for the execution of its first projects. With his intimidating giant physique, Chief Onu bestrode the arena of Mbaise Catholicism like a colossus.

The man who would be charged with the all-important Works Committee to realize the building of urgent infrastructure was no other person than the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Amrod Industries Ltd, Chief [now, Eze] B.N. Amaechi. Like Chief Onu, Chief Amaechi was a man who would never brook any lapses. And with the creation of the diocese and his kinsman and personal friend raised to the order of bishops, Chief B.N. Amaechi was more than fired-up to execute the urgently needed projects of the new diocese. As with Chief Onu and Chief Amaechi, so it was with the more than one hundred lay Mbaise Catholics serving on various subcommittees who were consumed with the zeal to quickly raise the new diocese on a solid foundation.

Besides other committees such as Publicity, Security, Entertainment, etc, one other important committee that came into being immediately Mbaise land settled down to build the new diocese was the Liturgical Committee. This was headed by one of the senior priests and assisted by many others. But the section of the Liturgy Committee that would play a very vital role from that time onwards was the liturgical music subcommittee. This subcommittee was entrusted into the hand of an Mbaise-born music maestro, Mr. Peace Val Ihim, of Oparanadim Ekwerazu, known across Igbo land and Nigeria for his landmark compositions that blazed the trail in Igbo liturgy following the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

As a talented music maestro, Mr. Ihim chose to use the occasion to showcase the abundance of musical talents in Mbaise land. First, he set off to compose an unheard-off musical masterpiece detailing the trials and triumphs of the Mbaise nation and how God had always worked with Mbaise people to bring them to that epoch-moment in which Mbaise land had been raised to the status of a Catholic Diocese.

An important crescendo was reached in the song when Mr. Ihim described Mbaise land thus: Mbaise, Obodo Chukwu Goziri; Ahiara Diocese, Obodo ndi echiri echi n’uka ha kwuru chim chim. Mbaise, Obodo nwere Mgbali na-asi nke akam akolam… Nnukwu Ukochukwu anyi, Chukwu gozie gi, nye gi amara ka I ji we chiwa anyi. Enyemaka anyi di n’aha Onyenweanyi, Ahiara Diocese, Enyemaka anyi di n’aha Onyenweanyi [Mbaise is land tremendously blessed by God. Ahiara Diocese is a land of the anointed people who stand ever firm in their faith. Mbaise is a land of very industrious people who insist that they not be deprived of what truly belongs to them …Our great high priest, may God bless you, give you the grace to continue to shepherd us. Our help is in the name of the Lord, Ahiara Diocese; our help is in the name of the Lord]

To render this special song and many others he had chosen for the occasion of the installation and inauguration of the new bishop, Mr. Ihim, brought together all the choirs in all the Catholic churches of Mbaise land. There were then about 18 parish churches and hundreds of other station churches each of which had their own choir. From the middle of December 1987, Mr. Ihim brought all the members of Mbaise Catholic choirs together foR regular practices at St Brigid’s Church Ahiara Centre in preparation for the day of the installation and inauguration of the new bishop. The crowd of choristers that attended the practices was unbelievable.

As Mbaise elite and the priests working with them on various committees began intensive preparation for the take-off of the diocese, the generality of Mbaise priests all over the world, whether diocesan or religious gathered themselves up to make their own contributions towards the take off of the new diocese. As it had practically nothing to build from, Mbaise priests decided to donate whatever each and every one of them could spare to help equip the new diocese. Some donated typewriters, cyclostyling machines, pens, papers, office tables, equipment and even cooking utensils to the new diocese.

The scene in which Mbaise priests made their donations for the take-off of the new diocese was nothing short of amazing. Everybody who could donate anything did donate wholeheartedly. Addressing the priests on one of such occasions in which donations were pouring in for the new diocese, Msgr. Ignatius Nmereole Okoroanyanwu, the former Vicar Capitula of Owerri Diocese immediately after the civil war, described the diocese given to the Mbaise people as tuturu fuchaa [pick up and clean it up]. That is to say, the diocese was like a piece of jewel thrown into the dust for the people of Mbaise to pick it up, clean it up and make use of it the best way they wished.

The implication of Msgr. Okoroanyanwu’s statement was that the new diocese was being treated like an outcast by her mother diocese of Owerri. And that appeared to be the reality on the ground at that point in time. As the new diocese was deep in her preparations, the cooperation between the old mother diocese of Owerri and the new diocese of Ahiara seemed reduced to its barest minimum. It appeared as if Ahiara Diocese was just being cast out from her parents without any dignity. Overnight the camaraderie that used to mark the relationship between Mbaise priests and the rest of the priests in Owerri Diocese vanished. Some sort of a cold war which reached up to the level of the old and new bishops broke out suddenly between the two dioceses.

But Mbaise Catholic faithful could care less about what was happening elsewhere. They believed that they were equal to the task of carrying the burden of their new diocese. The whole of December of 1987 would be used to put all committees into motion and to prepare for the journey of a large contingent of Catholics from Mbaise land who wished to witness the ordination of the first bishop of Ahiara Diocese at St Peter’s Basilica Rome life. Those were among the best periods for the people of Mbaise. There was a lot of joy for everybody including non-Catholics. The new diocese looked like the first manifestation of the kingdom of heaven in Mbaise land. And it surely was, to a certain extent!

As the New Year of 1988 broke, Mbaise people from all across the world headed to Rome to witness the ordination of Bishop Victor Adibe Chikwe, as the first bishop of the new diocese of Ahiara Mbaise. The contingent that took off from Nigeria numbered in their hundreds.

Then the D-Day of the ordination came, January 6, 1988. St Peter’s Basilica wore a glamorous look as Mbaise people and their friends from Igbo heartland area and across Nigeria made their appearance at the Vatican in their unique colorful attires. The entire Basilica of the universal Catholic Church appeared electrified in beautiful colors by the radiating presence of Mbaise people and their friends. The men appeared in their traditional regalia. But the women stole the show as always with their colorful attires and elaborate head-gears that attracted the attention of the rest of the world.

Immediately the ceremony of the ordination was over then came what is regarded as the most memorable and unforgettable moment of the ordination of Bishop Chikwe at St Peter's Basilica as the first bishop of Ahiara Diocese. As the ordination ceremony was about to conclude for the procession out to begin, the Master of Ceremony assigned different booths to the newly ordained bishops in the compound of the Basilica for a brief reception. The new bishop of Ahiara Diocese, Bishop Victor Adibe Chikwe, got his own reception booths like the twenty-plus other bishops who were ordained alongside with him.

As the brief reception began in the different booths, Pope John Paul II, now, Pope St John Paul II, made the rounds to the different booths to greet the different nationalities that had witnessed the ordinations of their new bishops. According to an eyewitness to the event in the person of Fr Justin Anaele, who became the first secretary and chancellor of Ahiara Diocese under Bishop Chikwe, once Pope St. John Paul II got to the booth of Bishop Chikwe, he stopped and called him up in front of the mammoth crowd that stood shell-shocked at the appearance of the Holy Father at their booth.

According to Fr Justin Anaele’s account which he had mentioned in his homilies on several occasions, and which he has also published in The Guide Newspaper, the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, addressed the new bishop of Ahiara Diocese thus; "[Paraphrase] Bishop Victor, I created your diocese against the advice of my trusted assistants. They said that the diocese would encounter so many challenges as it is located in a rural area. But I have created it any way and entrusted it with faith to God, to the Holy Mother Mary whose name it bears, and to you, Bishop Victor. I have faith that this diocese will not only succeed but will blossom in your country Nigeria".

This brief comment of the Holy Father, Pope St John Paul II, would sum up the entire history and future of the new diocese. Ahiara Diocese is a diocese created in spite of resistance, entrusted to the powers of Heaven - God and the Blessed Virgin Mary, and handed over to a trusted servant of God in the person of her first chief shepherd, Bishop Victor Chikwe.

This sentiment on which Ahiara Diocese was created by the Holy Father, Pope St John Paul II remains forever. Our diocese was created against all odds and against the best advice of the most senior clerics of the Church. She faced several challenges before she was finally given birth to. She was confronted with numerous challenges from among her neighbors and from the advisers of the Holy Father at the Vatican. She was terribly embattled from birth. But she triumphed.

Pope St John Paul II created Ahiara Diocese not from any human recommendation but out of divine inspiration. After its creation, the saintly Holy Father entrusted Ahiara Diocese to God, to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, and to her first bishop, Victor Adibe Chikwe who is now late.

Ahiara Diocese continues to overcome her numerous challenges because she was first conceived by God and created by a saint who entrusted her to the unshakable Hand of God Almighty and to the firm grips of Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. Ahiara Diocese continues to be overseen and superintended by the holy soul of her first shepherd in the person of late Bishop Chikwe.

In the face of the current crisis in the diocese, the prayer and hope of Mbaise Catholics is that Ahiara Diocese will emerge victorious once again, stronger, more faithful and holy because of the divine protection she enjoys. Ahiara Diocese is a divinely protected and guided diocese. Come rain, come sunshine, she will rise and shine once the current cloud clears.

It is the faith and hope of Mbaise Catholics that the divine support Pope St John Paul II had instituted for Ahiara Diocese at her creation in 1987 will always ensure her safety in all situations. Moreover, the last word of the great shepherd of Ahiara Diocese, Bishop Victor Chikwe, on his death bed, must come to pass. “Ahiara Diocese is good hands” and must remain so, forever and ever. Amen.

To be continued…..

[Blogging on this site will pause for a few days. It will resume around the first week of September, God willing.]