New Telegraph-Admin Nigerians feel so tuned to Rome now more than any time in history following the elevation of Robert Francis Prevost to the Papacy as Pope Leo XIV. It is a rich connection that began many centuries ago when Portuguese missionaries berthed in the Warri/ Benin area.
The undisputed truth is that the new Pope, more than any of his predecessors, was very much at home in Nigeria before sojourning in Rome.
As an Augustinian priest, he was visible in the North as much as he was in the East and West. Between 2001 and 2016, his trips were around Jos, Kaduna, Lagos, Agbor, Abuja and Mararaba.
He came in for burials, ordinations or even humanitarian duties that brought him closer to the people. The danger faced by Christians in the North is no news to him. Many of the Catholics Bishops have his ears. In May 2008, one of them, John Namaza Niyiriong, who later became Bishop of Kano, was ordained in the presence of the new Pope.
Roman Catholics in Nigeria, over 35 million of them, can proudly beat their chests and say, so far, so good. This is a country that shares the honour of producing the highest number of African Catholic priests, with Congo Democratic Republic.
This is the land of Michael Cyprian Iwene Tansi, the Aguleri boy whose Beatification brought Pope John Paul II to Nigeria, in 1998. It was the Pontiff’s second visit to the country.
Then Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, received him in Abuja, braving the rain. That was interpreted as showers of blessing by some politicians. Abacha was using one set of politicians against the other, knowing that they were hungry for power. Pope John Paul II was in Nigeria on a three-day visit, from March 2, 1998.
Three months later, precisely on June 8, Abacha died. His death ushered a new political dispensation midwifed by Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar who restored democracy in 1999. There is so much attachment to the Pope. It began during the Civil War; Pope Paul VI was vocal in his condemnation of the genocide in Biafra.
Through his efforts, the Catholic Relief Agency, CARITAS Internationali, airlifted food and other basic amenities to boost malnourished children. At the end of the war, the Pope drew global attention to the continued killings in the former Biafra.
Having the Pope’s ears entails doing things so very dear to the Pope’s heart. When the people are happy, it will ignite white smoke in Rome
One of the incidents that did not go down well with the Vatican was the execution of renowned Political Scientist, Dr. Kalu Ezera, in his Ohafia home town on January 18, 1990.
Insecurity has not departed from Nigeria. Pope Leo XIV will definitely keep an eye on the country based on first-hand knowledge. And the Federal Government must be prepared to chart a new course that will affect the lives of citizens positively.
President Bola Tinubu, having received an invitation to be with the Pope at the Vatican, is hereby reminded of greater expectations. Senate President Godswill Akpabio was part of an earlier Federal delegation. He was accompanied by Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Bianca Ojukwu.
Bianca is the wife of Biafran leader, Gen. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu – Ojukwu. She was one of the little children that were forced out of their homes by rampaging federal troops and bomber jets.
She lived as a refugee, the baby daughter of Christian Onoh, Administrator of Enugu, after the Biafran capital fell in 1967. Sadly 55 years after the Civil War, Nigeria is a concentration of refugee camps. Tinubu should tap from the Papal connection. A country that produced Archbishop Jude Okolo, First African Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland can get deserved attention. The pioneer Bishop of Port Gentil, Gabon, Rev. Dr. Eusebius Chinekezi Manugwu, is a Nigerian.
Archbishop Okolo’s time in Ireland is instructive. In the past, Irish Fathers were all over Nigeria. And they played very active roles to foster peace through Sports. St. Patrick’s College, Calabar, embraced football and helped the town win the Challenge Cup in 1954. That was largely due to the foundation laid by Father Fitzgibbon.
In Lagos, Fathers Rice and Moran had lifted the game at St. Gregory’s College, just like Fathers Flanagan and Fitzpatrick, at Christ the King College, Onitsha. A Father, Carr took part in the Challenge Cup as goalkeeper of Amukpe Eleven. Father Dennis Slattery, who arrived in the country during World War II, was so much at home with Yoruba culture, having begun his sojourn in Ilawe Ekiti.
There could have been a Nigerian Pope if Francis Cardinal Arinze was elected in 2005. As a candidate for the top post, papabile, he was at the Papal Conclave wearing the garb of a Cardinal Elector. On August 29, 1965, Arinze became the youngest Catholic Bishop at the age of 32. The Bishop was Alter Server to Father Cyprian Iwene Tansi.
Now that Pope Leo XIV is on the throne, his Nigerian connection should be tapped vigorously. A man with American, French, Italian, Hispanic and Black background can help open diplomatic doors. Tinubu has a new friend in Rome, if only his aides know this. Having the Pope’s ears entails doing things so very dear to the Pope’s heart.
When the people are happy, it will ignite white smoke in Rome. Corruption and insecurity bring out black smoke. Leo, the new Pope, would likely want Tinubu to be a tireless champion of the poor.
