FR STEPHEN OJAPAH MSP ON HATE SPEECH

A PRESENTATION TO THE LEADERSHIP OF THE FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN STUDENTS (FCS) AND MUSLIM STUDENTS SOCIETY OF NIGERIA (MSSN) ON: THE CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE OF HATE SPEECH, LESSONS FROM THE SCRIPTURES

AT THE ACADEMIC STAFF UNION OF POLYTECHNIC HALL:  KADUNA STATE POLYTECHNIC, 25TH OF AUGUST 2018.

Fr Stephen Ojapah MSP

Director: Dialogue and Ecumenism; Catholic Diocese of Sokoto

INTRODUCTION:

I will like to begin by thanking the organizers of this wonderful event. My friend and brother Imam Jameel Muhammad Jammel did invite me though on a short notice, but I see this as a life time opportunity that I did not want to miss. An opportunity to share the message of peace and tolerance that we all are enjoined to spread. When Jesus rose from the dead, the first word he spoke to his apostle in the gospel of John 20;19 was Salama Alaikun!! These beautiful words we hear our Muslim brothers and sisters repeat a million times every. Yusuf Estees a renowned Muslim scholar explains Islam in five words. Surrender, Summit, Obedience, Sincerity, and PEACE. In the gospel of Mathew 5:9 Jesus said: blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God. This search for peace is greatly threatened in Nigeria by the phenomenon of hate speech!! And there is no limit to the terrible effects of hate speech. The experience of Rwanda should still be fresh in our minds.

This presentation is simply to demonstrate what hate speech is in our context; and to present a distance of the phenomenon from Christianity.

And I will like to begin with a brief story of the genocide in Rwanda. In 1994 the world was shocked with the human massacre in Rwanda between the Hutus and the Tutsis. The Hutus developed a word for the Tutsis that fuelled the killings. The Hutus referred to the Tutsis as Cockroaches and from our human experience of seeing a cockroach in your living room, or the   kitchen; we know the speed at which we kill them. Such was the experience of the killings that the Tutsis witnessed in three months; the Hutu militias killed “cockroaches” cf Left to Tell, by Immaculee Ilibagiza. But the most shocking side of the stories of the killings is the fact that, the Hutus and the Tutsis worshipped in the same church, called the name of Jesus under the same roof, and spoke the same language. Thus hate speech is as much a human phenomenon as it is a Christian phenomenon, and Christian clerics had and will always have a big role to play.

WHAT IS HATE SPEECH?

Hate Speech refers to the phenomenon wherein hateful speech and other forms of verbal abuse are targeted at a particular race, religion or even ethnic group. Over time, hate speech has become part and parcel of our contemporary world, particularly with the right to freedom of speech. It has however taken freedom of speech and turned it into a weapon against peace and unity within societies, the Nigerian state, being one of such societies. Nigeria is made up of over 3 main religious groups, over 70 ethnic groups with over 200 indigenous languages spoken. The average Nigerian city is made up of several ethnicities and religious groups living and working together, at some point this was not a cause for discord because Nigerians believed in peace and unity. Today however, the same is not the case, discord has become the order of the day and hate speech is one of its many tools. The Nigerian society has experienced an infiltration of Hate Speech and its proponents within the society and this has only worsened the current volatile state of the Nigerian nation because it is completely impossible to bring peace to a country when religious groups and ethnic groups seek to destroy each other.

Hate Speech does no good to any society, because it breeds discord and disunity within the society, creeping into all sectors, from the political to the religious and the socio-economic. This discordant feature has become rather prevalent within the Nigerian sphere with various factions springing up along religious and tribal lines and each group sending threats, insults and blames on why the nation fails to progress. Hate Speech is not a new phenomenon in the country, during the Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War; hate speech was the final nail in the coffin of Nigeria’s unity, fuelling the discord that has existed.  The Nigerian Civil War was a blow to the country, destroying it in more ways than one; and following that; hate speech simmered it, because people could still remember the carnage of war. However it appears many have forgotten and are instead itching for another Civil War, a rather disappointing development. Today both on the streets and on the internet, hate speech seems to be the new order of the day, the insults flying back and forth, for instance during the most recent Biafran agitation, hate speech had a swell day with both the Biafran campaigners and those against it, throwing insults to themselves, and on some occasions leading to violence.

There are situations where specific ethnic or religious groups are not allowed to live or work in certain places, and the reasons often provided for such actions cannot even be termed logical, they range from “it’s my house/my company and I do not like them” to “they are diabolical and I don’t want trouble”. It is ironic that people are judged in Nigeria by virtue of being from a particular ethnic or religious group without any attention being paid to his/her personality; this is a country where individuals hold prejudice to a particular ethnic or religious group and teach their children to also have these prejudices. How true the eternal plea of Martin Luther King Jr when he says “ I have a dream that one day my four little children will be judge by the content of their character not the colour of their skin”.

THE ‘SPACE’ OF HATE SPEECH IN THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

Though individuals and communities have actively participated in the propagation of hate speeches against the other, it is never based on the principle of the Christian faith. And certainly not on the injunction of the teaching of Jesus; The Entire message of Jesus can be summarized in two words; love of God and love of Neighbor. The Catholic Church for example has offices and commissions and dicasteries for the promotion of peace round the world. Every 1st of January is dedicated to the world day of prayer of Peace. The pontifical council for inter religious dialogue for the past 50 years has been issuing statements of friendship and prayers to our Muslim brothers at the end of every Ramadan fast. And a thousand other minor projects for peace.

Thus hate speech does not have a space in the Christian faith. “Do not speak evil of one another, brothers, whoever speaks evil of a brother or judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law. If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save or to destroy. Who then are you to judge your neighbor?”(James 4:11-12). In chapter 2:12 it says; “so speak and act as people who will be judged by the law of freedom. In the same book of James 3:1-12 it talks about the evil and the blessings that come from the tongue. In verses 5-6 we read “In the same way the tongue is a small member and yet has great pretensions. Consider how small a fire can set a huge forest ablaze; The tongue is also a fire”

In all these quotations and explanations the key element that the Christian faith forbids and condemns from the bible we have just read is what some saint James referred to in the real Hebrew translations as Rakil or slander

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SLANDER..

In the scriptures it simply means a secret hostile speech against another. The advanced learners dictionary defines slander as “The false spoken statement about somebody that is intended to damage the good opinion that people have of them” There is an unfortunate narrative that seeks to define Islam as terroristic, that is slander..There is an unfortunate attempt to define Christians as infidels and kafiris in the north and elsewhere; that is slander.. There is an unfortunate attempt to refer to the Fulani nation as a whole as a people terrorizing the country, that too is slander. There are thousands of names that we call our perceived enemies in other to reduce them to nothing and to incite the entire system against them. This manner of behavior has no place in our faith and religion. The Catechism of the Catholic Church articles 1905-1912 talks about the core principles of the COMMON GOOD. And these principles can be summarized in these three points.

I. Respect for persons; in the name of the common good public authorities are bound to respect the fundamental and inalienable rights of the human person.

II. The principle of the common good requires the social well being and development of the group itself. Development is the epitome of all social duties when hate is eliminated.

III. Finally the common good requires peace that is the stability and the security of the just order. It presupposes that authority should ensure by morally acceptable means the security of society and its members. It is the basis of the right to legitimate personal and collective defense.

So how can we achieve the latter in an atmosphere of hate speech and evil induced opinions of one another?

CONCLUSION:

There is a popular adage in Nigeria that says when you want to kill a dog give it a bad name. we all know the bad names we have given ourselves ready to kill at any given opportunity. Let us begin to unlearn those bad names. So that peace will reign in other for development to be assured God bless you.

THE CHURCH IN CIVIL SOCIETY

THE CHURCH IN CIVIL SOCIETY 

Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua

 

The Church through her members, the lay faithful, is called to sanctify the temporal order by giving meaning to secular life as the light of the world and the salt of the earth. This makes theChurch a sign of God’s presence in the world. The Church and State work in collaboration hence the Second Vatican Council imposed it as a rule for the Church to promote human dignity through the welfare of the citizens. While the hierarchy of the Church is the voice of the voiceless in a country where there exist poor governance and failure of government, the hierarchy of the Church through practical example in ecclesiastical leadership encourages the lay Christian to be involved in partisan politics. Given that the baptized Christians share in the common priesthood of Jesus Christ, they need to make the world a heaven by their prophetic and kingly mission. They should therefore take part actively in partisan politics with the sole aim of restructuring a corrupt political system. Their selflessness with the love of the common good should propel them to professthis manifesto of Christ: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are bruised” (Luke 4:18).

 

This mandate given to Christians is so serious to a point that the Fathers of the Second Vatican Councils said: “The Christian who shirks his temporal duties shirks his duties towards his neighbour, neglects God himself and endangers his eternal life”(Vatican II, Gaudiuin et spes, 43). This reminds me of the statement of the great Philosopher, Plato when he said that,“One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors” (https://www.brainyquote.com). Socrates told the youths of Athens, that “The wise who refuse to rule should prepare to suffer the rule of idiots” (https://plush.ng). Eric Arthur Blair, whose pen name is George Orwell, an English novelist, essayist, journalist and critic whose work is marked by lucid prose, awareness of social injustice, opposition to totalitarianism and outspoken support of democratic socialism told the English people that, “A people who elect corrupt politicians, impostors, thieves and traitors are not victims but accomplices” (https://www.bing.com). The clergy is not advised to take part in partisan politics and active business in the worldly sense but has the obligation to support the laity in carrying out the mission of the Church in the civil society. The aim is to produce not just a Christian president but a good President whose aim is to be a saint like Saint Louis of France who was a secular leader.

 

The Church is not enmeshed in the world but seek to sanctify the civil society with the involvement of her members in good governance. Apart from politics, the Second Vatican Council calls on all Christians to be involved in the work of saving souls and making this world a better place. According to the council, “let Christians follow the example of Christ who worked as a craftsman; let them be proud of the opportunity to carry out their earthly activity in such a way as to integrate human, domestic, professional, scientific and technical enterprises with religious values, under whose supreme direction all things are ordered to the glory of God” (Vatican II, Gaudiuin et spes, 43). To carry out this mission, the Church has been deeply involved in promoting education and running schools. In a radio message of Pope Pius XlI, on Christmas Eve in 1942, the Pontiff said that “The natural law also gives man the right to share in the benefits of culture, and therefore, the right to a basic education and to technical and professional training in keeping with the stage of educational development in the country which he belongs. Every effort should be made to ensure that persons be enabled, on the basis of merit, to go on to higher studies, so that, as far as possible, they may occupy posts and take on responsibilities in human society in accordance with their natural gifts and the skill they have acquired.”

 

The Church has always ensured qualitative education. In the schools that are owned and managed by the Church, teachers are employed not just on the basis of paper qualification but on the basis of merit, good moral conduct and dedication to service. Hence baptismal certificates were required for employment in the teaching profession. This was to adequately prepare the children for the future. “Until 1898 all education was under the direct control of missionaries. As late as 1942 they controlled 99 percent of the schools and more than 97 percent of the students in Nigeria were enrolled in mission schools. By 1945 there were comparatively few literate Nigerians who had not received all or part of their education in mission schools” (James S. Coleman; Nigeria: Back ground to Nationalism (Benin City: Ilepeju Press 1986), P.115). In the area of health, the Church recognizes the use of orthodox medicine and invest in hospitals. It is sad that many of our incumbent rulers were beneficiaries of these institutions. In conscience, they should use the capacities they acquired from these institutions to develop the nation rather than looting and storing the national treasures in foreign countries to the disadvantage of the poor citizens.

 

The role of the Church in the civil society is not to promote only Christians to take over leadership at all levels. The Church seek to rather encourage Christians to be good ambassadors of Jesus Christ when they have the opportunity to participate in civil governance and other professional duties that could enhance human dignity. In our meetings of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), the Co-Chairman, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has repeatedly said that the political leaders in Nigeria belong to either of the major religions in Nigeria. This would mean for instance, that if the Christian in leadership position does not want to bring shame to Christianity and the Muslim in leadership position does not want to bring shame to Islam by promoting the values and virtues of their various religious, then, we shall have a society that is free of corruption and all forms of crime. It is expected that the Muslim leaders should encourage Muslims to participate actively in partisan politics to promote peace which is the core value in Islam. In the same way, the traditional rulers and their council of elders should encourage their people not to bring shame to their various traditional communities. 

 

In every establishment, there is a constitution that guides the workers in order to serve properly. It is with this manual and constitution the owner of the organization assesses the workers. Some religious adherents follow their scriptures as guide to live on earth in preparation for heaven. The Holy Bible and the teachings of the Church serve as manuals to guide the conduct of Christians. If human beings open up to obey and follow the teachings of their various religions in the context of the good traditional values, we can grow a better nation. According to the Sultan of Sokoto, in one of the NIREC meetings, “Nigerians must wake up and know that we must come together because our religions do not allow us to kill people, but preach peaceful co-existence. The religious teachings are guides to attain the vision of heaven after living a fulfilled life on earth. This is why this article is a clarion call on all Christians to make a difference in governance and in all aspects of life in the civil society. May we all respect God, the voice of true conscience, the sanctity of life and our various institutions to make our nation great and flourish again!

 

Fr. Cornelius Omonokhua is the Director of Mission and Dialogue of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Abuja (omonokhuac@gmail.com; www.omonokhua.blogspot.com) 

 

 

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SALVATION OF SOULS IN TODAY’S MATERIALISTIC WORLD

SALVATION OF SOULS IN TODAY’S MATERIALISTICWORLD

Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua

 

The primary mission of the Church for humanity is the salvation of souls. This does not exclude suffering as revealed in the passion of Jesus Christ. Out of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, only John died a natural death. The others were killed as martyrs. The Church suffered persecution until the Church in Rome enjoyed some relative peace during the reign of Emperor Constantine (c.280-337). In 312 the emperor Constantine attributed his victory over Maxentius, the Western emperor, at the Milvian Bridge near Rome to the Christian God. He therefore, granted religious liberty to Christians in Rome and declared Rome a Catholic State. He became the first Christian emperor in Rome. With the protection of Constantine, there was rapid spread of Christianity in Rome (William J. Rademacher; Lay Ministry, (Middle Green, St. Paul’s 1991) P.59). France was loyal to the Pope, and saintly kings like St. Louis of France provided support and protection for the Church. The first Council of Lyons, (1245) and the Second Council of Lyons (1274) were held in France (Alan Schreck, The compact history of the Catholic Church; (Bandra, Bombay, St Paul’s) P. 57).

 

The zeal for the salvation of souls gave rise to serious missionary activity and evangelization in the Church. In Africa many missionaries were attacked by mosquitoes that eventually killed them with malaria fever. Many missionaries died in large numbers as a result of the weather conditions in Africa that was not conducive to them. In spite of this suffering, the joy of the Church depended on the will of God “who wishes all to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is only one God and one mediator between God and man, himself a man, Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all” (I Timothy 2, 4-5). Many Christians today are still suffering various persecutions in many places of the world. In every condition and circumstance, we remember the fathers of the Second Vatican Council who insisted that “everyone, therefore ought to be converted to Christ, who is known through the preaching of the Church, and they ought, by baptism to become incorporated into him, and into the Church which is his body” (Ad Gentes Divinitus, 7).

 

The Church uses the sacraments for the salvation of mankind. The council of Trent (1545-63) affirms the Catholic belief in seven sacraments instituted by Christ for man’s justification by faith shown by the fruit of faith, good works or charity; the revelation of God to His Church through both the Bible and Apostolic tradition; and the nature of the Mass as a perpetuation of Jesus’ one sacrifice on Calvary (Alan Schreck, Pp.78-79). The Church thus, follows the preaching of the word with baptism. This is to faithfully carry out the injunction of Christ who said: “Go out to the whole world: proclaim the good News to all creation. Those who believe and are baptized will be saved. But those who do not believe will be condemned” (Matthew 16, 16-17).  

 

Baptism having given the believer the hope for salvation, the Church invites the believer to share in the Eucharist, the body and blood of Christ. The Eucharist is the sacred meal that nourishes the Christian on the way to heaven. “I am the bread of life” (John 6, 35) “Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world” (John 6, 51). The Eucharist is the pledge of our final glory according to Jesus: “Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I shall raise him up on the last day” (John 6, 54). The Church also calls the Eucharist Holy Communion because we commune with the Lord thereby having a bond of unity at the Lord’s Table and extends the love to the world after Mass. The Eucharist is also a call to Christian unity and peaceful coexistence in the world.

 

The Church administers the sacrament of Confirmation that enables the faithful receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit. The believer thus, becomes a soldier of Christ who would in turn go out to evangelize. He becomes an evangelized evangelizer. Baptism, Holy Communion (the Eucharist) and Confirmation are called sacraments of Initiation. These three sacraments make the believer a full member of the Church. The Church cares for the sick. She does this by praying for them and administering the sacrament of the anointing of the sick. The Church is a co-heir with Christ who went about healing the sick. St. James admonishes the Christians: “If one of you is ill, he should send for the elders of the Church, and they must anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord and pray over him” (James 5, 13-14).

 

Sin can cause physical suffering hence before Jesus healed the paralytic; He said to him “your sins are forgiven you” (Mark 2, 5). Christ gave the power to forgive sins to the Church so that the Church can effectively carry out the mission of reconciling mankind to God and mankind to mankind. The sacrament of reconciliation prepares the soul for eternal salvation. James alludes to this in his letter. “Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, and this will cure you; the heartfelt prayer of a good man works very powerfully” (James 5, 16). This should not be given a literal interpretation. Not everybody can keep the secrets of the other, hence, for the catholic Church, only a validly ordained priest can administer oracular confession. The sacrament of Holy Orders gives faculty and capacity to validly ordained clerics to preach the word of God and administer the sacraments for the salvation of souls.Through the sacrament of matrimony, the Church supports married couples with the grace of God to carry on the difficult work of family life and love to grow a healthy community and nation. 

 

The Church shows example by corporal works of mercy but according to the fathers of the Second Vatican council, “Christ does not bequeath to the Church a mission in the Political, Economic, or Social order: The purpose he assigned to it is a religious one.” This is because the Church though is in the world is not of the world. This does not exclude the lay faithful from Politics, Economic life and Social order. The vocation of the laity is actually to sanctify the temporal order. The baptized lay person is a witness to Jesus Christ as a priest, prophet and king. In as much as the ordained ministers and consecrated persons are encouraged to give good counsel that would enable the lay faithful carry out their civic responsibilities as true ambassadors of Jesus especially in political governance, every priest, pastor and consecrated persons must never sacrifice the vision of the Church to save souls for any material prosperity. No amount of money can buy the word of God and the Sacraments hence it is a tragedy for any minister to emphasize the gospel of prosperity over and above the vision of God in heaven and the salvation of souls. The political leaders and all of us with various vocations and professions will give account of our stewardship to God in heaven. We may be embarrassed if all we have is our looted material possessions devoid of true content of character and purity of heart. May we live to see God at the end of this earthly life.

 

Fr. Cornelius Omonokhua is the Director of Mission and Dialogue of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Abuja (omonokhuac@gmail.com; www.omonokhua.blogspot.com)

 

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BIOGRAPHY OF MSGR PAUL EMONYON

BIOGRAPHY OF RT. REV. MONSIGNOR BRIG. GEN. PAUL OKOEBOR EMONYON

 

Rt. Rev. Monsignor Brig. Gen. Paul Okoebor Emonyonwas born on the 15th of August, 1932 at Afuda in Irrua into a pagan family which became converted after his ordination.His father was from Afuda, while his mother came the royal family of the Iwiololu dynasty. He grew up in Ugiawele, also in Irrua. For his primary school education, he attended Catholic School, Warri where he got his baptism. In his own words: “I was sent to be with my uncle, my mother’s senior brother in Warri, I schooled there. I first of all went to an African school but it didn’t suit my taste so I decided to go to a catholic school where I felt at home. And in no time, I got my baptism there by Bishop Kelly and ever since I remained a Catholic.”

Monsignor’s journey to the priesthood started when he joined the choir. “As a young man and playing around, I became one of the choristers in the school – Catholic school, Warri and I love going to the Church and my uncle with whom I was staying encouraged me even though he was a pagan which surprised me. We used to clean the compound every morning and on Sunday mornings, he would wake me early so that I can finish early and go to the church even though he did not go to the church. I think he helped me a great deal. As a Catholic, I was glad to join the choristers under late Igbuwe, an Asaba man who was my teacher in the school so I got encouraged to continue as a Catholic. The teachers who taught us in school were very dedicated and dynamic and they made us serious with our education.”

After graduation, he went to Lagos where he got employed at May & Baker where he worked for a couple of years before gaining admission to St. Theresa’s Minor Seminary alongside his classmates Archbishop Patrick Ekpu, Archbishop Jattau of Kaduna, Bishop Alonge of Ondo and others. Together they proceeded to the SS Peter and Paul Major Seminary in 1954, then in Benin City. The following year, the Major Seminary was transferred to its present site in Bodija, Ibadan. Thus, his set became the first set to begin the Major Seminary in Bodija. According to him, “we were the ones who cleared the ground and cut down the trees” for the building of the seminary structures.” After finishing their four years philosophy course, they proceeded to the compulsory one year probation and then returned for their theology degree programme. 

According to Monsignor, his parents had no idea that he was going into the seminary till he was just about to be ordained. “When I came to Lagos, my uncle sent me to my mother’s immediate senior brother, Akhigbe Abara and when I told him I wanted to be a priest, he was surprised; he didn’t believe it, since there was no one in my family who was a priest. I remember telling him I had been hearing of my fellow Ishan people who are priests, Fr. Ojezua form Igueben, Msgr. Eramen and others…”

While in the seminary, Monsignor’s motivation to become a priest was further spurred by the exemplary lifestyle of the Irish Missionaries.“I think it was the Irish priests that encouraged me to be a priest. I saw them as generous, kind and helpful to the poor and I think it that was one of the things that spurred me even though my parents did not know. It was after seven years I told them I was going to be a priest, all along I had told them I was going to school just like my other cousins were going to school.”

“My mum got news that her son was going to be priest, he won’t get married and have children. So one day I met her and told her ‘Mummy, would you mind if God decides to take e for himself? You have other children and they are doing fine… If God wants me to come follow him, would you refuse?’ She said, ‘Why? God is God, why would I refuse?’So that day I decided to go in for the priesthood even though my father was completely against it. So I decided to continue till I was ordained.” I think we enjoyed our time in the Seminary. I didn’t feel like withdrawing. We were about 37 who went to the seminary in my own time, I think only 8 of us succeeded.

Monsignor Paul Emonyon was ordained a priest on the 1stof August, 1963 by the Late Bishop Kelly. He worked in various parishes as assistant priest in the then Benin Diocese amongst which include, Ubiaja, Agbor, Asaba etc. As a young priest, Monsignor spoke of being happy and fulfilled even though he faced some challenges. “I enjoyed my priesthood and I was quite happy as a priest right from the very beginning when I was ordained. I found the priesthood challenging, but enjoyable. I don’t think I would have been happier elsewhere.”

“As a matter of fact, when I became a priest, I was assistant in most places I worked in Asaba, Agbor, Ubiaja and other places. I had priests with me who were very kind and loving. There was Bishop Nweazapu who was then teaching in Ubiaja, (St. John Bosco), while I was in the parish and he made me enjoy being a priest so it was alright then.”

Monsignor became a Parish Priest for the first time in Iguobazuwa over the entire region of what we now have as the proposed Iguobazuwa diocese. “I was transferred and sent to be a priest alone in the forest in Ovia; the whole of Oviathen, where we shared a boundary with Ondo. I was alone in Igbogor, Iguobazuwa, and around that area. That was where I discovered it was not easy being a priest because I was there alone, doing everything, as a supervisor of all the catholic schools around. I was in charge of the teachers and in this bush area I was alone. Being a priest, being alone on its own is not easy. Going to the parishes and going say mass here and there and coming back very late. And especially during the Easter season. I had to say masses in about 2 to 3 places at night. Traveling from Igbobazuwa to Usen to Egbetta to Ugbogui, those areas are very far away. I came back disgusted … That was my trying time. But then one priest came to me, Bishop Gbuji, he was a priest then. He was going to Lagos and on his way back from the Bishop’s Conference, he called to my parish where I was inside the bush and he consoled me very well, so I kept on without looking back.”

Working alone in an area that now boasts of over seventeen parishes alongside numerous outstations, Monsignor spoke of his achievements there. “I made impact on the children. I remember one day, some women who were going to the market saw me cutting grass with a cutlass and they were surprised. One of them said: ‘Look at this father who knows more than we do is cutting grass and my children will not agree to go to farm with their father?” That was to me an eye-opener. So I kept on sweeping, cutting grass andcleaning…I built a story building and I think it is still standing. I go to outstations and I come back with not more than 5 shillings then. I don’t think I ever got 10 shillings. I manage that to feed and eat, then, meat was cheap. With just a few pennies you get Bushmeat or Grasscutter. So I was able to manage with that and save some with which I built the story building.”

Upon his transfer from Iguobazuwa, Monsignor Emonyon was sent to the Army where he remained for about 23years before returning to the diocese. He describes his journey to the Army as follows: “One day, Bishop Kelly sent two deacons to me who were ready to be ordained the following Saturday, they were to spend a few days with me for recollection. The following Friday evening, I took the deacons to the bishop’s house and told him, ‘My Lord, these are the young men you sent to stay with me for their recollection.’ Before I finished that, he said to me, “Father Paul, your name has been submitted to the Army.” Then, there was a coup, then, the Izogu Coup and other coups. I was scared at first.”

“When it was time, I was sent to a priest whom I fearedmuch as a young man. When I was in Lagos, we used to serve mass under him as mass servers, Rt. Rev. Msgr. Pedro Martins. At the end of it all, I was glad that I passed through his hands… I loved him and I still see him today as my father, and my role model and everything. I was with him in the Army and when he retired from the army, strange enough, I was made chaplain to take over from him.”

Describing some of his experience in the Army, Monsignor recants: “Brigadier General Danjuma was the chief of Army Staff then and this time I had no quarters, I was staying in Federal Palace Hotel. I went to visit him in his office and that was how he asked me to go there (Msgr. Pedro Martins’ house) as the Chief Chaplain so I went there – 7.2 Apapa… At a point, Very Rev. Msgr. Joseph Oyeku and I were the only two priests in the Catholic Chaplaincy, the whole Armed forces. It was really trying because we had to go round throughout the whole Federation. The challenge I had was to get chaplains into the Catholic Chaplaincy. I started begging Bishops to give us priests because there are many vacancies for them there but nobody. We were only two as against so many of them in Protestant and Muslim chaplaincy. By the time I retired, I had about 8 priests as Catholic Chaplains across the country.

Furthermore Monsignor said he was impressed by the discipline in the army. “The discipline in the army reinforced the discipline I already had as a priest. There is that e’spiritd’call – the unity among the armed forces, among the soldiers, the brotherliness.” 

However, his work in the army was not restricted only to saying masses or spiritual activities. “We took part in everything. In the morning, 6:00am we are all out for exercise, parade. And especially during the war, we go to wherever we are sent in the Battle front. I was under Scorpion, he was then in Calabar front and Pedro Martins sent me to that area because they had no chaplain there. After a few weeks I had only my one military dress, I was soaked because of the rain, so I needed to change and freshen up. So I went to him, “Sir, I am going back to Army Headquarters” and he said “For what? You cannot go. Look man, young man, I have power over life and death, I can shoot and kill you here now! I am the master here! Whatever orders I give, you must obey.” And I said: “Yes Sir,” and I stayed on, until Pedro Martins came with some officers on a peace mission to see how the war was going. He met me there so I told him, “Sir, I wanted to come back, Scorpion refused me to come” So he said “I would talk to him” That was how I managed to come out of Scorpion’s hands after some time in the battle front…. I was once sent to Asaba to go and see how things were going on and I went there and when I came back and I told the officers. I went to Ibuzor and he said “What, how did you go there? Did you go with your body guards” and I said, “Yes, I had my body guards” and they couldn’t believe it because there was tension in Ibuzor during the war.

In the end, Monsignor spent 23years in the army before his retirement and return to the Archdiocese. On his return from the Army after the civil war, he was then appointed the Administrator of the Holy Cross Cathedral. He also worked in St. Maria Goretti, Benin City, St. Benedict, Ubiaja and at St. Francis Catholic Church, Ekewan Road before he finally retired to the Old Priests Home.

Monsignor’s favorite hobbies include travelling; travelling by air, by sea and by land. As to traveling by sea, he says “I have not had that opportunity so much. I think I only went on sea voyage once.”As a young man Monsignor enjoyed playing football, “those days in the seminary, we were the two players who used to play football very well. I even got to the point of accepting to play for the Ibadan team those years”

When Monsignor was asked was his greatest legacy, he said: “Our priests should be ready to accept whatever situation they find themselves in. For instance, at one time, there was this the cry for a Benin Bishop. It is for the priests and everybody to take whatever comes. Whatever the church says, whatever the situation they find themselves in and see it as God’s holy will and not wanting your own will to be done. So be open. Make your suggestions and your plans but leave it to God’s will and the authority in charge.

In the year 2013, Monsignor celebrated his 50th Priestly Ordination anniversary along with his classmate Most. Rev. Patrick, Ebosele Ekpu. Monsignor passed on glory around 7.30pm on the 27th of July, 2018 few days to his 86th birthday.