A bishop-elect for the Nnewi Anglican Diocese, Nnewi, Anambra State, has emerged. He is Venerable Ndubuisi Obi, who was formerly of St. Augustine’s Anglican Church, Federal Homing Estate, 3-3, Onitsha, Anambra State, in the Diocese on the Niger.
Venerable Ndubuisi Obi, a television and gospel preacher and revivalist, is a pragmatic Anglican breed of the Diocese on the Niger, an evangelist to the core, as well as a true and devout Christian from Nnewichi, Nnewi, Anambra State.
The cleric will succeed the incumbent Most Reverend Godwin Okpala, who would be retiring officially from the post this month. No doubt, he will be officially consecrated by the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, His Grace, the Most Reverend Nicholas Okoh, on September 24, 2019, at St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Asaba, Delta State.
However, the search for the replacement of the retiring Anglican Bishop of Nnewi Diocese, His Grace, Most Reverend (Prof.) Godwin Izundu Nmezinwa Okpala, started when the news that he had attained 70 years of age came on the front burner. This brought about a load of concerns among stakeholders and Anglican Faithful on who becomes the new Anglican Bishop of Nnewi.
Prior to this development, some Anglican faithful of Nnewi extraction, under the aegis of the laity of the Anglican Diocese of Nnewi, had demanded that an indigenous clergyman be elected as Bishop for the Diocese to replace Okpala, who would bow out at 70, this month of September.
They had requested that the new Bishop to be elected should be serving both within and outside the Diocese of Nnewi, including Nnewi Town, Oraifite, Ozubulu, Okija, Ichi, Ukpor, Azia, Ihembosi and Orsumoghu.
The Nnewi stakeholders made their stand and appeal known to the Primate of All Nigeria, Okoh, as well as other Archbishops in the Church of Nigeria, informing them that they had rejected the translation of any Bishop outside their diocese. They also insisted that the Bishop should have at least a minimum of a first degree.
As the election reached a crescendo, many qualified Anglican clergymen were being mentioned by various individuals as possible persons to be considered for the coveted Bishopric. Notable among them were Venerable Clement Mgbemena of Awka Diocese, the Vicar, Diocesan Church Center (DCC), St. Andrew Anglican Church, Nkwo Nnewi Ven. Okechukwu Emeribe, and the Archdeacon of Umudim Archdeaconry and Vicar of St. Stephen’s Anglican Church, Umudim, Nnewi, Venerable (Dr.) Arinze Anene.
Others who were also mentioned are the Archdeacon of Nnewichi Archdeaconry and Vicar of St. Mark’s Anglican Church, Nnewichi, Ven. Ekene Iroanusi; Archdeacon of Ebonise Central Archdeaconry, Ven. (Dr.) Ikechukwu Okafo, and Vicar of St. Matthias Anglican Church, Oraifite, Reverend Canon Prince Chukwuma, Venerable Ndubuisi Obi of St. Augustine’s Anglican Church, 3-3, Federal Housing Onitsha, and Venerable Dr Stanley Awuzie.
Apart from the Bishop-elect Venerable Ndubuisi Obi, who served under the Diocese on the Niger, other indigenous clergy who were on the frontline but not serving in Nnewi Diocese include Ven. Brown Ofoeme, from Uruagu Nnewi, but in the United States of America, Ven. Basil Ndupu and Ven. Dubem Okwuosa from Oraifite, though in government appointment. According to the church authority of the Anglican Communion, any Anglican priest who has recorded six years of his ordination is qualified to be elected a bishop.
Meanwhile, it is the House of Bishops, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, that has the spiritual and constitutional right to elect a Bishop among all qualified clergy at any given time. It was, therefore, surprising that soon after the election of Venerable Ndubuisi Obi, there arose some insinuations in some quarters about the emergence of the candidate.
Some of these enemies of progress went as far as attacking the person and office of the Primate of the Church of all Nigeria, Most Reverend Nicholas Okoh, alleging favoritism and bribery in the choice of Venerable Ndubuisi Obi against other candidates, who, incidentally, were from the same Nnewi Diocese with the Bishop-elect. As a matter of fact, the election was free, fair, credible, open and under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
One granite fact is there for all to comprehend. Ven. Ndubuisi Obi was the rightful choice of the College of Bishops, at the end of the election. There was no doubt about that. Besides, he is from Nnewi as demanded by the stakeholders, Anglican faithful and the generality of people of Nnewi Diocese. Moreover, Ven. Ndubuisi Obi is administratively and academically sound to mount the saddle of the office of the Bishop. Constitutionally, all the criteria have been met, which eventually produced him as the Bishop-elect.
Actually, it would amount to exercise in futility for anybody to accuse the Primate or his executive of any foul play in the choice of Venerable Ndubuisi Obi, as it is both petty and crazy for some people to politicize the election of new Bishop of the Church of Nigeria, which is a spiritual matter.
It is pertinent to say that Most Reverend Nicholas Okoh, who will perform the consecration of the Bishop-elect, is a man of impeccable character and integrity. He is a decent, humble and an honourable man, who is known for his incorruptibility.
In actual fact, Most Reverend Okoh, despite his exalted office, believes in the rule of law, fairness and justice. He has taken the Anglican Communion to the next level, with unprecedented legacies. It is, therefore, unfair, ridiculous and contemptuous to drag the name of this man of God to the mud even when the election was conducted under the guidance and handiwork of the Holy Spirit. The Church of Nigeria, under the dynamic and visionary leadership of Most Reverend Okoh, has never had it so good, especially with all the dioceses airborne and cruising with evangelical windfalls.
Now that the hulabaloo about the election of Ven. Ndubuisi Obi as Bishop-elect of Nnewi Diocese has died down, it stands to reason that all who believed that they were qualified along with him should get on the bandwagon to give him their unalloyed support. Only one person can be Bishop of a Diocese at any given time. We must all come out to give him our backing, for a number of challenges placed on his shoulders. Although Venerable Obi has the capability, spiritual energy and skills to manage the vast human and material resources in Nnewi Diocese, he needs the cooperation of everyone, because Nnewi Diocese has a lot of challenges to grapple with to remain on of the leading Dioceses in the Church of Nigeria
On the other hand, the Bishop-elect must also remember that the current university project needs to be addressed with precision. Apart from this, there are other infrastructural projects of great dimensions, including the planting of new churches, school and hospitals, all waiting for his resumption of duty, as the new Bishop of Anglican Diocese of Nnewi. More importantly, the Bishop-elect must be battle-ready to handle the spiritual lives of the Anglican faithful in Nnewi with fatherly care and compassion while the evangelical sector of the diocese should also be richly revived.
With all these challenges beckoning for attention, all and sundry, should come together in support of this enterprising man of God, to make Nnewi the centre of burning evangelism, a bundle of spiritual energy, embodiment of religious morality, the hope of the hopeless, and the eternal house of the Almighty God.
•Patrick Ikedike is a social commentator and news analyst based in Onitsha