By in the 90s we all had a plan to be like a particular priest: dress well with chinos trousers, a white immaculate Roman collar, and a capeless soutane. We imitated his movements (the way he walked). He was the Ethics professor in our school (Bigard Memorial Seminary).
His words in the classroom resonated with his actions outside the classroom. His cleanliness manifested his goodliness. And his love for the students and the school was encapsulated in his mantra ‘THE MEASURE OF LOVE IS TO LOVE WITHOUT MEASURE.’ Who are we talking about here? The answer is not far-fetched, he is the Most Rev. Dr. Valerian Maduka Okeke the Archbishop of Onitsha, the metropolitan.
He doesn’t boast, but he is always working. His works speak for themselves. I heard recently about Shanahan University which he started this year. The pioneer students were given 50% off their tuition. I was nostalgic. I wish I could go back in time to be a beneficiary. I am jealous of the students. They would live to testify and collaborate on my story. The students of Bigard Seminary from 1990 to 2002 are still testifying about the love we shared with him.
The opportunities he gave us to succeed and become independent and responsible men. When we arrived at Bigard in 1994, he was the dean of the Theology Department and the professor of Ethics and Moral Theology. The students working in the theology dean’s office were seen as privileged and lucky. One of the lines in the book of Psalms says “Those who have their trust in the Lord lack no blessing.”
You can say the same thing about the students working in the dean’s office when Professor Val was in charge. They were given the necessary tools for their work and their personal needs were not neglected. Not once, not twice, students show off their new soutane given to them by the dean. New shoes and a t-shirt were guaranteed whenever he returned from traveling out of the country and a little pocket money for dolphin and groceries. So, I am celebrating a person whom God has given to the world to change the face of the earth. I am not telling stories: I am one of the privileged beneficiaries of his love and magnanimity.When we were young, we were full of energy but less responsible. Most of us were not considered for any function because of the logic of our situation. Born and bred in the famous Onitsha city, people believed we would not do well in the area of liturgy.
He did not predicate any restraint on anyone; he did not have a prior judgment on any group. As a Rector, he started giving responsibilities to all the students. Everybody is somebody. He believed in letting the boys prove themselves. The more you prove yourself the more responsibilities are given to you. We still talk about a person discovered by him during his tenure as the rector of Bigard Seminary.
He would always call a student whom we saw as unworthy and entrust him with some responsibility and the whole school would be surprised. “Why this person?” But in the end, he would be vindicated.One time I asked him why he takes so many chances on people. He said that I should look at the apostles who were nothing in the human hierarchy, but Jesus picked them and gave them the responsibility to carry the Gospel. He looked at me and returned the question, “Did they fail in their duty?” I said no. He said, “I have answered you.”
The scholarship given to the new students of Shanahan University is not something new to me, nor to the students of Bigard Memorial Seminary. Some students could not pay the school fees in Bigard, but he called them and asked them to write what they needed in order to stay in the seminary. Not only did they not pay the tuition, but they also got room and board (pocket money).The happiness we got from you as a professor came with only one request from you: always remember to share it with another person.
We want a good school so the students will be useful to the society. You want a good church so the congregation would be good citizens of any country they find themselves. It was never to pay you back, but to be used for the good of society. Whenever we gather to celebrate or mourn, your trademark speech has three parts: Gratitude! Gratitude!! Gratitude!!! It was the sense of gratefulness inculcated into all your students and priests. So, today I am grateful to God who gave you to mankind.First, Gratitude to God for your birthday.
Second, gratitude to God for being my uncle (Nnnam Ochie), third, gratitude to God for your achievements. Birthdays are times to celebrate and rejoice with friends and well-wishers but today you have moved it to the next level biblical principle of celebration. Your birthday party is taking place in the prison.
The prisoners will enjoy the pontifical mass, episcopal blessing, and metropolitan kitchen. Who does that? It was a text direct from the scripture when Jesus instructs us thus, when you celebrate invite those who cannot pay you back. My only contribution to this act of Christian love would be that I am learning, and like St. Paul, the grace I received would not be without any effect. What I have learned from you would not be without any effect.
Gratitude to God for allowing me to share in your heritage (blood lineage). My father could have picked any other woman to be his wife, but God has ordained that an Umudioka woman of noble descendant would be my mother so that I can share in your biological and spiritual relationship.
I am forever grateful for that privilege. In our tradition, the nwadiana can go to the maternal home and pluck edible fruits from the tree free of charge. In my case, I went to the maternal home, I did not only pluck edible fruits, I was given land for cultivation, animals for rearing, and seedlings for the next planting season plus the white-man’s-money (ego oyibo) for my upkeep. Nnam Ochie I am forever grateful. Finally, I should not start enumerating your work in the Archdiocese of Onitsha one by one because it was the Igbos who asked aga agu one ghara ibe (where do I start?) Now, the university has been added to the list. I am proud to say today as you celebrate your birthday: you have run the good race, you have fought the fight, and you have kept the faith. We are witnesses to these achievements.
May God give more graces, blessings, health of mind and body, as your birthday celebration goes on and on. Happy Birthday, Ochie, Happy Birthday Archbishop. Happy birthday, the doyen.
