By Olivia Obijiaku
Catholic bishops including Most Rev Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso, Kaduna; Most Rev Habila Tyiakonaboi Daboh, Zaria; Most Rev Julius Yakubu Kundi, Kafanchan; Most Rev John Namawazah Niyiring, Kano; and Most Rev Gerald M. Musa, Kastina, who were at the Mass of Thanksgiving for the 70th birthday and retirement of Very Rev Fr. Prof Joseph Haruna Mamman have paid special tributes to the celebrant.
Congratulating the priest and don on the milestones he has achieved, Archbishop Ndagoso recalled how Fr. Mamman oriented him and his classmates to the Senior Seminary and how his words helped them to success in life.
He said, “Fr. Joseph Haruna Mamman, it is a very special day in your life, firstly clocking seventy years and secondly retiring from this first class university in our country, ABU Zaria where you labored for the past thirty eight years. You came as a newly commissioned officer in the academia. Today you are retiring as a general. So, we are gathered here to pull you out. I will like to liken this pull out ceremony and attainment of seventy years to reflective years. For the past thirty eight years, you have gathered a lot of experience here and now you are going back to Kaduna.”
“Given what you have done here in this institution and this community. I know how you labored to build this edifice, Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, ABU Zaria. I know how you labored. Surely, we will share from your experience when you come back home. Therefore, I want to thank the faith community here in ABU Zaria for refining Fr. Joseph for us and for sending him back to us. God bless you.”
“You have a lot to offer. You have experience and part of this experience is what you gained here in this institution, serving this faith community. Therefore, we in Kaduna we will be the beneficiaries of this experience you gathered over these thirty eight years. So you can see we are here in our large numbers to welcome you back home.”
“I remember, I always reminded him, when in 1979, I went to the Major Seminary he was an auxiliary. I remember very well the very first day he gathered us, the ‘freshers’ in the chapel as a way of introducing us to the seminary life and he said, ‘You are here for formation and therefore here, you are regulated and tamed.’ Those words stuck with a lot of us that we are regulated and tamed.”
“Yes, in the university, you can do whatever you like, if you like do not go to class, but in the seminary, he reminded us from the word go that we are regulated and tamed. A lot of us took that to heart making us what we are today. And so we want to thank you so very sincerely for what you have been and we thank the Almighty for you. We pray that the years ahead, your reflective years will be very useful especially to us in the Archdiocese of Kaduna.”
Archbishop Ndagoso acknowledged that Prof Mamman, a priest of his archdiocese could not have been so impactful without the support from the clergy and lay faithful of the Catholic Diocese of Zaria. He then thanked them for providing the retiree with the enabling environment to explore and achieve all that he has achieved.
Bishop Daboh also congratulated Fr. Mamman on behalf of the diocese and informed him that they were there to share the joy of the celebrations with him. Speaking on what seem to be an exchange of dioceses, the bishop who was consecrated and installed months back said, “I don’t know how to say it, whether it is fortunate or unfortunate that as I am coming you are going. And you are going to where I am coming from. You didn’t wait for me. I didn’t wait for you. But you are going to a place that I know very well. You are going to a chief shepherd that I also know very well.”
“Few weeks ago, we were with Pope Francis. He said two things to us bishops. He said, ‘I want you to be prayerful. Don’t forget the poor.’ And this not forgetting the poor is very relevant to the person we are celebrating today. Prof is somebody that those who know him very well say that he is charitable to a fault. I met a person recently and he said, ‘If you want to give money to Fr. Mamman, don’t give him cash. If you give him cash, less than two hundred meters, that money will finish because he will give it to anybody he sees on the way, whether they like the money or not. He will give it to them.”
“We know how he has left impacts on all the places he has worked. For here, I don’t need to say it. He was like an Asst. Parish Priest in St Theresa of the Child Jesus, Hanwa. I will not tell you what he has done in Hanwa. But the parishioners of Hanwa, you know what he has done just recently in Hanwa.”
“I want to pray that as you go, that the umbilical cord that has already connected you between Zaria and Kaduna will not be broken. Zaria remains your home. You have spent more years here in Zaria than in Kaduna. To be seventy as the Psalmist will say is our life span but eighty is for those who are strong. Then somebody added that those who are ninety are stubborn. We will like to see you stubborn. Even if you will live to be stubborn at ninety, you will still not have the years that you are going to spend in Kaduna compared to what you have spent in Zaria. So, we are like hiring you to Kaduna. You are still our own.”
Bishop Daboh commended the celebrant for all he has been doing in his hometown, including building a Church there – though yet to be completed. He appealed to well-meaning groups and individuals to support the honoree so that he may continue to live a healthy life and so that he may complete the Church Project in his hometown.
Delivering the homily at the Mass, Bishop Kundi affirmed that, “Fr. Mamman has been with us through our celebrations, our sorrows, offering guidance, support and solace. His presence has been a constant reminder of God’s love and his teachings have helped shape not only the Catholic family here in Zaria, but the entire nation.”
“We are grateful to God for your life because we know that all these years of acquiring and sharing knowledge, forming people, connecting with students, addressing their problems have provided for you a sense of purpose and joy. We know that your contribution to the field of original research that advanced your discipline and society also has been a significant source of pride for you and the Church you represent.”
“We know that being part of a vibrant academic community like Ahmadu Bello University and receiving recognition for effective teaching have indeed been very rewarding. Above all, we know that the years you spent here were marked not only by the knowledge you imparted but with the love and passion with which you did it. Therefore, you can confidently bow out honorably as a hero who came, saw and conquered.”
“Let us celebrate a man who embodies the value of the collar which signifies authority, commitment and dedication to service. We celebrate a priest whose journey is one of resilience, marked by challenges that have always threatened his resolve. Yes, behind every collar, there is a story of hard work, perseverance and unyielding commitment to the course. All these we celebrate highlight the theme of remembrance and gratitude to God for His mercies and interventions.”
“Fr. Mamman, with all the challenges that you have gone through these years as a teacher and pastor, no one can speak more eloquently about the kindness and love of God as a compassionate Father than you. Therefore, this celebration is important in your life as a priest, as we are taught, recognizing God’s actions fosters a sense of hope and assurance that we belong to God even in times of difficulties. It serves also as a reminder of the importance of gratitude and recognition of God’s love.”
“Fr. Mamman, it is rather unfortunate you are leaving the academia at a time the educational system in this country is in shambles. As we are all aware, the educational system in Nigeria today is facing significant challenges, including widespread corruption, inadequate funding, and lack of infrastructure. These issues are part of the reason for poor quality of education today. They also contribute to high drop outs and disparity in access to learning resources particularly in rural areas.”
Though unavoidably absent at the Mass due to meeting with Pope Francis, cardinal and bishops in Rome, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto identified with Fr. Mamman highlighting the many ways he has influenced his life and the lives of others.
“You are an exemplary priest in all ramifications.” He conveys. “You put aside any ambition for office career and promotion and focused on being the priest that you are, offering pastoral service to your congregations. It was not uncommon for you to travel many miles across Nigeria to officiate at pastoral functions to offer succor to your parishioners. For you, it was more honorable to be a pastor than to aspire to be a professor in a university. In the end the Lord rewarded you at His own time, but that was well after you had set your priorities right.”
“Bongo, I celebrate you as a brother whose friendship is immeasurable. I celebrate you who stood by me. I celebrate you for inspiring me with your life. I celebrate you for your kindness and all that I have learnt from you. I celebrate you for being a teacher to me. As you step down from this stage as a teacher, the mission of the priesthood lies before you as an endless field of joyful labour. Enjoy your retirement and prepare for a new future that lies ahead.”
