WHEN ARCHBISHOP OKEKE CELEBRATED WITH ONITSHA PRISON INMATES

FROM ALPHONSUS EZE, AWKA

Prisons, where criminals of different types are kept are hardly visited by many of us. In fact many dread prison and the prisoners as plague, yet Jesus Christ gave his followers injunction to visit and take care of the prisoners or the inmates as they are popularly called as well as the poor.

Apart from religious bodies, especially those of them who have specialized Ministries and few public spirited individuals who  go to donate  to the inmates some food items, clothes and  cash, most of us see prisoners  as the worst offenders and rejected by God who should be allowed to perish for their sins. But God is mercy to all is inexhaustible and therefore still care for the worst and vile offender.

The Catholic Archbishop of Onitsha  Archdiocese, Dr. Valerian Okeke who believes that prisoners are part and parcel of the society  and therefore should be treated with human face. Consequently, he has defiled this discrimination against prisoners with what many now consider his ministry or apostolate in Catholic parlance.

Started about five years ago or there about with a visit to the Onitsha prisons, the Archbishop has not only increased the number of his visits to the prisons but has awaken other Christians denominations, organisations and public spirited individuals to the stark reality of Christ’s injunction and that prisoners are flesh and blood like all of us who equally need the best of life.

Archbishop Okeke has now increased the  visit to  during the Easter and other  special  celebrations  like the birthdays of the Archbishop. In 2013 alone, the Archbishop  visited   the prison three times , one during the Easter, the second  during his birthday celebration in November and the last visit during the  Christmas.

In each of the visit, Okeke would organize service or mass as Catholic calls it for the inmates, apart from the donations of food items both cooked and raw, cow meat and life cow, yam, detergents, biscuits, beverages among other items.

He does not only bring those items, Archbishop Okeke has also been involved in providing basic utilities and infrastructures to ameliorate the suffering of inmates. He has sunk borehole for the inmates at the prison, renovated their hostels and chapel.

The Archbishop also promised to purchase vehicle for ease transportation  of  the  inmates  to  court.

Archbishop Okeke has also succeeded in attracting prominent people who  have never dreamt  what prisons look like  not to talk of  going to Onitsha prisons. A regular feature in Archbishop‘s visit to the prison is one of the Anambra State leading businessman and politician, Dr. Obinna Uzor.

In his last visit to the Onitsha prison during his birthday in November last year, Governor Peter Obi and Senator Chris Ngige accompanied the Archbishop to the Prison.

In his homily during his Christmas visit to the prison,

the Metropolitan Archbishop of Onitsha challenged Nigerians  to strive to be part of solving the problem of the country even as he predicted hope and greater Nigeria  in 2014, which is a transition year to 2015 general election.

He advised Nigerians not to constitute themselves into problems of this country, but should be part of peace building process.

The Archbishop said that for those who are involved in corruptly enriching themselves, this is the time for them to take decision that they will not part of fraudulent activities of any sort.

He said “If you are the type that engage in corruption, don’t be part of corruption, deceit to engage in corruption. Be part of honesty; be of goodness, fairness and justice. Don’t dwell in finding others’ fault, find solution to the problems of others”.

Archbishop Okeke said that in spite of the problems including insecurity in the country, he foresee hope in the 2014, saying that if Nigerians  would have confidence in God who is constant , Nigeria will move to greatness.

Addressing the inmates earlier, Archbishop Okeke said that Christ came to show the light and for those who receive the light, there will be no trouble but for those who rejected him, they would have continuous” trouble, mayhem and confusion in this life and society”.

He said those who failed to receive Christ are in darkness and that is why they engage in forms of machination  of terror and horror in their lives., stating that anybody who is thinking of killing is still in darkness

The Archbishop said that Christians must exhibit Christ’s virtues for all to see and must follow Jesus with love, peace, forgiveness and justice to the world.

He later announced the donation of N500, 0000 for the renovation of the hostels and items for the celebration of the Christmas by the inmate such as cooked rice, two cows, one killed, one alive, biscuits, detergents, bags of uncooked rice among other items

In his brief speech, the deputy Controller of Prisons (DCP) of Onitsha prisons, Azuka Ndupu advised the inmates to be humble and exhibit the fear of God while serving their jail term, saying that being in prison is not the end of their lives.

He commended Archbishop Okeke for coming to the rescue of the prison and asked other religious leaders and highly placed Nigerians to emulate

Rev. Father George Admike, the Archbishop’s former Press Secretary, said that his boss’s commencement of visit to Onitsha Prison has brought a total turn around both to the prisons and the inmates.

He said that Onitsha prison has become a standard prison in term of the improvement of the feeding, infrastructure and the general welfare of the inmates due to the singular effort of the Archbishop.

He said that with Archbishop’s constant visit to the prison, other people within the Catholic Archdiocese and outside have equally caught the vision, stating  that an Anglican Bishop, a General Overseer of a Pentecostal Church, many other individuals and organisation  have joined.

Admike said that the fact that others have caught the vision showed that Archbishop Okeke has succeeded
in his apostolate to change our prisons and improve the welfare of the inmates.

“Working to see the lot of the poor improved, I can say is his Grace’s apostolate. He always wants to be with the poor and serve them” said Fr. Admike.