Opinion
By Onwuasoanya FCC Jones
WHEN His Eminence Peter Cardinal Okpaleke was ordained as the Bishop of Ahiara Diocese, it was like all hell was let loose. Priests, whom before then I thought freed from parochialism, went berserk and openly protested with placards over an appointment that they should have helped to convince the religious is purely spiritual. A good number of politicians from Mbaise forgot their partisan differences and joined in the sponsorship of both media and physical protests against the installation of a Bishop, ordained by the Pope, the father of all Catholics and representative of Christ Jesus. I wrote several articles condemning the actions of those heathen Christians, but I was bluffed by the clannish miscreants.
I remember a few Mbaise friends of mine who stood out and gave good account of themselves as true Mbaise patriots. I remember a discussion I had with one of them around that time. I told him that those who spearheaded that rebellion against the authority of the Universal Church are the greatest enemies of Mbaise nation, because, while I was certain that the Church would come out of the challenge unscathed, the wrong impression created by those protestors may be difficult erasing from the consciousness of many people who witnessed that drama play out.
When Bishop Okpaleke was redeployed and an interim Bishop was assigned to oversee the diocese, these same people went on a road march in celebration. Somehow, they believed that a servant of God who had risen through ecclesiastical ranks to become Bishop would be affected by the refusal of some heathens to allow him sit on the cathedral. Today, most of those people who spearheaded the protest and rejoiced at the purported accession to their wish, are still languishing in unattained missions and short-lived victories, while Bishop Okpaleke has taken the red cap, and is only one step to becoming the head of the entire Church.
When Peter Obi declared his interest in becoming Nigeria’s President, he was mocked by many, especially, those PDP chieftains from the Southeast. They said he didn’t have reach and that he couldn’t deliver victory to the PDP. Peter Obi’s most stringent opposition in his bid to get the PDP nomination came from the Southeast PDP. Some people believe that they were bought over with money, while I believe that they are just a group of myopic opportunists who didn’t have the capacity to see clearly, that Obi held the greatest potential for PDP’s aspiration to return to power.
I remember a telephone conversation I had with a Senator from the Southeast, and she told me that Obi never wins his wards in all the elections since he left office. I told her, well, it is possible Obi didn’t make the “right political investments” in Anambra, but that I was going to support him for the presidency whether he loses or wins. Today, that Senator, I am sure, is marveled by how Obi has redrawn the Nigerian political landscape in just a few weeks.
Peter Obi was the only PDP presidential candidate that visited every single State of this country with a clear message of what he has in store for Nigeria and how he was going to win the presidency for the PDP and Nigerians, but he saw through the devious devices of the Party early enough and quit to join the Labour Party. Today, the Labour Party is undoubtedly the best positioned Party to win the presidency in 2023.
Like Peter Okpaleke, Peter Obi was rejected at a less significant level and is cruising home to getting the ultimate crown of victory. Like congratulations are ringing out from all corners of the world for our latest Cardinal, felicitations shall blare from all corners of Nigeria and cows shall be slaughtered in celebration by those who say nay today, at the declaration of Peter Obi as the duly elected President of Nigeria.
Amen!
C.E
Tags: Eminence Peter Cardinal Okpaleke Peter Obi
