Wednesday, February 12,2020 07:55 PM / Premium Times / Header Image Credit: Zenit

Homily atthe Funeral Mass of Seminarian Michael Nnadi
(Sokoto Diocese), on 11th February 2020 at Good Shepherd Seminary, Kaduna
Matthew Hassan Kukah, Bishop of Sokoto Diocese

1. We have gathered around the remains of Michael in supplication but also as solemnwitnesses to the penetrating darkness that hovers over our country. I have therare honour of being considered the principal mourner in this ugly tragedy. Itis not an honour that I am worthy of receiving. The honour belongs to GodAlmighty who created Michael and marked out this moment and pathway for him.The greater honour goes to his immediate family whose devotion as Catholicslaid the foundation for his faith and vocation. To his grandmother, Mrs. EuniceNwokocha, a most simple, beautiful and devout Catholic woman whose devotion anddedication saw Michael and his siblings, Chukwuebuka, Francis, Augustine andRaphael brought up in all the fine principles and disciplines of the Catholicfaith. 

2. The way that Mama and her grandchildren handled this family tragedy hasshown clearly the depth of their faith. I got to know Mama only after thesudden death of her daughter, Caroline, who had been a devoted Lector in ourCathedral. On the day we learnt that Michael and the other Seminarians werekidnapped, breaking the news to Mama and the children was not an easy task. Shetook the news with equanimity and we focused on praying for their release. Sheand the grandchildren lived through the torments of the brutal, harsh andsenseless haranguing of the kidnappers who are totally empty of any show ofhuman emotions.

 
3. When the worst finally happened, breaking the news to her and thegrandchildren proved to be one of the most emotionally challenging moments forme. She had called me three days earlier to say that the kidnappers had toldher that they had killed Michael. I dismissed it by telling her that first, Ihad discouraged her from taking their calls, and secondly that this was part ofthe psychological warfare by these evil men. On Wednesday 29th, Peter Paul, thebrave young man who had served as the main negotiator with the kidnappers, hadalready told us that they had gone to the village where the kidnappers saidthey had dumped the bodies of both Michael and Mrs. Ataga but found no corpses.This was the thread of consolation we held on to as a means of solace thatMichael was still alive. 

4. When we concluded the negotiations with the kidnappers on Thursday evening,I was in the Seminary to receive the three Seminarians and, although wereceived only two, I was still confident that Michael was still alive. We weresimply going to sit and wait out for the next call and the agonizing round ofnegotiations again. I left for Abuja that same evening to continue my trip toSokoto the next day. It was on my way to the airport to catch a flight back toSokoto on that Saturday morning that Fr Daboh called to tell me that the corpseof Mrs. Ataga had been found and that there was a second unidentified corpsewhich they were being asked to come and identify if it was Michael. My heartsank.

5. After the call, I switched off my phone in denial, but hoping for somereprieve to enable me board my flight with some sanity. I arrived Sokoto andrefused to switch on my phone for some time. When I finally did, I refused toread the text messages, but then, Fr Habila's call came through at about 1pmwith the news that, sadly, they had identified the corpse as that of Michael. Idid not know where to start and how to break the news to Mama. Happily, two ofour senior Parishioners, Sir Julius Dike  and Mathews Otalike, were onhand and I summoned them to my house. It took us the better part of seven hoursto negotiate how to break the news because, first, Mama was in the market and Ifelt she should at least finish the day's business in peace. Finally breakingthe news opened a different chapter in this ugly, painful but memorabletragedy. Like the death of Lazarus, it would become clear to me that Michael'sdeath would bring glory to God.

6. Later that evening as I sat down to try and console Mama, she looked up atme and said tearfully, "My Lord, you said Michael was still alive. Is he reallydead?" Before I could say anything, she provided a moving answer: "My Lord, butMichael entered Seminary with all his heart and body, all", she said withfinality. From that evening, I watched her regain her composure and right up toSaturday, the evening before I left Sokoto, she had become a consoler and aninspiration to others.

7. The depth and impact of this tragedy belongs first, to the three survivingcolleagues of Michael, the entire Seminary community led by the Rector, Fr.Habila Daboh, his team of formators and entire family of Good ShepherdSeminary. All have lived through almost two months of trauma, agony, pain anddespair. They have been held together by the glue of deep faith, hope andfamily solidarity. I commend all the Formators for standing together andguiding the Seminarians through this dark tunnel of emotional pain in the daysthat turned to weeks, and weeks that turned to months. The entire Catholiccommunity in the Province, led by our Metropolitan, Archbishop Matthew Ndagoso,all shared in this burden. His Grace and the Rector will both speak to us atthe end of the Mass.

8. The third layer of pain has been borne by the entire country and theCatholic world. The national and international reactions to the death of thisyoung man have made me step back and ask what message God has for our country.Michael is the first Seminarian to carry the mark of this brutality andwickedness. Priests have died in the hands of these wicked human beings.Michael was only a Seminarian in his first year of training. I had seen him inhis cassock which he wore in my presence, not with pride but with dignity. Whywould the tragic death of a young man such as him elicit such an unprecedentedlevel of emotions here and around the world?  

9. Maria Lozano, a staff of the Aid to the Church In Need, an organisationdedicated to the cause of the persecution of Christians around the world,called me frantically immediately after the news of the kidnapping of theSeminarians went out. The next day, she sent me an emotional voice message tosay that she heard that Michael was an orphan and that since the kidnapperswill be looking for money might his life be in danger if they realise that heis an orphan? Could she mobilise especially mothers to become parents for him,to keep him and others in their hearts and to continue to pray for him? Maria remained with us emotionally and requested for information about theburial. 

10. When the Archbishop approved the date of the burial, I passed theinformation to her immediately. By the next day, February 5th, she sent me amessage to say that when she asked people around the world to light a candlefor Michael on the date of his burial, 2, 436 persons from Afghanistan,Pakistan, United States of America, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Madagascar,South Africa, Congo, Mali, Spain, Turkey, Saudi Arabia responded. Germany alonehad a total of 3,305 persons in a matter of hours. In the light of this, Iwondered, who are we to mourn? Who are we to refuse this crown of honour andglory? We ceased to mourn for Michael thereon.  

11. Your Grace, my brother Bishops, Rev Fathers, Rev. Sisters, and all the goodpeople of God, I therefore bring you only greetings and praise to God from allof us in Sokoto Diocese. This is a solemn moment for the body of Christ. Thisis for us the moment of decision. This is the moment that separates darknessfrom light, good from evil. Our nation is like a ship stranded on the highseas, rudderless and with broken navigational aids. Today, our years ofhypocrisy, duplicity, fabricated integrity, false piety, empty morality, fraudand Pharisaism have caught up with us. Nigeria is on the crossroads and itsfuture hangs precariously in a balance. This is a wakeup call for us. As St.Paul reminds us; The night is far spent, and the day is at hand. Therefore, letus cast away the works of darkness and put on the armour of light (Rom. 13:12).It is time to confront and dispel the clouds of evil that hover over us. 

12. Nigeria is at a point where we must call for a verdict. There must besomething that a man, nay, a nation should be ready to die for. Sadly, or eventragically, today, Nigeria, does not possess that set of goals or values forwhich any sane citizen is prepared to die for her. Perhaps, I should correctmyself and say that the average office holder is ready to die to protect hisoffice but not for the nation that has given him or her that office. TheYorubas say that if it takes you 25 years to practice madness, how much timewould you have to put it into real life? We have practiced madness for toolong. Our attempt to build a nation has become like the agony of Sisyphus whoangered the gods and had to endure the frustration of rolling a stone up themountain. Each time he got near the top, the gods would tip the stone back andhe would go back to start all over again. What has befallen our nation?

13. Nigeria needs to pause for a moment and think. No one more than thePresident of Nigeria, Major General Muhammadu Buhari who was voted for in 2015on the grounds of his own promises to rout Boko Haram and place the country onan even keel. In an address at the prestigious Policy Think Tank, Chatham Housein London, just before the elections, Major General Buhari told hisaudience: 

"I as a retired Generaland a former Head of State have always known about our soldiers. They arecapable and they are well trained, patriotic, brave and always ready to dotheir duty. If am elected President, the world will have no reason to worryabout Nigeria. Nigeria will return to its stabilizing role in West Africa. Wewill pay sufficient attention to the welfare of our soldiers in and out of service.We will develop adequate  and modern arms and ammunition. We will improveintelligence gathering and border patrols to choke Boko Haram's financial andequipment channels. We will be tough on terrorism and tough on its root causesby initiating a comprehensive economic development and promotinginfrastructural development…we will always act on time and not allow problemsto irresponsibly fester. And I, Muhammadu Buhari, will always lead from thefront."

14.  There is no need to make any further comments on this claim. No onein that hall or anywhere in Nigeria doubted the President who ran his campaignon a tank supposedly full of the fuel of integrity and moral probity. No onecould have imagined that in winning the Presidency, General Buhari would bringnepotism and clannishness into the military and the ancillary SecurityAgencies, that his government would be marked by supremacist and divisivepolicies that would push our country to the brink. This President has displayedthe greatest degree of insensitivity in managing our country's rich diversity.He has subordinated the larger interests of the country to the hegemonicinterests of his co-religionists and clansmen and women. The impression creatednow is that, to hold a key and strategic position in Nigeria today, it is moreimportant to be a northern Muslim than a Nigerian. 

15. Today, in Nigeria, the noble religion of Islam has convulsed. It has becomeassociated with some of worst fears among our people. Muslim scholars,traditional rulers and intellectuals have continued to cry out helplessly,asking for their religion and region to be freed from this chokehold. This isbecause, in all of this, neither Islam nor the north can identify any realbenefits from these years that have been consumed by the locusts that thisgovernment has unleashed on our country. The Fulani, his innocent kinsmen, havebecome the subject of opprobrium, ridicule, defamation, calumny and obloquy.His north has become one large grave yard, a valley of dry bones, the nastiestand the most brutish part of our dear country. 

16. Why have the gods rejected this offering? Despite running the mostnepotistic and narcissistic government in known history, there are no answersto the millions of young children on the streets in northern Nigeria, the northstill has the worst indices of poverty, insecurity, stunting, squalor anddestitution. His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, and the Emir of Kano are thetwo most powerful traditional and moral leaders in Islam today. None of them ishappy and they have said so loud and clear. The Sultan recently lamented thetragic consequences of power being in the wrong hands. Every day, Muslimclerics are posting tales of lamentation about their fate. Now, the NorthernElders, who in 2015 believed that General Buhari had come to redeem the northhave now turned against the President. 

17. We are being told that this situation has nothing to do with Religion.Really? It is what happens when politicians use religion to extend thefrontiers of their ambition and power. Are we to believe that simply becauseBoko Haram kills Muslims too, they wear no religious garb? Are we to deny theevidence before us, of kidnappers separating Muslims from infidels orcompelling Christians to convert or die? If your son steals from me, do yousolve the problem by saying he also steals from you? Again, the Sultan got itright: let the northern political elite who have surrendered the space claim itback immediately. 

18. The persecution of Christians in northern Nigeria is as old as the modernNigerian state. Their experiences and fears of northern, Islamic domination aredocumented in the Willinks Commission Report way back in 1956. It was also thereason why they formed a political platform called, the Non-Muslim League. Allof us must confess in all honesty that in the years that have passed, thenorthern Muslim elite has not developed a moral basis for adequate powersharing with their Christian co-regionalists. We deny at our own expense. Bydenying Christians lands for places of worship across most of the northernstates, ignoring the systematic destruction of churches all these years,denying Christians adequate recruitment, representation and promotions in theState civil services, denying their indigenous children scholarships, marryingChristian women or converting Christians while threatening Muslim women andprospective converts with death, they make building a harmonious communityimpossible. Nation building cannot happen without adequate representation and adeliberate effort at creating for all members a sense, a feeling, of belonging,and freedom to make their contributions. This is the window that the killers ofBoko Haram have exploited and turned into a door to death. It is why killingChristians and destroying Christianity is seen as one of their key missions.

19. On our part, I believe that this is a defining moment for Christians andChristianity in Nigeria. We Christians must be honest enough to accept that wehave taken so much for granted and made so much sacrifice in the name of nationbuilding. We accepted President Buhari when he came with General Idiagbon, twoMuslims and two northerners. We accepted Abiola and Kingibe, thinking that wehad crossed the path of religion, but we were grossly mistaken. When Jonathanbecame President, and Senator David Mark remained Senate President whilePatricia Ette was chosen by the South West became a Speaker. The Muslim membersrevolted and forced her resignation with lies and forgery. The same House wouldshamelessly say that they had no records of her indictment. Today, we areliving with a Senate whose entire leadership is in the hands of Muslims.Christians have continued to support them. For how long shall we continue onthis road with different ambitions? Christians must rise up and defend theirfaith with all the moral weapons they have. We must become more robust inpresenting the values of Christianity especially our message of love andnon-violence to a violent society. Among the wolves of the world, we mustbecome more politically alert, wise as the serpent and humble as the dove (Mt.10:16).

20. Every Religion has the seeds of its own redemption or destruction. It is achoice between Caesar and God. We cannot borrow the crown of Caesar withoutconsequences. The boundaries between faith and reason are delicate but they arefundamental to how a society builds a moral code. Faith without reason breedsthe fanatic, the demagogue who genuinely but wrongly believes that he has heardthe voice of a god ordering him to kill another. Reason without faith producesthe ideologues who will also kill because the ideology of the state orders himto do so. Societies can only survive when a Constitutional basis has beenestablished to create a balance between both extremes and to place our commonhumanity at the centre of every pursuit. 

21. My dear brothers and sisters, Anger, the quest for Vengeance, are alegitimate inheritance of the condition of unredeemed human being. Both haveappeal. Through Violence, you can murder the murderer, but you cannot murderMurder. Through violence, you can kill the Liar, but you cannot kill Lies orinstall truth. Through Violence, you can murder the Terrorist, but you cannotend Terrorism. Through Violence, you can murder the Violent, but you cannot endViolence. Through Violence, you can murder the Hater, but you cannot end Hatred.Unredeemed man sees vengeance as power, strength and the best means to teachthe offender a lesson. These are the ways of the flesh.

22. Christianity parts ways with other Religions when it comes to what to dowith the enemy. Here, we must admit, Christianity stands alone. This is thechallenge for us as Christians. Others believe in an eye for an eye, a toothfor a tooth, or that one can take either blood money or make some form ofreparation one way or the other. However, for us Christians, Jesus stands rightin the middle with a message that is the opposite of all that is sensible to usas human beings. Put back your sword (Mt. 26: 52). Turn the other cheek (Mt.5:38). Pray for your enemy (Mt. 5: 44). Give the thief your cloak (Lk. 6:29).None of these makes sense to the human mind without faith. This is why Jesussaid the only solution is for us to be born again (Jn. 3:3). The challengebefore us is to behold the face of Jesus and ask the question, Are we Bornagainst hatred, anger, violence and vengeance? 

23.  There is hope, my dear friends. Are we angry? Yes, we are. Are wesad? Of course, we are. Are we tempted to vengeance? Indeed, we are. Do we feelbetrayed? You bet. Do we know what to do? Definitely. Do we know when to do it?Why not? Do we know how? Absolutely. Are we in a war? Yes. But what wouldChrist have us do? The only way He has pointed out to us is the non-violentway. It is the road less travelled, but it is the only way. 

24. How and why does God choose these young persons as our models? Leah Sharibuand now Michael, all teenagers when they confronted evil and became martyrs. Ina recent report in Daily Trust on February 2, 2020, I read the story of one ofthe Dapchi girls and their incredible show of bravery in the face of fire. Theywere asked by their ferocious captors to point out the Christians among them orthey would all face death. In response, they said in unison that they were allMuslims. Then, she continued, "when they intensified their threat to kill us,Leah stood up and said that she was a Christian. She said they could go aheadand kill her instead of killing all of us. So, they separated her fromus…before we were rescued, they told us that if Leah would convert to Islam,they would free us, so we tried as much as possible to convince her but sherefused saying she would never renounce her religion for fear of death."

25. We have no evidence of what transpired between Michael and his killers.However, for us Christians, this death is a metaphor for the fate of allChristians in Nigeria but especially northern Nigeria. For us Christians, itwould seem safe to say that we are all marked men and women today. Yet, we mustbe ready to be washed in the blood of the lamb. The testimony of the Dapchigirl above suggests that our country has a future, a future based on theinnocence of our youth who have seen beyond religion. Leah Sharibu is a martyrfor the faith and so is Michael. St Paul has already said it well: We carrythis treasure in vessels of clay so that all this surpassing power may not beseen as ours, but as God's. Trials of every sort come our way, but we are notdiscouraged. We are left without answers but we do not despair, persecuted butnot abandoned, knocked down but not crushed. At any moment, we carry in ourperson, the death of Jesus, so that in life, Jesus may also be manifested in us(2 Cor. 4: 7-10). 

26. Finally, we praise and thank God that Pius, Peter and Stephen are alive andwill continue to bear earthly testimony of this horror. May God help them toall heal. We join the family of Michael in their act of forgiveness whilecalling on God give these killers their own road to Damascus experience deep inthe forests and highways. For now, we in Sokoto are at peace and feel mightilyhonoured that we have been chosen for this task of being called upon to walkthe footsteps of the passion of Jesus Christ. We know that the Lord's burden isnever heavy. We are humbled but not bowed. Although we are only a little flock,we are pleased to offer from the little we have to the Master. Like the ownerof the donkey on which Jesus rode to Jerusalem, we are asking no questionbecause the Master has asked for Michael (Lk. 19:31). Like the Galileans (Lk.13:1), we surrender the blood of Michael to the vicious Herods of today but weknow we will one day rise to a new life.  The choice of our son Michael asa Simon of Cyrene is a remarkable gift that we must embrace with both hands. Wefeel as if our son has  been chosen to represent us in the national teamof martyrs. Without fear, we will complete the journey he started because hismemory will give us strength. 

27. We know that Michael's strength will inspire an army of young people tofollow in his steps. We will march on with the cross of Christ entrusted to us,not in agony or pain, because our salvation lies in your cross. We have novengeance or bitterness in our hearts. We have no drop of sorrow inside us. Weare honoured that our son has been summoned to receive the crown of martyrdomat the infancy of his journey to the priesthood. We are grateful that evenbefore he could ascend the earthly altar, Jesus the high priest, called Him tostand by His angels. He was a priest by desire but he is concelebrating thefullness of the priesthood beside His Master. He was lifted up even before hishands could lift up the sacred chalice. May the Lord place him beside His bosomand may he intercede for us. If his blood can bring healing to our nation, thenhis murderers will never have the final say. May God give him eternal peace.

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