Heart of Gold
For good moral upbringing of the students of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture in Abia State, the state governor, Theodore Orji, recently donated a worship centre to the university community. Hopewell Ukpebor writes
Boisterous crowds of mostly university students packed the entrance of the church.The seats inside the boundless auditorium were taken by dignitaries, visitors and parishioners.
Boisterous crowds of mostly university students packed the entrance of the church. The seats inside the boundless auditorium were taken by dignitaries, visitors and parishioners. The glimpse of his always cheerful smile is something anyone wouldn’t miss and the inspiration that comes with his speeches, Ugoma Chinaza, a student at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture in Umudike, a small town near the capital, Umuahia, says of the Governor of Abia State, Theodore Orji, on a recent Saturday morning.
Orji surely knows how to communicate his message to his people. In the early years, when he came to power as an elected governor of the southeast state, he was confronted with kidnappings and godfatherism that almost made him a figurehead. He fought back. He succeeded.
And with that success, he earned the admiration of his people who now calls him a liberator with a sobriquet: Ochendo – the protector of life.
And as someone whose appeal to the youngsters in Abia transcends the ordinary, Orji recently accomplished another feat with the donation of a church to Michael Okpara University of Agriculture community.
Inside the expansive church, a brobdingnagian image of Jesus mounted on the wall at the centre of the church, where the priests have their seats and command the congregation to obedience in liturgy serves Governor Orji a reminder of how the idea came about.
“One day, in 2007, I went to the university to see the priest and I met him and the students worshipping in a classroom. I was moved to tears. I saw the dedication of a servant of God and the parishioners. So I made a promise that if God assists me to become a governor, I will build a befitting place of worship for the Catholic Church,” Governor Orji recounted.
But before he grabbed the microphone to speak, his elementary school classmate, who has risen to the enviable Bishop of Umuahia Catholic Dioceses, Rev. Lucius Ugorji had described him as one man who has steadfast love for giving.
“You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving. Governor Orji is someone who gives with love. I can tell you that as he became the governor of Abia State, his mind went back to the foundation of his life and that is why he’s closer to the people and the church. We were classmates and I know him,” Bishop Ugorji says with some sense of pride.
In 2007, When Orji gave consideration to the idea of presenting himself for election as the next governor of Abia State, he went in search of Rev. Father Michael Ukah, the Chaplain of the church, for prayers.
“In its simplest term, it started as a dream,” says Ukah in message to those who gathered at the dedication of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Chaplaincy. “It has now come to reality. It was eight years ago, when our governor was a chief of staff that he came to me in the chaplaincy and asked me to uphold him in prayers as he would be running for the gubernatorial election at the end of the tenure of Chief Orji Kalu.”
For Ukah, it was a strange request based on what he claimed to know about politicians, but he had known Orji enough to believe in him as a man truly chasing after God’s blessings.
He explains: “I was worried and asked him why he decided to come to me and not go to shrine or other areas where we guessed they normally go to obtain their power and protection. He replied, ‘Father, to tell you the truth there is no power greater than God’s and my spirit has directed me to come to you so that you can commit me to God.’
“This very statement was the starting point between me and His Excellency. We went to the chapel to pray before the Blessed Sacrament. As we intensified our prayers, he was already coming up with testimonies that God was revealing lots of things to him.
“As we continued to offer prayers, temptation erupted as he was incarcerated for some time. I thought it would be the end of the journey, but as we know, ‘God’s ways are neither our ways nor his thoughts our thoughts. This period became a moment of training and preparation for the greater task of leadership. It was a great moment of reflection and also a time of building up confidence and trust in God. While he was there, our group was still respecting his request and praying for his good intentions.
“Nevertheless, we remember with nostalgia, one of his earlier visists to the church at the Alhaji Liman Hall, where we were worshipping as at then. He made a declaration. He told us, ‘if I succeed in his journey, I will build a befitting place of worship for God. You people will no longer worship in classroom or lecture hall but in a Church that I will build through the help of God.”
True, for a long time the Catholics in the university had no church as masses and other services were done in any available space, but Governor Orji’s act has ended that.
Now, that singular act for which Orji says credit should go to God has earned him a special place in the hearts of the students at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture. They say his stardom story has inspired them.
“It was really inspiring to know that a man who went through the thick and thin while growing up could become a governor. In fact to see him and Bishop Ugorji together today in their great positions in our society, knowing that they were in primary school together gives a lot of inspiration,” enthused Tobechukwu Amadi, one of the students who witnessed the dedication of the church last Friday.
Of course, Orji was honoured for his generosity. Bishop Ugorji bestowed on him the award of the benefactor of St. Thomas Aquinas Chaplaincy for which he was grateful.
According to Orji, “the chaplaincy will provide spiritual strength to thousands of people in the university community, including those yet to be part of the community at this time, because the church will endure. It will impart character to the students for a better society.”
Now, that singular act for which Orji says credit should go to God has earned him a special place in the hearts of the students at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture. They say his stardom story has inspired them