major chapter in
the history of the growth of the Anglican Church in Nigeria formally comes to an
end today with the exit of the late Archbishop Benjamin Chukwuemeka Nwankiti.
The prelate, whose mortal remains will be laid to rest today, was a man who
lived and walked his conviction to the end. He believed firmly that the essence
of living is service to God and man.
An insight into Benjamin Nwankiti’s’s primary motivation for
going into priesthood will greatly enhance an appreciation of the exemplary and
phenomenal earthly life that just ended. He was attracted to the priesthood
after closely observing the life of sacrifice, service and humility of the
foreign missionary priests in his secondary school days. The young Benjamin
watched the priests, many of who trained in prestigious universities, hauling
firewood and doing other ordinarily menial duties. He was not just impressed by
the dedication to service by those clergy, he decided that was the life for him.
Thus ended his training as a pivotal teacher and against his
father’s wishes he went into the priesthood. The rest of his life from this
early juncture has been marked by service, sacrifice and humility.
Nwankiti was consecrated Bishop of the Owerri Diocese of the
Anglican Communion in 1968, at a most trying period for the nation and his
kinsmen in Igboland, who were embroiled in the civil war. Not one to balk at
controversy, Nwankiti stoutly stood by his convictions and preached love to both
sides. He was known to have worked tirelessly to keep alive the hopes of the
war-ravaged especially in his diocese, but also beyond, through his broadcasts.
He was also actively involved in the food relief efforts that ensured the
survival of many children inside the enclave of the then Republic of Biafra at
the time the dreaded disease,Kwasiokor, propelled by malnutrition, was stalking
children in the war area.
Nwankiti was to become the first black bishop of Owerri
Anglican Diocese. He was as erudite as he was vigorous in his duties. But more
than these, his was a life that totally shunned materialism. He lived a simple,
honest and exemplary life anchored obviously on the belief that the ultimate
thing for man to work for is to have God in his life and all other things will
be added in the fullness of time.
The clergy, easily regarded as Nigeria’s version of the fiery
Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, was outspoken. He did not spare those
who he adjudged to have done wrong, no matter how highly placed in society. He
stood for truth and transparency and spoke out for the ordinary people at
critical periods.
Archbishop Nwankiti believed in the promotion and
preservation of the positive aspects of the African culture. He was never part
of the school of religion that passed a blanket condemnation on virtually all
things traditional and cultural in the modern African society.
As he progressed in the Church hierarchy, Nwankiti still
maintained a life marked by ministration to the whole man. For him, the Church
was there not just to prepare men for heaven but to see to a full, productive
life here on earth. He lived this out in the everyday dealings with people of
all faiths.
He also believed firmly in letting the supreme will of God
reign in the affairs of the Church. To him, the Holy Spirit ought to guide the
Church. That, and a marked aversion to politicizing church matters, played
heavily against him and perhaps cost him the much coveted prime leadership of
the Anglican Communion in Nigeria.
However, his disposition and actions even through that
defining period could be seen in the light of his uncompromising decision to
live his life according to the specifications of the Bible. That is an ideal
only few mortals can successfully follow.
Archbishop Benjamin Nwankiti, to the last, believed in unity
among Christians and in the church. He spoke consistently against arrogance
among the clergy and did not approve of the undue splintering of the church. He
showed enormous capacity for accommodation of other doctrines, though he
insisted the Bible has the last say on matters of doctrine.
Among other things, he also contributed actively to
intellectual discourse in the church by authoring several books. These include,
A Short History of the Christian Church, Obedience Unto Death and Growth &
Development of the Church of Nigeria.
One issue that Nwankiti harped on lately and which deserved
to be looked into is that of the near total incapacitation of retired clergy by
the Anglican Communion. He was quoted severally as suggesting that the retired
clergy is a goldmine of valuable information and could still be of immense use
to the church. Nwankiti cited the case of the Catholic Church which has roles
for its clergy all their life or for as long as they could carry on and wished
the Anglican Communion would amend its rule books to allow for some roles for
retired clergy still willing to serve actively in the Church. It will be worth
it for the Anglican Communion to explore this issue further.
As the Archbishop Nwankiti’s mortal remains are buried today,
we hail his exemplary life, his commitment to his calling and his faithfulness
to the God he served all his life.
