A Nigerian cleric rejected by the people he was assigned to serve has expressed a wish to be buried in their midst when he dies.

His Lordship the Most Rev. Dr. Peter Ebere Okpaleke was on Tuesday (May 21) consecrated by the Catholic Church as the new Bishop of Ahiara Mbaise Diocese of Imo State, South-East Nigeria, despite the people’s vehement rejection of him in preference for a Bishop appointed from among one of their hundreds of priests none of whom has been privileged to become a Bishop. Okpaleke’s consecration had to be moved to the nearby town of Owerri due to fear of possible outbreak of violence.

Even so, the cleric, who hails from neighbouring Anambra State, has left no one in doubt of his deep love for the Diocese. “I know, for certain, that at the end of my earthly life, if it is God’s will, my bones will rest n’ala Mbaise,” he said after his Episcopal installation. ‘Ala’ means land in Igbo Language.

Okpaleke in his speech repeatedly referred to Ahiara Mbaise people as his people. “I have left my people and have become onye Ahiara Diocese,” he said, appealing to the people to accept him.

News Express reports that Okpaleke has not been accused of any offence but is a victim of the people’s anger and frustration at having produced hundreds of priests none of whom has been counted worthy of becoming a Bishop while other communities with far fewer priests have produced Bishops.

Okpaleke, who turned 50 on March 1 and was ordained Priest on August 22, 1992, said he understood how they feel. His words: “As the turbulence raged, I used the time to educate myself more about my people, our great history – pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial, the teeming Catholic population, the enormous manpower resource in the general populace and among the clergy – Diocesan as well as religious – and the many consecrated men and women working in many parts of Nigeria, Africa and the world at large. Our people are the greatest witnesses to the universality of the Church. Our sons and daughters are found almost everywhere working as priests and religious men and women and our lay faithful carry Catholicism with them wherever they are . . .

“In the light of the above, I understand the anger and frustration generated by my appointment in some sections of the Diocesan family as fueled by the undeniable fact of the enormous pool and quality of manpower that we have in Ahiara Diocese and in our sons in the religious congregations.”

Likening himself to a woman rejected by some in her place of marriage, Okpaleke vowed to work hard to win over the Diocese. “Many women know that in spite of the roughness of the beginnings, better days could be ahead and that the best way to ensure better days ahead is by loving and serving all irrespective of what has transpired at the beginning,” he said.
He described his ordination today as “a celebration of my marriage to the Church of God in Ahiara,” and promised: “As your Bishop, I shall do my best to be a good shepherd, to respect, love and serve you in humility. I will do everything within my means to promote the Gospel and enhance the lives of our people.”

The embattled Bishop has a ten-year tenure but would be operating from Owerri until Rome and the Nigerian Catholic leadership find a way to resolve the crisis.

•Photo shows Bishop Okpaleke.

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