08.11.2015
In his 75 years of birth, he has spent 50 years in the Catholic priesthood and 38 years in the episcopacy. At 75, he has rather begun than ended. His name is Most Rev. Dr. Michael Nnachi Okoro, the Catholic Bishop of Abakaliki. Experienced on his work, and naturally endowed with wisdom, at 75, he is mentally alert, pastorally active, emotionally sharp, linguistically versatile, spiritually lively, and socially accommodating, He is a character one cannot encounter and forget in a hurry.
Paul plants, Apollos waters but God causes growth. A Testimony of Divine Providence, published during his jubilee is not his biography, though it does not totally exclude it, but an attempt to present his stewardship in the Diocese. It is the story of the bigness of small thing.
The resources to execute would have frightened you but his achievements in the Diocese will startle you. The voices inside the book shout their praises with loud joy: Bishop Okoro is simple, humble, hardworking, caring, prayerful; and indeed, he is a great personality. Grab your copy when it is out.
Bishop Michael Nnachi Okoro was born on November 1, 1940, at Adiabo Odukpani, Calabar, into the family of Pa Alphonsus and Charlotte Okoro (both of blessed memory), and both natives of Unwana, Afikpo North L. G. A., Ebonyi State.
Michael is third son and the last child in the line of eight children of Pa Alphonsus and Charlotte Okoro. His father, Mr. Alphonsus Okoro had at the time grown to prominence as he later rose to the position of a manager in the Palm Oil Plantation, Calabar.
Little Michael began his primary school at St Mary’s Adiabo, Calabar, in 1946. But following his father’s retirement and subsequent return to Unwana, he left St Mary’s, Adiabo, in 1952 to continue his primary education at Afikpo. At home, he would in three years attend three schools as he had to join his sister who was a school mistress in whatever school she was transferred to. Consequently, he attended St Mary’s Afikpo in 1952, St. Patrick’s Ndibe (1953) and St Brigid’s Ozizza (1954).
After completing his primary education he returned to Calabar and began his secondary education at St. Patrick’s College, SPC, Calabar, where he stayed between 1955 and 1956. By then, little Michael had started nursing the idea of becoming a priest and had told his parents. While already at school, he lost his father; Pa Alphonsus died on Dec. 24, 1955. The condolence visit of Bishop McGettrick to the family was both consoling and providential. During the visit, Michael’s mother, Charlotte, told the Bishop of Michael’s desire to become a priest. On return, Bishop McGettrick in 1956 had gone to see the Principal of St Patrick’s College, Fr. William Mullaly, and intimated him on Michael’s dream. He directed Fr Mullaly to ensure that Michael’s desire for the priesthood was sustained.
To make the dream a reality, Fr Mullaly had contacted an indigenous priest, Fr Emmanuel Afangide who was ordained in 1954 and was teaching at SPC to think out the best way of nurturing Michael’s vocation. Fr Afangide would later meet Michael on two different occasions. At their first meeting, he saw Michael and pointing at him, said: “There is something you are hiding which you don’t want to tell me.” Fr Afanginde said that and left and later on, he would meet Michael, and from the discussion that followed, he convinced him of the need to change school to go where he would meet people of like minds and dream.
Subsequently, Michael was transferred to Queen of Apostles Junior Seminary, Afaha Obong, Akwa-Ibom State, where he stayed from 1957 till 1959. He did his West Africa Senior Secondary School Examination in 1958. In continuation of his bid to answer the call, Michael proceeded to the prestigious Bigard Memorial Seminary, Enugu, in January 1960 where he studied Philosophy from January 1960 to September 1962. In October 1962, Michael left for Rome. He studied Theology at Urban University, Rome, between October 1962 and May 1966. At Rome, he bagged the Bachelors in Theology (B.TH) in June 1964 and later, Licentiate, in June 1966. Before his licentiate, Michael was ordained Deacon on August 15, 1965, and on December 19, 1965, he was raised to the Order of Priesthood by Bishop McGettrick in a historic ordination held at Afikpo.
On October 9, 1966, in the heat of Nigerian/Biafra war, he returned from Rome to work with Rev. Fr. J. Boylan from 1966-69 at Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Ndiaboishiagu Sharon-Izzi. During the horrible period of war, he was fully committed to visiting all parts of Izzi land saying Masses and reciting the Rosary in all the stations of Izzi North and Izzi South as they were called then at the time.
Ndimbam which is a community sharing a boundary with Benue, Ndiamadi, Ndinwagbanga and Otam areas were all under Iziogo Zone. He would continue his tour from Iziogo zone to Nwofe zone and Iboko zone comprising Ominyi, Ndingele, Waka, Osoebi, Opeffia and Igbuhuotum behind Iboko market square. Then, he would go back to Parish House at Ndiaboishiagu for weekend confessions and Holy Mass on Sunday. On the next Monday he would set out to cover Izzi South comprising Onunwakpu, Odariko, Okumenyi, Ndiakparata, Ndubia, Nwezenyi-Igbeagu, Akpe-Amachi, Onuebonyi and Okpuitumo, before returning for the general Mass at Our Lady of Fatima, Sharon. By this wide reach, the Bishop got so accustomed with the terrains of Izzi such that one can call him an apostle of Izzi land
On February 19, 1969, Fr Boylan left for Ireland and Fr. Okoro remained the only priestly figure around the area till September 22, 1970, when he went back to Rome to complete his doctorate programme. He got his PhD in Systematic Theology on 23rd April 1971 and quickly returned to Nigeria in December 1971.
The Nigeria/Biafra war might have ended but the issues it generated continued to be the invisible hands of destiny for Fr Michael Okoro. After 30 months (2½ years) of conjunct, the Nigeria/Biafra Civil war came to an end on January 16, 1970. After the war, the Nigerian government which had grown cold towards the missionaries ordered for their repatriation alleging that the missionaries supported the Biafrans against Nigerians. This was not a matter of little consequence as the mass exodus of missionaries out of the country created a big gap that needed to be urgently filled: providing staff for the only major seminary in Eastern Nigeria- the Bigard Memorial Seminary. The provincial bishops of Onitsha had gone in search of capable hands and after thorough search could only recruit 17 members of staff, to keep the seminary functional, until more hands became available. This means that Fr Michael being a young doctorate degree holder who had returned against the wishes of his lecturers who wanted to retain him in his alma mater in Italy would move into formation at Bigard Memorial Seminary, Enugu. At Bigard, he had served as a bursar and sat on the Chair of Theology teaching Ethics and Psychology.
After three and half years at Bigard, he came back to his Diocese. He was assigned to the Cathedral Parish on account of the quarrel that had arisen there because of a misunderstanding among the members of the Cathedral Choir. Upon his arrival, very suddenly and without any obvious real reason, the quarrel grew bigger, became more vicious and tore the members of the Cathedral Parish into two camps: squabbles, fights, court cases became rife. By Easter of 1975, all was calm again; peace and quiet returned.
Providentially in March 1977, Fr Michael Okoro was elected Bishop and on November 27, 1977, was ordained an Auxiliary Bishop of Abakaliki. For the next six years he worked as an Auxiliary to Bishop McGettrick, he was the Administrator of the Cathedral Parish.
When Bishop Okoro eventually took over from Bishop McGettrick on May 6, 1983, the only thought in his mind was to continue doing the functions he had for long been assisting Bishop McGettrick to perform. That was how the thankless work of building a ten year old diocese fell on a man who had presided over the affairs of the Diocese for the past 32 years.
Bishop Okoro has served both the church and state at different levels. He held the job of Secretary to the Episcopal Conference of the Onitsha Ecclesiastical Province for thirteen years (1977-1990). He was the Assistant Secretary Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) from 1988-1994; and served as the substantive secretary from 1994-2000.
In recognition of his contributions to nation building, he was conferred with the national merit award of the Officer of the Order of Niger (OON) by President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2001. As he celebrates his diamond birthday anniversary this month, we wish him many more years.
