Behold! Metropolitan Archbishop Pushing Charity

 FROM TOBIAS EKIRIKA (ONITSHA)

English Dictionary describes charity as “a kindly and lenient attitude toward people”; no little wonder the Archbishop of Onitsha Metropolitan Bishop in the Catholic Community, His Grace, Most Reverend Valerian Maduka Okeke believes that a part of the oath of celibacy he took as a shepherd of the Highest, he sees those at the Correction Centers from different prospectus the laymen view them. Some see the government-incarcerated people as rejected human beings, some also see them as criminals that needed to be ill-maltreated, while some view that prisoners cannot be useful to themselves and society even after their stay in the correctional center but the Metropolitan Bishop believes the best way to treat them is showing them charity at all times.

Worthy to note that His Grace Most Rev Valerian Maduka Okeke believes that the prisoners are brothers, sisters, and friends who needed our prayers and support at all times. His Grace also believes that the incarcerated ones can still be useful to themselves, their respective families, and society after serving their jail terms.

To prove his belief, the Archbishop of Onitsha for a long time now, made, it an annual event to visit and celebrate with the inmates in Onitsha Correctional Center (three times yearly), that is Easter Sundays, his birthday dates, and every Christmas.

The prelate has never failed to put smiles on the faces of the inmates on every visit by bringing succor to them with necessary lives needed items, such as coolers of boiled rice, bags of rice, bags of semolina, cartoons of noodles, washing soaps, different types of detergents, toilet tissues, cake, biscuits, slathered and live cow, name them.

The Chief Shepherd of Onitsha Archdiocese did not stop there in giving the inmates a sense of belonging, as he tried the cells and decorated each cell with television, providing a water system toilet facilities, as well as borehole water, therefore making life more meaningful to the inmates.

Above all, the Metropolitan Onitsha Ecclesiastical Province single handle built a fanatic ultra-modern skill acquisition center in Onitsha Correctional Center, which is one of its kind in the history of Nigeria Correctional Centers.

His Grace has been funding the Education of the inmates and finally attracted the West African Examination Certificate(WAEC) center in Onitsha Correctional Center, even having provided sports equipment, and given room for sports competition among the inmates. Your Grace, you must be blessed!

The prayers and counseling of the Archbishop have made a significant impact on the lives of the inmates as most of them who finished serving their jail term(s) are now evangelist who preaches the gospel of the resurrected Jesus Christ in their homes and villages.

However, the Comptroller of Anambra State Correctional Centers, Mr. Patrick Chukwuemeka has always described the Archbishop as a special divine gift to humanity. According to the Comptroller; “the Archbishop has saved many souls in Onitsha Correctional Center through his prayers, teachings, counseling, and particularly the provision of social amenities to the inmates”. He said. 

The Comptroller further revealed that the inmates are always looking forward to the Archbishop’s visit as every visit put smiles on the respective one of faces of the prisoners. Mr. Patrick Chukwuemeka calls on other clerics to emulate the Archbishop’s magnanimity toward the needy even as he prayed to God to bless the Archbishop with good health and long life.

Recall that during the Archbishop’s visit to the Center housing hundreds of inmates on 2022 Christmas day, he made an important appeal to the federal government, requesting the FG to fence the skill acquisition center or permit him to fence the facility for quicker operation.

This is to demonstrate the love and care for the inmates in ensuring that the prisoners can be useful to themselves and society and never go back to the offense (s) that brought them to the home.

The members of the public expect that both the state and the federal government should borrow a leaf from the Archbishop by providing acquisition centers for our youths where they can learn different skills which would make them employers of labor and it would also go a long way in reducing crime and criminalities in our country Nigeria.