The creation of the Archbishop of Abuja, Mgr. John
Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, as cardinal next 24 November, is partly a
commemoration of the blood spilt by the Church’s martyrs. College of Cardinals statistics show that Nigeria has only left with two cardinal electors, one of whom - Cardinal Francis Arinze – will turn 80 in just a few days.
But Benedict XVI’s choice is most certainly also linked to the Pope’s wish to show his solidarity with the Christians of Nigeria, whose Churches have been repeatedly attacked by Muslim fundamentalist group, Boko Haram.
The group wants to chase Christians from the country.
Massacres take place Sundays, claiming the lives of dozens of victims.
During these difficult months, Archbishop Onaiyekan - formerly President of the local Episcopal conference and President of the interdenominational Christian Association of Nigeria – has been the one voice that has transcended Africa’s borders, denouncing what is going on and urging for dialogue with the rest of the Muslim world to continue, despite the violence.
He spoke again a few days ago at the Synod of Bishops in the Vatican: “Our Nigerian experience - he said - teaches us that there are many kinds of Muslims. In the new evangelization, we need to know our Muslim neighbours and keep an open mind to those who are friendly, and they are in the majority. We have to work together to make sure that the fanatics do not dictate the agenda of our mutual relations, pushing us to be enemies of one another.”
Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan was born in Kabba, in Kogi state, on 29 January 1944. He was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Ibadan in 1969. He studied at the Pontifical Biblical Institute and the Pontifical University Urbaniana in Rome, becoming one of the most important voices in the world of African Catholic theology. It was not by chance he was a member of the International Theological Commission from 1980 to 1985 and a member of Faith and Order (the most important theological organisation for interdenominational dialogue promoted by the World Council of Churches) between 1991 and 1006.
John Paul II appointed Onaiyekan bishop of his diocese in 1982, before he even turned 39. He thus became Nigeria’s youngest prelate. Seven years later, Wojtyla sent him to Abuja as Coadjutor Bishop and in 1994 he became head of the Archdiocese. He was President of the Nigerian Episcopal Conference and President of SECAM, the Symposium of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar.
He is notorious for his relentless commitment to dialogue with Muslims and this year he was also a candidate for the Nobel Prize for Peace, together with the Muslim Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammed Sa’ad Abubakar III. Together, they promoted a series of initiatives to combat fundamentalism.