When the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto turned 50

“They shall be abundantly satisfied, with the fullness of thine house, and thou shall make them drink of the rivers of thy pleasure. O continuous thy loving-kindness, and unto them that prosper, unto them that prosper, and thou shall make them drink of the rivers of thy pleasure. How excellent, is thy loving-kindness, is thy […]

“They shall be abundantly satisfied, with the fullness of thine house, and thou shall make them drink of the rivers of thy pleasure. O continuous thy loving-kindness, and unto them that prosper, unto them that prosper, and thou shall make them drink of the rivers of thy pleasure. How excellent, is thy loving-kindness, is thy loving-kindness, O God, how excellent, is thy loving-kindness, O God.”
These were the lyrics of the hymn rendered at the end of communion penultimate Friday, as the congregation sang their hearts out in thanksgiving to God while they celebrated the Golden Jubilee of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto.
For many Catholics, it was a heart-warming feeling to attend Mass with a crowd of clergy men seating on the altar and overflowing onto the congregation. On December 19, this feeling was provoked by more than the numerous religious who had thronged to Sokoto to join the local congregation in celebrating their anniversary. It was also a feeling of the recognition of God’s work in keeping them together as a Diocese as Mrs. Maryann Dike explained to our reporter.
She said: “I’m especially delighted to see today because against all odds, God has kept us together. Not only together, but we are growing with more parishes and more converts. This, even if it were not our anniversary, is more than enough reason to be in such a joyous mood.”
Established in 1964, the celebration, according to Bishop of the Diocese, Most Rev. Dr. Mathew Hassan Kukah, was specifically held on the chosen date, to coincide with the anniversary of the death of its first bishop, Rt. Rev. Edward Lawton, OP, who died on this day in 1966. “We felt that this would be a great way to honour the great man,” he said.
Adding that, it was also the 38th anniversary of his priestly ordination: “For me to be ordained ten years after, on the same day Lawton died, and for me to be made bishop of the same Diocese he pastured is one of the indisputable ways of God doing things by ‘accident’ or ‘chance’ as humans would describe it.”
Recognising inputs to the Diocese, Kukah said there would be no Sokoto Diocese without the commitment and support of the Ibo community.
Informing that the land on which the Cathedral stands is said to have been bought by a group of 15 Ibo traders who contributed 15 shillings to acquire it in 1954, the Local Ordinary stressed that: “the resilience in their faith has helped to serve as a magnet;” adding that the first priest to be ordained in Sokoto was Fr. Anthony Okonkwo in 1962.
Commending the efforts of his predecessor, Bishop Kevin Aje, whom he described as always providing safe refuge for him even while he was a student in Jos, with always enough to eat and drink and giving no fear of being scolded, “today is as much a celebration of that relationship with him as it is a celebration of the diocese,” he said.
Reflecting on the Gospel reading of the beatitudes from St. Mathew, which he said was seemingly one of the most difficult and at the same time most beautiful, Archbishop of the Abuja Archdiocese, John Cardinal Onaiyekan said: “These beatitudes are so real that it’s difficult to believe when we encounter challenges.”
If one pried deeper, Onaiyekan said,: “you would see that they are beatitudes of faith. The promises are for the future. Today we face the realities of struggle. It shows that the ways of God are not our ways and the things the world considers high are not what God considers high. To gain our lives we must be prepared to lose it as the things called blessed are what we often avoid. These are the ways of God’s approval and reward.”
He encouraged the diocese to face the years ahead with the spirit of the beatitudes, while stressing that: “This is a time for us to restore and recover from over exploitation. We must respect God’s order in the way we handle the planet and relate with one another.”
Also emphasising that this is a time for rededication, Onaiyekan said with the diocese celebrating its golden jubilee, it was poised for action for the next 50 years.  “The time is ripe for consolidated integration into the Sokoto community,” he said.
Apostolic Nuncio, Most Rev. Dr. Augustine Kasujja who, as part of the jubilee, had previously toured the different parishes and stations making up the diocese said: “you are concluding this celebration just days to Christmas but I must say that you have given us the chance to begin the Christmas celebrations here in Sokoto.”
With his last Mass celebrated in the old cathedral used by the previous bishop for the better part of 30 years, Kasujja was happy that a half roofed cathedral was in the process of being completed. He however added that there was a lesson in it.
“After 50 years of a diocese’s existence, the cathedral is half completed. It is symbolic of our faith. Even after many years as believers, you can never sit down and say everything is done. We’re always beginning and beginning until the end. That is the life of Christians,” he said.
A goodwill message from the Sultanate Council Sokoto, signed by its secretary, Attahiru Hussaini, who was directed by the Sultan, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, appreciated the cordial relationship which has existed between the diocese and the people of Sokoto State since its establishment.
Adding that: “The diocese has made significant contribution in the areas of education, health, interfaith and the general socio-economic development of its catchment area,” with the most recent demonstration being the establishment of a clinic by the diocese which enjoys a higher patronage of the Muslim community.
The celebration was heralded the previous day by the presentation of the book, ‘Sowing in the desert: Birth and Growth of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto’ co-written by Dr. Emmanuel Akubor and Rev. Fr. Anthony Akinwale.
Chronicling the history of Catholicism in Northern Nigeria leading to the formation of the diocese, the book informed that: “The creation of the prefecture of Northern Nigeria in 1929 with Monsignor Francis O. Rourke, SMA, as its first Prefect Apostolic, the growing population in Kano, Shendam and Zaria, the division of the Prefecture of Northern Nigeria into the Prefectures of Kaduna and Jos in1934, provided the catalyst for the emergence of the Prefecture and later diocese of Sokoto. There were only 47 registered Catholics in Sokoto at the time.” This population grew to 10, 000 in the first ten years and has since multiplied several times over.
According to the book, then Father Edward Lawton was appointed Prefect Apostolic in 1954 taking charge of the Prefecture on November 13, with Gusau as his seat.
It also stated that, what now serves as the cathedral in Sokoto, was the city’s first Catholic Church, named after the Holy Family and was dedicated by Lawton on November 1, 1957. “In January 1961, Lawton moved his seat from Gusau to Sokoto, the reason for which till date Sokoto remains the seat of the bishop. The Prefecture was elevated to a diocese in 1964 with Lawton appointed its first bishop,” it said.
Three other bishops have been appointed after Lawton including Rt. Rev. Michael J. Dempsey (second), Rt. Rev. Dr. Kevin Aje (third and Bishop Emeritus) and Kukah (fourth).