Father Paul Obayi, the Catholic Priest of Nsukka Diocese in Enugu State, has taken u-trun after the uproar few days ago over allege oppression by his diocese, Nsukka.
Obayi was popularly referred to as Father Okunerere. He is the spiritual leader of the Okunerere Adoration Ministry in Nsukka.
Earlier this month, the religious leader threatened to quit his cleric position over the allegation of being oppressed by the Bishop of the Diocese, Godfrey Onah.
He alleged that some Catholic priests were acting on the directive of the Bishop, adding that they stormed and broke the gate of the adoration ground on October 7, and their target was to dispossess him from the church property.
The cleric, on Sunday, October 15, disclosed that he had withdrawn his decision to quit the church. In a video on the official Facebook page of the church, Obayi said he had already decided his next move, but he had rescinded his decision as a result of the “barrage of calls” that he received following the threat.
In his words: After receiving barrages of phone calls from friends around the world, I have decided to make a U-turn. I have seen that the world cares. I thought nobody cares. I was thinking that nobody cares. But now I can see some people care”.
Recall that last week, Fr Okunerere spoke vociferously against marginalization and injustices meted against him in his diocese by his Bishop.
He noted that he had sacrificed everything for the church yet the church cared less of him. He said his fellow priests wanted to take away his ministry’s land by force.
In his word: “The church is my vineyard, I love the church, I love my Nsukka (Catholic) church, I love the bishop, I love the priests, I love them, but they are oppressing me.
“I was looking for a land where I will conduct my adoration but couldn’t find. I rented a place behind Queens College Nsukka and started my adoration there. Bishop Onah chased me out of the place, saying I was causing noise and distracting the students of Queens.
“The past governor of Enugu State, Gburugburu gave me this piece of land I’m staying in now. I told the Bishop that I have land and I took him there to see the land. When he came, he then said that the land is fine to be used to build the Marian Shrine. I told him it’s my adoration ministry I want to start here and not Marian Shrine. He said I shouldn’t talk about it again.
“I give everything to the church, yet the church wants to strangle me. But it can’t happen!
“I bought and installed the best transformer in the cathedral of Nsukka Diocese which they’re using till today.
“The Bishop mandated me to build a museum where I would keep the deities I removed from villages. I spent N2.8 million to build the museum upstairs inside the cathedral and reported it to my bishop. The only ‘thank you’ I got from my bishop was that he asked me ‘where did I get the money to build it when he has banned the selling of olive oil’. Yet, I endured it.
“At Obimo, I got land to build my adoration ministry. It’s a mountain. I spent more than N50m to level the place and create roads, then built a 30-room self-contained house there. The church collected it from me and I surrendered it. Kidnappers are using that building today to keep their victims because the church isn’t using it till today after collecting it from me. The Bishop said he wants to use the place as Nsukka Diocesan Pilgrimage Centre.
“I was posted to Obollo where I spent N10 million to build a church. The Bishop came to dedicate it and on the day of the dedication, everybody was acknowledged but they refused to acknowledge me, Fr Obayi who built the church. Just after 2 months of dedicating the church, I was transferred to Ikem, where everybody knows that the roads there are filled with kidnappers.
“I was an associate professor but no one in the Diocese ever announced me as associate professor, but those priests who became associate professors yesterday are recognized by the Diocese but I was ignored till today even as a professor.
“It got to the point that fellow priests broke my gate just to take my land, they said they were sent.
“During the Bishop’s Episcopal ordination, I supplied drinking water free to everybody in attendance.
“The oppression is too much. Priests are avoiding coming to my adoration because if they see any priest in my adoration, during posting, they will post the priest in a faraway village beyond Adani in Uzo Uwani LGA.
“I have been inviting the Bishop to my adoration but he refused to come, saying he doesn’t understand what we are doing here.
“Bishop Onah stopped me from going to London to preach, saying that I would go there to preach heresy. I asked him, before you became my bishop, I had attended 10 different programmes in London where I preached. Is it now you’re my bishop that I will preach heresy?
“The church refused to give me land for my adoration, and the one given to me by the government, the church wants to collect it from me.
“Since the church doesn’t want me again, I am leaving the Catholic church any moment from now.”
