Bishop Badejo’s 10 years of service to God, humanity in Oyo
By Peter Dada
“Whoever aspires to the office of bishop desires a noble task. Therefore, a bishop must be irreproachable , temperate , self controlled , decent, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not aggressive but gentle, not contentious, not a lover of money …..
He must have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace; the devil”s trap.(cf. 1 Timothy 3: 1-7, The African Bible Version.} ”
Whaooh, on October 20, 2017, Bishop Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo will be 10 years as the Chief Shepherd of the faithful in the Catholic Diocese of Oyo. How time flies. We give thanks and glory to God for all He has used Badejo to achieve as His vessel in an area thickly populated by more Muslims than Christians and practitioners of the African Traditional Religion.
He has been able to learn fast on how to use tolerance, dialogue and understanding as the norms to lead the people thus achieving harmony and peace.
Badejo’s acceptance at the beginning of his bishopric that he is in Oyo to serve God and humanity has been his unique selling point and the winning trick as a servant leader patterned after his predecessor-in-office, Bishop Emeritus Julius Babatunde Adelakun.
Congratulations to the people of Oyo area of Oyo State for accepting Bishop Badejo into their midst to serve them the good news of Jesus Christ not only in words but in actions thus fulfilling Christ saying “” I am among you as one who serves”( Luke 22:27).
” Providentially, one can say God has been equipping our celebrant for the task ahead several years before this appointment, first as the coadjutor bishop to the then incumbent, Bishop Julius Adelakun 10 years ago, and his public assumption of office and enthronement as the second bishop of the new Catholic Diocese of Oyo on Friday, 29th November, 2009.
His demonstration of what he believes in as an African began to manifest when he beat the hourglass (aka Gangan) drum at the opening mass of the first Synod of African Bishops at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome in 1994. Thus epochal event from the student-priest from Salesian University, Rome, is still evergreen in the memories of the fathers of the faith and others that participated in the event.
On his return to his diocese from further studies, Bishop Badejo was appointed the National Secretary of the Social Communication Department (SCD) at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) and served under the then Rev Frs Matthew Hassan Kukah and George Ehusani who were the Secretary Generals one after the other . Kukah is currently the bishop, Catholic Diocese of Sokoto.
Badejo’s duty then was to positively project and promote the activities of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria ((CBCN) and by extension the Catholic Church in Nigeria to Nigerians and the international community. This took him to almost every nook and cranny of the country and beyond as a representative of the Church.
Bishop Badejo told me during one of our light moments from official duties at the CSN as the secretary of the Social Communication Department that his two prayers were answered by God in His own divine way thus confirming the saying, ”Man proposes but God disposes.”
”I had prayed that the then Holy Father: now St. John Paul II, should not visit Nigeria. I also prayed that Mother Teresa of Calcutta in India must not die while I serve as the Secretary of Social Communication Department (SCD) at the CSN.
”God answered those two prayers in His own way. The late Pope John Paul II’s second visit to Nigeria was from March 21 to 23 1998 for the beatification of Blessed Iwene Tansi while Mother Teresa died on September 5, 1997.”
Providentially, Bishop Badejo as the Secretary of SCD was neck-deep involved in the plannings ahead of Pope John Paul11’s visit to Nigeria by travelling to Abuja from Lagos on several occasions to join other members of the committee set up by the Catholic Church to hold meetings with those of the Federal Government.
He told me that during one of the trips, a police officer detained him at a checkpoint for close to an hour because he had a Jerry can filled with petrol in his car booth. This was the period when the country was saturated with imported adulterated petrol and most vehicles’ engines got knocked from its effect.
” I was dressed in my priestly cassock .The officer stopped me, checked my official car’s documents and found them to be up-to-date. He inquired about my itinerary and the reason for having extra petrol in my car booth which I explained. Instead of allowing me to continue my journey, he ordered me to park my car well off the road.
”I complied and sat under a shed while he was busy with his official duty. The mobile phone had not been introduced to Nigeria then through which I could have contacted my boss, Rev Fr Matthew Kukah regarding my plight.
”However, after about an hour, the superior officer to the one that detained me emerged. He beckoned to him for explanation on why he detained me. He called me and I introduced myself as a priest of the Catholic Church travelling to attend a meeting with other Church and State leaders ahead of the visit of the Pope.
”The superior officer intoned: Pope, Pope, Catholic Church.
”I said yes. He said, go, go. That was how I was released and continued my journey. ”
Bishop Badejo also said that he had a series of encounters with Major Hamza al-Mustapha, the then Chief Security Officer ((CSO) to the late head of state, General Sani Abacha.
He says that on those occasions and meetings, he always reiterated to the CSO the fact that he was representing the Catholic Church and the CSN, the administrative office of the CBCN, despite his overbearing influence on his boss. I would tell him that whatever I report would shape the role the CBCN would play regarding the visit of Pope John Paul 11. It was, indeed, a case of tough times never last but tough people do.
He was also in Rome for the burial of Mother Teresa whose contributions to improving the lives of those living in the slums of Calcutta, India has not been rivaled till date. After the events, it dawned on me why Fr Badejo said that prayers as the department was busied attending to requests for media interviews and coverage as well as from individuals on how they could attend the events.
Bishop Badejo’s vocational training as a retreat preacher stood him out as a household name among the high and the low within parishes in the Archdioceses of Lagos, Ibadan and the Dioceses of Oyo and Osogbo in those years.
In addition to this, the Communication Department of the CSN produced two home videos: ”Fr Tansi: The footprint of a saint” and ”The bread broken for the light of the world”, as well as established the Catholic Artists and Entertainers Association of Nigeria (CAEAN) among other feats then.
The Department under Badejo’s leadership changed the CSN News to a magazine format from its bulletin format. The CSN News magazine became a popular magazine that bishops, formation houses, embassies, international donor and partner agencies embraced because of its authentic and rich story contents on the Catholic Church in Nigeria.
The transformation he brought to Saint Benedict’s Catholic Cathedral, Osogbo as the administrator after he had completed his tenure at the CSN with the support of the parishioners and other philanthropists still stands like the Rock of Gibraltar till date.
Unknown to Bishop Badejo, these and many other challenges he surmounted were preparatory grounds for his future service to the Catholic Church and humanity in general in a bigger and more demanding office which he assumed 10 years ago.
And in 2007, Pope Benedict XVI approved the appointment of Msgr Emmanuel Badejo as the Coadjutor Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Oyo with the right of succession.
Badejo in a flashback says, “I am so surprised and I am still surprised till today that I was appointed the Bishop of Oyo, not because I am afraid of work anyway but I had never dreamt at all that I will be appointed a bishop of anywhere. I was really enjoying the priesthood, enjoying doing what I was trained to do in the most creative way possible .
“So, if you ask me how I feel, it is still surprising to me that I am here. I thank God for giving me the privilege to serve Him and His people in this exalted position.’’
His choice was providentially ordained in heaven as he had the opportunity to understudy his predecessor-in-office and an indefatigable soldier and defender of the faith, Bishop Julius Babatunde Adelakun, for almost two years on
how to administer a diocese within the Catholic Church.
Bishop Adelakun had acquired close to forty years of rewarding experiences as the bishop of both the old and the new Catholic Diocese of Oyo before Osogbo Diocese was carved out of it on 3rd March, 1994.
Adelakun ordained Bishop of old Oyo Diocese in 1973 relocated to Oyo town in April 1985 from Osogbo while Msgr Gabriel Abegunrin was appointed the pioneer bishop of the newly created Osogbo Diocese.
Today, Abegunrin is the Archbishop of Ibadan Archdiocese following the retirement of Archbishop Alaba Job while Bishop John Oyejola is the current Bishop of Osogbo.
Bishop Adelakun recommended Gabriel Abegunrin, Emmanuel Badejo and John Oyejola and several other boys for admissions into the Saints Peter and Paul Major Seminary in Ibadan for their priestly formation, and also ordained them into the priesthood.
The 82-year old Bishop Adelakun will be happily satisfied that he is a successful leader and pastor as many of his spiritual children are doing well during his life time. Providentially, Bishop Badejo succeeded his father-mentor as the incumbent and the second bishop of the new Catholic Diocese of Oyo.
In the last ten years, Bishop Badejo added values to the spiritual lives of the faithful of the diocese as the chief shepherd by promoting and deepening the Catholic faith among the faithful through the ordination of many seminarians into the priesthood, creating new parishes and empowering the youths through skills acquisition to mention but a few.
He had also visited the various deaneries in Oyo Diocese to interact with the people, feel their purses on how to move the diocese forward spiritually and physically in years ahead. The observations and suggestions of the faithful from the places he visited will form part of the diocesan road-map and blue print for implementation in the years ahead.
“I have gone round the diocese to have what we called the forum with the bishop. It is precisely about formulating the pastoral plans for the diocese for the next 10 years because the end of ten years is the beginning of another.
And what we have said is that we had gone through these 10 years and we can count our blessings.
“But as Catholics; how much of social engagements have we done, how can we measure ourselves in inter religious harmony, what we do for people, how can we measure ourselves in the level of social support for the poorest of the poor because the work of charity is half the work of the church as Christ came to the world to show the love and mercy of God to mankind.
“But , perhaps, more importantly to us Catholics is to measure and to improve upon the sacramental lives of our people. To let them know that the first thing the Church exists for is not to provide jobs for the people ,not to provide education for those who are seeking admissions, but that God loves the world that he sends his only begotten son to save people and to call us to holiness. So the holiness of life and our salvation is the number one work of the Church.
“In the process of that, people can be helped to schools, can be helped to get good health care, employment.
” In the next ten years, we need to do more about being the agents of evangelisation, not just by priests, the religious but by catechists, prayer leaders and even our youths.’’
The former CBCN’s bishop chairman in charge of social communication is currently occupying same office at the African level called the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM).
The Catholic News Agency of Africa (CANAA), a wire service based in Kenya , has become more functional in promoting the activities of the Catholic Church on the continent under his leadership.
Indeed, Bishop Badejo has and is continuing to serve God and humanity.
Peter Dada is the national secretary, Catholic Media Practitioners Association of Nigeria (CAMPAN)
