It was indeed an amazing experience for all the African countries at Chida Event during the opening Mass of the 5th Pan African Congress. Dressed in their cultural attires with their flags, each country delegates walked through the aisles of the Congress Auditorium in a manner so resplendent, expressing not only their culture but the hunger and zeal to arise from the shallow of their spiritual life to a height that will make them shine, illuminating with such a light of Christ that all the dark aspects of their lives will be made bright enough to change the face of Africa for good.
Addressing the delegates His Grace Rev. Fr .Ignatius Kaigama the metropolitan Archbishop of Abuja welcomed them to Nigeria and to Abuja precisely and wished them a successful 5th Pan African Congress. The prelate reiterated the need for Africans to see themselves as one not allowing language and cultural differences to divide them. In his words “see how you are seated in this place like you were in heaven, united by one faith, with no difference between a Lesotho person and a Nigeria, a Ghanaian and Niger, a South African and Benin Republic.
You should not allow the division of the colonial masters to put us at dagger’ drawn at each other. African has become a dumping ground for colonial ideology, we are gradually getting whitewashed by the ideology from the West , jettisoning ours. We should arise and shine. Those who say there is no God are those who have either read too much books or influenced by certain ideologies that are uncharitable to the belief of God’s existence, Africa is a blessed continent. It was in Africa that Jesus ran to for safety, same continent that civilization first came. Think about the martyrs of Uganda and other great and amazing values of Africans. We are blessed and shouldn’t allow such values to be destroyed by ideological colonialization. Africa is blessed, our passion for religion is still unequalled unlike other places their churches have been turned into museums
The prelate called on them to be Charismatic and Catholics or Catholic and Charismatic. He challenged them to continue to live out their Charismatic spirituality within the boundaries of Catholic doctrines and dogmas.
Welcoming delegates to the event the Chairman of the Renewal in Nigeria who also is the chairman planning Committee of the Congress, bro Uche Manu KSJI said that Jesus is the real and genuine light who changes things. He is the light to everyone who has the need of super human. He called on the participants to be feel at home and enjoy the blessings that come with the Congress with the theme Arise and Shine for your light has come.
The high point of the event was the declaration of the Congress open by His Grace Most Rev Dr Ignatius.
Jarlath Uche Opara Jarlathuche@gmail.com
