There is a saying that “A chick that will grow into a cock can be spotted the very day it hatches” is one way an ethnic group in Africa articulates the words of the Lord to the prophet Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; lordained you a prophet to the nations” I:S. This encapsules the inspiring tale that is played out in the life of Msgr Mark Maigida Nzukwein as this historic day

BIRTH AND EARLY CHILDHOOD

Msgt Mark’s parents are Mr. Nzukwein Andeshak, later christened Stephen and Mrs Augustina Nzukwein. Both were of humble background but raised their children in fear of God and were committed to their children’s upbringing and education. Monsignor Mark’s siblings include: Rose Sale, Peter Nzukwein, Dominic Nzukwein, Rahila Danlami, Lawrence Nzukwein and Felicia Atisinde. The coming of the Monsignor into the world was as ordinary as it was normal. Immediately he came to the world, he was given the name

“Maigida”, a name in Hausa meaning “Head of the family”. No wonder, as the name suggests, little did we know that the bearer would eventually become a “Head of God’s family” (or servant leader of God’s sheep) in the future as only time and destiny were determining factors.

Hence, Msgr Mark Maigida Nzukwein was born at Jenuwa Nyifiye in Takum Local Government Area of Taraba State of Nigeria on the 15″ day of July, 1969. At the time of his birth, Jenuwa Nyifiye was a village under Takum District in the defunct Wukari Division, in Benue Plateau State. Then Nigeria consists of only 12 states that were earlier created by General Yakubu Gowon in 1967. General Murtala Muhammad took over the reins of power from General Yakubu Gowon and created seven more states, bringing the total number of states to nineteen. The creation of additional states in Nigeria affected the political configuration of Jenuwa Nyifiye as Takum District became a Local Government in the defunct Gongola State. With the change in the creation of state, Jenuwa village later became part of Takum Local Government Area.

Although, Maigida was born shortly after the Nigerian Civil War, he was lucky to be born in Wukari Division in the then Benue Plateau State that never experienced the devastating impact of the war as it never crossed the River Niger. Moreso, the then “Aku”, His Royal Majesty Mallam Ali Byewi (1960-1970), a great educationalist who ascended the throne in 1960 upon the death of Ada Ali, was a great king and simply a purveyor of peace. Also, in Takum District was His Royal Highness, Ukwe Ali Ibrahim Zarto (1963-1996) who held sway and protected all the people of Takum and created between them a bond of love so affectionate between the tribes. The two Royal Fathers were the leaders that held sway at the time Maigida was born and their uncompromising stance on peace would later create in the mind of this young adult a world where peace would be the foundation for human existence.

PRIMARY/ SECONDARY EDUCATION

Nzukwein, Maigida’s father, a man with great foresight, had earlier on begun to see the need for widening his children’s educational horizon beyond the world of farming, blacksmithing, craft, etc., which were the traditional educational system available to the local folks before the advent of Western education. Earlier on in the early sixties, a primary school was established by the Catholic Missionaries (specifically, the Holy Ghost Fathers) at Jenuwa Nyifiye. The primary school was a junior primary school that trained pupils from primary 1 – 3. In those days, in primary 3, one had to write a qualifying exam to further his studies at the senior St. Joseph’s RCM Primary School in Takum. Maigida’s enrolment into primary 1 took place in 1976 when the newly created Gongola State government took over the Catholic Primary Schools and converted them to local education primary schools to implement the newly formed policy of Universal Primary Education (UPE). Thus, at the age of seven, the young Maigida was enrolled into the newly established UPE Primary School at Jenuwa Nyifiye.

In his primary school days, there were many teachers who played pivotal roles in the life of the young Maigida. We had Mr. Yakubu Mbwaki, Mr. Eli, Mr. Abershi Tikon, Mr Simon Kyantiki, Mr Andrew Mbarkwen, Mr. Peter Shishi Adamu, etc. Though all the teachers Maigida encountered contributed immensely to his upbringing, one of them stood tall like a colossus in his life. He is Mr. Peter Shishi Adamu. Mr. Peter Adamu played a pioneering role in the formative stage of the RCM School when it was established at Jenuwa Nyifiye in the early 60s. Fortunately, when the mission primary school was taken over by the government, he was still retained as the Headmaster of the UPE primary school. In his capacity as a head teacher, he made Catholic doctrine a compulsory subject for all Catholic pupils and taught it personally. This was an important step in the faith formation of the young Maigida. As a matter of fact, Maigida looked up to Mr. Adamu, the head teacher and his father-like figure – as a role model, a benefactor, and as a source of inspiration.

Due to his hard work and wit, he was allowed to sit for the Common Entrance into secondary school while in primary 5. In the same year Maigida was admitted into form 1 as a student of Government Commercial Secondary School, he also received the Sacrament of Baptism on 26 July 1981. The “Free-Education-for-all” Policy introduced by the government of the day resulted in a large number of admissions, particularly the year Maigida started his secondary education. The young Maidiga was very committed to his studies and graduated in June 1986 in flying colours.

Apart from being a hardworking student, he was equally a very religious young man. He was a devout member of the Church, a committed member of the Young Catholic Students Association (YCS) and many other pious societies in the Church. Whenever a priest came to the College for a visit/Mass, Mark never missed participating in the reception of the sacraments: that is, the Holy Eucharist and Reconciliation. The Eucharist, to him, was an indispensable spiritual treasure that connects him intimately with his Creator. And so, he tried as much as possible to make the Mass and the reception of Holy Communion the reason for his existence.

With an outstanding performance in WAEC in 1986, the sky was the limit for Mark. At that point in time, Mark never told anybody the choice of the course which he intended to read in the university. Nobody knew what he had in mind about his future as he would later reveal that he dedicated a whole year (1986-1987) to prayer – asking God to direct him on what to do in the remaining years allotted to him on earth. Dedicating a whole year (1986-

1987) to prayers! Yes, that was exactly what Mark did. He had attributed all his successes from his tender years to the workings of the Almighty God. To him, even if he would spend five or ten years waiting upon God for direction in life, it would still not be a waste of time for God does His things in a mysterious way and at His own appointed time.

DISCERNMENT OF VOCATION AND ANSWERING GOD’S CALL TO THE PRIESTHOOD

One day, in June 1987, Mark took a decision that shocked everyone to their bone marrows.

He dropped the idea of going to the secular university to read Accountancy for a more noble choice to serve God through the Catholic priesthood – a decision that almost caused an uproar in Jenuwa Nyifiye especially from some of his relations who were non-Catholics. However, he remained resolute in his decision to opt for the Catholic priesthood. Henceforth, winning souls for Christ became the principal motivation for his future vocation! Yes, indeed, the decision to enrol into the seminary was divinely orchestrated by the dictates of a divine epiphany. The decision marked a turning point in the life of the young Mark.

Mark went straight to the Parish house in Holy Family, Takum, where forms for admission into the major seminary were available. After applying and passing through the necessary interviews, he was granted admission into the major Seminary, under the Catholic Diocese of Yola. It is noteworthy that the Holy Ghost priests who ran Holy Family Parish, Takum – Rev. Fr. Andrew O’Sullavan, CSSP and Rev. Fr. John Sweeney, CSSP played significant roles in nurturing the vocation of Mark. Thus, his journey to the priesthood began in 1987 as he left home for the spiritual year and philosophical studies at St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary (STAMS) Makurdi, Benue State.

Mark completed his philosophical studies in the initial stage of his priestly formation in

1990. Upon completion, he was sent on a one-year mandatory pastoral experience in St.

Peter’s Minor Seminary, Jimeta-Yola, Adamawa State. After completing the pastoral work August you Sch, gui ( she l Sausate. i as a his Marries,

that he had his theological studies. He obtained a Diploma in Religious Studies from the University of Ibadan in 1993 and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sacred Theology (BST) from the Pontifical Urbanian University Rome, Italy, in 1995.

Mark was raised to the Order of the Diaconate by His Lordship, Most Rev. Dr. Patrick f.

Sheehan, OSA on 1 January 1995 at the Army Barracks, Yola, Adamawa State, alongside his four other colleagues from Yola Diocese – now Very Reverend Fathers Oliver Buba, Raymond Danbonna, Lawrence Hammawa and Zachariah Samjumi. At the creation of

Jalingo Diocese in April 1995 which necessitated the transfer of all seminarians, deaconsand priests from parishes that fell within the newly created Diocese, Rev. Mark who belongs to the Holy Family Parish, Takum, automatically came under Jalingo Diocese.

Rev. Mark was ordained a Catholic priest on 15 July 1995 at the Holy Family Catholic Church, Takum, Taraba State, by Most Rev. Dr. Ignatius Ayau Kaigama, the first Bishop of Jalingo Diocese, and currently the Archbishop of Abuja and the Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Abuja. The ordination of Rev. Fr. Mark Nzukwein on 15 July 1995 was quite epochal in the sense that it marked the first priestly ordination of the new Diocese of Jalingo. Apart from being the first priestly ordination of the Diocese, he was the first priest to be ordained as an indigenous priest of Takum parish from the Kuteb ethnic

group.

MINISTRY AS A PRIEST

Upon ordination as a priest, Father Mark hit the ground running as an industrious, dedicated and faithful priest. He was a pastorally minded priest and as such was saddled with some vital responsibilities at such a tender age of his life and priesthood. He was appointed the Diocesan Youth Chaplain shortly before his priestly ordination, a responsibility he held from 1995 – 1999. Within the same period, he served as the Assistant Cathedral Administrator from 1995 – 1998; he also served as the Diocesan Secretary from

1996 – 1998 and PMS Director from 1996 – 1999. In 1998, he was appointed the Parish Priest of St. John’s Parish, Mutum-Biyu, in Gassol Local Government Area of Taraba State, where he remained until 1999.

In the year 1999, he was sent for further studies at the Pontifical Salesian University Rome, Italy, where he studied for three years and was awarded a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) and a Licentiate (STL) in Catechetics and Youth Pedagogy in the year 2002. His performance at the Salesian University was so impressive that the professors advised him to enrol straightaway for his doctoral degree. He could have remained for the Doctoral programme but the labourers in the vineyard in the Catholic Diocese of Jalingo, then were too few. He had to come back and continued from where he stopped. Besides, it was an arrangement between him and the Diocese that he was to go to the University to pursue a programme that would lead to the award of a LICENCIATE and not Doctorate. He did not want to breach the agreement between him and the Diocese. As a humble person with the milk of humility naturally flowing in his veins, he returned to the Diocese in 2002.

When Fr. Mark returned from studies, he served briefly at St. Augustine’s Parish Jalingo and was later appointed the Rector of the newly established Sacred Heart Minor Seminary, Jauro Yinu, Jalingo in September 2003. Looking up to God as a reliable partner in running the junior seminary and taking the challenge as a pioneering Rector with a positive spirit, Father Mark ran the Seminary successfully from 2003 – 2016. During this period, he held sway as a Rector and under his leadership, the Seminary was able to graduate eight sets of minor Seminarians. Two students of the first set from the minor seminary went to the major seminary and were later ordained priests for the Diocese of Jalingo.

It is significant to note that while serving as a Rector at the minor seminary in Jalingo, Father Mark was appointed the Vicar General (Administration) of Jalingo Diocese (2008 –

2016). Besides, he also served as a member of the Diocesan Board of Consultors (2002 –

2016), Chaplain of the Knights of St. John International (2004-2008), and many other responsibilities entrusted to him in the Diocese. Father Mark humbly accepted all these plethora of responsibilities in faith. He never considered any duties imposed on him as daunting or overbearing. The secret behind this as he would be willing to reveal is that he is an advocate of prayer without ceasing. Prayer is the driving force that saw him through all the daunting challenges in his priestly ministry.

Having excelled in his duties as the pioneer Rector of the minor Seminary for a period of 13 years (2003 – 2016), the Holy Father, Pope Francis, appointed him via the Bishops of Jos Ecclesiastical Province to his alma mater – St. Augustine’s Major Seminary Jos, as a substantive Rector (2016 – 2023) – an appointment which he considers as a rare privilege indeed. Initially, he had his fears and trepidation in accepting a task that was quite daunting and onerous, a task that requires one to provide leadership to a great institution that has produced very great and towering ecclesiastical personalities that are serving the Church creditably both locally and internationally. But his fears were allayed with the full acceptance, support and tremendous goodwill which he enjoyed from the Seminary community from his fellow priest formators, other staff and students of the Seminary.

Rev. Fr. Mark was a registered member of the National Seminaries Committee – comprising of all the Rectors of the minor, spiritual year and major seminaries in Nigeria, being one of the committee of the Pastoral Agents of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) for twenty (20) years and also served as the Committee’s Secretary General from 2018 – 2022. Recently, he was appointed a member of the Commission on the New Religious Foundations in Nigeria.

When the announcement creating the Catholic Diocese of Wukari and pronouncing him as Bishop of the Diocese came on 14th December 2022, Msgr Mark remarked that everything that has happened to him is the will of God. His journey into priesthood, his likes, his dislikes, his hope, his challenges and most importantly his becoming the Chief shepherd of the newly created Catholic Diocese of Wukari. Since the announcement from the Vatican City declaring him a Bishop, the man in his usual character has gone into silence, in prayerful mood and deep meditation asking God to give him a sense of direction to serve his people. His introspection, prayer and focus are all centred on reconciliation, peace and unity in the newly created Diocese.

MSGR. MARK MAIGIDANZUKWEIN’S PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE

Msgr Nzukwein has always accompanied his priestly ministry with a philosophy of life, which is: “IN ALL THINGS, GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD” (1 Thessalonians 5: 18).

This statement from St. Paul’s 1″ letter to the Thessalonians urges him to give thanks to the Almighty God in all circumstances – whether good, bad or ugly. The Biblical verse serves as Msgr Mark’s guiding philosophy of life. It is the biblical verse that has shaped and guided him right from his adolescence up to the time he was ordained a priest. The statement is short, apt, lucid, unambiguous and quite axiomatic The act of putting God first and acknowledging the supreme will of God in his life has made him to be a man of peace and his aura speaks peace. Msgr Mark Nzukwein wants us to know that prayer is the driving force behind his successes in life and in his quest for peace, he seems to find comfort and solace in St. Francis of Assisi’s prayer for peace thus:

Lord make me an instrument of your peace

Where there is injury, pardon Where there is doubt, faith Where there is despair, hope Where there is darkness, light and Where there is sadness, joy.

As a shepherd, Msgr Mark is endowed with the desire to make and pursue peace wherever he holds sway as a spiritual father. This is a central concern in his priestly ministry. On the social side of life, Msgr Mark is quite a gregarious and pleasant personality. He is a man of good interpersonal relationship and has proved that he has capacity for great human understanding, a man any person would love to be close to. In his best of moods, Msgr Mark could keep your ribs cracking with light hearted jokes, a man of humour indeed. But the surprising thing is his ability to turn humour into a didactic, an admonishing section of interlocution. The longer period of my association and closeness to him, the last fifty years, has proven and shown this great human touch in him.

The consecration of Msgr Mark as the new Bishop of the newly created Catholic Diocese of Wukari is in a way, how God is trying to usher in everlasting peace in the Kwararafa kingdom. His episcopal ordination prognosticates good tidings for the entire Taraba State.

This is because the new Bishop is an epitome of peace. He is simply a purveyor of peace and a ray of hope in a society with peace deficit. In him we see unity in the entire State. In him, we see all tribes in the ancient Kwararafa kingdom: Jukun, Kuteb, Chamba, Tiv, Ichen, Ibo, Hausa, Ogoja and others becoming more united and steering the ship of their destiny together. Msgr Mark symbolizes God’s long-answered prayer for reconciliation, peace and unity, not only in Taraba state but the entire country – Nigeria.

BISHOPRIC

Today, Thursday 13 April 2023, as Msgr Mark Nzukwein is consecrated a bishop – the first Bishop of the newly created Catholic Diocese of Wukari. Doubtless, the episcopal office is a most exalted ecclesiastical office in the Catholic Church. In the catholic tradition, the Church is apostolic because of the special ministry and charism entrusted by Jesus to his apostles, which have been preserved and transmitted through the unbroken succession of bishops through the ages. In this unique fashion, we pray for him, that despite his unworthiness, he may faithfully fulfil the office of the apostles which Jesus Christ is entrusting to him this day. We pray that he may become more like Jesus, our High Priest and Good Shepherd, the Teacher, Servant and Father of all and so be a genuine sign of Christ’s loving presence among us. Amen!

!MOSES INNOCENT IRAMBIYA, ESQ.