Meeting Bishop Anthony Gbuji, the Great Priest and Leader by Most Rev. Dr. Martin Igwe Uzoukwu, Catholic Bishop of Minna, Nigeria.

Introduction:

I am grateful to the Almighty and Merciful God that I have this special privilege to describe my encounter with our Baba, our -mentor, our Bishop and our Canonist par excellence, Most Rev. Dr. Anthony Gbuji, Bishop Emeritus of Issele-Uku and Enugu Dioceses. I am not sure that I have enough words to do justice to this piece, but I believe that it will give us a view of the great man we are celebrating his 90th birthday. It is my firm belief that Bishop Gbuji did not set out to achieve the many important milestones that adorn his life’s journey for his own credit and promotion as a human being.

He was simply being a priest called by God to the work of primary evangelization in the footsteps of Our Lord Jesus Christ the Divine Mercy Incarnate who came, not to be served, but to serve and give His Life as a Ransom for many’. Let me borrow the expressions of Rev. Fr. Brian Kolodiejchuk, M.C., by saying that Bishop Gbuji considered himself just as a pencil in God’s hand’Who was using his ‘nothingness’ to show God’s greatness.

Meeting Bishop Gbuji in the news:

Rev. Fr. Anthony Gbuji was among the young priests who worked very hard to serve the people who had suffered greatly during the period of the Nigerian-Biafran Civil War (1967-1970).

He was an erudite teacher for the young ones and a great formator for the seminarians who were placed under his care. Just like Jesus Christ His Lord and Master, news about him and his pastoral work, his apostolate with the young students and seminarians spread to many places”. We heard so much about him and he was surely a model for many young men and women who desired to serve God as Priests and Religious. The wonderful news about him spread more and farther when he was elevated to the Ofice of the Bishop of Issele-Uku Diocese.

His commitment to the formation of priests and pastoral workers for the Diocese of Issele-Uku yielded great fruits in the formation of the seminarians of his Diocese. His love for the work of evangelization was brought to light in the founding of the New Evangelization Sisters (NES) Congregation and the establishment of the School for New Evangelization in Issele-Uku. These were sources of inspiration and motivation for me and many others.

Meeting Bishop Gbuji, the Canonist:

My major encounter with Bishop Anthony Gbuji was through the Canon Law Society of Nigeria (CLSN). He is the Founding Father of the Society and he hosted the meetings of the young society.

Bishop Gbuji built up the structures of the Canon Law Society by choosing Canonists from the different provinces to give the Society a rapid growth at the provincial and diocesan levels. His resilience and love for Canon Law made him to go the extra mile to encourage young priests and religious to take up the ecclesiastical discipline. He đid so much to give the CLSN a prominent place among the different ecclesiastical professional bodies in Nigeria.

The Canon Law Society gave me and other priests at that time the opportunity to draw very close to Bishop Gbuji. He made it possible for us to learn from him and. the chance to do so as he was a great motivator and a wonderful teacher. We are struggling to fill the large shoes he left for us in the Canon Law Society of Nigeria.

Meeting Bishop Gbuji the Super Evangelizer:

Bishop Anthony Gbuji is a great promoter of the work of evangelization in different parts of Nigeria. I had the privilege of learning from the mighty work he did guiding the young Issele-Uku Diocese through his pastoral work, the engagement of priests and religious to take up the work of primary evangelization in the many communities of Issele-Uku Diocese.

It was his love for the work of evangelization that prompted him to establish the Emmaus School of Evangelization, Issele-Uku, the founding of the Congregation of the New Evangelization Sisters (NES) and the setting up of St. Paul’s International Institute of Evangelization (SPIIEE), Emene, Enugu. I could not help but marvel at his utilization of pastoral areas, small Christian community models and out stations to spread the gospel in rural communities of Issele-Uku and Enugu Dioceses and also Benin Archdiocese. This greatly impacted on us in Minna Diocese and it prompted me to establish our Diocesan School of Evangelization, Gawu.

He taught me what it means to train and utilize pastoral agents, Catechists and Church leaders as collaborators in the work of evangelization in rural and hard-to-reach communities of the Church.

Meeting Bishop Gbuji the leader and mentor:

Bishop Gbuji is a born leader. The words of John Maxwell perfectly describe his style of leadership. “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.” He truly knew his work as a pastor of souls and a shepherd of God’s people and he showed us the way. He is a great example of a leader both in the Church and in the Society. He showed wonderful leadership and management visions and skills in all his endeavours. These have been a huge source of inspiration for me and many others who look up to Bishop Gbuji for guidance.

His words of wisdom and encouragement helped us to stay on our feet when we encountered difficult circumstances on our journeys as pastors and religious in the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ the Divine Mercy Incarnate.

Meeting Bishop Gbuji the erudite scholar:

This is a man who loves education and is happy to see people from all shades of life empowered through education. This is evident in the establishment of Mother of Perpetual Help Juniorate for Girls, Issele-Uku. The institution focused on the educational empowerment of girls and impacting them with religious education and moral instructions.

One of the ways Bishop Gbuji utilized to educate people is his love for writing and facilitations for capacity development. The written works of Bishop Gbuji in different areas of human endeavour have been a source of capacity enhancement for me. His works speak so eloquently of his sound mind and his scholastic intellect. He has taught me and helped me to improve my life as a Pastor of God’s People through his writings and discussions. I am always enthralled by the depth of his knowledge and the richness of his wisdom. These helped many of us in our educational and intellectual programmes and activities.

Conclusion:

There are still so many encounters with our Baba, Bishop Gbuji, which have inspired me as a person, a Christian, a Priest and a Bishop in the Church of Jesus Christ. Bishop Anthony Gbuji at 90 is a living icon and he has already left a legacy that will speak so eloquently of the great Priest of God for many years to come. It is my belief that we are privileged to have him with us. God has used him in so many ways to bless and enrich the Church and the human family. It is my prayer that those of us who are coming after him will learn from him and keep the torch he lit for us burning brightly for us and generations to come. May God bless His son and servant, Most Rev. Anthony Gbuji with many more years of good health of mind and body. May He grant him special graces as we wish him a happy and well deserved 90th birthday celebration.