Kukah, Didam, 39 Others Receive St. Andrew’s Kakuri Centenary Award

By Frederick Peters, KADUNA.

NEWSDAILYNIGERIA— The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Reverend Matthew Hassan Kukah, late Pa Peter Didam Abiyong, and 39 other parishioners and Nigerians received awards for their invaluable contributions during the 119th centenary celebration of St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, Kakuri, Kaduna.

The centenary Thanksgiving Mass and Award ceremony, which was held recently in Kaduna, attracted an array of priests, religious, and laity from across various dioceses, political ad traditional leaders in Nigeria, among others.

Speaking on the essence of the centenary thanksgiving celebration and awards, Most Rev. Matthew Man-Ojo Ndagoso, President of the Catholic Bishops’ conference of Nigeria, ( CBCN) and Catholic Archbishop of Kaduna, said:

“I think it’s good, you remember when Jesus healed the 10 lepers, and only one went back and said..When Jesus asked, ‘Were 10 not healed, where are the 9? Only this one has come.’ Not that He needed it, but at least for people to express appreciation.

​”And therefore, for the 119 years that we are celebrating today, God doesn’t work in a vacuum. He uses people—human beings—to achieve whatever. And therefore, He has used so many people: missionaries who brought the faith, lay people, priests (both foreign and local), catechists, teachers of the faith, you name it—the lay faithful. Everybody worked very hard, you know, to give us what we are celebrating today at 119 years.

​”And therefore, it is only right that they should be appreciated. And this is what St. Andrew’s has done: appreciating all those who have contributed, you know? We cannot give them anything except just to acknowledge them. So we thank God for that, and I think it’s a good thing that they have done,” he reiterated.

Earlier, while delivering his homily Bishop Kukah, reflected on his life as a young seminarian, priest, and later a bishop:

​”So for me, this is a journey of joy because St. Andrew’s has done a lot for me. What I realized actually is that apart from St. Andrew’s, I have not worked anywhere else in the Archdiocese of Kaduna. I’ve never served as an assistant priest or even as a seminarian, because I first came here in 1972 to do apostolic work. Father Lee was the parish priest.

​”The reason why I have to give glory to God is that I could never have imagined that from Kakuri my next posting would be the Bishop of the Diocese of Sokoto.”

​He further said:

“In writing history, I’ve briefly looked at the history here, and I’m happy that his name is mentioned. Very often we think about the Pope, we think about the Archbishop, we think about the Bishops, we think about the parish priests, but we often pay very little attention to those whose efforts—especially the catechists, especially the masons, especially the cooks, the stewards—those people who were not necessarily visible, but who are part of the foundation on which our faith and our church is now being built., I’m happy that Baba Didam’s name is being mentioned” , he reiterated.

Kukah also  pointed out where the church started  ” , as you are turning to enter Kakuri, that’s where we can say the first church started. The rest, as they say, is history,” he said.

​Similarly, the Parish Priest of St. Andrew’s, Kakuri, Rev. Fr. Lucas Zasan Auta, stated: ” This church gave birth to every other parish within the metropolis. Established in 1907, the first Mass was celebrated here. And so this year, the church clocked 119 years, so it was necessary for us to come together as a community of faith to celebrate the triumph of the gospel over the years—to celebrate the heroes of our faith: the missionaries and expatriates that came from Europe, America, Asia, and different parts of the world to establish the faith.

​”And to also celebrate our local missionaries who took over from them, and they have done their own bit, and those of us that have inherited, especially the present structure that is standing. And we cannot but thank God for the life of Bishop Kukah, who erected these two structures that we are enjoying today.”

​According to him: “It was necessary to award them for their contributions, especially those who are parishioners, those who were parishioners and are no longer parishioners, who have relocated, and some who are still here with us. Some are not even parishioners, but we have been following track of their philanthropic activities in different parishes, and not just Catholics. Other churches invite them, and they contribute.

“And one, in particular, Catechist Didam, who worked with the missionaries when they came. I was very glad when, at least for the first time, we gave him this recognition for his tireless effort when this place was like a bush and he was working with the missionaries. So, it was something of great joy to see that we recognize our brothers and sisters within the Catholic Church and even outside that have been helping the church in different ways,” he stressed.

​Receiving the posthumous award on behalf of the late Catechist Peter Didam Abiyong, his widow, Ma Mary Peter, thanked God and the church for the recognition. She also expressed gratitude to Bishop Kukah, for his kind words, describing him as one “who has been there with the family all those decades,

​”As we thank God, we also appreciate Archbishop Ndagoso, Bishop Kukah, and the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Lucas Auta, for making the centenary thanksgiving celebration and awards a success,” she added.

Also, another recipient, one of the senior parishioners and Award Committee Chairman, Chief Gabriel Ochigbo, expressed gratitude to God for seeing this day and prayed for God’s blessings and goodness upon the church and the parishioners. Describing the outcome of the celebration, “the turnout was okay.” he stated.

​On his part, one of the recipients and former Council Chairman, Mr. Frederick Omale, said: “It’s a privilege given to some of us. Today is a day of joy, a day of happiness that the church recognized the little things that we have done. I thank God for that. And we pray that God will continue to strengthen us to do more for our church. This is our church. This is where a lot of us were, in fact, born and baptized. So definitely, we must see to the growth of our parish,” he said.