Mr. Julius Ugonna Ezeifedi is the Chairman, Lagos Archdiocesan Laity Council. He assumed this elective office about five months ago. His administrative journey with the Laity dates back to several years ago and has progressed steadily from one level to the next. Ezeifedi’s leadership track record includes a stint as Chairman, Laity Council, St. Cyprian Catholic Church Oko Oba, Agege, and Chairman, Agege Deanery Laity Council. Prior to these offices, he was President of Guild of St. Anthony of same parish. In this interview with the Editor, NETA NWOSU, the lay leader charged all registered voters to turn up on election days to exercise their franchise amid other issues. Excerpts:
How has it been since assumption in office?
The challenge has not been as easy as it sounds, but we’re trying and doing our best, consulting the relevant stakeholders. We have to move the council forward in the Archdiocese of Lagos. Although, we have recorded some little achievements; I will call it a little. When we came on board, we discovered that the first task is to bring people closer and reconcile with societies/ organisations having certain issues, especially as it regards to Laity Council; bringing everybody together. We did our first programme last year, which we tagged, “Family Day”. We tried to bring more initiatives into the council, more additions. Like this year, on 25th of June; we will be celebrating the Feast of St. Thomas Moore. This is the first time in Nigeria, the first time in the Archdiocese that we will be celebrating the feast of our Patron Saint. The essence is to make people to know why St. Thomas Moore is a patron of Laity Council and why St. Thomas Moore is a unifier in whatever we are doing. We will honour some people on that day. We will honour all the past Presidents and Directors of the Archdiocesan Laity Council as well as our Archbishop Emeritus, Anthony Cardinal Okogie, among other things. So, as we go, we unfold our agenda. But our major focus is on evangelisation. During our Annual General Meeting (AGM), we talked about catechesis. We want to start training leaders on catechesis because most of them, just ask them one simple question in Catholic faith, you find them wanting. So, we want to see if we can consolidate and try to inject atom of humility in the council so that we know that conscience is the greatest judge of human being before God. Whatever we are doing, we are doing it in the vineyard of God for historical purposes because historians may lie, but history cannot. On our own part, history will not blame us for not trying.
Your recent AGM gave you an opportunity to look back the past one year. So, how would you say the Archdiocesan Laity Council fared in the past one year?
Well, in the past one year, we have done our little best. Although, am barely five months in office as president, but I have to take stock in the past one year. The Council is towering; the council is living up to expectations, especially in respect to our project. We have a land at Ketu which we are now developing. About 60 plots of land but we lost 24 to the Onipesis. But that is not the issue. We have started doing something on that land, started fencing the land to secure it permanently and finally so that the council will start making use of that place. So, to the best of my knowledge, we have fared better.
So, moving into 2023, aside from having your Patron Saint Day and using it as an opportunity to honour those that have contributed to the growth of the Archdiocesan Laity Council, what else are we expecting. What is your other core focus aside from evangelisation?
One of my core focuses is on societies and organisations because we have taken inventories, and we see that most of them are no longer healthy. So, we have decided to embark on visitations to actually know what the problem is, how are we going to help these societies to grow? We have started already. We visited some societies in their meetings; the Lectors, St. Anthony and the rest of them. We hear from them and they will hear from us. And that is the only way we can make it happen. And another point of focus for the year, apart from our family apostolate, is our prison apostolate. Last year, we were at the prison on December 26, and we felt that we have enough to contribute. We have partnered the National Association of Catholic Lawyers to see what can be done on how to reconcile some issues for speedy dispensation of justice to some of the inmates irrespective of religion, inmates that may not have people that can actually stand in for them.
The election is almost here. What message do you have for the electorate, Catholics in terms of electing quality leaders?
Yes, we started that campaign since last year, even at our Ijede quarterly meeting and the just concluded AGM. By telling them to go all out, en masse and first of all get their PVCs. I told them at the last AGM that lay faithful sitting down that have not collected their PVCs are one of the problems of this nation, and if they hear where Nigeria’s problems is being discussed, they shouldn’t contribute because they are one of the problems. Now, Nigeria is on the march again, we need quality leaders. We must listen to all these people, make use of our conscience and vote. Nigerians have not had it so rough like this before. So, I think it is high time everybody will come out and let your vote count. Our votes must count, irrespective of who the candidate is, but we know that our vote must count.
