…As KSM, Festac Sub-Council unveils Cenotaph for the unborn children
By Constaincia Uruakpa
In line with their core objective of fighting against any act that brings about the termination of life, the Knights of St. Mulumba, KSM, Festac Sub-Council, have erected a Cenotaph to remind the Church and humanity of the evil of abortion and the need to totally put a stop to the act. The event, which took place at St Joseph Catholic Parish, Abule Ado, Lagos on Tuesday, November 2, 2021 witnessed a large turnout of the Knights and Ladies of St. Mulumba. Speaking on the occasion, Sir (Dr.) Cosmos Ihekuna, Grand Knight and Consultant Surgeon, disclosed that the fight against abortion is a core business in the order of the Knights of St Mulumba. “The fight against abortion is a major business; it is one of the pillars of our work. We fight against abortion. What we did today is a reminder that abortion is a killer, he said” On situations where doctors recommend abortion as the only way to save the life of the mother, Ikemefuna said: “It requires God’s wisdom to separate the two, because abortion no matter how you look at is murder.” Giving a historical account of the formation of the order of Knights of St Mulumba, he said: “St Mulumba started in Nigeria mainly as a counter balance to the Anglican Church.
When they came to this country, they monopolised everything, be it advancement in business, and other things to the exclusion of Catholics. So, Catholics started running away from the Church to go and join the Anglican Church, so that they could get a passage to wealth and prosperity. Then, Rev. Fr. Anslem Ojefua said no, the Catholics can also have a platform to know that all is not lost. That is how the Knights of St Mulumba came on board. So, the whole idea is for people to be allowed to worship their God the way they think best, without any molestation or harassment. All these people are here because they know that this order will protect them fully from any form of injustice, discrimination, any form of bad government; we oppose it.

” Speaking on the significance of the cenotaph, Rev. Fr. Melvis Mayaki, Dean, Festac Deanery and Parish Priest, Holy Family Catholic Church, Festac town, said, “From the olden days, even in the Bible, any time the people of Israel reached a particular place and there is significant event that occurred, God would tell them to erect a monument, as memorial, a reminder of the thing that happened.” Fr. Mayaki noted that a cenotaph is not just something for the past, but also for the future, to remind the people that something happened at a certain place and a certain time. He said; “Here, this cenotaph is shouting. It is silent, but it is a screaming reminder to people about something that is abnormal that has become normal. That is the case of abortion. Abortion is on the rise. Some countries have legalized it. In Nigeria, you can easily get abortion. Young people get abortion in different kinds of ways. So, people have forgotten that it is wrong, that it is a human being. Sometime people say it is just a tissue, they will just flush it out. But the church teaches that life begins at conception.
So, once a child is conceived, it is a human being. No human being should be killed by any human being for whatever reason. “So, the cenotaph is to remind the people and it is at a strategic place, in front of the chapel, when they are going to the chapel, they will remember those that have been killed, and anybody who is considering it, the spirit of God will change his or her heart, allow the child to live. Even if you cannot take care of the child materially, the child can be given up for adoption, rather than being killed by the child’s own mother. Mother Theresa said that it is bad that a mother will kill her own child. That is murder of the highest order. So, it is a shouting, screaming reminder that abortion is bad and should be stopped.” Also speaking, Sir Lazarus Ikechukwu Okolie, KSM, said “As members of KSM, Catholics primarily, we preach against abortion.
We talk about life from conception, from the time of the fetus, once there is conception; you know that there is life. And what we preach is that nothing should happen to that life. If something happens to that life you have committed murder, it is as good as killing a full-fledged human being. That a child is in the womb does not make it less than the child that has been delivered. So, what we did today is a reminder, to preserve this life because it is God’s gift.” For her part, Sister Uzoamaka Opkala, President Ladies of St. Mulumba (LSM) Festac Sub-Council said erecting the cenotaph is to remind people that life is very sacred, that no one has the right to tamper with any human life. “A lot of things are happening and it has been happening for a very long time, abortion here and there and people will tell you it doesn’t matter, we know that it matters, erecting the cenotaph is to remind people that life is very sacred, that nobody should tamper with any life no matter what. That is the essence”, she said. She advised women and girls in particular, to be holy, and serve God in truth and spirit, adding that it is wrong to abort any child.