Nigerian Christians have been advised not to allow position or any other earthly possession distract them from associating themselves with their fellow humans, as they are called to emulate the life of Archbishop John Kwao Amuzu Aggey, former Archbishop of Lagos. The charge was given by Very Rev. Fr. Matthew Ogunyase, Parish Priest, St. Christopher Catholic Church, Oke Odo, Lagos and Chaplain, Ave Maria Society, Archdiocese of Lagos, during Archbishop JKA Aggey memorial Thanksgiving Mass held Tuesday, March 14, 2023 at St. Christopher Catholic Church, Oke Odo, Iyana Ipaja, Lagos. Stating that Archbishop Aggey was one person who stood out as a good leader, Fr. Ogunyase described Archbishop Aggey as a simple, down to earth person and one whose footprints have been written in the sand of time. He said: “He is a man who left his footprints in the sand of time and that has become our anchor, something that we rely on. From the brief biography of Archbishop Aggey, he was a complete man of peace. He was somebody that was naturally loved by everybody, and widely accepted. That is the beauty of the Catholic Church leadership; it is not policitised. “I consider it a privilege to speak about a man that I never met and to only find out about in black and white that we read. He stood for peace, faith and prayer. And in that journey, he thought it wise that there was a need knowing where he himself came from, to organize his people.
“You will see the kind of relationship and affiliations we share with the people from Togo and Republic of Benin. And that is not his making. The Archdiocese, many years ago, spanned, Dahomey, Republic of Benin, we were all together before the Archdiocese was created in 1950. It is a great honour and privilege to have somebody like that leading the Church at that time. Speaking on Lent, he urged Christians to journey through the season by upholding and respecting the fact that God calls them to a life of sacrifice among other things. Fr. Ogunyase called on Nigerian leaders to treat the citizens right, adding that leadership is not something one brings from heaven, rather an opportunity to serve the people. Archbishop Aggey was born on March 5, 1908 in Anecho, Togo. He was brought to Lagos as a child, where he had his primary and secondary education. He attended St. Theresa Minor Seminary, Ibadan, Oyo State, Catholic Major Seminary, Asaba, Delta State and SS. Peter and Paul Major Seminary, Benin City. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1944 in Lagos. After 28 years as a priest, 14 years as a Bishop and 64 years on earth, Archbishop Aggey died after a brief illness on March 14, 1972. He founded the Ave Maria Society, a society that is responsible for the faith formation of non-Nigerians, predominantly Togolese, Republic of Benin, among other ECOWAS countries.
