The name of Mrs. Chizube Geraldine Igboanugo is prominent among the lay faithful, known for hard work and commitment to the service of the Catholic Church. She has held several leadership positions in the Catholic Church, notably as the first inaugurated Chairperson of the FESTAC Deanery Laity Council and the immediate past President of the Lagos Archdiocesan Laity Council.
Given her prominence as the second female Chairperson of the Laity Council, and one of the laity matriarchs in Nigeria, plus the fact of her endless service and impact leadership, it is not out of place, therefore, that she came into contention as The Catholic Herald Centenary Lay Person. The award, after all, honours lay leaders who have made landmark contributions to the promotion of core values of laity development, and Igboanugo is eminently qualified.
Mrs. Igboanugo, who hails from Ozubulu in Ekwusigo Local Government of Anambra State, is a serial entrepreneur and director of many businesses, including Vijay Nigeria Limited, Caritas Properties Limited and Nkeanyi Farms, among others. Despite her busy schedule, she sets aside time for selfless service in many capacities in the Catholic Church. In the past decades, she has led various deaneries, lay organisations and associations.
Charity, as they say, begins at home. Her service is well anchored in her parish, the Catholic Church of the Nativity, FESTAC Town, where she was, at different times, Second Vice Chairman and later First Vice Chairman of the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC). Other positions she has held in her parish include Welfare Secretary and later the Vice Chairman of the Board of Lectors; President, Confraternity of Christian Mothers; and Secretary, Laity Council. Igboanugo’s love for volunteering for service manifests in her consistent membership and progression in many committees of the Catholic Church and institutions.
An example of this is to be found in her leadership metamorphosis as Welfare Secretary, Vice President and President of the Lagos Branch of the Loyola Jesuit College, Abuja, PTA (2006-2011). As a testament to her service, she has over 30 awards of recognition, excellence and leadership. These honours came majorly from associations, deaneries and societies in the Archdiocese of Lagos, including Loyola Jesuit College PTA (2011); Society of St. Vincent De Paul, Catholic Church of the Nativity, FESTAC Town (2015); Lagos Archdiocesan Laity Council (2016); Confraternity of Christian Mothers, FESTAC Town (2017); Holy Family Catholic Church, FESTAC Town (2017); Rotaract Club (2017); Ikeja Deanery Laity Council (2019); SIGNIS Archdiocese of Lagos (2019);Claretian Missionaries (2019); and Missionary Childhood Association, Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos.
She is patroness, Board of Lectors, Board of Church Wardens and Confraternity of Christian Mothers, at the Catholic Church of the Nativity. She is also the National Patroness of Catholic Sisters United in Christ. A double award recipient of the Lagos Archdiocesan Laity Council, she was presented a St. Thomas More Medal by His Grace, Most Reverend Alfred Adewale Martins, the Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Lagos. Her dynamic leadership as Chairperson (2018-2022) enhanced the growth of the Lagos Archdiocesan Laity Council.
In partnership with SIGNIS, Archdiocese of Lagos, in 2019, her leadership had been instrumental to the mobilisation of lay leaders and lay representatives for the commemoration of the first Lagos Archdiocesan Communications Week and the inaugural Communications Week in the Catholic Church of Nigeria. The effort culminated in a huge attendance and participation of lay leaders, lectors and representatives of the Man of Order and Discipline (MOD) and lay organisations and societies in the Archdiocese of Lagos at the Communications Conference.
She was the President of the Lagos Archdiocesan Laity Council, when, in June 2020, the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos reopened its parishes and Mass centres for worship after months of closure due to the restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Laity Council under her leadership had played a crucial role by distributing 3, 000 face masks and 2, 000 hand sanitisers and helping in sensitising the entire laity on the proper observance of the requisite health protocol. Similarly, she also worked to create awareness on the co-responsibility of all the lay societies in the Archdiocese and galvanised them to fence and secure the 36 plots of land at Maidan, Lagos, gifted to the Laity Council.
Her tenure was characterised by fervent promotion and support for evangelisation in the Archdiocese, with the lay organisations and societies playing prominent roles. Mrs. Igboanugo, a model for her contribution to the growth of the Laity Council, still diligently works for the Archdiocese till date in the Chrism Mass Committee. Reflecting on her service as the second female Chairperson of the Lagos Archdiocesan Laity Council, Igboanugo, an alumna of the Lagos State University where she studied International Relations and Strategic Studies, said: “I feel happy that the little that was done during my tenure brought together the lay groups in the Archdiocese. The various lay organisations and societies still work as one and support each other whenever there is need. So all these give me a sense of fulfilment and gratitude.”
On why she is ever ready to volunteer her service at any opportunity, she explained: “I have always believed that life without service, especially where you give without asking or getting any financial reward, is necessary for spiritual growth. The joy of sharing my talent, time and treasure was a major attraction for me when I decided to serve the people of God. I saw it as a major seed sowing and a leap of faith. I had the conviction that if I served God in all honesty and with love for His people, He would always look upon me with mercy.”
The Catholic Herald Board of Editors voted her as the Centenary Lay Person, in recognition of her distinguished service to the development of the Lagos Archdiocese Laity Council and the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos as a whole.
- Neta Nwosu is the editor of The Catholic Herald weekly newspaper.
