Parading looters’ lists hasn’t made any difference —Archbishop Job

At 80, his dexterity for recalling past events and making sharp commentaries on the state of the nation is enviable. At the age of 33, he was Nigeria’s youngest bishop at the time of his ordination. Born June 24, 1938, Archbishop Emeritus of Ibadan, Most Reverend Felix Alaba Job, who has been at the forefront of positive reforms within and outside religious life, speaks with Rita Okonoboh on how he feels clocking 80, his experience in the ministry and what he thinks of Nigeria’s performance in terms of development.

How do you feel clocking 80?

I feel that God has blessed me. I feel like every other person, who has seen so many years in this world. Longevity is not a privilege; it’s a gift. I feel thankful to God for the number of years that I have spent. Some people see me and wonder at the fact that I am agile. However, the fact is that at 80, you begin to mellow; you begin to go slow. I’m thankful to God for the gift of clocking this age.

 

You look younger than your age. What’s the secret?

First, let us acknowledge God who is the author and giver of all good things. I can’t really say it is because of this or that. I think it is a totality of what you make for yourself – what you eat and drink, your attitude and the way you carry yourself. I was very active in sports when I was much younger.

 

At 80, there are a lot of things people know about you. What are some things about you people may find incredible?

That I am apapapamaku (one who is killed many times, but refuses to die). I’ve had many accidents. When I was younger, I drove very long distances. I drove from Jos to Ibadan in one day – that was in those days one had to go through Zaria. I once took off in the morning from Ogoja to Ibadan for a meeting at 4pm. I’ve never smoked cigarette or drank liquor. I’m not given to much expression of sentiments.

 

When you compare the time you became Nigeria’s youngest bishop and now, are you satisfied with the level of youth participation in the ministry?

When I was appointed bishop on March 11, 1971 by Pope Paul VI, I initially rejected it. Frankly, at the time, I couldn’t see myself as a bishop. Not only in Nigeria, I was the youngest in the whole world at the time. Although I was young in age, in experience, I wasn’t. Today, do not mind when you hear of people jostling for power within the church. There are many who are doing well, and are young people. I never thought I would be a bishop. Being a bishop is a call to service. Looking back to my 47 years of episcopacy, I still attest that although the load is a burden, Jesus Christ makes the burden light.

 

Earlier, you talked about slowing down as a person gets older. You retired at 75, in line with the requirements of the Catholic Church. President Muhammadu Buhari is in his 70s and has declared his intention to seek reelection. If you could, how would you advise him?

I will first say you cannot put the nation in the same place as the church. The constitution isn’t against what President Buhari has done by seeking reelection. However, if Buhari were a Yoruba man, I’ll tell him Ibi gereje la’n b’agba (the elder should be an elder statesman). Let us use our innate and cultural traditions in matters of governance. The elders do not run around; they send ambassadors. What the elderly are doing at the national level should be better done by the middle-aged. We are not telling ourselves the truth. When we met President Buhari, before the last national election, we told him some of the problems of the nation and we agreed with him that the major problem of the nation is corruption. Unfortunately, ‘the soul is willing, the flesh is weak,’ is the predominant state of affairs in Nigeria. Nigeria has been running round, deceiving itself that self-aggrandisement, as it relates to public funds, is the only form of corruption. There is also nepotism, which is another form of corruption. The body polity of the nation is corrupt and until that is addressed, there won’t be true development. We need a review of our constitution. When this administration came into power, certain political office holders said they would take half salaries. The issue goes beyond half salaries. The issue is the comparison between half salary and what the ordinary citizen is entitled to. Take the legislative arm of government that said they wouldn’t slash their salaries. What is the justification for them to sit and get millions of Naira? Let us not ask God to come with fire to reform us. Some members of the National Assembly don’t attend meetings, yet they get paid for it. Is that justifiable? Until such things are considered, we cannot make headway. For those who have been indicted, how many people have been jailed, in comparison to those who have been caught? How has the list of corrupt persons influenced the health of the nation? We can continue to talk and talk, but until we are able to come together to decide whether we want to continue this way or not, things will not change.

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As a priest, did you ever have to deal with sexual advances?

Since the day I received my first holy communion – I was 10 years old – I made a vow not to violate my body, and with the help of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament and the Mother of Perpetual Help, I have been able to keep that promise till date. I took the conscious decision to keep my body as the temple of God. After my ordination, a lady came up to me and said: ‘You didn’t even see us as we were dancing towards you.’ And I told her: ‘Thank God I didn’t see you.’ I mentioned it sometime ago. After I celebrated my 78th birthday, a lady sent me a message that nobody has ever moved her as I do, not even her husband. She even suggested that we could be just friends. However, I told her I didn’t need that.

 

What if you weren’t a priest?

I would have become a lawyer, doctor, engineer or any other. I was disposed by God’s grace to becoming anything God wanted me to be. We had opportunities and I took things as they came. God has a way of doing things. My mother had three sets of twins, before my elder sister, then me. When my mother would advise my sisters, she would ask me to excuse them. However, they eventually told me what my mother told them afterwards. I didn’t know God was using that experience to prepare me for an apostolate. When I became priest, that experience helped me to teach girls in their teens how to take care of themselves. As a manager of schools, I made books available on the subject. There were disciplinary sanctions for any teacher who fell out of line when it came to discipline.

 

Having spent 80 years on earth, if you were given the opportunity, would you want to rewrite any part of your life?

Sincerely, I would wish to live again as I have lived these past 80 years. I was brought up in a family where discipline and the fear of God were upheld.