From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Winners have emerged in that National Bible quiz competition organized by the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), in conjunction with the Voice of Evangelism International (VoEI).
The National quiz competition which was organized in three categories (Teenage, Youth and Adult) across several stages (Parish, Deanary, Diocese, and Province levels) was organized primarily to test the Bible knowledge of the participants.
At the end of the competition, Okoli Chioma (Onitsha Catholic Province) was crowned champion for the Teen category. Ibeh Chioma (Owerri Catholic Province) emerged first runner-up, and Oko Michael (Calabar Catholic Province) emerged 2nd runner-up.
On youth category, Madu Madu from Abuja Province emerged champion and was reward with cash gift and trophy. Sebastian Daruan (Jos Catholic Province) and Edeh Francis (Onitsha Catholic Province), emerged 1st and 2nd runners-up, respectively.
On adult category, Izuegbu Sylvia from Owerri Catholic Province was crowned the champion. She was also rewarded with cash gift and other prizes. Bature Peter (Kaduna Catholic Province) and Ochiltree Helen (Onitsha Catholic Province), emerged 1st and 2nd runners-up, respectively. They were also rewarded with cash gifts and other consolation prizes.
Mr. Femi Adeojo, Secretary of Religious Education, Catechesis and Biblical Apostolate, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), explained that the quiz competition was designed as a platform to celebrate God and His Word, and to also assess people’s friendliness with the Word of God.
Regarding the selection process and stages of the competition, Mr. Adeojo, explained that competition started from the Parish level, and moved to the Deanary, Dioceses and Provinces, and winners at the provincial levels were selected for the grand finale.
He confirmed that champions at teenage and youth levels were rewarded with N400,000 cash prize each, while the first and second runners-up were rewarded with N300,000 and N200,000, respectively. Meanwhile, on the adult category, the overall champion won N500, 000, while first and second runners-up won N300,000 and N200,000, respectively.
The sponsor of the competition, Dr. Emeka Agwu, told journalists that the desire to spread the Word of God beyond bound inspired him and his wife to sponsor the National Bible quiz competition.
He said: “Our intention is to have Word-filled citizens, particularly young ones, who would passionately drive the gospel of Jesus Christ at different levels. Gospel of Jesus is for all creatures irrespective of denomination or other differences. Jesus Christ made sacrifices and died for us all, and He never considered differences in His actions. So, we should emulate Him and do good to all men irrespective of differences,” he advocated.
Dr. Agwu who is also the President of VoEI, Huston, Texas, United States, said that aside sponsoring the works of God across the board, himself and his wife have sponsored several other outreaches that provided food and several other non-food items to needy families and communities across Nigeria and beyond.
As a non-catholic sponsoring such quiz competition, he said that Catholic Church is great and reputable organization that has served as a platform of transformation and empowerment of people across the globe.
He said: “The Catholic Church has made significant contributions to Christianity in Nigeria and beyond. Sometimes when we travel on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, at some unique spots of memory of the works of Christ, you will always see a Catholic Church there.
“So, the Holy Spirit motivated us even before we came to the Catholic Church to go into the world and spread the Gospel. So, the word of God needs to be reinforced into the system so that we can have a community that is Word-based and we can conquer the world with the word of God.”
He encouraged religious leaders to always pray for the nation and its leaders, and also contribute positively to the society in form of education, health, empowerment and several others. “The Church is critical to positive image of Nigeria”, he said.
CBCN President, Most Rev Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, who was represented by the Secretary General of the CSN, Rev. Fr Zachariah Samjumi, commended the sponsor and his wife, who, though not a Catholic, have single-handedly sponsored the programme in the Catholic Church, an indication that there is something that unite Christians.
Chairman of the Competition Planning Committee and Director, Department of Mission and Dialogue, CSN, Rev. Fr. Joseph Nomhwange, in his remarks, disclosed that the event, being the first of its kind in Nigeria, started with the 2023 National Bible Quiz of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
He commended the sponsor, Dr. Agwu, for his passion for the scripture and, though not a Catholic, graciously decided to sponsor the event in a Catholic Church.
He confirmed that the competition, which was organized by the Department of Mission and Dialogue in collaboration with the Biblical apostolate unit of the Pastoral Affairs Department of CSN, had contestants from eight Catholic provinces, notably, Abuja, Calabar, Ibadan, Jos, Kaduna, Lagos, Onitsha, and Owerri, that participated in the various categories in the competition.
Photo caption
Some of the participants and winners.