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From Aloysius Attah, Onitsha
Metropolitan Catholic Archbishop of Onitsha, Most Rev. Valerian Maduka Okeke yesterday marked this year’s Christmas with the inmates of Onitsha Correctional Centre where he showered them with various gift items.
Delivering a homily during the Holy Eucharistic Celebration, Archbishop Okeke said God raised the status of man to greatness when He allowed His only Son Jesus Christ to take human flesh and be born on earth.
He said the birth of Jesus Christ brought light to the world and dispelled all forms of darkness even as he called on the inmates and Nigerians at large to embrace that light by turning away from all evil ways.
Archbishop Okeke noted that God’s will shall prevail at all times recalling that even when Herod thought that he has eliminated Christ when he ordered the massacre of the innocents from two years down when Christ was born because he was rattled that his kingdom may have been at stake, he could not stop the divine arrangement because Christ has been taken to safety in Egypt following the revelation to Joseph by the angel.
“To those who accepted Him, he gave the power to be Children of God. Man is the architect of his own problem because if we accept the word of God, He will give us power to excel such that when evil powers strike, they will miss their target. You will run out of luck when you turn around and start fighting the finger that fed you. God cannot be deceived. Turn from your evil ways, let go evil and embrace goodness and God’s blessings will come upon you” he said.
The Archbishop who presented various gift items to the inmates including food items, provisions and toiletries also disclosed that the ultra modern skill acquisition centre built for the inmates is almost ready and requested that the federal government commits to the full fencing of the facility before the final work of landscaping the environment.
Controller, Anambra Correctional Centre, Patrick Chukwuemeka who commended the Archbishop for his continuous commitment to the welfare of the inmates both in material and spiritual provisions and described Archbishop Okeke as not the only the spiritual father to the centre but a great pillar.
Chaplain of the St. MaximiIian Kolbe Chaplaincy, Onitsha Correctional Centre, Rev. Fr. Okpalaugo who welcomed the newly posted Assistant Controller in charge of Onitsha Centre, Mike Anugwa disclosed that the inmates are being taken care of both in their educational, spiritual, psychological and legal needs.
