By Moses Gbande
A Supreme Council of the Knights of Saint Mulumba says wholly align its self with the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) in calling on the Federal Governent decentralised all agencies of government for effective results.
They stressed the urgent need to pursue national integration through judicious and equitable sharing of appointments, resources and social amenities.the Supreme Council of the Order, comprising of members of the Supreme ExecutiveBoard (SEB), the Metropolitan Council delegates and Grand Knights of the well over Two hundred and seventy Sub-councils from all over Nigeria.
admonish our political Ieaders to at all times put on the tage of nationalism and ensure equity, fairness and that national interest trumps other political considerations.the Supreme Council of the Order, comprising of members of the Supreme ExecutiveBoard (SEB), the Metropolitan Council delegates and Grand Knights of the well over Two hundred and seventy Sub-councils from all over Nigeria.
admonish our political Ieaders to at all times put on the tage of nationalism and ensure equity, fairness and that national interest trumps other political considerations.the Supreme Council of the Order, comprising of members of the Supreme Executive
Board (SEB), the Metropolitan Council delegates and Grand Knights of the well over Two hundred and seventy Sub-councils from all over Nigeria.
The Supreme Council of the Knight of Saint Mulumba says wholly align its self with the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) in calling on the Federal Governent decentralised all agencies of government for effective results.They stressed the urgent need to pursue national integration through judicious and equitable sharing of appointments, resources and social amenities.
The Supreme Council of the Order, comprising of members of the Supreme Executive
Board (SEB), the Metropolitan Council delegates and Grand Knights of the well over Two hundred and seventy Sub-councils from all over Nigeria are in Jos
the 40th KSM Supreme Convention of the Honoured Order.
Briefing Journalists on the lined up of the activities of the convention, the Worthy Supreme Knight Sir Diamond Ovueraye said conference is with the theme “Challenges of Religious Freedom in Nigeria.“
He admonish political Ieaders to at all times put on the tage of nationalism and ensure equity, fairness and that national interest trumps other political considerations.”It is with profound honour and pleasure that I welcome you all to the press conference that precedes the opening ceremony of the 40″‘ KSM Supreme Convention of our Honoured Order, holding between, Wednesday, November 27, to Sunday, December 1, 2019, here in 105, with the theme “Challenges of Religious Freedom in Nigeria.“
“We recall with great nostalgia, the oft-spoken innocence, serenity, and allure that attracted a huge number of tourists into Jos, whose people were considered to be hospitable, accommodating and peaceful, and as well as its friendly weather. Jos was and still remains an important national administrative, commercial and tourist centre. This ‘melting pot’ of race, ethnicity and religion made and still makes Jos one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Nigeria. It was for this reason essentially that Plateau state is known in Nigeria as the ‘home of peace and tourism.’
“Plateau State is not lacking in icons who have excelled and distinguished themselves in Nigeria, traversing the socio-political spheres. We at once pay homage to a rare statesman, General Yakubu Gowon, who ensured the unity of our nation. We applaud the much respected Gbong Gwom los, the
late elder statesman Solomon Lar, the musical impresario Dan Maraya Jos, and others who have carved niches for themselves.“We are rather appalled by the recent rewriting of its rich history. Plateau state of Nigeria has been in the news since the first major ethno-religious conflict of 7th September, 2001 in which over 2000 lives were lost and property worth millions of Naira were destroyed. The conflicts kept recurring sporadically in different parts of the state leading to wastage of enormous human and material resources in ethnically inspired violent encounters, clashes and even battles. We are gutted with the threat to security of life and property and disinvestments of local and foreign components with continuous capital flight and loss of confidence in the economy, all leading to a fragilitv of the economy of the state”.
He Discribed the Knights of Saint Mulumba as an association of practicing Catholic men, willing to volunteer their time, treasure and talent for the service of God, the Church and our fellow men.
“The Knights are charged to live exemplary Catholic lives, making use of the sacraments to grow in the grace of God. The Knight is knowledgeable in his local customs and relates them to Catholic doctrine, thoughts and life. He is an avowed defender of the Catholic faith, gives succour to the needy and fights oppression wherever it exists. The Ladies of Saint Mulumba are wives of the Knights.
Speaking on the state of the Order, he said at the inception of this current SEB, “we set out targets that were specific, measurable, achievable‚ realistic, and with a time frame. We were not oblivious of the fact that our operating environment is volatile, Unpredictable, complex and ambiguous, that challenges you to constantly think out of the box. We realised early that key to delivering on our promise, will hinge on improving our administrative and finance systems, embarking on projects that will not only bring honour to the Order, but also help us to generate funds to support our various commitments, support the Church, the needy and our dream of entrepreneurship.
“We have since unbundled RECCO, our retreat and conference centre, opening it up to the public, making it more comfortable to compete with other guest houses as a relaxation destination point. We have bought some plots of land in Owerri‚ where our water factory will be located. Already, the management team is in place and we will very soon be rolling out the first batch of bottled water. We are also finalising details for land acquisition for our Mulumba Farms. The Metropolitan councils and Sub-councils have all been encouraged to follow suit. These and others in the pipeline are the Iegacies we want to bequeath to the Order so that others can improve on them.
“We are working on improving and deepening our Spirituality and discipline which are of prime concern to us as a group. For the very first time, we now have a joint pilgrimage to Uganda and Israel. This was made possible after a ground-breaking agreement with the Nigerian Pilgrims Board who have officially enlisted and endorsed it. The first set of pilgrims from this new arrangement, which started in May/June this year, really enjoyed the experience. We are also tackling other grey areas in the new dispensation through a robust integration of KSM and LSM, in order to make it a truly family Order. The establishment of the Mulumba Youths is another step we are taking to really begin the “fishing of men” from an early stage. The canonisation process of our Founder, Rev Fr. Anselm Abraham lsidahome Ojefua, has seriously commenced. We are not deterred by the long-drawn, painstaking and financially-tasking process and pray that our Patron Saint, Saint Mulumba, intercedes for us.
“I am sure you have been following our publications in the newspapers aimed at making our voice heard on national issues. We are firmly of the belief that evil thrives when men and women of goodwill keep silent. We will continue our advocacy for good governance and holding
government accountable for their actions.“At 59 years of nationhood, who can thump his chest and say all is well? Is it well with our educational system, our hospitals, roads, our political system, our youth, or our basic infrastructure? Is the dire employment situation improving? What of security of Iives and property? Is the poverty level improving? How many Nigerians now have “take home pays” that actually take them home? Are there attempts at improving the bands of our nationhood or are the seams that hitherto held us together, knowingly and flagrantly being torn apart? Are our political gladiators showing statesmanship or any modicum of leadership? Is there any sign that our usually violence-prone elections and do or die politics is abating?”
He equally spoke on the xenophobic attacks in South Africa, saying it aptly illustrates how low Nigerians have sunk as a nation, terrorised at home and unwanted outside shores. Indeed how sad!
” We are deeply saddened with these happenings and insist that security of lives and property is an enshrined, inviolable and inalienable right of every Nigerian. It is on account of these glaring inadequacies and challenges of the current policing efforts that we advocate Regional Policing, that comprise of people from that region, known to the people, conversant with the territory and not acting as an occupational force.
“We wholly align with the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) in calling for a decentralisation of all agencies of government for effective results and the urgent necessity to pursue national integration through judicious and equitable sharing of appointments, resources and social amenities. We admonish our political Ieaders to at all times put on the tage of nationalism and ensure equity, fairness and that national interest trumps other political considerations.
We are indeed grateful to the Cathoiic Bishops Conference of Nigeria for their support, leadership and stout defence of the truth. We have always aligned ourselves with their various communiques and urge them not to relent on their laudable roles as Shepherds of the sheep. We commend in a special way the Chief Shepherd of Jos Diocese, Most Rev. Dr. Ignatius Ayau Kaigama, the Coadjutor
“We are indeed grateful to the Cathoiic Bishops Conference of Nigeria for their support, leadership and stout defence of the truth. We have always aligned ourselves with their various communiques and urge them not to relent on their laudable roles as Shepherds of the sheep. We commend in a special way the Chief Shepherd of Jos Diocese, Most Rev. Dr. Ignatius Ayau Kaigama, the Coadjutor Archbishop of Abuja and Apostolic Administrator of Jos Archdiocese for working hard with others in intervening and ensuring peace reigns in Jos.
“Finally, we cannot thank the LOC of this convention and indeed the whole of Jos Metro enough for their effort to organise a befitting Supreme Convention. To the MGK Jos, Sir Simon Abah, the LOC chairman Sir Maurice Onuegbe and his team, we say a big thank you”.
Nasarawa Reporters 