The First Tiv Catholic Priest Who got Married with Children

Written by Iorliam'Amo Shija, and titled titled  "Challenges of the Man who stood alone, Akor the First Tiv Catholic Priest"

Read details below.

On 15th December, 1990, during his funeral, Very Rev. Fr Alfred A. Ashe who then was the parish priest of St Ann's church Adikpo, broke down and cried uncontrollably. He was not the only priest at the funeral of the man who at a point in his troubled life on earth, stood alone. Some of the other priests at the funeral were Very Rev. Frs. Simon Ivever, who offered the homily, Dominic Yuhe, Stephen Beba, Nicholas Tarbo and Moses Orhungur. 

This man was the first to be ordained as a Catholic priest amongst his people, the Tiv people of Central Nigeria. Although Catholic priests do not marry, that day during his funeral, it were not only his "brother" priests that stood by his graveside, but a bereaved wife and five sons! Why so? 

As recent as 1969 when Eugene Rubingh published his landmark book, ‘Sons of Tiv: A study of the rise of the Church among the Tiv of Central Nigeria,’ he made a veiled reference to the near impossibility of the Roman Catholic Church making inroads and growth in Tivland due to a lack of the availability of human resources in the church’s clerical state. 

According to Rubingh, becoming a Catholic priest was akin to the proverbial camel passing through the eye of a needle. He hinged his assertion on the long duration of training, and the fact that the Catholic Church requires its priests to embrace the vow of celibacy. In the Tiv traditional context where marriage and children are valued, this was a ‘strange teaching.’ 

But Rubingh referred to one priest of the Tiv stock who was about to complete his studies in Rome and present himself for ordination. He failed to see a second group of young Tiv men who were also close to completing their training to the priesthood for the Diocese of Makurdi, who were then studying in the Nigerian cities of Enugu and Jos. 

The latter group, would be the famous seven sons of Tiv who were ordained as priests on 19th December, 1971. They were Frs. Athanasius Usuh, Benjamin Adzor, Moses Adasu, Steven Beba, Simon Ivever, Edward Maaer and Dominic Yuhe. 

With hindsight, Rubingh’s postulation has been flawed. The phenomenal growth of the Catholic Church in Tivland in the last 60 years – both in terms of population, structures and clergy - is the antithesis to Rubingh’s conclusions. 

The man Rubingh referred to that was about to complete his studies in Rome was James Aerapera Akor, a man who later was ordained as the first Catholic priest for Makurdi Diocese and indeed, the first in this line in Tivland. The man at whose funeral Fr. Ashe broke down and cried, James Akor, was born in May 1938 at Mbanor-Gaav in present day Konsihisha LGA of Benue State to Akor-Ashikula (of the Mbaadogo lineage) and his wife Kese Akor-Ashikula. The last born in a family of six, James lost his father at a tender age and was brought up by an elder sister and her husband.

Returning back to his kindred around 1949, James is said to have fled home to Korinya where he found solace with the expatriate Irish Holy Ghost Fathers who were in charge of the mission in the town; the mission, St. Joseph was among the first Catholic missions in Tivland. He handled a lot of odd jobs for the mission. 

The story is told of how one day he was digging a well in the mission compound when one of the priests impressed with his physical prowess asked him what he would like to become in future. Without hesitation, James blurted, “a priest.” That was the moment the Holy Ghost missionaries decided to enroll James in school and carter for his education. 

Perhaps this was when he caught the eye of James Hagan, the burly English Holy Ghost missionary who was later to become the first bishop of Makurdi Diocese. At this time Hagan was the Prefect of Benue. 

The missionaries were not disappointed. At primary school in the RCM School in Korinya, James excelled in academics and sports. Upon graduating from primary school, he attended St. James Minor Seminary in Keffi from 1957 until 1962. He was admitted to Bigard Memorial Seminary Enugu, in 1963 until 1965. 

Hagan became the first bishop of the Diocese. He was appointed Bishop on 8th March 1960, having moved his episcopal seat from Otukpo to Makurdi. The diocese made a decision to move James Akor to Rome where he was expected to complete his training for the priesthood at the Pontifical Urbaniana University. 

While in Rome, he met and became friends with a fellow Nigerian classmate, John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, today the Cardinal Archbishop of Abuja. The friendship bound lasted a lifetime. While in Rome, James heard that Hagan had resigned as bishop due to ill-health. Together with his friend John Onaiyekan, they made the trip to Great Britain to visit the sick Hagan. 

The sick bishop famously referred to the two youngsters as “James and John, Sons of Nigeria,” in a in a lighthearted reference of Jesus’ nickname to James and John (‘Sons of Thunder’ see Mark 3:17) - two of His apostles who were brothers.

James Akor maintained a steady father-son relationship with Hagan. He felt a profound sense of loss when Hagan, a man he referred to as his spiritual father and mentor, died in 1976.

James Akor returned to Nigeria in 1969 to prepare for his ordination. While his bosom friend John Onaiyekan was ordained for Ilorin Diocese in August 1969, James was ordained the following year, on New Year’s Day at St. John’s Church in Gboko by Donald Joseph Murray, an Irish Holy Ghost missionary, who had replaced Hagan as bishop. Both Akor and Onaiyekan were the first indigenous priests of their dioceses.

James worked briefly in the diocese before returning to Rome to complete his licentiate and doctorate in Theology. This was when his ‘vocation crisis’ began. It appeared, whatever support he enjoyed from his diocese began to wane. This is gleaned from a recent book by one of the priests of the diocese.

In his book on his calling to the priesthood "Candle Wax," published this year, Very Rev. Dr. Patrick Alumuku who was ordained as a priest of Makurdi diocese in 1981, said James Akor shared with him the difficulties he James experienced and the challenges he faced when he returned from studies.

Alumuku said, ''Among the students I met at the University (of Jos) was a brother priest James Akor, the first indigenous priest from Tivland who had left the priesthood by then…As the first priest of the diocese of Makurdi, there were so many expectations of Fr. James Akor from the community. He had gone to Rome for ordination and completed a doctorate degree in Theology. Many had imagined he was going to be the first indigenous Bishop of Makurdi.''

According to Alumuku, ''There were occasions I had with him during which he shared with me the difficulties he experienced and the problems he had and the challenges he faced when he returned from studies. We discussed not only the misunderstanding that he went through but also especially the lack of comprehension with his brother priests the majority of whom were expatriate. 

Being the first indigenous priest, he was alone. He said nobody sought to understand his difficulties or positions on issues. That time he was seen as an outsider and he thought he had no chance of going forward. He decided that he would leave the priesthood…''

''Unfortunately, James was still undergoing this programme of the post graduate diploma in education when he got very ill. I had occasions of taking him to hospital from school, however, he did not get much better and James died. The death of James Akor brought a lot of sadness to me. Although he had been duly laicized from the priesthood, we still considered him very much a priest like any one of us,'' Alumuku has said in his recent book.

Canon law, the law regulating and directing activities of Catholics toward the mission of the Church, has set down clear procedures for laicization or leaving the priesthood (see Canon Law # 291ff). Laicization is a process which takes from a priest or other cleric the licit use of his powers, rights, and authority. 

With the loss of the clerical state goes the loss of the rights and obligations that are a part of a cleric's ministerial role. The process is initiated once a priest expresses a willingness to leave, or circumstances require that he is asked to leave.

The reaction to James Akor’s decision was volcanic, both within church circles and the larger community. In the larger community, there was largely ignorance on the fact that someone could leave the priesthood. 

The general view was that Divine Wrath would come down on such a person. When James took the decision to marry, varying degrees of sentiments were expressed to a perceived ‘embarrassment and scandal’ in some circles within the Church in Makurdi. Some priests took to the pulpit to express this sentiment.

With the courage of his conviction, James Akor weathered the storm and faced his new reality with optimism and determination. He got married in 1974 to Patricia Jigida Iyange, a lady from Mbaduku whose parents had settled in Korinya in the ‘60s. The lady was from a strict and deeply Catholic background, and had just finished her secondary education at Holy Rosary Girls School in Adoka. So, the initial resistance to this marriage was even from the family of his wife to be, given his clerical status.

Akor settled into civil and family life. The marriage bore him five sons. He named the first ‘Gwaza,’ meaning his fame (especially for leaving the priesthood), had gone far and wide. When the first son had health issues to his sight at his infancy; this was attributed by some that God had visited the family with His Wrath over the decision to leave the priesthood. Other children followed in quick succession: Terlumun, Iorfa, Msughter and Bundepuun.

Dispensation from his vow of celibacy took time in coming. Eventually it came formerly in writing from Pope Paul VI and later from Pope John Paul II.

He was joined in Holy Matrimony to his wife in 1985, witnessed by the church and the people at the same church, St John’s Gboko, where he was ordained as a priest, a few years ago.

James joined the civil service choosing the career path of education. He joined the teaching service of the recently established Federal Government Girls College of Gboko in 1975. He joined the Murtala College of Arts and Science in Makurdi (today’s CAPS). Between 1977 and 1981, he served as principal to Tofi Memorial Secondary School Gboko, Peoples Comprehensive Lessel, and Mbawuar Secondary School Ihugh. 

He moved to the Teaching Service Board Makurdi in 1981 and was later transferred as the Divisional Inspector of Education in Vandeikya in 1983, and finally to Government Secondary School Gboko.

James enrolled for a postgraduate programme in the University of Jos in 1987, this was when he met Fr. Alumuku. Unfortunately he could not complete the programme due to ill-health. When Bishop Athanasius Atule Usuh was installed as the first indigenous bishop of the diocese in 1989, his friend John Onaiyekan who was now the bishop of Ilorin came for the celebration and decided to pay his sick friend a visit in Gboko.

It was an emotional visit. With James down with a stroke, he struggled to communicate with his friend. Onaiyekan prayed for and blessed his friend. His condition deteriorated in 1990 and he died on Thursday, 6th December 1990 at Mkar Christian Hospital, Gboko at the age of 52.

Saying the homily at his funeral, the late Very Rev. Fr. Simon Ivever said James Akor was one of the privileged few Catholics to receive all the seven Sacraments. This is because when one is ordained to the priesthood, this excludes him from the sacrament of marriage.

James Akor had many close friends among the first crop of indigenous clergy of his diocese, one who was Fr. Nicholas Tarbo. As mentioned by Fr. Patrick Alumuku in his book, although James had been duly laicized from the priesthood, they still considered him very much a priest like any one of them. Perhaps, over time, one day people will come to appreciate his personal decision and courage to leave the priesthood.

On a final note, I must commend one of Akor's sons who is the writer’s personal friend, for responding to my prodding questions about his father's past.

*Written in 2016 by Iorliam'Amo Shija 

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