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2022 PILGRIMAGE: A PLUS TO ADAMAWA STATE, By David

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2022 PILGRIMAGE: A PLUS TO ADAMAWA STATE, By David

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Pilgrimage is a journey embarked upon for religious or spiritual reasons. In a multi religious country like Nigeria, it is common to see the two major religious groups namely Christianity and Islam embark on pilgrimages to Jerusalem, Greece and Rome for the Christians and Mecca for the Muslims for the same reasons – purification and prayers.

Adamawa State being a sub national of Nigeria boasts of having the two major religions operating in the state almost on equal strength. Pilgrimage in this part the country, is an annual ritual, which is carried out either on private or government sponsorship. The bottom line is that citizens get to pray for the nation, state and individuals in the Holy Land either as Christian or Muslim.

Both religious owe it a great debt of gratitude to the governor of Adamawa State, His Excellency, Alhaji Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, who in spite of the poor state of the economy, where governors battle to meet some obligations as payment of salaries, pensions and other social benefits in their domains, is able to manage the lean resources of the state and still make out some to sponsor hundreds citizens to either Rome or Mecca.

The 2022 Christian pilgrimage in Adamawa State took place in the Vatican City, the home of the Roman Catholic Church in the heart of Rome, Italy. The Vatican is reputed to be the smallest independent nation on Planet Earth with a seat at the United Nations also having the Pope as both her spiritual and political head.

The Catholic Church is also believed to be the most organised institution in the world that even the United Nations has a lot to learn from the Catholic Church.

Pilgrimage to the Vatican City, therefore, was multi – dimensional, providing both spiritual and administrative benefits to the pilgrims of Adamawa State, who were lucky to make the trip.

Adamawa State pilgrims made up of 130 persons was led by the Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Adamawa State, Bishop Stephen Dami Mamza and also had the president of EYN, Rev Joel S. Billi and the Vice Chairman of Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria, Bishop Peter Bartimawus on the delegation. Other prominent but none religious leaders were two first class traditional rulers, the Kwande of Lugunda, Dishon Kurhaye and Muru Mbula, Altam Biyapo.

The trip originally scheduled for December, 2021 was delayed for reasons of logistics and unfounded supremacy dispute between the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC), Abuja and the Adamawa State Christian Pilgrims Board as to who takes the centre stage in the planning and execution of the trip. It took the mediation of His Excellency, Alhaji Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri for the tension mounted by the NCPC, which claimed its duties were going to be taken away to be diffused for the trip to become a reality.

When eventually a deal was struck and the chairman, CAN, Adamawa State, himself a Catholic Bishop handed the role of leading the delegation and arranging the Papal Audience, he shone like a trillion stars. He had a five star performance by exhibiting a rare prowess on the assignment. It was the first time ever the Vatican City Secretary of States would reserve seats on the front row for any Nigerian contingent. Even when Nigerias in their usual attitude to time arrived late at St Peter’s Square, the seats remained reserved for them.

Bishop Mamza nailed it when he arranged for the two traditional rulers on the delegation, the Kwanda of Lugunda and the Muru Mbula as well as the president of EYN to have a private audience with Pope Francis. That on it own was an elusive feat.

Bishop Dami Mamza showed class when he had to personally try to make up for the obvious lapses of the NCPC to the extent of using his personal funds in hard currency to pay some bills for the pilgrims to ensure a smooth process. It was still the oversight of the NCPC that made a pilgrim end his trip at Addis Ababa instead of Rome as a result of the wrong dating of his Visa from April to May rather than May to June.

Indeed, Bishop Mamza deserves all the accolades emanating from the success of the pilgrimage in Rome.

The rare gem of a governor, Alhaji Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri should take more than just a pat on the back for his love for the two religions in the state. It was his unparalleled generosity that ensured he approved the exercise for the both religions even when he had cogent reasons as to why he would not do such. After all none of his colleagues has done that in his state in recent years.

A big thank you would not be out of place to the governor for standing by CAN and the pilgrims in resolving all the pilgrimage challenges. The prayers said for him, his family and government was very much in order.

Ultimately, God Almighty has all the glory for his protection and assistance while the pilgrims were being air lifted by the two airlines – the Ethiopian Air and the Qatar Airways to Rome and back from the spiritual exercise.

Without mincing words, the pilgrimage was a very successful and rewarding exercise because the pilgrims of Adamawa State showed their best behaviours while in the Holy Land. The impact of the exercise on the country, state and participants will not require the use of an apparatus to be seen in the near future.

David Simon Dzalla is a former Catholic Youth national President
He writes from Yola, Adamawa State