5 things that happened when Pope John Paul visited Nigeria

- Pope John Paul II visited Nigeria in 1998 and has remain the last pontiff to visit

- His visit came at a turbulent period in the country's history

- Nigeria was also the last African country Pope John Paul visited

The sun was shining hard in March when the plane carrying Pope John Paul II touched down at Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Abuja. Nigerians of all ages were already waiting in the scorching heat to welcome the pope on his second visit to the country. They didn’t mind the fact that there was no fuel and the country was going through a tough economic period. Policemen were brandishing horse whips ready to use it on stubborn people who got too close to the pope. Some were undeterred by the whip. They pushed and hailed the passing vehicle carrying the pope. Some people actually got a taste of the horse whip but the excitement at the seeing the ‘man from Vatican city’ was too wonderful.

This was the pope’s second visit to Nigeria with the first being in 1982. His 1998 trip was from March 21 to March 23 and he remains the last pope to touch down in Nigeria.

General Sani Abacha was all smiles when he received John Paul. He looked dignified in his white outfit and bore little semblance to the stone-faced military dictator everyone perceived him to be. He introduced the pope to every member of his family at the state house. The atmosphere seemed calm and interesting considering that the pope’s visit was an unofficial one but that did not erase the fact that Nigerians were under a repressive government and many outspoken critics of the government were behind bars. Significantly, Chief Moshood Abiola was still in prison and the hanging of Ken Saro Wiwa and other Ogboni leaders had led to the suspension of Nigeria from the Commonwealth.

In spite of all these, Abacha seemed unfazed as he received the Pope in Nigeria for three days.

Here are five notable things that happened during Pope John Paul II’s visit to Nigeria.

The beatification of Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi

The Pope’s visit was primarily to beatify Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi, a Roman Catholic priest of the archdiocese of Onitsha, Nigeria. Tansi became the first monk from West Africa to be beatified and the ceremony was carried out in Ogba, Anambra state. Although he died in England at the age of 61, his body was later returned to Nigeria. At the beatification, the pope said: "Blessed Cyprian Michael Tansi is a prime example of the fruits of holiness which have grown and matured in the Church in Nigeria since the Gospel was first preached in this land. He received the gift of faith through the efforts of the missionaries, and taking the Christian way of life as his own he made it truly African and Nigerian."

Abacha’s gift to the pope

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The pope’s visit was a light-hearted one and also was the way it handled from Abacha who played the role of the good host. At the pope’s arrival at the state house in Abuja, he was introduced to members of Abacha’s family. According to Association Press, the pontiff was presented with “a number of gifts, including a plaque in this green box and a specially-crafted ebony and ivory walking stick.”

Muslim community

The pope met with members of the Muslim community and expressed delight at meeting them. He called for religious tolerance.

He said: "Dear friend, I am happy to have this encounter with you, the Muslim religious leaders in Nigeria. I warmly greet you and through you I send my greetings to the many millions of Muslims of this great country. I have come to Nigeria to visit my brothers and sisters of the Catholic Church, but my journey would be incomplete without this meeting. Be assured therefore assured that I am very pleased at this opportunity to express to you my sentiments of fraternal respect and esteem."

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 "All of us, Christians and Muslims, live under the sun of the one merciful God. We both believe in one God who is the creator of Man, We acclaim God's sovereignty and we defend man's dignity as God's servant. We adore God and profess total submission to him. Thus, in a true sense, we can call one another brothers and sisters in faith in the one God. And we are grateful for this faith, since without God the life of man would be like the heavens without the sun.

"Because of this faith that we have in God, Christianity and Islam have many things in common: the privilege of prayer, the duty of justice accompanied by compassion and almsgiving, and above all a sacred respect for the dignity of man, which is at the foundation of the basic rights of every human being, including the right to life of the unborn child."

 Call for release of prisoners

Before his departure, Pope John Paul handed Abacha an envelope which was later revealed to contain names of 60 political prisoners which the pope wanted the head of state to pardon. While the names of those on the list were not made public, it was apparent that they were those who were openly against Abacha’s abuse of human right and repression of criticism. According to transparency International, the notable prisoners were Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Milton Dabibi, Frank Kokori, Chris Anyanwu, Beko Ransome-Kuti, Bola Ige, Olabiyi Durjaye, Uwen Udoh and Ibrahim Dasuki.

None of the prisoners were relased though until after the passing away of Abacha.

Abacha’s death

While this might not be directly connected to the pope’s visit, it is significant to note that Abacha died three months after in June 1998. During his three-day visit, the pope preached to Abacha to respect human rights and work towards national reconciliation. Although Abacha had promised that the country would return to democratic rule by August of 1998, no one knows if he would have honoured his promise as he made no reference to the pope’s request to release political prisoners at the pope’s departure. In April, he had moved towards being endorsed as the presidential candidate by the five political parties during the period.

Abacha died in Abuja in June, 1998 of heart attack although other reports say he was poisoned.

Source: Legit.ng