Okogie warns against commercialisation of Nigeria’s first Basilica

Okodili Ndidi, Onitsha - 09.03.2008

Archbishop of Lagos, Cardinal Anthony Okogie, has warned Catholic faithful not to commercialise the newly commisioned Basilica in Onitsha, Anambra State, saying, “the Basilica is not a tourist centre, but a place of pilgrimage”.

Okogie, who gave this charge during the inauguration of the basilica of the Most Holy Trinity in Onitsha, warned that there is real danger in people trying to turn the sacred place of prayer and worship into a tourist centre, adding that pilgrims from far and near who will flock into the basilica to pray and seek the face of God should be given the privilege of a conducive atmosphere where they could concentrate on issues outside the hustle and bustle of the business community.

According to him, “we shall be failing in our duty, if we do not call our attention to what commercialisation can do to this new basilica and the whole churches in Nigeria if it is not tackled.

The problem bedeviling our dear country today and the Niger Delta in particular is sheer greed for money and riches from mineral resources we didn’t work for.

We want to make money from everything. Wherever hidden treasures are discovered there is bound to be war. This basilica is a hidden spiritual treasure and it is our hope that the pilgrims who come here to pray are given the spiritual gains of the basilica”.

While commending the efforts of the missionaries who brought the catholic faith to the South East, he disclosed that the inuaguration of the bisilica, which is the first in the country, will fill the gap in the life of the Catholic church in Nigeria, stressing that instead of travelling to Rome for Pilgrimage, christians can now do so in Onitsha with all the attendant spiritual benefits.

Speaking at the inuaguration, the governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, who took the Bible reading, expressed joy and gratitude to God for such rare achievement in the State. He said that for Nigeria to move forward, fervent prayers are needed and this can be done by taking advantage of the hallowedness of the newly inuagurated basilica.

Said he, “this is a good omen for Anambra State and the whole country. We are indeed proud to be the first state to have a basilica in all the Catholic communities in the Country, it shows that the state, when properly repositioned, will reclaim its pride of place in the Country”.