John Onaiyekan

Infobox bishopbiog
name = John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan


religion = Roman Catholic Church
See = Abuja
Title = Archbishop of Abuja
Period = 1994 — present
Predecessor = Dominic Ekandem
Successor =
ordination = 1969
bishops = Bishop of Ilorin
post = Bishop
date of birth = January 29 1944
place of birth = Kabba
date of death =
place of death =

John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan (born January 29, 1944) is the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Abuja and the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria.cite news |title=Onaiyekan is new CAN president |url=http://www.cbcn.org/aspscripts/newslist.ASP?IDX=1#Onaiyekan%20is%20new%20CAN%20president-June%2019 |work=CBCN.org |publisher= Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria|date= 2007-06-19|accessdate=2007-09-16 ] He was previously President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria and Bishop of Ilorin.

Education and teaching career

Onaiyekan was born in the town of Kabba, in what is now Kogi State, to Bartholomew and Joann Onaiyekan. He attended St. Mary's Catholic School in Kabba from 1949 until 1956, Mount St. Michael's Secondary School in Aliade, Benue State from 1957 until 1962, and Ss. Peter & Paul Major Seminary in Bodija, Ibadan from 1963 until 1965. He completed his religious studies in Rome in 1969, and was ordained as a priest on August 3 of that year.cite web |url= http://www.abujacatholics.org/archbishop.html |title=Archbishop's Page |accessdate=2007-11-11 |work= |publisher=Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja] Ahmadu Bello, Premier of Nigeria's Northern Region, had offered him a scholarship to study abroad. [cite news |first=Matthew Hassan |last=Kukah |title= Peace In a Time of War |url=http://www.thisdayonline.com/archive/2003/03/23/20030323isu01.html |work=Thisday online |publisher= Leaders & Company |date= 2003-03-23|accessdate=2007-11-11 ]

Onaiyekan taught at St. Kizito's College, Isanlu in 1969. He became rector of St. Clement Junior Seminary in Lokoja in 1971. He finished his Licentiate of Sacred Scripture in 1973 and earned his doctorate in 1976. He became Vice Rector of Ss. Peter & Paul in 1977.

Catholic Church appointments

In October 1980, Pope John Paul II gave Onaiyekan a five-year appointment to the Pontifical International Theological Commission. In November, he joined the International Catholic/ Methodist Dialogue Commission.

Onaiyekan was ordained as bishop on January 6, 1983, and became the Bishop of Ilorin, Kwara State. In 1990 he became Co-Adjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Abuja, and when the diocese became a Metropolitan See in 1994, John Onaiyekan became the Metropolitan of Abuja.

Onaiyekan was elected to the position of Vice President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) in 1994, and President of that organization in 2000.

CAN Presidency

He defeated Anglican Primate Peter Akinola for the position of CAN President on June 19, 2007 with 72 votes to Akinola's 33. His Vice President is Daniel Okoh, President of the Organisation of African Instituted Churches.cite news |title=Okoh Emerges CAN Vice-President |url=http://allafrica.com/stories/200707300191.html |work=Daily Champion |publisher=AllAfrica Global Media |date=2007-07-30 |accessdate=2007-09-13 ]

Works

*"The Priesthood in Pre-monarchial Ancient Israel and among the Owe-Yoruba of Kabba: A Comparative Study", unpublished dissertation (1976)
*"The shariah in Nigeria: a Christian view", "Bulletin on Islam & Christian-Muslim Relations in Africa" (1987)

References

s-ttl|title=Bishop of Ilorin
years=October 20, 1984- s-ttl|title=Archbishop of Abuja
years=March 26, 1994 - presents-ttl|title=President of the Christian Association of Nigeria
years=June 19, 2007 - present