User:LeonardIbong/sandbox

History
'''OJUKWU, VERY REV FR DR WILLIE IFEDILI CHUKWU CATHOLIC PRIEST'''

Eligibility
In appreciation of his outstanding service to God and humanity, for his orphanage in Igboland during the civil war and also for the magnificent architectural masterpiece that is now Holy Trinity Church Maitama, which he started from a Batcher.

Birth
Rev Fr Willie Ojukwu was born on October 12, 1945 to the family of Mr Peter Ojukwu and Mrs Theresa Ngboye Ojukwu of Agulu in Anocha Local Government Area of Anambra State.

Education
Fr Willie Ojukwu schooled at St John’s Primary school, Odakpu, Onitsha and completed his primary education at St Patrick’s school, Agulu in 1957. In 1963, he attended Holy Ghost collage, Umuahia and qualified as a trained teacher in 1967. He studied mass communication at St Pual’s Universty, Ottawa Canada and obtained high Diploma in vidcomy. He subsequently obtained Bachelor of Arts Degree in London and France; Master of Arts Degree, Catholic University of America and Doctorate Degree Catholic University of America. Very Rev Fr Willie Ojukwu lived with the parish Priest in Agulu for some years and later got a teaching appointment in a primary school in Agulu. In 1960, he joined the Marist brother of school at Uturu Okigwe. He was professed a Marist brother on the 9th of January, 1962. He was just setting down as a teacher in Ihioma, Orlu, Imo State when the Nigerian civil war broke out; He left the classroom and plunged into humanitarian work. He joined the Caritas International Relief Organization at Ihioma to cater for the teeming number of Biafran refugees. Ojukwu established about forty Orphanages in Ihioma and beyond. At the end of the war, 1967-1970, he left the Marist brothers and went to Canada through the financial assistance from Justice Nnaemeka Agu, Justice Oyeama and some of his kinsmen who accepted appeals by late Bishop Okoye of Enugu. He joined the congregation of “White fathers” in 1975 to begin his preliminary studies for the priesthood and was sent to the highlands of Alaska to work with Canadian Indians and Eskimos. The bulk of his seminary studies and priestly formation were under the White Fathers congregation in Canada, England and France. In 1980, his Eminence Late Cardinal Hume of west minister, London ordained Brother Ojukwu on Acolyte. He was sent to Mali to minister to the Migratory Tuaregs in the Oasis of Timbuktu and later to the city of Sikasso near Bamako, the capital of Mali. Rev Fr Willie Ojukwu met late Cardinal Dominic Ekandem in Rome for the first time. On arrival to Nigeria, Dr Chike Akunyili and his wife prof. Dora Akunyili introduced Fr Ojukwu to Cardinal Ekandem who became interested and accepted Willie Ojukwu as a candidate for priesthood for Abuja Mission.

Priestly ordination
On the 16th of July, 1983, cardinal Ekandem ordained Ojukwu a Catholic Priest at Ikot Ekpene now in Akwa Ibom State. With this ordination, Fr Ojukwu became the first Catholic Priest specifically ordained for Abuja Mission. In December 1983, his Eminece Cardinal Ekandem appointed Fr Ojukwu the Rector of a non-existent seminary. He acquired the land in Kuje in 1984 on which the SS Simon and Jude seminary is located. He remained there as Rector for nine years. Fr Ojukwu lectured briefly at the catholic university of America after his Doctorate Degree. He was associate pastor at St Ann’s Parish, Warsaw, Wisconsin and prish priest, St Mary’s Catholic Church, Antigo, Wisconsin, USA. He was the parish priest of St Theresa Catholic Church, Bwari and in 1997, he was sent to Maitama. He was parish priest of Holy trinity Catholic Church Maitama for about seven years. One of Fr Ojukwu’s greatest legacies is the magnificent architectural master price that is now Trinity Church Maitama, which he started form batcher. He is presently the parish priest of the Holy Cross Catholic Church Gwarinpa II, Abuja. He is a keen sportsman and was involved in the game of football and cricket. He was a member of the Holy Ghost Collage first eleven and an accomplished referee. This endeared him to the Canadian sports circle. Most of the funding he received while in Canada came from the Canadian sports Association. Very Rev Fr Willie Ojukwu maintains a regular column in the Catholic publication “The Good Shepherd” He is also a good horticulturist. He is a man of open disposition, ever welcoming and of proven intellectual ability. He has a strong love for children and orphans. He was elected Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Abuja Branch, a position he holds till today.