15 December 2025 – Could you share what personal experiences or influences guided your early journey into both priesthood and development work?
Life is a reality that is built on opportunities and challenges. When there is an opportunity, which might be a gift, a vocation, or a call, you take it and start doing the things that it entails. I have always had a desire which is founded on the example of my parents who prayed together with us and often took us to church. We read the Bible, we read the word of God, we loved each other and we ate together. During those early years of my life, I was an altar boy which was influenced by the art of service that was brought by the early missionaries to my country Nigeria. Those were my sources of inspiration which also aligned with an inner call, an inner desire to serve, like those persons who were preaching the good news.
Later came an opportunity in a call to join the seminary. I took this opportunity and joined the junior seminary in 1969 and then went to the senior seminary to study philosophy and theology. I continued to Innsbruck in Austria to the Jesuit College in Canisianum, where I did a master’s degree, was ordained a Catholic Priest and then continued my studies in Germany, England and France. I did some intellectual window shopping around Europe and came back to Nigeria in 1986 to continue my work independently.
Why did you join the Club of Rome?
During my studies in Innsbruck, particularly in 1980, my teacher introduced The Limits to Growth, a report to the Club of Rome. This document made clear pronouncements: that there is a limit to the human condition; a limit to materialism, to consumption and to how we use the resources of the earth. It became urgent to think about replenishing the earth’s resources rather than just consuming them.
You have been leading the Club of Rome Nigerian chapter since 2006. Why was it established and what is it currently working on?
In 2006, some members of the Club of Rome visited Nigeria to add voice to the socio-economic issues bothering it at that time. This led to the founding of the Nigerian chapter in Abuja. Not all members of the Nigerian chapter are part of the international Club of Rome, but they promote the ideas and philosophy of the organisation in Nigeria. The Nigerian chapter, comprised of teachers, bankers and professionals organises workshops and promotes academic growth through research and publications. Some of the topics we have worked on include credit access, poverty alleviation, women’s development, banking services and protecting the earth and planting trees. By these activities, the chapter ensures that individual members are committed to peace, development, justice and equality and that they become carriers of the vision; since grassroots are where these ideas truly take root, not just in international meetings.
You have founded and directed many organisations in Nigeria and abroad. Which of these experiences shaped your leadership journey most and why?
It’s difficult to condense what God is doing through human beings. We are just agents, not originators. The work in Nigeria has been enormous. Humanity requires water, education, food, health and vision to live meaningful life. Over the years of my work of adding value to humanity, I founded the Catholic Institute for Development, Justice and Peace, a research and humanitarian centre, which focused on intellectual, spiritual, economic, political and cultural and integral development of the human person, because the human being is complete in form and not just a part.
We also founded the Godfrey Okoye University in Enugu; an indigenous Catholic University in Nigeria and supported the founding of other universities. Peace cannot exist without justice and our work spans education, health, youth development, Christian-Muslim dialogue, advocacies for integral development and interreligious dialogue. Poverty, industrialisation without culture and wealth without values are challenges we address, with a target for complete development of young people. Through our work both in Nigeria and abroad, millions of lives have been positively impacted.
How do you balance theory and practice in your work?
I love the famous quote of Immanuel Kant, that the philosophers have interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it. He further stated that there is no practice without theory and no theory without practice. In Africa, we look at our ancestors, who taught that thought must go into action. When thinking is put into reality, thought becomes flesh. That is rationality. In my life I plan, integrate and act. Thought and action is what the Catholic Institute for Justice and Peace stands for. I would want to be remembered as someone who thought and acted; truly a thinker and truly an actor.
Looking forward, what are your hopes for the Club of Rome and the next generation of leaders in Nigeria and Africa?
The Club of Rome is on the right path. Leadership is guiding us towards environmental respect and addressing the limits of growth. Ideology is always false. Good thoughts should remain ideas, open to dialogue, not turned into rigid systems. Africa must rise and assert itself. Nigeria represents over 1.5 billion Africans. We must manage our resources respectfully, fairly and independently. Leadership should prioritise our people and context. Human beings are equal everywhere. There is too much money in weapons and not enough in food. The Club of Rome should raise its voice against militarisation and advocate for ethics and reason. Africans must also value their culture and plan, giving youth the freedom and tools to thrive.
