Davis MacIyalla, Director of Changing Attitude Nigeria, describes his role with the late Bishop I Ugede in the Diocese of Otukpo

31 March 2006

Davis MacIyalla and Colin Coward meet in Geneva

The directors of Changing Attitude England and Nigeria, Colin Coward and Davis MacIyalla, met for the first time in Geneva, Switzerland on Monday 27 March 2006 at the International Lesbian and Gay Association Conference. Davis shared a platform on Tuesday 28 March, during the pre-conference faith day, with the Rt Revd Michael Ingham, Bishop of New Westminster, Canada. Davis also met and had an extended conversation with Canon Philip Groves, Facilitator of the Listening Process at the Anglican Communion Office.

In four days together, Davis was able to talk in detail about his work for the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) in his home parish in Port Harcourt and later in the Diocese of Otukpo. This article outlines the role he played working with the Rt Revd Prof I Ugede, Bishop of Otukpo. Davis identified many of the bishops and senior clergy of the Church who he met in the three years he worked with Bishop Ugede.

A further challenge to Canon Akintunde Popoola

In the press release issued on 28 December 2005 Canon Akintunde Popoola maintained that he had consulted over 6,000 clergy and none of them knew of Davis MacIyalla. We would now like to ask whether he contacted the people named by Davis in this report, including the Primate of All Nigeria, the Most Revd Peter J Akinola and his wife. Canon Popoola’s denial that Davis was a member of the Anglican Church is all the more remarkable given Davis's deep involvement in the life of the Church of Nigeria from his earliest years and more recently in the Diocese of Otukpo.

Bishop Ugede met Davis in Port Harcourt

Davis’s involvement with Bishop I Ugede of Otukpo began in 2001, at a meeting of the standing committee of the Church of Nigeria in Port Harcourt. Bishop Ugede came and stayed in the house of Davis’s uncle and that is where they first met. He began to tell Davis about the crisis in Otukpo, that in the cathedral they wanted the bishop to leave because he wasn’t the bishop of their choice. Bishop Ugede had worked for them for many years as a Canon and an Archdeacon but for political reasons, other younger priests had been selected ahead of him to be appointed as bishops. Even the present Primate of all Nigeria, Archbishop Akinola was junior to him.

The diocese of Otukpo was created as a new diocese in Province 3 out of the diocese of Makurdi. It was small missionary diocese with few funds, and Bishop Ugede was finally consecrated as a bishop to this new diocese.

Having met Davis in Port Harcourt, where he was teaching in a Primary School, Bishop Ugede invited Davis to come and work with him in Otukpo. Bishop Ugede discovered in Davis someone he could trust who had a better understanding of Anglicanism than the people in Otukpo. Davis was unsure whether he should accept the invitation and talked with his mother who advised him that it was right for him to accept the invitation and go. In Port Harcourt Davis had already undertaken training as a lay reader and been inducted into the Men’s Christian Association by the present bishop of the Niger Delta Diocese.

On moving to Otukpo, Davis was first licensed as a lay reader to conduct services in the cathedral and started work as the administrator for the bishop. It was Davis’s arrival at the cathedral that began a process of reorganisation and new initiatives in the diocese.

Because there were no people trained to go out into the diocese as evangelists, Davis started a Diocesan Bible School to train lay people for this role. Most of the people Davis trained are now leading parishes in the diocese, still as lay people. He used training material from the Niger Delta Diocese where training was already well established, and which Davis had learnt as a child. The teachers in the Bible School were Davis, teaching homiletics, the Ven Joseph Tsue, the Ven Dan Mose (then a Canon) and the bishop himself. Davis also introduced a Men’s Christian Association.

When Davis arrived in Otukpo, the cathedral congregation consisted of Bishop Ugede, his wife and his 6 children, the Ven Fidelis, the Hon S O Adakole (the people’s warden), three other people and Peter, an ordinand. Davis started mobilising people as he met them in the town, and people who had left the cathedral began to return to worship and the congregation grew. All the bishops in Province 3 were aware of the difficult situation Bishop Ugede was facing in Otukpo.

He explained to Bishop Ugede how Knights of the Church were organised in Port Harcourt and that there were Knights in his own family. Prior to Knights being created in Otukpo there had never been knights in Province 3 where Akinola is Archbishop. The retired bishop of Aba, the Rt Revd Prof Uwabu was the first person Davis consulted and the bishop gave Davis a range of materials about Knights. Davis also wrote to the editor of the Good Knight magazine, a letter which was published, informing him that bishop Ugede was seeking information about making Knights in the new diocese. The editor visited Otukpo to offer help and advice. Davis also went to the secretary of the Council of Knights in the diocese of Enugu, Sir Ofidili, who also sent Davis material and a constitution and informed the president who attended on the day the first Knights were created.

Davis prepared all the information and material to create knights in the diocese. In October 2002 ten knights were created in the first group, including Davis, who was made the chaplain for the knights. The present bishop of Aba who was then the bishop of Umuhia, link diocese with Otukpo, attended the service and gave the message. The president of the Council of Knights came from the diocese of Oka and read one of the lessons. In November 2002, Davis MacIyalla, Sir Godwin and Sir Jesses Mwogu represented the diocese of Otukpo at the Joint Convention of the Council of Knights.

The Archdeacon of Otukpo was the administrator of the school, but as a result of problems with his marriage, was suspended by the bishop. The bishop asked him to had over to his Vice principal and administrator. She filled this role for 3 months from the beginning of the new session, but because she was a Moslem, Bishop Ugede decided to appoint Davis as principal of the school in addition to his being administrator for the diocese.

When Davis arrived in Otukpo the school was almost empty of children. There was no money in the account handed over to Davis and he had to work hard to find money to pay salary arrears to the staff. Through his work, school numbers increased to over 1,000 pupils, which enabled Davis to pay the staff and never fall into arrears or delay payment of salaries. The control of the finance of the school was solely under the control of the bishop. The bishop kept the cheque book himself and was the principal signatory to the account. The bishop was totally dependent on the income from the school for his own survival and the survival of the diocese. The control of the school was under the control of an independent diocesan school board to which Davis was responsible. The board appointed themselves.

The present Archbishop of Jos met Davis at the inauguration of the Province when Davis represented the Bishop of Otukpo because he was sick.

In 203 the bishop became ill with tuberculosis and was admitted to the St Vincent Ilaide TB Hospital in Benue State, where he continued to actively direct diocesan affairs. His health became critical and he was referred to the national specialist hospital in Abuja. He was taken by ambulance with his wife, his son Aaron, Davis and a nurse. On the way to Abuja, he died in the presence of his wife and son and Davis.

They continued to Abuja and he was taken to the mortuary of the National Hospital after consulting with Archbishop Akinola. It was Davis signed all the relevant documents. The bishop’s eldest daughter joined them and they all stayed the night in Archbishop Akinola’s house. The following morning breakfast was arranged for them by Mrs Akinola who already knew Davis personally. She had met him at many functions that he had attended with Bishop Ugede. Mrs Akinola made the arrangements for them to return to Otukpo. The present assistant bishop of Lokoja, then a suffragan bishop under Archbishop Akinola, lent his car to take them back to Otukpo.

Those who had been opposed to Bishop Ugede’s appointment to the diocese and had left the church returned to take part in planning the funeral. They were opposed to the decision to dig the grave in front of the cathedral, insisting it should be at a distance from the cathedral because they wanted to extend the cathedral. Davis knew the bishop wanted to be buried in the cathedral and organised diggers to come very early in morning. They dug the bishop’s grave directly in the front of the cathedral. Davis was the person who dealt with paying for the casket and the burial service. The present Archbishop of the Province of Jos, the Rt Revd E K Mani knows Davis well, as does the treasurer of the Province and they dealt directly with in organising the funeral.

At the burial service of Bishop Ugede, Davis participated in uniform with the other knights of the Diocese. Archbishop Peter Akinola officiated at the service which was recorded on video, showing the Archbishop, all the bishops who attended and Davis in his knight’s uniform. After the service the bishops, inclding Archbishop Akinola, declined to take refreshments because they knew the difficulties Bishop Ugede had faced in the diocese. Contrary to tradition they left straight away. The Methodist and Catholic bishops also knew Davis well and were present at the burial.

Members of the diocesan school board started pressurising Davis to give them details of the school. He responded that bishop Ugede had just been buried and he should give details to the next bishop when he was appointed. In the meantime, Archbishop Akinola would appoint a supervisory bishop who would become responsible. The bishop of Lafia was appointed to supervise. He first visit was made when Davis was in Jos attending the executive meeting for provincial officers (Davis was also an official as an investment advisor in the Province of Jos). When he returned he was told to see the bishop and report to him immediately. Although Davis arrived very late he went to the hotel to meet the bishop. He was told that he had to hand over the administration of the school to the diocesan board and there were a series of allegations against him. They believed they had the right to take over control of the school and the priests in the diocese thought Davis, a lay man, had too much control.

When the school term ended, Davis went on holiday to Port Harcourt. While he was away, the school board wrote a letter to sack him. Those people who had left when bishop Ugede was appointed had returned and wanted to get rid of the key officials appointed by Ugede. While all this was going on Mrs Ugede was very supportive of Davis and has never said anything against him. Some of the clergy who had been supportive of bishop Ugede resigned and others were transferred to remoter areas in the diocese.