Arinze: The Unpredictable Shadows

By Onyekachi Okoye

Arinze the only son of his father could not be ordained like his mates even after many years of struggles in the seminary; perhaps someone has sworn he will never be a priest. It was the desire of his mother that he becomes a lawyer. Questions arose on what must have gone wrong; could there have been a brain behind this? Haaba the goddess of justice seems to be at work; could it have been Arinzes ex-girlfriend whom he promised to marry? Or perhaps his fathers suspected killer had come to hunt the son? Will he ever become a priest? He seems to be chased by an unforeseen shadow

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Sep 18, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496986795

Onyekachi Okoye

Besides writing, Onyekachi is an advocate for love, peace and social justice. Music, movies and football are things he enjoys for relaxation. His professional background spans across the telecommunication, information technology and banking sectors.

Book preview

© 2014 Onyekachi Okoye. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 09/17/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4969-8680-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-8679-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014915778

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

About the Book

This book extols the struggles and aspirations of all ex-seminarians and appreciates Amaka, Semilore, Vera, Tobi, Vincent, Chuka and the late Esinunodinma & family.

Prologue

Oh, Lord! What have I done to deserve this? This is the third time I’ve found myself in this mess! Arinze wailed. He sat in his father’s compound—a compound with a small bungalow made up of two rooms and a sitting room. His father had managed to build it from his monthly wages as a primary school teacher and from contributions he got from his friends who worked in big cities. Arinze’s father, Mazi Fidelis Nwosu, had hoped to live in a big city, but he had dropped out of the university due to poor finances, and since then, he had found himself in the village.

In the front of the building stood a very tall coconut tree, which had been planted by Arinze’s grandfather on the day his wife gave birth to Mazi Fidelis; he was his only son and child. He planted the coconut tree to remind himself of God’s flourishing goodness and sustenance. Under this tree, Arinze kept praying to God to come to his rescue. Mother Mary, please hear the cry of your beloved child, Arinze murmured as he clasped the rosary in his palm.

Chapter One

If you believe that the Igbo people of Nigeria are part of the Lost Tribes of Israel and are Jews as well, then you may not be far from the truth. The ancient town of Ajulu is known to have maintained the Jewish tradition of bread meal. During the Nigerian Civil War, the people of Ajulu provided bread for many Biafrans and their soldiers. Although bread was scarce as a result of the war, they were able to make bread because foreign agencies who were assisting the war victims provided flour.

To this day, the people of Ajulu are known for their bread baking, but bread baking isn’t the only activity that Ajulu people are known for. In African Catholicism, the people of Ajulu are also known as producers of Catholic priests. Many of Ajulu’s sons are ordained priests; this makes Ajulu one of the greatest producers of priests in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.

Every year, Ajulu produces at least one priest. On August 19, 2006 on one fateful Saturday, the diocese of Akwa was to ordain about thirty seminarians as deacons on the grounds of St Peter’s Cathedral. After this, they would be ordained as priests. The diocese of Akwa is comprised of more than twenty communities, but six of the candidates were from Ajulu. Among the six candidates from Ajulu was a young and handsome man named Arinze Nwosu. He was the second in a family of three children: a male and two females.

On this day of ordination, Arinze seemed to be the happiest man in the seminary.