I have known His Lordship, Most Rev. Dr. Michael U. Eneja since 1950. As a 19-year old Seminarian, I had just finished my Senior Examination in Christ the King College (C.K.C) Onitsha. Then, with my boyhood friend and seminary colleague, Nicholas C. Tagbo (now Very Rev. Fr. Nicholas C. Tagbo), I was sent to St. Paul’s Senior Seminary then at Okpuala in January 1950. It was there that I met Michael U. Eneja. He was then the most senior student in the Senior Seminary and you could never know that because he was so simple, humble and self-effacing! As far as I can recollect, he had received his Minor Orders and was already a Cleric.

Nicholas Tagbo and I were suddenly asked to report at the Junior seminary which was then being moved from Nnewi to the present location of Holy |Ghost Cathedral Enugu as Teachers/Prefects. And so we were there at St. Paul’s Senior Seminary Okpuala for less than one month. Thus my acquaintance with Michael Eneja was temporarily interrupted.

On completing our one year perfecting, we were sent back to the Senior Seminary which incidentally was then being moved from Okpula to Enugu with the new name of Bigard Memorial Seminary! Thus, we were foundation students of Bigard Memorial Seminary Enugu with Rev. Michael U. Eneja but there was a big difference! While we were just freshers in First Year Philosophy, he was already Rev. Michael Eneja in his final Year of Theology and at the threshold of his ordination to the Priesthood.

If I remember right in those days Priestly Ordinations were done before the candidates completed their theological studies and they would then return to the Seminary afterwards to complete their theology. Rev. Michael U. Eneja was ordained a Priest at Holy Trinity Cathedral Onitsha on July 29th 1951 by His Grace Archbishop Charles Heerey, C.S.Sp but he stayed back in Bigard till the end of the year to complete his Theology.

Thus I have known His Lordship since 1950 and have associated with him on and off these past fifty-eight years!

Extent of my relationship and experience with him
At Bigard we naturally respected Rev. Michael Eneja for his seniority but left to him he just associated with everyone like a fellow student. We performed the spiritual exercise of the Seminary Community together. There were also some classes which both Philosophy and Theology students took together. I forgot now what those classes were called. What I do remember is that in this particular class, the senior Theology students were given a subject and then had to prepare and deliver the type of Sermon they would be expected to deliver to the faithful as Priests.

The class would then criticize the presentation with the objective of helping the preachers to develop good homily skills; Rev. Michael Eneja’s sermons were always remarkable in many ways. They were simple and direct and were liberally punctuated with quotations from the Bible.

He also freely and effortlessly used everyday experience to bring those sublime theological messages down to earth and easy to understand by non-theologians. Also his sermons illustrate someone who had fully internalized the fundamentals of spirituality and holiness of life for instance, on the need for mortification for building up resistance against temptations; he would suggest simple and relatively easy acts.

Thus, if you could have two pieces of meat, taking only one and giving up the other as an act of mortification was a reasonably simple and easy way of disciplining oneself and building up resistance against temptations, instead of looking for exotic and difficult acts of mortification.

Such as hours of dry fasting which could be discouraging! One could site many such suggestions as a typical trade mark of Rev. Michael Eneja’s sermons!

In other areas of Seminary life, Rev. Eneja was equally exemplary. He did his manual labour with us and played football (i.e. soccer) with us. I still remember him in the football field. Having come from C.K.C. which was then famous for football and having played in the C.K.C. I with Nicholas Tagbo, we both were keener on foot ball than the average Seminarian of the time. We took special interest in the game and noted everyone’s ability at it.

In those days, football was just tolerated as a means of exercising the body and no more! In fact, one of the Rectors of the Junior Seminary showed his contempt for football by saying that it was ridiculous that grown-up men had nothing better to do than to go into an open field just to chase around inflated leather!!

So, as I said earlier, football was just tolerated for exercise purposes. There were no organized tournaments or inter-Seminary matches as is the case today. Even then, Bigard Seminarians played organized football among themselves with practically everyone participating. In that regards, Rev. Michael Eneja was a nonsense left full back with a powerful left foot. As mild and gentle as he was, that was not in the football field if it meant beating him to the ball and scoring against his side. Like everything else he did, he put all his energy and attention in the football game while it lasted!

About Seminary life in general, Michael Eneja was simply exemplary. We all looked up to him not just because he was the most senior student but because he was a good man, very considerate of others. He was very prayerful and truly holy as far as we humans could determine. I do not remember ever seeing him angry enough to raise his voice on anyone. If he was angry as I believe he could be when wronged, he never showed it. While most of us struggled to keep the many Seminary regulations, Rev. Eneja did not seem to have any problems with them. He was a much discipline person!

At the beginning of our seminary life in Bigard in 1951, my function as the seminary organist gave me greater opportunity than others to have closer contact with Rev. Michael Eneja. Our practice of organ (actually a harmonium) was in the Sacristy and during my practice sessions, Rev. Eneja was in the Sacristy practicing how to say the Holy Mass. In those days one had to be ordained Sub-Deacon and then Deacon before the Priesthood.

As far as I can recall Rev. Michael U. Eneja received these major Orders in the Seminary Chapel. As the organist, I had several sessions with him to prepare the music for those occasions. These opportunities made him more accessible to me and enabled me to be closer to him than others.

After his ordination both of us spent some time together planning the tunes to be used when he would be celebrating Holy Mass for the Seminary Community, the organ key that he would prefer for me to prompt him with, for his own chants. It was just Gregorian or plain chant in those days. Only recently I discovered that those encounters so many years ago did leave lasting impressions on him. These days in the Holy Trinity family, one can observe His Lordship Bishop Michael Eneja seems not to be forgetful of things.

One of the truly admirable things the Holy Trinity Family does is to organize, Zone by Zone, luncheons with His Lordship. During one of those luncheons organized by Zone 5, I was sitting near him as those present talked and discussed with him. There was a pause and he suddenly turned around to me and said: Fidelis, I na akpozikwa ubo?” (Fidelis, do you not still play the organ?” So, somehow, he seemed to remember those days!

After completing his Theological Studies, Rev. Fr. Michael Eneja then left Bigard for his priest assignment in January 1952. And so, once again, we went our separate ways!

I completed my Philosophy studies in 1951 and was sent to University College Dublin Ireland for further studies. It was there that I dropped out of the race of Priesthood. After graduating in 1956, I returned in November of that year to teach in my Alma Mater C.K.C. Onitsha. There I had problems with the Principal who would not treat me as a graduate nor would he accord me the benefits due to me as such.

In those days, disagreeing with the Priest was tantamount to becoming a Catholic drop-out and a pagan! The disagreement was so serious that I was quite prepared to politicize it. Those were the days of Zikism and the struggle for independence and the Irish Priests were often perceived by politicians (quite wrongly, of course), as being against independence for Nigeria. Those anti-Catholic politicians were just waiting for me to give them the chance to help me “fight for my right”! Rev. Fr. Michael Eneja was one of our own native Priests that I consulted whenever I needed good advice on matters that affected my life. At this time Rev. Fr. Michael Eneja was the Parish Priest of St. Mary’s Iva Valleys. So I went to see him. He explained to me the possible consequences of the action I was contemplating and how it could greatly hurt the young Church.

He agreed with me that I was not well treated but typically, advised me to offer it up to God and wait ad pray for Him to remedy the situation in His own good time and to reward me for that, as he was certain God would do! Thus my youthful exuberance was calmed down by Fr. Eneja and I was stopped from making what could have been the most disastrous mistake of my life! I still kept in close contact with Fr. Eneja and continued to receive good advice from him from time to time.

I can say truthfully and sincerely that His Lordship Michael U. Eneja greatly influenced me for good during my formative years. When I returned to Nigeria from Canada in 1980, I renewed acquaintance with His Lordship and visited him whenever I was in Enugu. I can recall consulting him when I had some personal matters and even though he was now Bishop, he was still as easily accessible as ever! I am sure he similarly influenced any souls for good. He was an outstanding Cleric during his active years and practiced what he preached.

Of His Lordship Most Rev. Dr. Michael U. Eneja, it can be said truthfully, sincerely ad appropriately that he was, and still is a good shepherd, pastor and prelate. Indeed he is “Sacerdos magus qui in diebus suis placuit Deo! (A high Priest who in his days pleased God).

He is obviously, in poor health these days. If you know His Lordship, you know that he is making very good mileage of that towards his personal sanctification and that of others! I firmly believe that he has run a good race and when the time comes for the Divine Master to recall him, he can be sure to receive the crown of glory prepared for those who have loved God and served Him faithfully. I commend him to the care of our Blessed Mother, the ever Virgin Mary.