About

You can also download my published Autobiography: The Story of My Life

My full name is Michael Patrick Olatunji Fagun. I was named Olatunji by my parents, my birth being a rising hope for revival of their prospects having suffered heavy toll of child mortality. My mother gave birth to 8 children, only 2 of us survived, and I happen to be the only male living. There was nothing extraordinary about my birth, there were no comets seen portending good or evil. Except from the spiritual point of view, I was born on Easter day 1935, 75 years ago. Olatunji signifies renewal of grace to higher prospects. And true to that name God has spared my life to this day and thanks be to him, he has made me not only a blessing to my parents but to a wider society.

I was baptized Michael, after the Archangel, champion of the cause of God against the bad angels. God later called me as well to be a soldier of Christ, with whose grace I won souls for God. Patrick was appended to my name at confirmation in fancy of the patron of Ireland, the home of our Society of Africa Missionaries (SMA). And like St. Patrick of Ireland, God raised me to the rank of a bishop in Ekiti, where I contributed, in my small way to conversion to Christian living in Ekitiland.

I was born into the family of Theophilus Fagun Oganla and Rebecca Theresa Fakolade Fagun, both Anglicans converted to the Catholic faith after my ordination to the priesthood. The roots of my ancestors is traced to Ekiti (a fact embedded in our family oriki – omo ile Ara), from where my forebears migrated to Akure and settled there about four centuries ago. It is intriguing that I from that progeny would come back to Ekitiland as a shepherd of souls. God’s ways are wonderful!

My parents came from ancient high pedigree, known as chieftaincy families in Akure, hence Ola – nobility – is a prefix to my name. Incidentally the ancient prestige of nobility faded when I arrived. My parents were just of middle class of their days. My father engaged in traditional farming which he later diversified with stone quarry, while my mother was a marketer in food stuff. I was born into the new age of colonialism and the subsequent Western influence in lifestyle.

My grandfather championed traditional religion with Ifa oracle as our household god evidenced in the name Fagunleka – ifa oracle abhors evil. This influenced him in stopping my father from attending the Church Missionary Society (CMS) schools introduced in town at the time, for fear his son might adhere to the new found faith in Christ, an uncommon religion at that time. Thus my father missed out on Western education.  Yet my parents went far enough to be baptized Anglicans, in fact my mother taught me how to read the Yoruba bible translated by the earliest Protestants with Bishop Ajayi Crowther. It is amazing that the next translation of the Yoruba Bible would be effected by me a century later.

I was always enchanted in my youth by our local festivities with their music and dance like this festive ditty.

Làgíòro… gb’áò á ò, é ye,

Làgíòro… gb’áò á ò, ùkòkò elo o.

And when the Catholic Church threw its door open to what is good and beautiful in our culture I felt very much at home in participating in the exercise, which is evidenced in my several translations of the liturgical texts to the point of rendering the entire Jerusalem bible into the language of my people. I enjoyed my youth with my age mates in our neighborhood among whom I usually played leadership roles in group plays and physical exercises without imposing myself on them.

My going to school was providential in that my mother’s first son died attending school away from home, and my mother would choose to keep me away from such risky exercise lest I die. She made reference to this when I decided to enrol for formation to the Catholic priesthood. Being against my vocation because of the celibate life involved, she remarked that if I had not been to the white man school I would not have thought of becoming a Catholic priest. In spite of her objection, my uncle, Chief Joseph Isijola, who was a teacher/catechist at the Sacred Heart Catholic School, Akure, enrolled me in his school. This is the origin of my break from traditional mode of life to embrace the Western Christian values.

I got baptized while in primary school. Something comic and foretelling of my future happened while studying for baptism. The Catechist, late Mr. Fàlà Dàda of Iludun-Ekiti working in Akure, while teaching the sacrament of Holy Orders asked if any of us would like to be priest. I signified my interest, but my sister, Elizabeth Fagun, attending the same class with me silenced me. The catechist noting this was furious with her and charged after my sister to teach her a good lesson with the bastinado beating with the cane. My sister escaped through the window and the catechist pursued, with the twain making a round of the football pitch in the premises. Incidentally the grand-daughter of that Catechist is presently a female religious in the Institute I founded, the Sisters of St. Michael the Archangel (SSMA).

One can see the hand of God shaping my future; first, for making me have contact with the Missionaries of unbroken line of the Christian faith, what we call original in value, learning the true faith through his providence, and not falling prey to splinter churches or spurious churches of self-acclaimed pastors. I became a child of God reborn through faith in Jesus Christ with the water of baptism in the Catholic Church. I will ever be grateful to my God for this great favour. I got confirmation and became ardent altar boy serving daily at Mass with perfect Latin responses to the Mass then said in the Latin language.

I became the leader of the altar boys being more versatile in the Latin responses, and thereby very close to the priests who offered Mass in our parish church. It is in our saying that twenty children will not be in the same vicinity twenty years long. Fortune took all my childhood friends here and there. Only Mr. Matthew Kayode Fadero is still around in Akure town. With my association with the priests I began to admire their lifestyle and pastoral work, especially their charity to the needy. I wanted to be like them. It was heartwarming when late Fr. Lee Murphy, SMA, asked if I would like to be a priest. Though there were Nigerian priests already at the time, I had never met one. The puzzle of how I could be a priest was solved with Fr. Murphy’s answer that I could be trained in Ibadan. That was reassuring.

My vocation to the Catholic priesthood was fixed when Fr. Paul Omole of Ondo preached vocation in our school in my final year in primary school. I took that instance like the 3rd call of Samuel, and I answered in the positive, went to St. Theresa’s Minor Seminary, Oke-Are, Ibadan, to begin my journey to the priesthood like Samuel under the tutelage of Eli. There ends my similarity to Samuel. My parents were far from willing unlike his, who released him to God heartily. My parents would not have objected to dedicating me to God safe for the celibate life it involved. The culture of our people abhors childlessness. Despite all the objections and obstacles, there was an inner urge I could not resist like that of Jeremiah (cf. Jer. 20:9b; Ps. 39:3) impelling me to forge on in my formation to the priesthood.

With power from on high, which we call grace, I waded through all obstacles and made it to the priesthood. Twenty-four of us enlisted for formation at the Minor Seminary, eleven of us were admitted to continue our training in the Major Seminary, but nine arrived there. Of the nine who continued our priestly course only five of us became priests, namely late Monsignor Michael Omisesan of Lagos, late Monsignor Joseph Taiwo of Oyo, late Archbishop Gabriel Gonsum Ganaka of Jos, Bishop Julius Babatunde Adelakun of Oyo, and my humble self unworthy as I am became Bishop six years after ordination to the priesthood. Two others who did not make it to the priesthood had sons who became priests. They are late Lawrence Oniwe of Ikoro-Ekiti, and late Thomas Okudolo of Warri. Both have sons as priests today in the Dominican Order.

Life in the Minor Seminary in Oke-Are was lived at the economic level of the youths of the time, the formators avoided lifting our standard of life to that of youths in their country lest we become vain and material minded. As such we walked unshod, slept on mats and hard wood for bed until the common life in our society advanced. I enjoyed playing football on our rugged field barefoot though I never advanced beyond an amateur player. Our Rector in the Minor Seminary, Fr. Francis Mc Cabe fancied me for being very good in his mathematics class, especially in geometry. The same master was a manual labour addict, where I shied off. He cured me of this ailment by making me labour prefect which made me not only work very hard but ferreted my lazy companions out of hiding. This measure helped me a great deal as a bishop in supervising and the realization of the basic structures of the new Diocese of Ekiti. Besides being labour prefect as therapy for physical labour, I was also made prefect of the students. This teenage experience of leadership shaped me for greater leadership as the bishop of a diocese .

Like children of our time I was under the influence of unfounded fears. Once, we students left the chapel for the dining some distance off. Meanwhile I rushed to the hostel for some forgotten item. The way back joining my mates was lonely. Some trepidation and terror seized me, and I was sore in dread. Sighting my companions ahead, my fear evaporated. There was no reason for my fear after all. I have been resolutely bold ever since, and nothing shakes my self-confidence. Incidentally I am of left brain, that is, I am logical minded, and not right brain – being artistic. I was therefore very inquisitive and exploring facts from my youth which freed me from the influence of unfounded superstitions of our people. With the spirit of fact finding no event scares me in life, and fortunately I do not share in the superstitions of our people.

By 1957 September my formation in the Major Seminary of SS. Peter & Paul, Bodija, Ibadan, commenced with the study of philosophy and theology over and above the secular studies in the Minor Seminary. The study of philosophy sharpened my mind with a clear outlook into world values, while theology brought me deep into the knowledge of the divine. Our set in this seminary was like an age of seminary renaissance in that we delved into studies outside the seminary curricula. In my case I developed an appreciable standard of reading habit. My taste in reading, however, was limited to educative and informative books and journals. I learnt how to read music and play the organ. I love music but I have not been talented in the production of music. I learnt the French language in a teach yourself approach. French language was recommended for youths in Nigeria at the time considering the Francophone countries surrounding Nigeria. I even studied and passed the Advanced Level General Certificate of Education during the long vacation.

My self-taught knowledge of French earned me admission to study French language and literature in the University of Ibadan which earned me B.A. Honours, and took me to Canada for the Masters degree in the University of Toronto. Besides the adventure exposing me to other cultures and a wider view of life, the first modern world translation of the bible with the help of the dead-sea scrolls was in French by L’école Biblique de Jérusalem in 1961. I used this French first edition of the Jerusalem Bible in killing two birds with a stone, learning French and studying the bible. I was fascinated by the translation that it impelled me to translate the same into my language, Yoruba, which dream was realized in 1990 with my first publication of the Yoruba Jerusalem Bible. There have been three publications of this bible, maiden edition by our Diocesan press, Hope Paper Mill Ltd, Ado-Ekiti, two other publications followed by St. Paul Book Apostolate, Ibadan.

My Major Seminary formation in Ibadan had a break of one year pastoral experience in Okitipupa. My work of evangelization was among the rural people who did not understand the English language. Unfortunately, I was not quite versatile in spoken Yoruba having been forbidden our local languages in the Seminary in order to improve our spoken English and for unity among the several nationalities in the same Seminary. To be more useful to my people I underwent the study of Yoruba language, self-taught as usual. Some people believe I speak so many languages. I was drilled in both minor and major seminaries to read and write Latin. For literature we read Caesar’s Gallic Wars, Ovid and Homer. In fact our main text books in philosophy and theology were in Latin in those days. Latin being basic to French and Italian, my study of French was made easy, and I could read and understand Italian. I can only find my way in the German language.

The latter part of my seminary formation was not that eventful in that we continued our usual studies concentrating on theology this time around. However, it was during this time I ventured on writing, first in our local Seminary news brief called ‘Bodija’. I contributed to a joint publication of Itan Awon Eniyan Mimo. I made a translation of the Gelino musical psalm into Yoruba. I was ordained Deacon in 1964 when I started officiating at the sacred in the Church. My first public outing in the celebration of the Mass was at the University of Ibadan chapel, assisting my Rector, late Monsignor Patrick Ugboko, who noted my excitement and perspiration. I perspire a lot under heat, excitement and exercise, which is good for the body. It was in the Major Seminary that I cultivated the art of playing lawn tennis which I still enjoy playing to this day. I tried swimming during my pastoral experience in Okitipupa. I gave up the exercise after I almost drowned in River Oluwa in Akotogbo.

My ordination to the Catholic priesthood on July 4, 1965, at the Akure Cathedral, was the fulfillment of my life ambition and the apex of my achievement. Whatever good and whatever might be credited to me thereafter is hinged on my being a Catholic priest. I had one year apprenticeship assisting senior priests in Oka and Ondo, both places inOndo Diocese, for one year when I was asked by my Ordinary, Bishop William Field, SMA, to go for formal further studies. Incidentally, this same Bishop Field baptized me, ordained me priest and ordained me Bishop. He was certainly an instrument of God’s providence shaping my destiny. While in Ondo I showed enthusiasm in inculturation, promoted by the ll Vatican Council, in the propagation of new Yoruba liturgical hymns. It was the age of Tewo gbebo wa popularized by late Fr. Michael Sanusi, not Bishop Anthony Sanusi, both of Ijebuland, both of blessed memory.

In September 1966, I had direct entry to the University of Ibadan with Advanced Level General Certificate of Education and sufficient knowledge of French both gained as part -time studies while in the Seminary. Exchange programme took me to the University of Dakar, Senegal, in 1967-68, where I played leadership role as the Responsable to the Nigerian students. The University of Ibadan and Université de Dakar exposed me to other worlds of peoples, cultures and minds. During the long vacations I used to assist in the teaching of elementary French in Annunciation Grammar School, Ikere-Ekiti. After graduation in 1969 I was posted to teach in St. Joseph’s College, Ondo, where I published the Yoruba Psalms I translated while a seminarian. I was later appointed Diocesan Education Secretary to supervise the running of Catholic Schools in the then Ondo Diocese. This exercise familiarized me not only with all the schools in the then Ondo Diocese but with the parishes and priests as well. My seat was in Aquinas College, Akure, where I did some part time teaching in the French language and literature.

With the help of the De La Salle Brothers running St. Joseph’s College, Ondo, I went to do the Master’s degree at the University of Toronto, Canada. I graduated there in May 1971. My stay in Canada opened a wider vista of life, places in North America and several nationalities before me, which was a great education of immense enlightenment on its own.

On my return from Canada I was posted to St. Joseph’s parish, Ikere-Ekiti. Considering my previous role in the educational institutions in the Diocese, some fans forwarded my application to lecture in French in the then University of Ife that invited me for interview but which my Bishop asked me to turn down. The wave of indigenization in the leadership of the Church in Nigeria was blowing, and Nigerian priests were being made bishops. When some of my fans opined that I would become one, I waved it off claiming that I was not the type for bishopric.  I went on commenting on some of my seniors who I considered fit to be bishops, pious and dynamic priests in my judgment.  I added jokingly that if, however, they wanted a plain honest man they could consider me! In short, the lot fell on me, for providence made me bishop in 1971 in spite of my remonstrations and shying off the unfamiliar terrain of bishopric.

I was Auxiliary Bishop to Bishop Field of Ondo Diocese in 1971-1972. Meanwhile Ekiti land was cut off Ondo Diocese and was first named Ado-Ekiti Diocese which I requested Rome to change to Ekiti Diocese when I became its bishop in 1972. Festivities surrounding the elevation with pomp and pageantry over, I settled down to the realities before me. I was inexperienced and unfamiliar with the office of bishopric. I prayed and gained confidence in the primary good shepherd, Jesus Christ my God, with the unfailing support of the Blessed Virgin Mary his mother and my mother. I asked my patrons Michael and Patrick to play their roles as defender and role models, respectively.

There were three foremost problems before me; that of infrastructure, civil and religious wise, lack of sufficient personnel and lack of funds to carry out any appreciable development. God is good all the time and He was very good to me. He saw me through quite successfully. Churches and parishes increased in bounds, health, social and educational institutions second to none in the State were put in place. With the Society of African Mission (SMA) personnel dried up in Ekiti indigenous personnel rose from 3 to 87 today with our own founded female religious, the Sisters of St. Michael the Archangel (SSMA) founded in 1986 with papal approval in 1999 now numbering 87 serving in other dioceses in Nigeria and in North America. We elevated the standard of Catechists supplemented by an army of well trained lay voluntary Evangelizers. With our collective team work the Catholic Church in Ekiti has become a force to be reckoned with well over and above any other Christian and non-Christian bodies in the State. We give the glory to God.

The grace of God working in us needed our cooperation in generating finances to carry out the above projects. The economic life in Ekiti was not buoyant. External aids from Propaganda Fide in Rome, Missio and Missereor in Germany, were inadequate. I was lacking in the art of begging, preferring to give than to receive. I explored all possible channels to build our finances to self-sustaining level. We even went to erecting factories, our famous Hope Paper Mills, where we train personnel and print, make furniture and engage in metal works. Above all, we safeguarded and channeled very economically our meagre resources well planned, accounted, centralized and redistributed for our general use. Priests’ maintenance was regulated from the centre at decent living with no priest having financial advantage over another. I familiarized myself with construction techniques which saved us billions of Naira from the shylock contractors of our time in the many buildings that make our Diocese proud. Thus, our little drops of water became a great lake called Ekiti Diocese.

I adopted the strategy of cooperative ministry of a sort by ruling in conjunction not only with the clergy and the religious, but with the laity as well. And the trio group formed a formidable army in the front line of evangelization with sufficient supply of the required means. The Diocese is divided into nine deaneries, a sort of local governments of the Diocese, coordinating the efforts of the parishes within their circumscription. The laity has several organs of development like the several youth organizations, besides several pious organizations and societies as organs of development and progress in the Diocese.

The clergy has a forum called the presbyterium where they meet for reorganization, personal and group assessments, bringing progressive ideas to the Senate of the Bishop which plays the role of the House of Assembly as it were. All these bodies are represented at the Pastoral Council made up of priests, religious and the laity. The pastoral council is the topmost body advising the Bishop in the governance of the Diocese. In addition, the bishop has his chosen consultors, the equivalence of state governor’s advisers. The Diocesan priest secretaries served as my right hand in carrying out office administration of the Diocese. Thus, we have all hands on deck, and no one is left out in the happenings of the Diocese. And there is a Diocesan newspaper called “The Catholic Echo” disseminating events to the grassroots and beyond the Diocese. Our Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) serves in the development and promotion of our people’s material and social welfare. Our ultra modern pastoral centre serves as a meeting place for reflections and deliberations. It also serves for the people’s general social functions and activities.

Besides the instruction of the people through sermons and classroom catechesis, I engaged in some pastoral writings edited in a book titled Tit Bits from the works of Bishop Fagun. Other publications are A Brief History of the Catholic Church; Constitutions of the Sisters of St. Michael Archangel; Michaelian Spirituality; The Story of My Life; A Guide to Old Testament Spirituality; Unraveling The Mystery of The Book of Revelation; a Yoruba publication titled, Jésù Olùgbàlà (History of Salvation). Other works are translations: the entire Jerusalem Bible into Yoruba (Bíbélì Mímo Titun), and The Legio Mariae (Ìwé Egbe Ajagun Màríà). Others are liturgical books translated into Yoruba: The Sunday Missal (Mísà Ojoojoose), the Daily Missal (Mísà Ojoojúmo) the Breviary (Àdúrà Wákàtí), and Book of the Gospel.

The above efforts only serve as means to our great end, that is, eternal life in Jesus Christ, getting ourselves and all we come across in our ministry to benefit from the salvation Jesus Christ has won for humankind, happy life here below and everlasting life in bliss with God.  Our aim is to cooperate in the building of the City of God on earth in order to gain entry into the City of God in Heaven. As our Lord Jesus Christ warned us, narrow is the gate that leads to eternal life.

Our ministry has not been all that smooth sailing. Barely three years of my bishopric, the Federal Military Government of Nigeria deprived us of our main means of evangelizing the youths in the unjust take-over of 106 primary schools and 7 secondary schools in 1975. After throwing off the yoke of military tyranny in Nigeria, we once more have established 13 Nursery/primary schools and 7 secondary schools of excellent quality. Besides the early dearth of personnel and financial embarrassment, I buried five priests with just one older than I, and two of my newly founded female religious died in ghastly accidents. Five of my priests derailed, three of them finally bowed out of the priesthood. We thank God for those who have stood firm by Christ in his continuing passion till our resurrection from the dead like him is realized.

My greatest happiness is that in my old age retiring from active administration of Ekiti Diocese there are many capable priests among whom I have initiated into the ministry, who can competently take over the pastoral leadership of the Diocese on my retirement from office. Among several of them, it has pleased the Vicar of Christ on earth, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVl, to appoint Fr. Felix Femi Ajakaye Coadjutor Bishop of Ekiti, ordained Bishop 12 July 2008, to take over from me. Glory be to God that his appointment has been received with joy, his ordination to the bishopric welcomed with all enthusiasm, and his ministry as my Coadjutor has been very edifying. I pray that as God has been with me in shepherding the flock of Christ, the Holy Spirit will inspire and strengthen him to greater heights. On this note I sing my nunc dimmitis – glad to be fulfilled at the end, praising God for his great goodness to me, and praying that he leads me on to the reward promised his followers. For his love has no end.

Wá mí sí mi ò.