Archbishop Alaba Job: Celebrating God’s General at 80
Archbishop Emeritus of Ibadan, Felix Alaba Adeosin Job turns 80 today. SEYI JOHN SALAU writes on the many giant strides of the first Archbishop of Ibadan Catholic Archdiocese.
Christendom in Nigeria is blessed with men and women who have dedicated their all to the service of God and the gospel, people who for the gospel’s sake have given up everything in search of a better kingdom. One of such Generals in God’s Army in Nigeria is Most Reverend Felix Alaba Adeosin Job, the Archbishop Emeritus of Ibadan Catholic Archdiocese, who turns 80 years old today.
Born June 24, 1938, Archbishop Job was ordained a Catholic priest on December 24, 1966 (being the Christmas Eve) and was consecrated a bishop on July 4, 1971. He grew to be the longest serving bishop in the Nigerian Catholic Church where he served for 43 years – 23 years as bishop and 20 years as Archbishop of Ibadan.
Felix Alaba Job, as he is fondly called, became a bishop five years after his priestly ordination at a young age of 33, making him the youngest Yoruba bishop ever consecrated. In 1994, he became an Archbishop, making him the first Archbishop of the Ibadan Archdiocese. He retired on October 29, 2013.
A father to all
For many of the faithful of Ibadan Catholic Archdiocese, Archbishop Felix Alaba Job was a man who epitomizes the gospel in all his dealings. He was said to be a father to all within and outside the archdiocese, whether he was dealing with those in the Catholic Church or adherents of other denominations, connecting with their faith in Jesus Christ, the Saviour.
As a testament to his fatherly stance in the church, Archbishop Felix Alaba Job wrote an enthusiastic letter of endorsement for the fifth Marian dogma when he served the church as the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria.
Also, in his humble state as man of dignified integrity, as he was about to retire from his role as the Archbishop of Ibadan, Archbishop Felix Alaba Job wrote: “I am finally in the twilight of my Episcopal Ministry as the Local Ordinary of Ibadan, a mission which I have exercised these past 43 years. I thank the Good Shepherd who has chosen me as Shepherd of his flock here in Ibadan. I thank you also Priests, Consecrated Persons and Laity of Ibadan for your cooperation and support all these years. Truly, as the Yoruba will say, ‘Eniyan laso mi’; we have opened our door to all to come to Ibadan.
“I am graciously having a countdown and anxiously waiting for the day I will take a glorious bow out of office. What a day 24 January will be.”
In his farewell address during the installation of his successor, Most Rev. Gabriel Leke Abegunrin, Archbishop Job went down memory lane on his servanthood to Christ, thanking God for choosing him as the youngest Nigerian bishop ever and the longest serving bishop.
In the address entitled “Feeding the Flock of God – The Journey of My Life”, the emeritus archbishop described his 48-year journey of service in the Lord’s vineyard as long but fruitful, tedious but rewarding.
“The journey has been long but fruitful; tedious but rewarding. I marvel at what the Lord has done, the wonders He has accomplished through me, an unworthy servant! Like David, the youngest ‘son’ of Archbishop J.K.A. Aggrey; the youngest Nigerian ever to be appointed a Bishop; it has pleased Him to make of me the longest serving bishop,” he said.
He prayed God to grant his successor the wisdom of Solomon “to build our God a temple that David could not build”.
He recalled that he rejected the offer of appointment as bishop but that God had His way in his life.
“After one and a half months, I finally succumbed to the Lord’s call to feed His flock, and this I have done with all my heart and strength for the past 43 years,” he said at the ceremony in 2014.
Archbishop Job expressed gratitude to his predecessor, the late Bishop Richard Finn, whom he said started the diocese on a good foundation in 1953.
“He began the task I have tried to develop over the past four decades. Today, as I look back, I remember with nostalgia taking over with just two diocesan priests and now leaving behind 87, apart from the five who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith.
“We have tried to keep pace with the physical expansion of Ibadan, so that from about 15 parishes, the archdiocese now has 43 parishes, countless outstations with numerous religious houses offering our Catholics opportunities to attend mass regularly,” he said.
As Archbishop Felix Alaba Job turns 80 today, ‘The Worshippers’ wishes him more graceful years. And may the giant strides he recorded in the service of God remain landmarks for generations to come.