Omokugbo Ojeifo
During the course of my Lenten social media abstinence, I came to learn about the passing of a couple of friends. Now that I have come back online, I feel a need to pay my respects to these departed faithful.
Today, I start with a man whom I met in person only once, but then later had also a one-off brief exchange with on Facebook messenger: Monsignor Professor Joseph Oladejo Faniran, ordained for the diocese of Oyo in 1976 but later incardinated into Osogbo following the creation of the diocese in 1995.
I met then Fr. Faniran on January 15, 2011, in what has turned out to be my first, last, and only meeting with him in person. This was at the 50th anniversary (1961-2011) of the founding of THE VOICE, the official annual magazine of Ss. Peter & Paul Major Seminary Bodija, Ibadan. As the 50th chief editor of THE VOICE, providence laid it on my shoulders to organize the golden jubilee celebration. Being a former chief editor of the magazine during his time in the seminary, I had to invite Fr. Faniran (as well as all former editors still living) to the one-day symposium that we organized on the church and the media in a digital age. Bishop Badejo, Msgr Kukah, and Fr. Ehusani were our guest speakers.
Fr. Faniran showed up at the symposium and had the opportunity to offer some brief remarks. At this time, I had heard and read quite a bit about him. He had earned a reputation as one of the shining lights of social communication in the Nigerian Catholic firmament. So I was quite eager to listen to him speak. He didn’t disappoint me. There was something of finesse and elegance in the way he chose his words, constructed his sentences, and articulated his thoughts. He left me with a deep impression about his broad cultivation in the liberal arts tradition.
When the symposium ended, he came over to where I was, held me by the hand, and walked out of the seminary auditorium with me. I didn’t know what to expect. We stood outside, and he gently whispered into my ear how impressed he was about the celebration. He had kind words for me, and encouraged me to remain steadfast. “The Church needs young men like you,” he said. I still retain very vivid memories of that brief meeting. It was a sort of life-changing encounter for me. My respect for him soared.
I would have gone ahead to specialize in media and communication studies at Goldsmiths. But when my bishops told me in 2017 to prepare to go for graduate studies, I mentioned my interest to Bishop Kukah and he shot back, “You already have a diploma in journalism. That should give you the basic foundation. You don’t need a masters or PhD in journalism.” That was how I turned to a second interest that I had cultivated: religion and politics.
After that first encounter, I never met Fr. Faniran again in person. But then ten years later, in November 2021, he sent me a short note on Facebook messenger thanking me for a piece I wrote on “Davido, Pope Francis, and the Politics of Social Love.” I share screenshots of that brief exchange. Again, a one-off encounter. But it was very memorable for me. I was quite humbled that he thought to reach out to me with kind and encouraging words.
From my two encounters with Monsignor Faniran, one in person and the other virtual, I came to the conviction that he was a man who searched out for the good in others. Those brief moments of our meeting have left me with indelible impressions about him and indelible memories of how much his kind and encouraging words meant to me. This, for me, is what life is all about.
From him, I have learned the importance of encouraging other young people to persevere in their dreams and in applying their gifts and talents for the good of our society and world. From him, I have learned to see every encounter I have with anyone as a God-given opportunity to leave a mark, for I do not know if such opportunities will ever present themselves again.
I feel so sad to learn about the death of such a kind-hearted man at 71. After earning a doctorate in pastoral and social communications from the Jesuit-owned Gregorian University in Rome, Monsignor Faniran first served at the communications secretariat of the Catholic bishops of Africa in Ghana, and later spent most of his post-doctoral years at the Catholic Institute of West Africa (CIWA) in Port Harcourt, teaching and forming priests, nuns, and laity to be exemplars of communication in the church and in society. He was founding director of the Centre for the Study of African Culture and Communications (CESACC) at CIWA, and also held a number of senior academic and administrative positions until his retirement last year.
The 1971 Vatican Pastoral Instruction on the Media of Social Communication, says this about Jesus Christ: “While He was on earth Christ revealed Himself as the Perfect Communicator. Through His Incarnation, He utterly identified Himself with those who were to receive His communication and He gave His message not only in words but in the whole manner of His life. He spoke from within, that is to say, from out of the press of His people. He preached the Divine message without fear or compromise. He adjusted to His people’s way of talking and to their patterns of thought. And He spoke out of the predicament of their time” (par. 11).
May this “Perfect Communicator” welcome his good and faithful servant, Monsignor Faniran, into the Eternal City, to the praise and glory of God forever. Amen.
Requiescat in pace, great priest!
***I had finished writing this tribute when I stumbled on the homily delivered by CSN director of communications Fr. Mike Umoh at Monsignor Faniran’s funeral. Toward the end of his homily, Umoh said of Faniran: “He had an eye to discover talents and a knack for harnessing them and building them up.” I couldn’t agree more. So true!