by Christiana Gokyo, Jos
JOS: The Board Chairman of Nigeria Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC), Monsgr. Very Rev. Fr. Cletus T. Gotan, says arrangements have been put in place for the 2024 Pilgrimage, and commended President Bola Tinubu for finding him worthy to be appointed as Chairman of the NCPC.
He was speaking to our correspondent in an interview in his office, in Jos, as the Parish Priest of CIC Zaramagada Jos.
He said, “It is in this light that our visit to Israel, through Jordan, was to see things for ourselves; and we were there in Israel for a kind of retreat also, and it was not just for the members of the board but also for the Secretaries and the Chairmen of the different states and the federation where there are Christian Pilgrims Boards.
“So, we were all there. I cannot remember. I can tell you it was an eye-opener and a wonderful meeting. We saw what we saw and ensured that the usual protocol was put in place.
“We had to make this pre-visit also to go and kind of meet with the leaders there – you know; even the government leaders, to make sure that things are facilitated for our pilgrims when they come to the place,” he stated.
He narrated that, “What we did so far, that’s what we did. Well, you know, one of the things that you can do, and each person has his own period and the time and the experiences as they came.”
Speaking on his appointment, Monsgr. Gotan asserted that, “I think some people have been there. They held the fort, and I’m sure they built on whatever they got at that particular time. Now their time is up, and they have gone. So, we also have come now to start; and I don’t want to begin by criticism.
“We saw what we saw, and we have promised Nigerians that we are going to do our best so that we, too, will bring in our own contribution towards the upliftment of the exercise. Pilgrimages are supposed to be occasions for religious overhaul and for religious spiritual tuning, and we would like it to be that.
“It’s a place where it’s an occasion for us to pray for our country, for our leaders, and indeed for our people. Here and there, you could have heard of some people, who tried to spoil it.
“We will do our best – learning from what they have done – so that we will remove those things that were a kind of wheel of progress, so that we also will leave our own mark on that point.”
Yes, we have this issue in Nigeria, Sir: the issue of abscondment. How do you prepare the Commission now to face these people? Because some people go there…**
“You know, this question of abscondment, I don’t know how possible it is. Even before I came in, maybe, you know that I had the privilege of being the first chairman of the Plateau State Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board.
“Of course, at that time you would have said that our people were not as educated as they are now about these kinds of things, and so some things have come in.”
Still on abscondment, he added that, “Some Nigerians also, who are outside there, are asking their kits-and-kins to go there, and then when they go, they abscond.
“I think that the arrangement that we have on the ground now will checkmate a lot of these things. As I told you at the meeting that we had in Israel, there are not just the board members but also the chairmen and secretaries of the different pilgrim boards in the states.
“And so, they came there, we put our heads together so that we will scrutinize those, who are going to that particular place. We will scrutinize and do our best,” he stated.
Gotan emphasized that, “We must move forward from whatever it used to be; and it is to de-emphasize whatever it is that the people there are going for, to de-emphasize the material aspect.
“When we have enough time in the holy sites and then doing the prayer, I doubt, if it will be easy for some people to go and abscond. And, apart from that also, we were thinking of something that would be novel.
Monsgr. Gotan further explained that, “Pilgrimage is expected and supposed to be a spiritual exercise, but we should also open our eyes so that we will see how the people there live, how they enrich their own environment, how they are able to help.
“And, you know, here in Plateau State, we are very much the same as them – as hilly as they are – and you know, the only misfortune about that place is that it is deserted.
“There is a lot of desert, while we see greens here and there; but it is as hilly as our own. But you can see how those people have changed the environment for their own good,” Gotan noted.
“So, we should go also to be seen those types of cultures and see what we can learn from them so that we will also be building not only the spiritual side but also building on these cultural things that can help to improve life,” he stated.
The Board Chairman further stated that, they are thinking that with the things that they are putting in place, there are commissioners now, who supervise all, saying, “Before, everything was centered on the pilgrims’ board in Abuja, but now it has been decentralized so that the commissioner is in-charge of a zone. Like the north-central zone, we have our own commissioner.”
He said, wherever they are going to do this, he will be there also so that he will help in interviewing the people and looking at the credentials of people who are going.
The chairman assured that, “We are making it almost impossible for anybody to go and take responsibility for someone you don’t know, because, if for example, you sign for somebody and then the person goes, you will produce him, and so on.
“I’m thinking that, this may be something of the past, but as we are planning, I am sure that the men of the underground are also doing their own plans. What is good is that the right thing will always emerge. So, we think that things will be okay.
“Well, I don’t know how far and how near we are, because, you know, I am here in Jos and the center of the Commission is there in Abuja being run by the Executive Secretary. I will be able to know just as much as the secretary lets me know, at least for now,” he stated.
Monsgr. Gotan buttressed that, “I know that things were on high gear, but many things have contributed. We should have gone already after coming back from the pre-visit, but I’m sure that there are some cogs in the wheel of progress; that is why we haven’t gone.
He added that, “When we went there, even when they were talking about war, Gaza, and this thing, we didn’t hear from them. Not even one gunshot in that particular place. And they had assured us – the people there had assured us that all was peaceful; and, honestly, that was what we saw.
“But, you can see now that there is a heightened fear now about what is happening between Gaza and Israel. You see how much that has contributed to the delay this far. It is only the executive secretary, who will be able to let us know.
He noted that, “The state of preparedness is very, very high. I am sure that, if our little expectations are met, we will soon tell people. And, remember that our pilgrimage is not limited to Israel, and there are some other holy places that are there.
“It is just because we are concentrated on the Israel side. I am sure that, as usual, as with life, now that things are happening there, we will look at the other options that we have also.
So, I am very, very positive that things are working out. We have a very hardworking executive secretary. So, I have no doubt that he is doing his best so that things will be okay.
“Honestly, many people – you know what this our world is – moving to a time where you don’t need to talk to anybody about anything. They get to know also those things we have to prepare and we have to do things very, very well.”