Exploring Archbishop Gabriel Ganaka's Grave: Inside Northern Nigeria's Oldest Catholic Cathedral

Exploring Archbishop Gabriel Ganaka's Grave: Inside Northern Nigeria's Oldest Catholic Cathedral

ON THIS DAY IN 1937, THE SERVANT OF GOD, ARCHBISHOP GABRIEL GONSUM GANAKA WAS BORN.

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A Saint, A Scholar and A Gentleman: Archbishop Gabriel Ganaka of Jos

The appointment of Bishop Gabriel Gonsum Ganaka (ordained a priest in June 1965) as Auxiliary Bishop of Jos on 9th September 1973 was a sign of the consolidation of the Church among the Northern people. Bishop G.G. Ganaka had his Secondary education at the prestigious Oke-Are Minor Seminary Ibadan (1952 to 1957) and was from Pankshin (then in Jos diocese). After secondary school, he enrolled at Sts. Peter and Paul Seminary, the Roman Catholic Major Seminary, Bodija (in Ibadan) where he was trained to be a priest from 1957 to 1965. He was installed as Bishop of Jos (then covering almost six Nigerian States) on 5th Oct. 1974. Moreover, Archbishop Ganaka was not only the first indigenous Roman Catholic priest on the Jos Plateau and the first Bishop of Jos Diocese but also the first Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Jos in 1994.

Late Archbishop G.G. Ganaka has gone done in the history of the Nigerian Catholic Church as a priest of many medals; CBCN President (1985-1988), twice elected to the presidency of the Symposium of Episcopal Conference of Africa and Madagascar (1983-1987 and 1987-1994). In the political milieu, he was appointed one of the members of the “Vision 2010” in 1996, and, of course, the CAN (Christian Association of Nigeria) Plateau state branch has it in record that he was its Chairman from 1975-1991.

Arguing that a priest (seminarian) must be a scholar, a saint, and a gentleman, GGG (as he was fondly called) toured assiduously to consolidate the Catholic Church in Jos. Truly humble and simple, he was considered by many a living saint; good, holy, wise, and learned man: Perhaps, this was because he was approachable to all at all time, but it could also be because he was a man of prayer. His Episcopal motto speaks volumes: Nisi Dominus Frustra (In Vain without the Lord).