Forming a Parish Council in Nigeria: A Case Study

In October, a young German missionary priest Fr. Peter Schneider, was appointed to be the first parish priest of the newly created St Mary’s parish, Amaudara, Nigeria. On the day of his arrival, he was welcomed with pomp and pageantry, first in the village square with the village chief and his cabinet at the head, and then he was led amidst dances and acclamations to the parish house . Two months later he decided to form the parish council. He consulted the local catechist to ascertain the possible persons he could invite to be members. The catechist proposed to him 30 names with the academic and social credentials of each person. From these he chose 14 persons : 5 men, 5 women, 2 young men and 2 young women. One of the women by name Mrs Iruka, was a graduate of the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She studied administration and personnel management and was the president of Catholic Women Organisation of the mother parish from which St Mary’s, Amaudara was carved out. The priest judged that from her credentials, she was best placed to serve as the chairman of the parish council. He sent her a note informing her of his intention. In her reply the woman wrote “Rev Fr., I assure you of my willingness to render my services for the progress of our new parish. But I think that what you have proposed to me may be difficult to accept. The chairman of the parish council is generally considered as the parish priest’s right hand man and thus the mouthpiece of the parish before the people. I would suggest that you better ask some questions before the inaugural day.” The first meeting of the parish council was scheduled to hold at 10.00 am on a certain Saturday. It happened to be the market day of the village, called Eke-Amaudara. By 10.30 am none of the invitees had arrived. As about 11.30 am only four members were present. The parish priest was a bit upset, but since it was the inaugural meeting, he made great effort to keep his calm. By 12.30 p.m. all the members had arrived. After a brief opening prayer, Fr. Schneider started immediately by haranguing the people on the value of time and why fixed appointments should be respected. Evidently, he was not aware that the people were expecting him to welcome them officially to the meeting by presenting them with kolanuts and wine. He did not notice the embarrassment and deception of the people. After that, he tabled the agenda he prepared for the meeting and then announced his appointment of Mrs Iruka as the chairman of the parish council, urging her to accept because of her competence. The woman was highly flabbergasted and reclined the appointment outright. There were murmurings and signs of anger on the faces of the people present. Then the priest said, “I think we may not continue this meeting today, it is adjourned till further notice”. With these words he dismissed the people. Case #1: A Parish Council in Nigeria Your name(s): Discovering Nigeria:

1. What 3 countries border Nigeria?

2. What body of water is on the coast?

3. What is the capital of Nigeria?

4. Where is Amaudara in relation to the capital (north, south, east, west?)

Chapter 2: 

5. Refer to the Continuum of Interculturalness. Where would you place the German missionary and why? 

6. Using the 8 BASICs of intercultural competence, analyse what the German missionary should have considered

a. Display of Respect

b. Orientation to Knowledge

c. Empathy

d. Interaction management

e. Task/Role behaviour

f. Relational Role Behaviour

g. Tolerance for Ambiguity

h. Interaction Posture

7. Using DIE, analyse this part of the case:The missionary sent Mrs Iruka a note informing her of his intention to place her as Chairman of the Parish. In her reply the woman wrote “Rev Fr., I assure you of my willingness to render my services for the progress of our new parish. But I think that what you have proposed to me may be difficult to accept. The chairman of the parish council is generally considered as the parish priest’s right hand man and thus the mouthpiece of the parish before the people. a. The missionary’s viewpoint: i. D ii. I iii. E b. Mrs Iruka’s viewpoint: i. D ii. I iii. E Chapter 4:

1. Describe some specific beliefs, values, norms and social practices that the German missionary thought should be in place

a. Belief b. Value c. Norm d. Social practice

2. Describe some specific beliefs, values, norms and social practices that the people of Amaudara, Nigeria thought should be in place.a. Belief b. Value c. Norm d. Social practice