Nigerian Ex-Seminarian Recounts Decade Away from Church, Returning through “divine intervention”

Abuja, 13 January, 2026 / 2:10 AM

The National President of the Old Seminarians Association of Nigeria (OSAN) has shared a personal testimony of faith, doubt, and rediscovery, revealing how he stayed away from the Catholic Church for 10 years after leaving the seminary before returning through what he describes as divine intervention and an understanding of the Church.

In an interview with ACI Africa on Monday, January 12, on the sidelines of a courtesy visit by the Social Communications Department of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja to the office of the Chief of Staff to Nigeria’s Senate President, Hon. Francis Chinedu Akubueze

Recalling his departure from Priestly formation, the OSAN president said he voluntarily left St. Paul’s Minor Seminary, Ukpor, in what is now the Catholic Diocese of Aguleri, in 1982, a decision that marked the beginning of a long spiritual distance from organized worship.

“I left St. Paul’s Seminary in Ukpor in now Catholic Diocese of Aguleri in 1982 on my own free accord. I was not expelled. I just woke up one morning and I felt that I didn’t want to continue… And for the next 10 years, I abandoned the Catholic Church, hardly went to Church,” he recounted.

During that period, Hon. Akubueze said he embraced a form of independent spirituality detached from institutional religion, believing that faith could exist without regular Church attendance.

“Within those ten years, I was a free thinker believing that in the time of Jesus Christ, there was no Church,” he said, adding that he believed “you can still build your spiritual life without necessarily going to Church.”

Despite his absence from liturgical life, he said, he never lost belief in God. 

“I still believed in God… I maintained my absolute belief in the existence and supremacy of God,” he said, noting that Sundays became no different from other days of the week during that time.

He recalled, “Within those 10 years, I didn’t distinguish between Sunday and Monday. Sunday would just come and pass by like any other day.”

Hon. Akubueze said his return to the Church happened unexpectedly, through what he considers a decisive moment of grace.

“But one particular Sunday, I didn’t just know how it happened. Through divine intervention, I just saw myself preparing, and I just went to Church. That was how gradually I resumed attendance at church,” he said.

As he reintegrated into Church life, the Nigerian Catholic official said his faith deepened through an appreciation of communal worship.

“I now acknowledge that worshipping in a community amongst the brethren also has a lot of advantages and something to build each other’s faith,” he said.

Central to his renewed commitment, he explained, was learning to distinguish between what he described as the two faces of the Church — the divine and the human.

“People rebel and storm out for failure to identify that the Church has two faces. There is the divine, and there is the human,” Hon. Akubueze said.

He observed that many frustrations among the faithful stem from focusing solely on the Church’s human realities, particularly administrative and financial practices such as frequent collections and fundraising activities.

“Most people who storm out and rebel do so because they are looking at the human side,” he said, citing multiple offerings and donation appeals as common sources of irritation.

Drawing from his experience of worship outside Nigeria, he contrasted local practices with those in Europe and the United States, where he said liturgies are often more structured and time-bound, with fewer interruptions.

“When that aspect is going on… I tell myself, there goes the human face of the Church, so at that point I focus on the divine,” he explained, adding that this mindset has helped him remain spiritually grounded.

“Since I adopted that strategy, I have no complaints. My focus is on the divine side of the Church,” he said.

Hon. Akubueze urged Catholics to recognize and harmonize both dimensions of the Church.

“The summary of my advice is for every person to learn those two faces of the Church and bring them both together… and it will help your spiritual advancement and your joy of faith,” he said.

Beyond his personal journey, the OSAN president also reflected on the relevance of Catholic social teaching in public life, saying its principles have guided him throughout his career in public service.

“The Catholic social teaching encompasses every aspect of a person's growth process,” he said, noting that it promotes humility, respect for human dignity, and concern for others.

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Hon. Akubueze, who has served as Clerk of the Federal House of Representatives and Clerk of the Senate before his current role as Chief of Staff to Senate President Sen. Godswill Akpabio, said he continues to apply these principles in his work.

He encouraged other institutions and faith traditions to study and adapt aspects of Catholic social teaching, describing it as a framework that promotes human dignity and social responsibility beyond religious boundaries.