Nicholas Okoh: Nigeria's New Anglican Primate

AllAfrica
26 April 2010

Lagos — Most Reverend Nicholas Okoh became Primate-elect in September 2009. He took over from Primate Peter Akinola who retired from service early this April.

He was ordained as a priest in 1979.

Before his elevation to the topmost job in the Church of Christ (Anglican Communion), Okoh, 57, had been a Lieutenant Colonel in the Nigerian Army who voluntarily retired when he was invited to become a Bishop in 2001. He became Archbishop in 2005 and is currently chairman of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission.

By his election, Okoh, a civil war veteran, becomes the first non-Yoruba to become the head of the Anglican Church. He follows a line of distinguished former Primates like Olufosoye Adetiloye and Akinola who were all giants of the church. It is the foot-prints of these men that Primate Okoh would now follow and possibly surpass. the rest