Knighthood as Service to Mankind

For Sir Charles Mbelede, who was recently exalted to a Supreme Knight of St. Mulumba, Nigeria, knighthood should be seen by all as a service to God and mankind. Precious Ugwuzor reports

It was all joy all recently at the premises of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), Yaba, Lagos, as Sir Charles Mbelede was celebrated for his exaltation to Supreme Knight of St. Mulumba, Nigeria.

Friends, family and Catholic knights and ladies in their colourful regalia gathered to celebrate Mbelede, who they described as a round peg in a round hole.

The event, a thanksgiving Mass and grand reception, was organised by the Lagos and Surulere sub-councils to celebrate him as the Supreme Knight of St. Mulumba.

Mbelede, who was visibly elated, did not disappoint well-wishers who poured encomiums on him for his many good deeds and outstanding personality. He took to the dance floor, praising God for his mercy, as he displayed rhythm and grace on nimble feet.

The celebration started with a Mass at St. Dominic’s Catholic Church, Yaba, where Rev. Fr. Richard Odok admonished Mbelede to use his position to serve his brothers and humanity in general. At the Mass, the church prayed for blessings for the man of the day, who was described as a goldfish with no hiding place.

After dining and wining, Mbelede made a passionate appeal to Nigerians to shun crime and criminality, saying all hands must be on deck to bring back Nigeria to the enviable position of its past.

The Supreme Knight also called on parents to step into the shoes of Jesus Christ, who condemned the evil in the world during his short stay with mankind and condemned crime without minding whose ox was gored.

His words, “What is happening in Nigeria today is becoming too embarrassing, and parents should begin to monitor their children. How come parents now welcome all sorts of gifts from their children without asking the source of the gifts?

” The society, especially parents, should stop celebrating youths who suddenly become rich overnight. You should stop celebrating wealth that you don’t know the source, in order to curb the rising level of ritual killings in the country.”

Mbelede condemned the spate of killings and harvesting of body parts among desperate youths, and he advised them to be level-headed and law-abiding because money is not everything: “Ritual killing is giving Nigeria a bad image and, to repair the damaged image of the country, it must start from families.

” If I train my children well and teach them the way of God and the fear of God, and everybody stands firm to condemn evil, the larger society will be better. But when you close your eyes and accept everything that your children do, the family will continue to be rotten. We need to change the narrative by questioning our children and siblings on the source of their wealth and reject money that we don’t know the source.

“In order to counter the challenges of crime among youths, government must plan to tackle unemployment that the country is facing. Government must plan and ensure that there is good standard of living among the citizens.

” There should be plans for massive employment for the youths. If our children are gainfully employed, the rate of crime, especially ritual killings, robbery, banditry and kidnapping will reduce drastically, because they will no longer be tools in the hands of unscrupulous people and the devil. I am telling you the truth, an idle mind is the devil’s workshop.

“That is why we, knights, are to share our time, treasury and talents for the betterment of mankind, to the glory of God. In a contemporary Nigerian society, we are faced with a lot of hassles. The knight is to protect the faith, the church and the less privileged. Right now, we are building houses for underprivileged widows, irrespective of creed, tribe or religion. Thus far, we have built 25 bungalows for widows. We also fight crimes and all forms of illegality, no matter how highly places the person involved may be. We fight crimes through advocacy.

“We start to evangelise from basic principles to final set-ups, and the idea is to reach as many people as possible. We have nine metropolitan councils spread across the country. We have 280 sub-councils and we are 22,000 members strong, with our brothers and sisters spread across the length of the country. We do a lot of evangelisation.

“In Lagos, we have a house that we called Hosanna House, built for destitute girls who got pregnant. Instead of allowing them to have abortion, we house them and nurture them from pregnancy till delivery and we set them up in a trade. We are doing this irrespective of their creeds; we are the voice of the voiceless.

“In my four-year tenure, our target is to bring the 21st century trend into knighthood across Nigeria through spirituality, professionalism, sharing of treaties and continuous assistance and evangelisation for the betterment of mankind.”

The Supreme Knight called on other groups and associations to help the needy, especially orphans, widows and the destitute. He said, “If we help the needy, the crime rate will reduce drastically. Parents should not be too harsh on female children who make the mistake of unwanted pregnancy.

“It is not as if we are encouraging premarital sex, but when parents chase away children with unwanted pregnancy, they are compounding the problem for the girl child. She may be forced to commit abortion, which is a big sin, and it may damage the child’s womb and the lady may die in the process.

“That is why we are preaching forgiveness, and the Catholic Church, as you know, condemns abortion. Every unborn child has the same right to live and no one knows what the unborn child will become in the future.”

Earlier at the thanksgiving Mass, Rev. Fr. Odok admonished Mbelede, saying his elevation was God’s grace at work: “We thank God for the life of our father. It does not mean that he is the most qualified, but God chose him. We appreciate God for the gift and knowledge he has given to you, but it must be clear to everyone that he still needs your advice, support and contributions.

“Have it at the back of your mind that your Supreme Knighthood does not indicate that you know it all. Give responsibility to those who you think can handle it.

“Also, be conscious of the difficulties and challenges that come with such a position. We pray for you, that your faith will be strengthened and, after you are strengthened, you also will strengthen your brothers.”

Sir Williams Adebisi, the immediate past chairman of the Lagos Council of the Knights, said, Lagos Metro Council has been blessed in diverse ways because various talents have emerged from there.

“We thank God for the gift of this new Supreme Knight. He is the first to emerge from the Lagos Metro. The Lagos Metro has gone through a lot to have a knight, but as God so made it, our new SK won unopposed. He needs our prayer to lead the members; it is my prayer that the good Lord will strengthen him and guide him aright to lead.”

Mr. Okechukwu Okafor, chairman of the event’s organising committee, described Mbelede’s elevation as one of the best things that have happened to the council.

He said Mbelede is the epitome of success, an encyclopedia of knowledge and wisdom, who would help the organisation progress beyond most peoples’ expectations.

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“That is why we, knights, are to share our time, treasury and talents for the betterment of mankind, to the glory of God…The knight is to protect the faith, the church and the less privileged”