Nigeria, Oct. 15 -- I still have fresh memories of my first meeting with Professor Joy Ogwu in her Victoria Island office. The late Archbishop Gabriel Ganaka, then Archbishop of Jos, had stopped by the Catholic Secretariat after one of his many trips abroad.

The next morning, he handed a parcel to me to take to a certain Mrs. Joy Ogwu. She works at the National Institute for International Affairs. I have already told her that you will deliver this parcel to her. She is a good Catholic woman and she knows about you, he added for emphasis.

Next day, I headed to the NIIA and found her office. She was obviously expecting me as I saw from her warmth. Welcome, Fr, she said. I was struck by her elegance, beauty, charm and courtesy. I have read...