The Archbishop of Jos Province of Anglican Church and Bishop of Maiduguri Diocese, Bishop Emmanuel Kana Mani has died. He passed away in the early hours of Thursday; few hours after he was admitted at the Nakowa Hospital, Lagos Street, Maiduguri for an undisclosed ailment.
Family sources yesterday in Maiduguri said that he was rushed to the hospital on Wednesday night but gave up the ghost in the early hours of Thursday.
His death occurred barely a month after he lost one of his daughters; a 42 years old lady.
He was made Bishop of Maiduguri in 1990 and elevated to the position of Archbishop of Jos Province of the Church in 2003. An erstwhile chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and chairman of Northern Christian Elders’ Forum (NOCEF) since 2011, Kana Mani who hails from Zuru, Kebbi State is seen by many people in Borno state; as a detribalized and humane cleric.
He has served the state in various peace initiatives. He was reputed for his consistent messages on peace and love. He once told Daily Sun in an interview that the only antidote to ethnic conflict in Nigeria was for people to be contended with God creation.
“God has created us to be together and when we accept this, we will think less of our differences,” he declared, adding that he decided not to flee Maiduguri in the midst of Boko Haram insurgency; because he would betray his calling and his members.
“I told myself even while bomb blasts and killings occurred near my house that I cannot flee. Part from the fact that Borno has become my home, I will betray my faith in God, my calling and our members who have nowhere to run to and that was why I stayed all through even when it was very dangerous to do so,” he told the reporter.
