In order to participate in traditional worship, Prof. Pius Abioje, a former Catholic priest and lecturer at the University of Ilorin in Kwara State, abandoned the cassock.
He claimed that after being tricked into converting to Christianity and assuming the role of a priest, he gave up the priesthood after coming to his senses.
The former head of the department of religion at UNILORIN claimed that the reason he left the Catholic church was because the concepts he preached did not set well with him. Maturity assisted him in realizing this, according to the former head.
Abioje said; “Along the line, I saw that it (priesthood) was not where I belonged but I could not just rush out of it. In the first instance, I never saw myself being celibate, that was why I was surprised when I saw myself joining the priesthood and I had to consult a diviner. I started envying married people. That is what I can tell you.”
“I started with St Kizito’s Minor Seminary in Ede (Osun State) in 1973. After that, I attended SS Peter and Paul Catholic Seminary, Bodija, Ibadan (Oyo State) in 1977. In 1981,
I was sent to Rome with the current Bishop of Oyo Diocese, Emmanual Badejo; we studied together in Rome and that was where we completed our seminary training with a university degree. We returned to Nigeria and I was ordained in 1985 and left in 2000, 15 years after“
