Biography
My name is Pam, a native name, my baptism name is Joseph and my confirmation name is Thomas. I am Berom by tribe. My father’s name is Christopher Choji Nyam and my mother’s name is Mary. We are from the Lokagang family of Du but we are resident in Kabong in Jos and Kabong is part of Du district.
My family is one of the earliest settlers in Jos. My father was born in Kabong on the 16th day of July, 1949, that is exactly 75 years now and it means that by the regulations of the Church, I should be on retirement now.
In my family, I am the first child. My first brother died, I didn’t even know him myself. After me, I know that my parents had nine other children so we are a family of ten and I happen to be the first in the absence of the first that died. So I grew up in a very big family having eight brothers and two sisters. The other three boys too were also married and died too. So we lost five and five us are still alive, myself, Joachim, Patrick, Pius and Vincent who is called Jah Device. Before my parents died, they were already Knights of St. Mulumba.
My initial school was in Shen. My father was a teacher under the Catholic Church in the days of Fr. Hughes and Fr. James Shevline at St. Thomas Parish Church, Shen. So I grew up there and started school there. Not too long there, after about three or four years of my early stage of school, I was transferred to Zawan, St. Williams Primary School. That was where the Senior Primary used to be in Berom land. I was in Zawan until I finished my primary education – class 7 as we used to call it.
I had two options after primary school – either to go to St. Joseph’s College, Vom or the Minor seminary. But my father being a Knight of the Church preferred the Minor seminary. So I went at his request. By 1968, I obtained my GCE. Msgr. Gotan and I finished together though I started the Minor seminary before him but he caught up with me. I had to repeat one class I’m my first year because I didn’t want to continue but my parents encouraged me to go back and continue. So we ended up together in that 1968 set.
I wished to join the Army because my friend was in the military so I wanted to follow him but my father prevailed on me to go to the Minor seminary and I went. The major seminary started in Nasarawa Gwong in 1968/69. We were there for one year and later moved to the permanent site in 1970 at Laranto. Thanks to the Augustinian priests who took up our training in the major seminary.
In the Major seminary, it wasn’t easy, we had a lot of studies. Four good years to become a philosopher and four/five years in the theological section. We were there until 1974 or thereabout. We concluded the Major Seminary and we passed for ordination. Thank God I was ordained on December 22 1974 by late Archbishop Gabriel Gonsum Ganaka at Fatima Cathedral Jos, while my colleague, Msgr. Cletus Gotan was ordained in Pankshin a week before me on December 15, 1974.