SoberReflectionsasCCCMarks40th AnniversaryamidstNationalUncertainties
Stories by Mary Nnah
It was a mixed feeling of sober reflections and thanksgiving to God Almighty for His sustenance as members of the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC), Covenant Cathedral, Amuo-Odofin, Lagos, gathered recently to mark the 40th anniversary of the church amidst uncertainties in the nation.
Speaking during the occasion the Parish’s Patron, Most Senior Evangelist Soye Oluremi Oniagba, Oniagba who was quick to comment on state of the nation as regard insecurity, kidnapping and banditry being witnessed in the nation in recent times, averred that the problem with Nigeria is the leaders and had nothing to do with the ordinary man on the street. “The problem is our leaders, they are the ones dividing us for political purposes”, Oniagba said noting that “what is happening in Nigeria is that people who wanted power; those used to taking Nigerian money no longer have access to it; the people who said they are going to take us and savage us, they are doing worse than the people they took over from, so what is happening is like they say when two elephant fight, it’s the grass that suffers.
“The masses are suffering and being killed because of the deeds of our leaders. So let the average man on the street know that this is not a war between Yoruba and Igbo, or between Igbo and Hausa or between Hausa and Yoruba it is the leaders that are manipulating us. I believe in God’s own time, everybody will get according to what he sow, what you sow is what you reap”.
He said, however, that the role of every church is to preach peace, noting, “we do not only preach peace here but we also put it in action in everything we do. We run a totally detribalised church. We have all tribes here and there is no discrimination amongst us”, he noted.
Giving a historic tale of development of the church since its inception 40 years ago and the achievements it has made so far, Oniagba said the journey has indeed been a glorious one even though it came with numerous challenges.
“The movement has not been all rosy from where we started to where we are today but our strength has been the grace of the Most High that has accompanied us”, he noted.
Collaborating Oniagba’s take on the state of the nation, Chairman, Church Management Committee, Honorary Senior Evangelist Nosa Giwa-Osagie, said, “This is not the Nigeria I know in the 50s and 60s.
“After the civil war, when I was growing up, I had the opportunity to move around the country with my uncle because he was a civil servant. When we were in Abeokuta we were treated as Yorubas, when we moved to PH we were treated as Rivers people, when we were at Enugu, the same thing, Kaduna the same thing.
“But now, that kind of love has withered away and the spirit of greed and bad leadership has taken over the whole system.”
Speaking on the significance of the church’s 40th anniversary, Giwa-Osagie, said, “After many years we have to take a record of what we have achieved, the shortcoming and the falloff.
“We are going to remember what has transformed for the past 40 years and it’s always good to have record of the past and future.”
Women Leader of the church, Prophetess Temitope Adeuti, said the anniversary occasioned a special thanksgiving to God for what He has done for every parishioner.
“We are celebrating because we are hopeful that this is another beginning of greater and better things that would happen in the life of every parishioner. We are thanking God for bringing us this far and for where He is taking us, to His glory.”
Adeuti revealed further that the church has a good record of the women department, noting that the impact of women on the church has been tremendous right from the onset.
Conscious of the fact that young people have been found to be involved in and also used by unscrupulous elements in the society to commit various disastrous acts in the nation especially recently, Rector, Redeemer’s College of Technology and Management (RECTEM), Dr. (Mrs.) Stella Mofunanya, has appealed to young people to shun cultism, hooliganism, corruption and other forms of social vices.
She made this appeal during the college’s third matriculation ceremony which took place, last Friday at the Redemption Camp, Ogun State.
While stressing that RECTEM has zero tolerance for cultism, hooliganism, corruption and other forms of social menace, Mofunanya advised that, “It is integral that you continually remember that the distance between today’s ceremony and your convocation seems far but in reality it is close.
“It is very important that as champions, you conclude this journey in triumph and success. To achieve this, you need to be regular in attendance at lectures, serious with your continuous assessment, shun deviant behaviours and other vices and resist the temptation to commit examination malpractices and fraud”.