The Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC) has toured some parts of the country to spread the gospel of pilgrimage. Sunday Oguntola reports that the Christian community is enthusiastic about making the exercise more impactful and meaningful.
Time was 9:40pm. It had been a long, hectic day. Yet when the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), Rev Tor Uja, emerged from the office of the Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, last Wednesday, he didn’t, in the least, look tired.
Rather, he appeared animated and fulfilled. For two days, he and his team had been practically on the roads, selling the importance of pilgrimage to stakeholders in the Christian and political communities. It was a tiring exercise but one that the team carried out with excitement and convictions.
The conviction was palpable despite the physical exertion of the tour. The first part of call was Government House, Ondo State, last Tuesday where the team met with Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, his deputy Agboola Ajayi, and some members of the Executive Council.
Uja told Akeredolu God was counting on genuine Christians in authority to uphold the faith. He recalled how efforts of King James of the United Kingdom resulted to the publication of the King James Version. By commissioning a team of scholars and supporting them to embark on the project, he recalled the church got a version of the Bible out of the 3,000 versions in existence then.
He charged Akeredolu to consider how he could promote reforms and changes, saying God was counting on him to make his Christian faith speak boldly.
Settling down to the business of the day, Uja said pilgrimage is a veritable tool to redefine the image of the country and encourage Nigerians to uphold nationalism.
He also stated pilgrimage will deepen the faith of believers and enable them to become better citizens while contributing to nation-building.
Lending his voice to the sponsorship debate, the Executive Secretary said: “Churches should begin to sponsor their leaders, members and associates so that it does not look like a government affair.
“Pilgrimage belongs to the church and Christians should consider it their responsibility to pay their way down.”
He informed the governor of plans to have specialised pilgrimage for women, traditional rulers, business executives and youths to enable the groups take up interesting interactions, discussions and prayers during the exercise.
He said subsequent pilgrimages will include skill acquisition, especially in the farming exploits of Israel despite the apparent disadvantages of the Holy Land.
Akeredolu thanked the team for the visit, assuring that the state would work with churches to encourage more Christians to perform the exercise.
The governor said pilgrimage is essential to build confidence in the authenticity of the Bible as well as improve the spiritual well-being of Christians.
The team headed immediately to the ancient town of Owo for a courtesy visit to the Olowo, Dr David Folagbade Olateru-Olagbegi (111).
The palace was full of Christian traditional rulers who came to give the Olowo moral support. They came from different parts of the South West to hear the gospel of pilgrimage. The Olowo is the chairman of Association of Christian Traditional Rulers in the South West.
Uja said traditional rulers are important to God in the expansion of the Kingdom and good governance. He praised the Olowo for administering the kingdom with striking humility and the fear of God.
He called on the Olowo to consider a youth skill acquisition centre in the town for the nurturing of the younger generation so that they can learn from his legacies and achievements as a former law lecturer.
Uja said Christian traditional rulers would soon be in Israel on a pilgrimage centred around deep prayers, dialogue and interactions. “I believe we will see the lights in this nation when we do that,” he assured.
On the importance of pilgrimage, Uja said: “Every Christian leader should go to Israel at least once in a lifetime to pray and see developmental strides in the Holy Land and replicate same back home.”
The Olowo thanked the team for the visit. He assured of his support for drives to make more Christians embrace pilgrimage.
The train headed back to Akure where Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) leaders were waiting for briefing as soon as the meeting was over.
Uja walked into the hall to a warm reception. He told the CAN leaders from wards across the state that Christians must take pilgrimage more seriously. He discouraged the idea of waiting on government for sponsorship, saying the current economic downturns have almost foreclosed that possibility.
“Pilgrimage belongs to the church; government should not take it over. It is our own to own. When we take it over, we would do things differently,” he charged.
He challenged the CAN leaders to develop programmes that would stimulate interests in pilgrimage and never allow anyone to remain the same again after the exercise. “People should not just come back with gallons of water of bottles of oil. They should come back with a passion and zeal for the things of God,” he stated.
He urged many of them to consider spending their annual leave on pilgrimage, saying that would afford them the opportunity to refresh, rethink and repackage for greater exploits in their churches.
On Wednesday, it was the turn of Ekiti State to host the enthusiastic team. It firstly met with CAN leaders where challenges facing pilgrimage in the state were discussed and tackled.
The team moved to the Government House where Governor Ayo Fayose gladly asked his deputy, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, to receive the team. Uja pointed out that the church has not seen pilgrimage as a necessity.
He said the perception that the exercise must be government- sponsored is wrong and counter-productive. Government, he explained, can encourage and stimulate the Christian community, adding “it is our responsibility as a church to champion it.”
He informed that the Commission was determined to make the exercise spiritually-lifting and geared towards stimulating nationalism as well as personal transformation.
“We want you to push the church to stimulate us to do what we should do. If you leave us on our own, our weak hands become weaker but if you push us, we wouldn’t look back,” Uja appealed.
Olusola promised that the government would identify philanthropists who can sponsor people for pilgrimage. “We have many good people in Ekiti State and we only need to make out time to find them out.
“It would be our joy to partner with individuals, churches and organisations to get more people to Israel. We are committed to doing that by the grace of God,” the deputy governor stated.
