The Primate of African Church Cathedral, Ifako, Rev Emmanuel Josiah Udofia, and the Lagos African Church Grammar School Old Students Association (LAFROSA) have praised the Chairman, Ifako Ijaiye -Local Government, Apostle Oloruntoba Oke, for donating a modern ICT centre to his alma mater, Lagos African Church, grammar School, Ifako (LAFROGRAMS).
Declaring the event open, the Primate thanked Oke for giving back to his former school and prayed for him.
LAFROSA’s National President, Otunba Moses Paul, described Oke as a true leader, urging other old students to emulate his gesture.
Principal of the school, Mrs Mojisola Oyetayo, thanked the donor for the centre.
She said through him, LAFROGRAMS has one of the best ICT centres in the state, because it is Joint Admissions Matriculation Board compliant.
Oke said the ICT centre was a dream come true, promising to donate more in future.
Present at the unveiling were former Principal of the school, Mrs Huneph Adeoba, L. S. Ogunyale, Rev. Ogunshipe, and the Proprietor of Ifako International school, Wande Majekodunmi, among others.
Lagos-based seer, Prophet Elijah Ayodele, has appealed to Senate President Bukola Saraki to join the presidential race for the forthcoming 2019 elections.
He warned there would be dire consequences should the former Kwara Governor refuse to make himself available for the presidential contest.
Ayodele, who is founder of Inri Evangelical Spiritual Church, spoke last week during the dedication of an ultra-modern auditorium in Isheri-Olofin Lagos.
He said: “God wants to use Saraki for something big in this country. He wants to use him to fix so many things. So he has to come out and join the race.”
Should the Senate President refuses to join the race, Ayodele said there would be dire consequences for him.
“God will punish him if he refuses to join because anyone that disobeys Him will suffer for it,” he stressed.
On the dedication of Emi Ni Aseyori Kan Pro Cathedral, a.k.a. Sope Parish, Ayodele said it was in fulfillment of God’s vision and faithfulness to the church.
“God is the one doing things for us. If you look at what He does for us, you will know only Him could have done it,” he affirmed.
All Progressive Congress (APC) South West Women Leader, Chief Kemi Nelson, cut the tape to dedicate the church.
She congratulated members of the church for the feat, urging them not to relent in spreading the gospel of Christ.
Only pious and spirit filled leaders can stem corruption which is destroying the country, Primate of The African Church Cathedral Salem, Lagos Mainland Diocese, Dr. Emmanuel Udofiah has said.
Delivering the sermon at the dedication of the cathedral’s N300million auditorium on Freeman Street, Ebute-Meta, he said the church was ordained with the authority to fulfil the redemptive task of proffering solutions to individual, family and societal restiveness.
He said the peace and blessings of God would reign in the country if the church would exercise its power to seek the enduring mercy of the Almighty.
Udofia encouraged Christians not to give up on intercessions and supplications for the country’s advancement, noting that leaders must align their actions with uprightness for the prayers to be answered.
“When the church is led by the spirit of God, the love of God will manifest and there will be peace in our environment, the church and the society. Corruption will be a thing of the past when the church teaches what Christ has taught the church and our generation will be blessed. By the grace of God, human beings are God’s temple set aside for God’s honour and glory. So our live should be such that anyone that gets in contact with Him should be able to learn one thing or the other that will assist him or her to live a Godly life,” he said.
Chairman of the Building Committee, Otunba Olutola Senbore, said the largest building in the African church was largely financed by parishioners’ donations and fundraisers.
The foundation of the 20-year project, he said, was laid in July 1998, following the demolition of the former edifice. The new building is composed of a 300-guest basement hall, a 100-seater auditorium and two chapels donated by the Youth Christian Fellowship and Chief Mrs Olufunke Obasanjo.
He said: “We have to thank God that it was possible for us to have this project completed. It was very tasking and challenging to get members going particularly as it is a project that belongs to the entire congregation. It would not have been possible to complete it but for the various successful fundraisers by different committees.”
Presents are made for the pleasure of those who give them, not the merits of those who receive them. Primate Babatunde Elijah Ayodele is currently reveling in the pleasure of giving. Last Sunday will forever be etched in the memories of some worshippers at the INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church as Primate Ayodele, the founder and spiritual head of the ministry, injected in them the fortune that may transform their lives forever. The philanthropic gesture of the humble clergy has since left them excited.
About 30 members and non-members of the church smiled home with gifts ranging from cash to cars as Primate Ayodele stretched out his generous hand. The event was the annual INRI family thanksgiving day tagged Multiple Surprises, Achievements and Divine Favour. The life-changing programme, held at the church’s headquarters at Oke-Afa, Ejigbo, Lagos, drew worshippers and dignitaries from within and outside Lagos. The event was made more exciting by the presence of many entertainers who made every minute memorable.
Nigeria’s Inaoyom Imong, has been announced the winner of a Whitley Award by the Whitley Fund for Nature, a prestigious environmental prize.
Imong, a conservation leader, won the prestigious ‘Green Oscar’ for his work in protecting Africa’s most endangered great gorillas (Gorilla gorilla diehli) in Cross River state, Nigeria.
HRH! The Princess Royal presente Inaoyomd a Whitley Award, a prestigious international nature conservation prize worth £35,000 (N8.2 million) in project funding to Imong at a ceremony at the Royal Geographical Society, London.
Globally recognised as a hotspot for primate, amphibian, bird and butterfly species, the tropical rainforests of south-eastern Nigeria are home to the Cross River gorilla, with only 300 estimated to remain in the wild.
These primates and their habitat are under threat from lack of legal protection, deforestation and hunting to supply the illegal bush-meat market.
The Princess Royal and 2015 Whitley Awards recipient Inaoyom Imong, Nigerian conservationist at The Royal Geographical Society, London, 29th April 2015.
As Director of the Cross River Landscape Project at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Nigeria, Imong leads a community-based conservation project in the Mbe Mountains to protect the forest and its fragile population of Cross River gorillas.
Imong has established the Conservation Association of the Mbe Mountains (CAMM), which brings together people from nine different communities in a joint effort to manage the Mbe Mountains area and secure its legal status as a community wildlife sanctuary.
Imong’s efforts have not only kept the gorillas from being hunted – not a single gorilla has been poached since the inception of the project – but built capacity for their future conservation.
Imong is helping people establish alternative livelihoods as eco-guards to improve the protection and monitoring of Cross River gorillas and other wildlife; giving people a sense of ownership over the conservation of the forest.
In his speech, Edward Whitley, Founder of the Whitley Fund for Nature said: “The calibre of this year’s Whitley Awards winners is outstanding.
“Although they each face remarkable and different challenges in their home countries, these exceptional individuals are passionate about securing a better future for both people and wildlife. The Whitley Awards are a celebration of their achievements.”
Imong is one of seven individuals to have been awarded a share of prize funding worth £245,000 (N58 million) by the Whitley Fund for Nature, winning the Whitley Award donated by the Garfield Weston Foundation.
Other winners in the 2015 Whitley Awards are: Panut Hadisiswoyo – Indonesia, Pramod Patil – India, Rosamira Guillen – Colombia, ArnaudDesbiez – Brazil, Jayson Ibañez – Philippines and Ananda Kumar – India.
HRH! The Princess Royal will also present the Whitley Gold Award 2015 – a prestigious profile and funding prize awarded to a previous Whitley Award winner in recognition of their outstanding contribution to conservation.
The Whitley Gold Award is donated by The Friends and Scottish Friends of the Whitley Fund for Nature and is worth £50,000 (N12 million).
This year’s recipient is 2009 Whitley Award winner, Dr. Dino Martins from Kenya for his project – People, plants & pollinators: protecting the little things that power the planet.
Dino is working with local people to raise awareness and encourage the adoption of more sustainable farming practices that conserve pollinators, boost crop yields, and benefit people in East Africa.
Joining the Judging Panel to assist in selection, the Gold Award winner also acts as mentor to new Whitley Award winners receiving their Awards in the same year.
The Primate, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), the Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, has urged clerics and religious leaders to preach unity and dwell less on ethnicity, which he said can destroy the church and the country.
Okoh said the absence of unity in the church is affecting the nation’s progress.
He spoke yesterday in Abuja at the launch of the activities marking the 25th anniversary of the Diocese of Abuja, Anglican Communion, with the theme: “Celebrating the Faithfulness of God”.
The diocese, created from Kaduna Diocese on November 26, 1989, has eight arch-deaconries. It has produced two dioceses, namely Diocese of Kubwa and Diocese of Gwagwalada.
Okoh said the church and the country suffered the same problem, and the church could salvage the country.
According to him, the nation made a slow progress, following disunity among the citizens.
“The challenge affecting the country, which is also affecting the church, is ethnicity, the absence of unity. You will agree with me that today we have a nation, but we are not united. If we are united, our country would have made much progress,” he said.
The Primate added: “We (Anglican Church) want to unite the people in the church and make ethnicity less attractive. Hopefully, by the grace of God, we will extend it to the country.
“In the church, we want to teach it, emphasise it, make everybody accept it and give it as a gift to the nation, so that anybody who has gone through the teaching of the church will have no difficulty interacting with people from any part of the country.”
The Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), the Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, has said the national conference will fail, if it does not spell out modalities on how the country will live in peace and unity.
Addressing reporters at the 50th anniversary thanksgiving service of the Archbishop Vining Memorial Church Cathedral, Diocese of Lagos West, yesterday, he said the conference is an opportunity to discuss how the people would live together.
He said: “The national dialogue is a gift from God and we are relying on those who have been chosen to make it a success. At that confab, we expect they will discuss what has been afflicting us. We need to understand how we are to move forward.
“We want them to discuss all the areas of friction that have been an impediment to us and proffer solutions, so that at the end of the national conference, we will not go back to the type of life we are living now.
“I hope we will live a better and purposeful life and our relationship will be oiled by understanding and agreement properly documented after the conference.” The Primate urged the conference to discuss the nation’s security challenges, adding that Nigeria’s existence rests on the mutual understanding of how the people want to relate.
He said: “You cannot decide how I will relate with you without my consent; you cannot order that I must belong to where you belong. You cannot compel me to worship with you, so all these things must be decided at the conference in the interest of Nigeria.
“Two people cannot go together unless they agree. So, in that committee, they must decide on the things that will help us to work together. If they go there and come back without deciding these issues, then we would have spent our money for nothing.”
Bishop of the Diocese of Lagos West Rt. Rev. James Odedeji said politicians had not really justified God’s grace in their lives and urged them to show humility in their stewardship to the people.
He said: “If we remember the way we started, we will continually be humbled and discover that God has been kind to us.
“When many people get to offices, they forget how they started. They are not bothered about those who will come after them. So, when they have climbed, they destroy the ladder. This is unfortunate, but everybody will be rewarded accordingly.”
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven”
Matthew 5: 14 – 16
No other scripture captures my fond reminiscences of the life and times of Late Most Reverend Abiodun Joseph Adetiloye than the foregoing. My earliest memories of the dear departed are of my encounters with Baba (as we endearingly called him) back in my days as a pupil of Christ School, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.
Baba used to live on top of the famous Agidimo Hill within the school. I recollect that one of my schoolmates, Akin Ogunrinde, used to live with him back then. Baba was an integral part of school life in that anytime we pupils ran into trouble with the school authority; the principal would run up to Baba on the hill for intervention. Baba would often come down and mediate in the impasse, ensuring the return of normalcy before he left. He carried such a weight of spiritual authority shrouded in meekness that as young children, we could not but love, respect and obey him. In those early years during which character was being formed in us as young pupils, our privileged interaction with Baba amongst several other authority figures, birthed in us moral rectitude and reverence for God – key values that light our various life paths till this day. For this reason, I also crave the indulgence of Baba’s biological children, to also call him a father to me – indeed; he was a father to all.
His was a light-bearing life that was truly set on a hill for all to see. Though kindled in the ancient town of Odo-Owa in Ekiti State, Nigeria, Baba’s light shone brightly for the world to see. His life of meritorious service in God’s vineyard is a testament of faithfulness, diligence, humility and integrity. During his time as Primate, his impact reverberated beyond the confines of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, geographically and across all spheres of life. I remember affectionately Baba’s role during the dark years of military rule, he was one of the renowned men of faith who supported the struggle in various ways, unafraid to speak truth to the dictators of that perilous era – he was for this reason referred to as the ‘NADECO Bishop’.
In the last years of his glorious life, though Baba was a global citizen, he demonstrated his love for the land of honour, Ekiti State, Nigeria, by refusing entreaties from more cosmopolitan states of the federation, to settle down in retirement in his native Odo-Owa. Baba’s presence in the community no doubt raised its profile, not only considering the numerous distinguished visitors who paid homage to him, but also on account of him frequently putting his weight behind seeking solutions to issues that affected his kinsmen. In fact, the last time I spoke with him was when he called to discuss details of an on-going project. However, Baba never laboured the goodwill and love he knew I had for him; majority of the times he called was for the purpose of checking on my welfare and praying for me. The people of Ekiti State, Nigeria are extremely glad to have had Baba spend his last years with us.
Baba has gone to be with the Lord, he has fought a good fight, he has finished his course, he has kept the faith, and we are certain that he shall receive the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge has promised all those who love His appearing. In the words of Thomas Mann, “A man’s dying is more his survivor’s affair than his…”, therefore, it behoves those of us that remain on this side of eternity, as we gather in the land of rolling hills to celebrate this great Man of Honour; to reflect on and rekindle our lives with the light from the life of the Primate on the Hill – that the dark aspects of our nationhood might be illuminated by the aggregate of positive actions of each and every one of us.
Baba lived well, Baba served well and Baba died well. We owe him as Ekiti kinsmen, fellow Nigerians and the whole of humanity, to continue to pursue the values that the dear departed’s iconic life has come to represent.
On behalf of the government and people of Ekiti State, Nigeria, I offer my heartfelt condolences to the Adetiloye Family, the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, and all those who hold him dear. We shall all miss him greatly.
