…as Osinbajo, Sanwo-Olu, others grace occasion
By Moses Adeniyi
Calls have been directed to the leading Overseers and Ministers of the Gospel in Nigeria to rise to the task of divine intervention to guide political leaders in the need to salvage the Country out of the worsening of conditions.
The calls which were directed to the leading Overseers including the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor E.A. Adebayo, and the General Overseer of the Deeper Life Bible Church, Pastor W.F. Kumuyi, to join hands with others for prophetic intervention in the Country, were made at the launch of a biography written in honour of the sacrificial and consecrated life of Pastor W.F. Kumuyi, on Friday.
Delivering his keynote address entitled “The Imperative of Integrity, Transparency and Trust in Leadership: Celebrating the Leadership of Pastor Kumuyi, The Defender Faith” the Immediate Past Vice Chancellor of the Samuel Ajayi Crowther University, Prof. Dapo Ashaju said as a result of loss of integrity, many Nigerians were losing trust in the government.
Lamenting that beyond political leaders corruption at the local level among the populace in Nigeria was deep seated, he said the possibilities of change can only be feasible “unless there is a general reversal and sanctification of the human mind,” which according to him comes by Christianity.
He identified such challenges as massive corruption; insecurity; kidnapping for ransom; massacre of innocent communities; impunity of murderers who have infiltrated the security outfits and surrounded communities in various parts of the Country in the name of herdsmen and bandits; failure of basic infrastructures; and the devaluation of the Naira,” as deep seated problems ravaging the Country.
“What has happened to the good old days. We would continue to talk about the good old days. We are dealing with massive unemployment of skilled youth. As a vice chancellor, it is very painful that most of the students I graduated are found in the job market. It is just hopeless. There is no way ahead, there is no job anywhere,” he lamented.
Lamenting the devaluation of the Naira, recalling the days when the currency was stronger than the dollar, he further decried that “companies are closing down. We are having these problems.”
On brain drain, he decried the situanion stating that “most worrisome is the brain drain of our young professionals, especially the doctors and medical experts.
“You train doctors for the foreign market. It is an unfortunate experience for a Country to train doctors with tax payers’ money, only for them to migrate. Whatever they become there, they are adding value for their pockets which has no benefit for the Country. Our engineers, doctors and specialists are going. So it is woe unto a Country that we allow the best of our brains to leave.
“We are dealing with poverty, inflation, and the dominance of the executive, legislative and the judiciary arm, the economic and education sector by one tribe in this Country against the constitutional provision of the Federal Character,” he said.
Mentioning other challenges, he said “these maladies have affected the populace in having trust in the Government to protect them.
“In summary therefore, the people has disconnected from their government. Politicians are no longer trusted to implement policies they make during electioneering campaigns. I can’t remember any cardinal principle of any of the political parties today. They promise so much but they do little.
“Integrity, transparency and trust are fundamental for the right behavior of the leaders and the people in every society.
“A good name is better than silver and gold. Integrity comes from wisdom not knowledge, and wisdom only comes from the fear of God,” he said.
According to him, when these virtues are lost as it appear in contemporary Nigeria, he said “it is finished with such society unless God intervenes.”
He however, called on Pastor Kumuyi and Pastor Adeboye to intervene as prophet of nations to call the custodians of power to order.
According to him, the two men of GOD are the leading light of the Body of Christ in the Country who stand in good position to guide the failing political leaders to proffer solutions to the problems of the Country by divine instructions.
He said it was important for the two men of God and other Ministers “to sit down with the Government of this Country at the round table to guide them as prophets to get out of the problem.”
“We must go back to our prophetic heritage. I am challenging Pastor W.F. Kumuyi and Pastor E.A. Adeboye. They pastor the largest congregation today and they are standing today because of integrity, discipline and holiness.
“These are the people today who have the strongest voices. I am calling upon them to please unite, bring in other people and let us address the Nigerian situation.”
He further called on church leaders to speak out over the prevailing situation in the Country, mentioning that worsening of situation may not spare anyone.
In his remark, Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo who identified three major forms of taxes every person owe to the society – which he identified as personal income tax, social tax – philanthropy, mentioned that the civic tax – the third is essential.
He described the civil tax as “the obligation of the successful to write their stories to share the histories of the phenomena that they have become in order to instruct, to admonish and to inspire the present and the future.
He added that: “But for the successful preacher of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, there is a fourth tax. This is the Pentecost tax – the tax to tell the world what you have gone through and this a huge responsibility.
“The saints before us discharged that responsibility, so we are beneficiaries of the Act of the Apostles. Their stories continued today and the baton has been handed over unto our generation.
Speaking on the book, Osinbajo who was the Chairman of the occasion, said the book “Kumuyi – the Defender of the Faith”, begins the work of discharging that tax – that obligation to tell the story of the missionary journey, and this book tell the story of the incredible works of the Hply Spirit in the life of Pastor W.F. Kumuyi and, his ministry.
“How by His Grace, he not only preached but continued to preach holiness to a whole generation and lived that whole life of holiness himself every day.
“The book tells the stories of how the Holy Spirit worked miracles through him and how from a bible study group of 15 members in 1973, the Ministry grew to what is now the Deeper Life Bible Church, firmly established in several countries of the world.
He added that the book talked about “How by the power of the Holy Spirit and the Grace of God, Pastor Kumuyi has kept Faith with a great conviction, preaching the gospel to all persons without compromise; keeping his eyes and focus on the Lord Jesus.”
Justifying the effort, he said “the Pentecostal tax is never fully discharged, while the man of God is alive, the act of this Apostle must be written.”
Moreover, he appreciated the committee which rose to discharge the obligation of putting up the biography.
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was the Chief Host of the public presentation described Kumuyi as “a great servant of God, spiritual leader, teacher and mentor to millions, academic and educationist, family man, philanthropist, and a patriotic Nigerian,” whose life as a preacher is worthy of emulation.
“Let me now say how pleased I am that the authors and publishers have finally managed to convince him to accept the idea of a comprehensive biography.
“Because, indeed, this is a story that needs to be told in full. The authors say they started the project without letting him know, because they were worried, he would disapprove it, and have also spoken about how relieved they were when he approved,” he said.
Speaking on the group, he said: “Kumuyi: Defender of the Faith is a very apt way of summing up the life and service of this particular God’s General.
“He set aside a very promising career in the Ivory Tower and dedicated himself to advancing the gospel and the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, with holiness as the central tenet of his message and ministry.
“A divinely-orchestrated transition from teaching the world how to solve complex mathematical equations, to teaching the world God’s answers to even weightier questions about faith and love and hope and holiness; answers that are ever timely and relevant; and Biblical solutions that will never go out of fashion.
“In the process Pastor Kumuyi also established a Ministry and a Church that have grown from very humble beginnings, from a handful of members when it started in 1973, into one of the most formidable and respected spiritual institutions in the world.
“Today there is no part of the world in which the Deeper Life Bible Church is not represented, a testament to the diligence, perseverance and dedication of Pastor Kumuyi, and very importantly to the abiding grace of God in and on his life.
“When you mention the name William Folorunsho Kumuyi or the Deeper Life Bible Church anywhere, the first thing that comes to mind is holiness, an absolute devotion to living a life that is fully aligned with the precepts and standards of God, an uncompromising commitment to be in the world but not of it, and to place God over and above everything else.”
The book entitled “Kumuyi – the Defender of the Faith” was the first full length biography ever written of Pastor Kumuyi, and the first authorised biography as well.
Speaking, Kumuyi who reluctantly granted the approval for the biography, said it was high time men dedicated their lives to God, stating that transformation of the world would come by men making commitment to walk with God.
He said the salvation of his soul by realisation of the love of God for all humanity brought him to the limelight of truth which propelled him with passion to do God’s mandate on earth.
Kumuyi moreover called on all attendees to give a thought to following such steps unto greatness.