Innocent Onoh
Well-meaning Nigerians across all tribes and religions have been called upon to unite and campaign against youth involvement in cultism and drug use to preserve the nation’s future.
The Continental Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Pastor Johnson Odesola, made the call at a news briefing in Lagos.
Pastor Odesola, who identified cultism and drug abuse as the twin viruses destroying the youths of these days, said that no stone should be left unturned in eradicating the evils, given the strategic importance of young people as the future of any nation.
He disclosed that because of the grave consequences of drug abuse and cultism, and the urgency to tackle them and save the country’s youths, their church’s General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has made the campaign against them an integral part of his 83rd birthday celebration.
According to him, Pastor Adeboye will on Saturday lead thousands of his followers and volunteers in a campaign against youth involvement in cultism and drug use at the kickoff of the Lightup Lagos, which is a series of activities to be held in Lagos for his birthday celebration.
He said that the event, which will be concentrated at the Tafawa Balewa Square, TBS, Lagos Island, will also include seminars for secondary school students on choosing a career, free medical services for 5,000 people, support for small business owners, song ministrations, and special prayers for Nigeria and Lagos State.
As part of other activities to be held in Lagos, he said, “We are paying fines to secure the release of convicted inmates with the option of fines, contributing to the decongestion of correctional facilities.”
Odesola noted that similar programs have been held in other states and would continue for a period of 83 days when Pastor Adeboye will clock 83 years.
“The initiative has already commenced about a few weeks back, and it’s still ongoing until we are able to count up to 83 days to celebrate our daddy in the Lord.
“Our programme has been there to train 350,000 youths across Africa in essential digital skills, positioning them for global opportunity. The world is going global, and our youth cannot afford to be at the bar.
“So the big deal is the mega crusade, an unforgettable day of prayer it will be, it’ll be an unforgettable day of worship, more than what we have ever seen because the celebrant himself, Papa Adeboye, will be there to give Father’s blessing,” he assured.
On his part, Pastor Emmanuel Emefienim, the Vice Chairman of the Reach for Christ Initiative, a program of the church designed to impact the lives of the downtrodden, submitted that a major objective of the Lightup Lagos event is to win souls, which the General Overseer is passionate about.
Emefienim explained that the event at TBS will start at 8 in the morning and last the entire day, adding that those for free medical care will be attended to as they registered at the venue.
He shed more light about the event saying, “the Central Working Committee has been working closely with the local organizing committee and the entire Lagos team to bring this to pass. This whole idea about the Reach for Christ Initiative commenced when our Father in the Lord, Pastor Adeboye was to celebrate his eighty third birthday, and we felt that for a man who has so much passion for for souls, the best gift we can give to him for his birthday anniversary, was to put together a program where we can reach out to the unreached.preach the gospel of peace, of hope and of love and win souls for Christ.
“And that started in a wave of lightup programs across the country and across the entire world. As of today, we have reached out to virtually all the states in Nigeria. We have reached out to as many as 250 towns and cities outside Nigeria, all over the world.
“We’ve impacted lives, using the lightup crusade and all of the other verticals. We reach out to the correctional centers. We reach out to the secondary schools. We have campus innovations. We have programs that address people in the hospital. We take outreaches all over the place, just to draw men to the realization of the knowledge of Christ. And lives have been impacted through this program by the grace of God.
“February 22, 2025 is the turn of Lagos. And I’ll like everyone to be expectant, because for a whole day, the whole of Saturday, Lagos will be up for Christ. We’ll be having that session,” he explained.
The news conference was attended by some senior pastors in the church. This LightUp Lagos event is a follow-up to the Lightup Olusosun crusade, held to bring hope to Lagosians experiencing one of the worst living conditions as they live amidst piles of waste oozing out offensive odour.
The residents of Olusosun dumpsite, Ojota, were given an assurance of rehabilitation and resettlement to places with better living conditions, after some of them had been empowered with life-changing skills as well as connected to better jobs.
Innocent Onoh