NIGERIA has had and continued to have many men and women of God but Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), uniquely and unequivocally stands out. Born on March 2, 1942 in Ifewara near Ile Ife in Osun State, Adeboye recently celebrated his 80th birthday. Born into a very humble background which he references anytime he has the opportunity to address the issue, Adeboye overcame series of adversities to become one of the most famous Christian clerics in the world. The admiration and recognition that he enjoys among Nigerian clergymen is an indication of his widespread acceptance. His conquest of his environment is in ample evidence. Apparently as a mark of respect and adoration of his landmarks, Nigerians across all spectres of religious, political and social life took time out to celebrate him.
A product of Ilesha Grammar School, Ilesa, Osun State, where he graduated in 1956, the young Enoch proceeded to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Following the outbreak of the Nigerian civil war, he completed the degree programme in Mathematics at the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University. In 1969, Adeboye obtained a Master’s degree in Hydrodynamics from the University of Lagos and taught at the same university before making a detour to become a clergyman. After joining the RCCG in 1973, Adeboye served as an interpreter to the late founder of the church, Pastor Josiah Akindayomi. He was later ordained a pastor in the church in 1975 and in 1981, following the demise of the church’s founder, he was appointed the General Overseer.
A number of unique attributes of Adeboye’s indeed recommend themselves for the adoration that people bestow on him. One is his genial and humble disposition. He once told the story of an encounter he had when a car door was slammed on his finger, indicating that God could not stand the haughty. His words: “Some years ago, we were in the United States where we had a very successful programme. God came down mightily. I mean mightily. We were all very excited as we drove back to the hotel from the church, chatting heartily in the car about a wonderful night and a wonderful visitation…At the hotel, my son got down, opened his door and rushed to open my door for me. Somehow, I still don’t know how my hand got into the front door. So when he opened the back door and jammed the front door, it caught my fingers. For those of you who have had this experience yourselves, you will understand that it is not a joking matter at all. I cried out in pain as the others quickly opened the door in panic, saying, ‘What shall we do? Where are we going to get some ice?’ The pain was horrible. As we went, I asked God, ‘Daddy, why?’ And He said to me, ‘I visited you and you didn’t say thank you. Everybody was commending the event and you didn’t say thank you to me.’” He repented, and before he got to his room, the pain, he said had disappeared completely.
Religious leaders like Adeboye play critical roles in the stability of the country. In a Nigeria where the political elite have turned existence into hell for the citizenry, Adeboye ranks high among clergymen who offer succour to Nigerians, including through philanthropy. In sermons touching on the core of their ill treatment by their leaders, Adeboye encourages Nigerians to trudge on and to make positive change. And, to say the least, the RCCG under Adeboye has witnessed exponential growth. He is credited with having turned a provincial church into an international household name. Today, the RCCG has a noticeable presence in almost 200 nations of the world, with its Nigerian branches in excess of 14 million, in line with his verbalised vision of erecting a parish of the church within five minutes’ walking distance in both developing and developed cities of the world. He is a global citizen who needs no introduction anywhere in the world.
While his critics single out his genre of Pentecostalism as flourishing ahead of the spiritual uplift of the people, Adeboye defends this stand by saying that he is comfortable with rewriting the thriving orthodoxy that held, for over a century, that Christianity meant the lack of material comfort. It is also to his credit that he relates comfortably well with religious leaders from other faiths. Another thing worthy of note is that the RCCG under Adeboye does not feed congregants with spiritual food alone: the church is today engaged in many Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities of note in the areas of education and health, among others, and the church is also involved in the establishment of thriving universities in Nigeria.
We wish Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye a happy birthday and many happy returns.
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