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KAYODE AJIBOYE
As the Anglican Communion turns 100 years old in Nigeria this year (2019), the Diocesan Bishop of Lagos, Rt. Revd. Humphrey Olumakaiye, (Ph.D), has hinted that various components of the project commemorating the centenary spread of the gospel of Christ via the Anglican faith might be gulping some five billion naira (N5billion).
He dropped the hint while delivering what he titled the “Centenary Press Conference” at the conference hall of the Bishop’s Palace, Marina, Lagos recently.
Prominent among the activities lined up for the centenary celebration is a low-cost housing estate meant to take care of accommodation issues of low income earners and outright indigents who may be having it difficult to have a shelter over them.
This housing project, according to bold-voiced cleric, will be situated at the high-brow Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos State.
Reeling out more programmes of activities on the centenary commemoration, Dr. Olumakaiye added that more scholarships would be offered brilliant but indigent youths to enhance a fulfilled future for as many of them as the church could discover as is the practice of the pioneer Anglican Diocese and mother of the Anglican Communion faith in Nigeria which foundation dates back to the First World War year of 1919 when the diocese was carved out of Diocese of Equatorial West Africa for deeper penetration of the gospel into the African sub region.
The confident bishop entertained no fear as to how to raise the huge sum of money estimated for the various projects even as he exuded high confidence that the church is richly blessed with well-to-do and Godly-hearted members who are always to give their substances the expansion of God’s work even without making any noise about it.
“We have members who are ever ready to give their substance to help the gospel. “People have been contributing greatly to the development of this church and it is high time we gave something solid back to them”; the Bishop enthused, even as he revealed a highly revered former military Chief, General Theophilus Danjuma as Grand Patron of the Centenary celebrations .“We are giving back to society in order to take good care of the poor as the bible has said it that ‘we will always have the poor among us’; it is the duty of the church to take care of the poor people.
“When we complete the low income housing estate and we see those people that are in dire need of shelter, then we can now give them the opportunity of having some of these houses.“We have widows amongst us that are seriously suffering; our duty is to take care of them as it will be a city for al”, Olumakaiye enthused.
He added that the diocese would continue to make positive impact on society while assisting the government to make life easier and more worth living for the citizenry.Another high point of the diocesan centenary project listed by the Bishop is the plan to build a hospital of international standard in terms of medical facilities and personnel.
The hospital, according to Olumakaiye, will be named Saint Luke’s Global Hospital.The Centenary City, on completion, is being conceived to take care of people’s physical, spiritual, and social well being via a comprehensive catalogue of modern facilities to be provided therein as it would contain youth development centre, convention ground, rehabilitation centre, women empowerment centre, all aimed at providing some ease of life to the low cost housing estate residents within the City.
Meanwhile, the centenary programme had begun with a 15-day fasting and prayer session that lasted from January 2 till 16.
Among other activities in the celebration are the unveiling of the Centenary Logo which is scheduled to take place at the City Hall, Lagos on January 26 to be followed by the Centenary Rally during which members would be clad in branded T-Shirt to spice up the occasion.
According to Bishop Olumakaiye, the grand finale of the the whole activities will be personally graced by the Primate of the Anglican Communion in Nigeria with some 160 diocesan bishops on ground on December 10, 2019.
Prompted to comment on the impending national elections, the cleric admonished all Nigerians of voting age to make wise decisions during the forthcoming general elections by voting in credible leaders that would move Nigeria forward.“We have embarked on sensitisation and mobilisation efforts toward educating our members on their rights and the right attitude and procedures to adopt.
“We, as clerics, are fathers of all, as such we are not to endorse anybody, we pray that the forthcoming election in Nigeria will be peaceful and credible leaders will be elected,’’ he stated.
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