Change of Baton: Uwem Udoh emerges new General Director of Scripture Union  Nigeria

—– urges government to tackle insecurity, youth unemployment, and lack of basic amenities.

By Patience Ogbo

The Scripture Union Nigeria has a new General Director in the person of Engineer Uwem Cosmas Udoh.

Engineer Udoh was officially inaugurated as the new General Director at a well attended  handing over and inauguration ceremony held at the Scripture Union building at Samonda Ibadan Oyo state on Friday December 29th   where  Mr. Philips Adewale Odelana  who held the position of General Director for ten years officially  passed on the leadership baton to Mr. Udoh.

The handing over and inauguration ceremony kick started with a opening prayer led by Prof. Lanre Ipinmoriti followed by a praise and worship ministration   by Mr.  Niyi Adeyemi  as well as a prayer session by Mrs. Bade Olugbebi.

In his message at  the occasion, the Most Reverend Joseph. Akinfenwa the Bishop of  Anglican Diocese Ibadan as represented  urged the incoming General Director to build on the legacies of his predecessors as he called for continuous support for the new leadership .

The outgoing General Director Mr. Odelana in his  valedictory speech expressed appreciation to God Almighty for His grace upon his life during his tenure as he also expressed his appreciation to the entire membership of the Scripture Union Nigeria Council and the SU members in general  in Nigeria and the Diaspora for their support and encouragement during his tenure .

He said ‘’ I may not have been enthroned over a church as a Bishop but this office gave me the pulpit either in schools , churches in various denominations and the community of faith locally and internationally to influence the course of administering affairs concerning children and young people either in church and in government. The office gave me various platforms to speak on national issues bothering on children , young people and the church , in the formation of faith materials for children and families , all this apparently because of the people’s belief in and respect for the Scripture Union ministry that we represent. This last ten years is the best season of my life and you all made it so. as my parting word to the ministry that I love and served, I wish  reiterate that the Scripture Union ministry is about Jesus Christ and his ministry of reconciliation and  soul winning , albeit with main focus on children and the youth. This core reason of our existence as a ministry must not be allowed to disappear from our hearts; our focus on the Cross of Christ must not  be allowed to grow dim ‘’.

In an address delivered via zoom , the National Chairman of the Scripture  Union Nigeria  Dr. Wilfred Onu  congratulated the  outgoing General Director  for a successful tenure and the incoming General Director  for taking up the mantle of leadership for the next ten years . In his admonition, Brother Onu  said  ‘’ Brother Uwem, may I congratulate you for stepping into the demands of this exalted office . You are coming at a time when God has mandated us to rebuild the broken walls in the Union. The implication of this mandate is that there shall not be any dull moment throughout your tenure as the General Director . Fear not , for God shall be with you’’.

Also,  the International Director of SU International ,  Monika Kuschimierz while speaking via zoom expressed joy  in the new leadership and urged members to continue to support the new leadership and the  SU.

Also , in his charge , the grand patron of Scripture  Union Nigeria  Most Reverend Dr, Blessing Chinyere Enyindah urged the incoming leader to be ready to sacrifice anything for the work to move forward .

As a way to commission the new General Director, the outgoing General Director handed over the constitution of the SU , the lit  lamp among other relevant documents to the incoming General Director following which the outgoing General Director and the Incoming General Director with his family members were prayed for respectively .

In  his inaugural speech,  Mr. Udoh revealed that his tenure will focus on seven areas which include  strengthening the staff ,  the pilgrim ministry, growing our core ministry –children and youth schools works, fostering stronger collaborations with churches and  church organizations , interfacing with government and relevant agencies to create an enabling environment for the wholesome children and youth upbringing , strategically involving Scripture Union Nigeria brethren in Diaspora more effectively , extending our reach as a movement using every available media platform and Scripture  Union devotional in the coming years .

Mr. Udoh while fielding questions after the occasion, further emphasized the core mandates of his tenure as he stated that God’s grace is sufficient to meet any need and  solve any human problem through faith in Christ Jesus.  He said  . ‘’ As a ministry, we will explore more extensive use of every available media platform to extend  our reach. We understand that the youth are on social media and we are going to develop content that will interest them and engage them in a path to righteousness and righteous living because that is what Christianity is all about.  We can achieve this through Indepth and interactive bible studies, life transforming bible expositions, devotional reviews , educational seminars and  various specialized trainings  and this will be done intentionally through consistent posting of evergreen content , inspired by the holy spirit to transform our target audience. Concerning our nation Nigeria, there is no doubt that our nation is passing through some challenging times. We are experiencing unprecedented inflation amidst insecurity , youth unemployment  and others. We know from God’s word that where there is sin, the grace of God will much more abound. The Scripture Union ministry has remained committed to her God given mandate to intercede for the nation and her leaders as enjoined by the Scripture. We appeal to government at the various levels to show sincere commitment to the security of lives and property  of the citizenry , provision  of basic amenities, job creation for our teeming number of unemployed young people which will undoubtedly reduce crime rate and other social vices prevalent in our society today’’