Wilson Adekumola
It was a gathering of special moments and celebration as clerics and dignitaries from all walks of life converged on the auditorium of the Sacred Cherubim and Seraphim Church, El-Bethel Shiloh Cathedral, Oke-Koto, Agege, Lagos to inaugurate a business hub during its 76th annual harvest and thanksgiving service on Sunday, November 27, 2022.
The Minister-in-Charge, His Grace, Senior Elder, Apostle (Dr) Adebola Olubunmi Odubela, led the Supreme Head, Cherubim and Seraphim Unification Church Worldwide, His Most Eminence, The Most Elder, Apostle, Pro, (Dr) Solomon Adegboyega Alao, clerics and other top officials to the venue, 112, Ipaja Road, Funmilayo Bus Stop, Agege, Lagos, to mark the special occasion.
The harvest and thanksgiving service was also graced by the Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was ably represented; Speaker, Lagos State of House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Ajaiyi Obasa, who was also represented by his Chief of Staff, Fitila Ladipo; Director-General, Quality Assurance of Ministry of Education, Mrs, Abiola Seriki Ayeni; Lagos State House of Assembly 02, Hon. Yinka Ogundimu and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Engineer Gbolohan Toriola.
Among other dignitaries were the General Manager, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Mr Bolaji Oreagba; Mrs Seyi Adedoyin, Permanent member, SUPEB; Mr Sola Osholana, House for Representatives aspirant; Commander, LASTMA, Mr Oki Emmanuel; Special Apostle, Abayomi Ajayi, and Public Affairs Analyst, LSDPC, Ilupeju, Mrs Modinant Tosin Olowoeshin.
The building, which is an architectural masterpiece with state-of-the-heart facilities, has 175 square meters of shopping space, over 70 square meters of lounge space, 88 square meters of shops and an additional 200 square meters for packing cars.
Speaking at the inauguration, the Chairman of B&W Opulence, Akinyemi Adetunji Esq, who is the brain behind the concept, said we just observed that this area did not have a relaxation centre and a good ambience where people can meet to have business discussions. That was how the idea of this lounge came and then we intend to have a super-decent supermarket that resembles the proper facility in Lekki, Ajah and all of that, that is what we want to replicate in Agege.
Asked if only the church members would be beneficiaries, he said, “It is for all. It is not for our members alone, it is open to people in the Agege area of Lagos. We want to promote business and entrepreneurship. Anybody can come to the facility and take one or two spaces depending on your needs to finance your own business too.
”He described the 76th edition of the anniversary as a unique and laudable one hailing that it coincided with the inauguration of the Shiloh Business Hub. “This year’s anniversary is a laudable one for the church, as you can see. The Shiloh Business Hub is being dedicated on the day of the 76th anniversary of the church, it is a good one to the glory of God. It is important, especially for suburban areas like Agege and Ayobo. Instead of building hotels, we should be able to build facilities that can promote a culture that can encourage business and not projects that will encourage immoralities. So, this facility is purposely financed to have a world-class outfit in the environment. You can see this is a first of its kind in this environment. “
In his sermon, the General Overseer, High Tower Global Church, Baruwa, Ipaja, Lagos, Prophet R.O. Ikotun, who preached on the theme: ‘Harvest of Multiple Grace,’ noted that it took the grace of God in His words to encounter divine breakthrough while urging the enthusiastic crowd to take advantage of the harvest to seek the grace of God.
He said, “There is a grace for everything, if there is no grace, you begin to struggle without success. If you have the grace of God in you, things you have been struggling for will come your way with relative ease. Anything short of the grace of God is nothing. It takes his grace to triumph in all our endeavours.
“And the grace of God is His words. Anything led by the word of God cannot fail. If you contact the grace of God you can reap where you did not sow. When grace comes your way, your life will be transformed. In all your doings, always pray for grace because without it nothing can be achieved. So, I will implore you to take advantage of this “harvest of Multiple Grace” to connect to His grace so that you can experience His supernatural supply. Grace can alter destiny.”
At the event, Odubela told our correspondent that the commitment of the church to have alternative means of generating revenue rather than depending on members for offering birthed the Shiloh Business Hub.
He said, “As I said this morning, Shiloh Business Hub did not come by accident, we have a vision of having some other commercial undertakings that can be bringing in funds to the church so that we don’t rely on offerings from members of the church alone. The concept of what you saw this morning is borne out of the desire to have a mall, a bigger mall, but because of the financial situation in the country we stopped at it is now.”
He added, “The land in question was donated to the church by a family, Mr and Mrs F.O Williams of blessed memory. We want to leave a legacy for the departed souls, so what we have now is an edifice, of which we don’t doubt the environment, having a such thing, definitely, is going to generate funds for the church. A legal consult, B&W Opulence financed the project. They will need to recover their money by leasing out to people for at least a period of about 18 years before it will revert to the church. But as it is now, we have a space there that will be generating revenue as another source of funds for the church while other tenants will occupy others.”
Odubela, who is apolitical, then urged the general public not to bring religion and sentiment to the front burner of Nigeria politics noting that the country needed to pray to God to select the best man for the job. How, however, urged Nigerians to exercise their civil right by voting for the candidate of their choice.“
He stated, “Concerning the general elections next year, Christians need not show any attitude but continue to pray that the best candidate emerges. I don’t really believe in sentiment or emotion, we need fervent prayer for this country. It is only God that places one in a position. Let us pray to God to select and determine who will rule us; we need to pray fervently for this country so that we can have a peaceful and credible election.
“I want to appeal to the generality of people that they should go and obtain their Permanent Voter Card (PVC) if they have not done so and they should make sure they vote for the candidate of their choice. It is very important we vote for our choice of candidate. Don’t sit at home that you are not voting for anybody. You must vote for somebody. That is my advice to the members of the public in this coming general elections.”
The day-long ceremony which also featured the giving of awards and songs ministration was well attended by families, friends and prominent personalities across the s
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