The annual birthday thanksgiving of the founder of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Babatunde Ayodele, held on Tuesday, 14th February, 2017, and as usual it’s going to be an event to remember for a long time, especially by the primary target, the less privileged.
The weeklong event was carnival-like, and the presence of His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, made it more worthwhile.
One of the highlights of the event was Ayodele’s visit earlier on to Ikoyi Prison in Lagos. It was a pastoral cum humanitarian visit to commemorate the ‘Week of Appreciation’ as the birthday was aptly tagged.
During the visit, the servant of God in his characteristic manner, did not only feed the inmates with food of the spirit, he also fed them with the food of the body.
In his brief homily, Ayodele rekindled the hope of the inmates, admonishing them to see their incarceration as a temporary setback,and asking them to “look towards the future with hope and rely on God.” The cleric also told the inmates at the Prison Chapel that God was using their present travails to test their resolve and to direct them towards higher goals in life.
Speaking glowingly about Ayodele at the Tuesday church service, the Sultan, who was represented by Alhaji Aminu Idris Yaro, the Sarkin Hausawa of Lagos, said that he was proud of the Christian leader’s commitment to the Muslim community and his regular efforts at promoting the peace and unity in the country, while urging fellow Nigerians to emulate Ayodele in their communities regardless of their religious differences.
Fuji music star, Abass Akande Obesere, was one of the recipients of Awards of Excellence given to notable celebrities at the event.
A Nollywood actress, Funke Etti, also received an award.
Senior members of the INRI Church were also honoured with awards and cash gifts. Prominent among them were Evangelists Dapo Bamisaiye, Olumide Abegunde, and others.
Many others equally smiled home with food stuffs and cash.
Two widows will be sponsored by the cleric on holy pilgrimage to Mecca and Jerusalem.
Responding to the Sultan’s honour, Ayodele noted that he was honoured having such a respected monarch in attendance, stressing that he was by that convinced that “Boko Haram members are not Muslims but terrorists that we need to do away with in our society.” Speaking on his charity, the cleric said, “I feel happy when the vulnerable, the widows, orphans, underprivileged, prisoners and others are in a good state of health and mind regardless of their religious backgrounds and ethnic divides.” He then urged all men of God to do more by uniting Nigerians through such simple gestures.
The Unit Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps who led a team to the event presented a gift to Ayodele “for his spiritual and social responsibility to the community.”