Close to 5,000 Nigerian cultists have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior at the Ogoni peace and unity conference organized by different churches. The activity was held June 23 at the convocation arena at Ken Saro Wiwa Polytechnic in Bori, Rivers State.
Pastor Williams Kumuyi, the general superintendent of Deeper Life Bible Church, delivered the sermon and led the cultists in saying the sinner's prayer and in renouncing their membership in different cults. They blamed politicians for using and dividing them to win the elections and then leave them to suffer.
Pastor Kumuyi had earlier met with religious leaders, community elders as well as traditional rulers and asked them to set aside their differences and harness their strengths as to attract development in the region. He also pushed for a peaceful co-existence among various clans in Ogoni land.
Pastor Kumuyi preached about forgiveness and unity at the crusade. He said animosity and hatred could only breed communal clashes, violence, and distrust. He added that peace and development can only thrive if the Ogoni people learn to forgive each other and forget their past differences.
Only by attaining peace and unity can the citizens work together for a better and prosperous life, he went on to say. He also said that God will also turn the hearts of government people at all levels and they will lead the oil-rich community to progress and prosperity. He then called on the leaders to play more active roles in ensuring lasting peace to return to their communities.
Pastor Kumuyi commended the organizers of the crusade. One of them, Rev. Isaac Ekokoroh, said a consensus was reached to set aside religious and political differences to salvage Ogoni land from its present state of social dislocation, economic retardation, and disunity.
Dr. Oneniye-Ofori Georgewill, the rector of the school where the crusade was held, thanked Pastor Kumuyi for coming and sought his intercession to save the institution from threats posed by cultists. Violent clashes have become a regular occurrence as cults pervaded schools in Nigeria.
