Leader Olumba Olumba Obu Wants Govt. To Sustain Sponsorship of Individuals, Groups On Pilgrimage
FeaturedNigeria March 8, 2016 Dianabasi Effiong
From Dianabasi Effiong
Government at all levels have been enjoined to continue to sponsor individuals or groups to pilgrimage which is the hallmark of major religions worldwide.
Olumba Olumba Obu, the Sole Spiritual Head of the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star (BCS) made the call in an interview with our correspondent in Calabar.
Leader Obu, who spoke on the impact of faith-based organisations in religious tourism, also told our correspondent that there was nothing wrong in governments’ sponsorship of individuals to pilgrimage.
He said that government should also extend the sponsorship of pilgrims to other religions denominations within the Christian faith and Muslims.
He emphasised that such sponsorship should not be discriminatory.
The spiritual head, who spoke through Bishop Princely Ibeabuchi, 24-Celestial Elder/Spokesman of the BCS, urged government to provide facilities for pilgrims in their domain to make the performance of their rites easy, where it could afford to do so.
“But I do not see anything wrong in government sponsorship of individuals to pilgrimage. Pilgrimage is faith-based. Such sponsorship should be extended to other religions; not just few denominations in the Christendom and Islam.
“If government has facilities like lodging it should extend such to worshipers during the period to lessen accommodation challenges in areas where pilgrims congregate globally and in Nigeria.
“Religion is synonymous with human beings. It did not start today. The place of worship is not static. The Father is not only worshiped in Jerusalem or the mountains like Our Lord Jesus Christ said in John 4.21-24.
“The Father is worshiped everywhere. And those that worship Him must do so in spirit and in truth. Nobody should stop pilgrimage or its sponsorship because it is faith-based and synonymous with mankind.
He said that BCS recorded no fewer than 3 million pilgrims including devotees and worshippers annually at the World Headquarters of the BCS for faith-based tourism in Calabar.
He said: “Our major annual events attract no less than two to three million people to Calabar. We normally have a Central Planning Committee to manage our major universal events. Every aspect of our activities, religious tourism and pilgrimage is managed well at BCS.
He said that although the number of pilgrims who visit BCS was “quite enormous’’, the Brotherhood leadership is “quite comfortable’’ with the turn-out.
He said that the BCS also drives development in its domain. BCS began at Eton Street, near Watts Market where we eventually relocated to No.26 Mbukpa Street area, Calabar South and our World Headquarters at 34 Ambo Street, Calabar.
“This place was quite under-developed when the BCS relocated here. Indeed it was the relocation of Brotherhood that triggered rapid development in this area. This area has been able to accommodate devotees, worshipers, observers and even the press who come here to observe our annual activities.
“These activities are rather universal than localised. People come from all over the continents – Africa, Europe, Americas, Asia, Nigeria and states located therein to perform their religious rites. There is indeed no continent that you do not have represented during our mega events at the world headquarters of Brotherhood located on no less than five acres of land,” he said.
“We do have our yearly universal event from March to April; the Fellowship Pilgrimage from February to June, August to December and the Eton Day celebration on Aug. 8th annually. An event like the Eton day celebration commemorates the movement of BCS from No. 8 Eton Street on Aug. 8, 1958 and eventually to our present day location,’’ the BCS leader said.
He said the events are building up because “Nations are already sending in their statistics about those who will attend’’.
“The foreign desk of the BCS in those countries and their counterparts in Nigeria are managing their travel arrangement. Even the media/publicity events committees are working very hard for hitch free activities.
“There are no fewer than 16 sub-committees that manage these events. They range from Travel, Accommodation, the Media, Health, Public Relations, Foreign Desk, Security etc. These committees are headed by professionals and committed brethren.
“We do not have serious problems here because these events are synonymous with the BCS. Before, during and after our mega events all the hotels in Calabar South, Calabar Municipality and contiguous council areas of Odukpani and Akamkpa are booked. Even our own facility are fully booked. These are, no doubt, revenue points for their managers,” he said.
The leader said that the mega events brings into Calabar great merchandise as no less than 2,000 stores exhibiting various wares, including white garments’, apparels shops, fast foods do spring up and are fully patronised during and after religious programmes.
He said: “Some inter-state and local services are permanently located on adjourning environment to cater for needs of our pilgrims. Our pilgrims usually go round town, acclimatise, visit places, and engage tour guides, car hire services, restaurateurs and so on. Naturally, all these has multiplier effect and impact on national and local economy.
“During these periods BCS attracts more tourists to Calabar than the state-organised Carnival. They come in through the Calabar port, by Airport and road transport services.
“The BCS also constructs hotel facilities, guest houses. Several hotels spring up within Calabar to accommodate our pilgrims. We also have a television station (Star Cross TV) and official Newspaper (New Kingdom Trumpet) owned by BCS to spread its Christian goodnews and broadcast message.
He said the BCS had proposed a new site within the state “where we intend to build a community to be unveiled in due course to accommodate no fewer than five million worshipers”.
“We will eventually relocate from our present location to the BCS village complete with facilities and infrastructure like good roads, markets, guest houses, restaurants, Police station, schools and so on. We do have schools right here now with an enrollment of no fewer than 950 pupils as well as a Model Secondary School with quite a number of students.
“During this period we do not have cases of drug trafficking or other social crimes and those who break Nigerian laws are not common experience because they belong to BCS. They purely come here to worship. They are disciplined.
He said that the benefits for these large numbers of believers, worshipers and pilgrims at BCS were enormous.
“Just like any other religion and pilgrimage, people go on pilgrimage for spiritual sanctification and regeneration; people go on pilgrimage when they think they need to come closer to God and seek His face for one reason or the other.
“They are ready, during this period, to personally seek for purification and sanctification. That is the essence of worship .When they come with that faith and as they go back they become renewed in spirit.
“The gain they have is the spiritual blessing they receive by spending time, money, making sacrifices and even where they are uncomfortable, they still endured to the end.
And when they go they believe that they did not come here empty-handed; that they are going home with full blessings of The Father.
“For those of us who are here the gain is that we have once again succeeded in bringing the children of God together to worship Him in spirit and in truth, in unison, as a family under one God.
“They experience the renewal of their spirit and their soul. They keep their faith alive, knowing that this Kingdom is not a joke. So when you go on pilgrimage, there is something exceptional that you will gain, the physical benefit is abundant; the spiritual benefit is abundant.
“Most people also come here not because they want to come but because they have challenges; some are sick, some have cases in the court, some have economic problems and some have gone bankrupt.
“The pilgrim come here with the faith that “when I go there, set my feet at 34 Ambo street and behold the face of the father my problems will be taken away’’.
“When they go back they profess that God has caused a change in their lives or fortune. They do not just come for tourism or jamboree but for spiritual renewal in Christ. They come here to worship and revive their faith, spiritually. And of course, because they know and believe that the spiritual and physical benefits are abundant.
“They find themselves a new creature; they cannot go back empty-handed. When you go on pilgrimage, there is something exceptional that you will gain.
He said the pilgrims are not levied during their sojourn in Calabar.
“In BCS there are no levies, whatever donations people make are made voluntarily. We do not attach importance to finances as regards our events and gathering. But such events equally could be used to initiate projects for the development of the kingdom.
“The events are for spiritual regeneration and sanctification. Whatever donations made by the pilgrims are voluntary,” he said.
The spiritual leader said that although there are constraints in the past and minor constraints even now, the BCS leadership have the capacity to handle them.
“In the past they used to be infrastructural constraints. For foreigners who lodge far away from the worship grounds at Ambo, the distance used to be problem. Naturally if you do not come early you will not get available accommodation close to the World Headquarters for easy access to worship area.
“Transportation can sometimes pose some problems, walking barefooted from quite a distance. For those of them who are in cold or temperate regions blisters normally develop because our country has hot, tropical climate. But we do not have much problem here because the pilgrims quickly get used to the challenges. They are normally prepared financially, physically and spiritually.
“It is not pronounced or common that pilgrims to BCS are sponsored by government as are cases in Mecca and Jerusalem. Here individuals come on their own,” he said
Dianabasi Effiong
