Mary Nnah
The 3rd edition of the annual Thanksgiving, gospel musical concert, “Hosanna Night of Praise” held on December 15th night, spanned into the early hours of Saturday morning at the Lakeview Hotel, Amuwo -Odofin Lagos.
Hossana Night of Praise is organised by the Urukanachukwu Charity Foundation because of a desire to show gratitude and appreciation to God almighty.
The foundation also seized the opportunity to feed and offer free medical outreach to the Lagos communities.
The concert paraded some of the notable names in the Nigerian gospel music industry, and artists on the list included: Chioma Jesus, Frank Edwards, M and M Revelation, Israel Anyanele, Roro King, Onyeka and many others.
The convener, Ezechukwuka Obinna said the reason for the the event was because of the hard times he had faced trying to make ends meet and how God lifted him from nothing to something.
“This concert is a celebration of the grace and goodness of God in our lives. This one day Hossana Night of Praise is not enough to lavish Him with praise, it is a token of our appreciation of how he has led us through these years, confirming his word and leading us on a perpetual victory parade”, he noted.
Obinna recalled how he started the initiative four years ago in his living room, but he took it out to the street three years ago with the maiden edition recording 700 participants. Meanwhile, he said the second edition was 2000 and this third edition was over 3000 persons, which shows progress.
Speaking further, he said, “’ My journey symbolises a beacon of hope and I expressed it through worship. I never knew I could get this far, considering my humble background.”
“We know that as our praises rise as an offering to the only one who can turn things around for us, His blessings will come in divine intervention, alighting like the morning dew upon us, our nation, and our shared future.
Beyond being a concert, he fed and distributed food items to the crowd, taking a leap from His advocate Jesus Christ after ministry spiritual food gave a physical one.
He also had a free medical check and treatment for members of the Lagos community. Medical outreach, according to the organiser, is a social intervention for the less-privileged targeted at helping the needy to cushion the effects of the economic downturn in the country.
The exercise saw both adults and children in the community getting free medical checkups on HIV status, hypertension, diabetes, malaria, typhoid treatment and eye tests, among others.
On his part, the Chairman of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, (PFN), Apostle Dr Enyinnaya Emeka Okwuonu said the concert has a spiritual, physical and emotional impact, adding, “When people are in God’s presence there is peace and when they praise, God’s blessings come down.
