Mary Ekah
When the billboard announcing the just concluded Lord’s Chosen crusade in Kano firstly appeared at Sabon-Gari Quarter of Kano State, many residents in this ancient city did not believe the event would see the light of the day. Their doubts stemmed from the fact that the state in collaboration with other Northern parts of the country has a history of religious volatility that can be ignited anytime with little or no provocation. And amidst the political, ethnic and religious tensions pervading the country at this point in time, it was presumed suicidal for any Christian organisation to schedule an open religious meeting in an area strongly dominated by the other religion.
But Pastor Muoka who has told his congregation earlier this year at an international crusade in Mgbidi that God Almighty has directed him to take revival message to the North couldn’t be daunted by the assumed negative perception and opinion of men. According to him, “God has directed me to move to the Northern states so that the people will benefit from the product of the threefold vision and mandate. And since this is God’s directive, we should not look at the giants and obstacles, for God will make a way.â€
Emboldened by this directive from the Almighty, the cleric dared the apprehensive societal position on national security and fixed a crusade at the centre of the North. It therefore became clear that the initial apathy was a consequence of the perception of man, moreover, as more sign posts and banners for the crusade continued to spring up in all the strategic locations of the metropolitan city coupled with approval of the event by the governor after a courtesy visit of the cleric to the State House, it became obvious it was the stroke of the finger of God.
As the date of the two-day crusade titled, ‘There Cometh One Mightier Than All’, was approaching, the peoples’ expectation was increasing, and the city began to witness increase in social and economic activities giving the fact that many worshippers from other states were flooding the state for the crusade. A proof of that was the mammoth crowd that filled the 45,000 capacity of the Kano Pillars Stadium. Worshippers started trooping into the crusade ground as early as the sixth hour of the morning and sooner than the official time of 8a.m. there were already overflows.
Before the arrival of the man of God, various choir groups had taken their turns to minister to the congregation. Among them was the Northern chapter of Hausa speaking choristers who thrilled the audience with soothing rendition. As the Pastor took over the stage, a thunderous ovation that reverberated in the stadium, even the atmosphere responded likewise as the temperature that was very hot with its attendant high humidity few minutes earlier suddenly became cool, dry and soothing.
Not long the Pastor made a short declaration of freedom for all from all afflictions than spontaneous applauses and shout of joy resonated from different sides indicating instant miracles have taken place. Many who came with diverse ailments received instant healings.
One of them was Aminu Mutari, a 51-year-old man, he didn’t know exactly when blindness crept into his eyes, all he could remember was that many years ago when he was still a teenager, he was in the river with some of his peers when suddenly something entered into his left eye and all efforts to blew it out was in vain as he went home crying because of its pain. Not long after this incident, the right eye was affected and the whole thing degenerated into blindness. He said the parents took him to every known herbalist and hospital and spent all for him without any result until they died. Since after their death, he had resigned his fate to God until somebody told him about the crusade titled ‘There Cometh One Mightier Than All’. He said he was assured by the person that invited him that He that is mightier than all will deal with his blindness and restore his sight. And true to his word, as soon as pastor started deliverance prayers, he felt a scale was pulled out of his eyes and he saw himself seeing again.
Preaching at the crusade, Muoka said that his desire since the establishment of the ministry is to make all the ethnic nationalities in the Northern states to partake in the blessing God Almighty brought to mankind by the emergence of his ministry. He said that the revival train of The Lord’s Chosen was in Kano to draw the attention of the people to the spiritual truth of the hour and revive the heaven consciousness of the people. According to him, the time of ignorance of not knowing that God is the One Mightier than all has come to a stop by this crusade. Thus, having this knowledge no human or Satan can stand against His wishes. He posited that if they are ignorant that God answers prayers and have gone to consult sorcerers, native doctors or diviners, but have managed to come to the crusade, may be out of curiosity they will not go empty handed, because all the prayers and desires of the participants shall be granted for God Almighty shall prove that He is Mightier than all their enemies.
He assured the mammoth crowd that God brought the crusade to give answers to their myriads of problems most of which have defied all known solutions. He said that the programme would mark the end of era of unanswered prayers which has caused many people to subscribe to the deceit of the devil and his human agents such as sorcerers and occult men who knowing that the End Time has come, take advantage of their ignorance to captivate as many as they could and afflict them with different kind of diseases.
He charged participants to be steadfast in righteousness and holiness for in doing so they will retain the blessing of God from the two days crusade. “You should not fear what man can do unto you. Let that man do his worst, let him, plot, persecute and blackmail, what you are sure is that the One mightier than all is on your side and nobody can harm you,†he said.
