President Muhammadu Buhari has sent heartfelt condolence to the Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria, and Christendom in general, over the passage of the former General Overseer, Rev. Wilson Badejo, aged 74.
The president, in a statement by his spokesman, Mr Femi Adesina, on Sunday in Abuja described the departed as “a dedicated servant of God, who led the Foursquare Gospel Church for 10 years.”
He noted that the deceased was ”committed to standing in the gap for not just his organisation, but Nigeria as a whole.”
Buhari prayed that God would comfort the entire Badejo family.
He urged the family to take solace in the fact that their father, a veterinary doctor, author, cleric and public speaker, set a standard to be emulated by all and sundry.
Also, Bishop Wale Oke, President, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), described the death of Badejo as shocking and great loss to the Christian community.
Badejo, former General Overseer of the Foursquare Church, died on Saturday at the age of 74.
The PFN president, in a condolence message in Ibadan on Sunday, said Badejo gave his all to the service of the Lord while alive.
He noted that his dedication enhanced the spread of the gospel to nations of the world.
Oke, who is also the presiding Bishop of the Sword of the Spirit Ministries, Ibadan, said that Badejo lived a worthy life and would remain a challenge to the living.
“Rev. Wilson Badejo was a strong-willed man who pursued righteousness till he breathed his last.
“For everyone, death is a garb that will be worn by all at the appointed time.
“Though humanly speaking, one wouldn’t have wanted him to go now, however, God is the ultimate decider of ‘when’ for everybody,” he noted.
He said that death should always serve as a lesson of reminder that nobody would live in the world forever.
Oke lamented that many in the society still behave as if they would never leave the earth.
“In the case of Rev. Badejo, our joy and solace is that, having fought a good fight of faith, he has gone to rest with our Lord Jesus Christ.
“And that’s what every Christian should work toward and crave for,” the renowned cleric said.
While commiserating with the family, Foursquare Church and the Christian body in the country, the PFN president prayed that God would grant everyone concerned the fortitude to bear Badejo’s transition to glory.
