The General Overseer, Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, will celebrate his 72nd birthday on Sunday.
The
man of God who has steered the RCCG to greater heights is making the
celebration low key as no plan has been released by the church to
celebrate his birthday.
Popularly known as 'Daddy G.O.' by his
millions of followers, Adeboye was born on 2 March, 1942 into a humble
family in the village of Ifewara, Osun State, western Nigeria.
Adeboye often humorously says that his family was so poor that even the poor people called them poor.
The
life of Adeboye is described by many as a fulfilment of the scriptures
in Zechariah 4: 10 which declares: "despise not the days of small
beginnings." As a matter of fact, he unashamedly tells his congregation
that he never owned shoes until he was 18 years of age.
What he
possessed though were physical intangibles such as focus, consistency,
diligence, ambition, a brilliant mind and a determination to succeed in
life.
In 1956 Enoch Adeboye was admitted into Ilesha Grammar
School, Ilesha, Osun State and as a youth, he discovered a passion for
books, and an aptitude for science and in particular the field of
Mathematics. This led to an academic journey in the field of Mathematics
against incredible odds including but not limited to finances, the
Nigerian Civil War and academic politics.
Adeboye had obtained not
only a Bachelors (BSc.) degree in Mathematics from the University of
Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria in 1967, but also a Masters (MSc.) Degree in
Hydrodynamics and a Doctorate Degree (PhD) in Applied Mathematics, both
from the University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria in 1969 and 1975
respectively.
One of the motivations for these academic
achievements was Enoch Adeboye's passionate desire to become the
youngest Vice Chancellor of any one of the frontline universities in
Nigeria. It did seem that his academic ambition would be realised as his
academic career flourished. However, this was not to be as a greater
career awaited him in the service of the Lord. In 1967 Enoch Adeboye got
married to his beloved wife Foluke Adenike Adeboye.
In 1981,
Adeboye was appointed the General Overseer of the church, taking over
from the founder, Pa Akindayomi who died the previous year.
With
thousands of worshippers flocking the RCCG on daily basis, the present
auditorium being occupied by the church at the Redemption Ground, which
is three kilometres long and one kilometre wide, is no longer able to
contain the large number of followers.
Last year, Adeboye unveiled
plan by the church to construct one of the biggest auditorium in the
world, saying that the new auditorium would be three kilometres square.
The auditorium is expected to be completed before the church's 2014
convention in August.
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