Mercy for masses: Massive crowd as October edition of Ogbomoso Jesus Market holds

Mercy for masses: Massive crowd as October edition of Ogbomoso Jesus Market holds

Abdulrasak BELLO

The October edition of the Ogbomoso Jesus Market floated by the True Worshippers Church (TWC), held Monday in the church premises at Oke-Anu, was thronged by an unprecedented crowd, enthusiastic traders and buyers, which made the place bubble impressively.

Recall the market was launched in August with the second edition taking place in September. According to information released November and December editions will also be held.

Goods are sold at lower prices than the market prices due to the subsidy introduced by the church.

The October edition which coincided with the 64th independence anniversary of Nigeria was described as a special one by the lead pastor and initiator of the market, Rev’d Niyi Adebayo, maintaining it is an initiative meant to assist the masses in the face of current economic hardship just as he informed it caters for all classes of people and religious adherents.

He said during an interview with newsmen, “Today’s edition is a very special edition, we made it to coincide with the 64th independence anniversary of Nigeria. It is an opportunity to wish all Nigerians happy independence anniversary. You can see the market is four time larger than what it used to be, people have come from different parts of the city, from all over the five local governments.”

The clergyman also stated, “No discrimination, hunger does nit discriminate. All ethnic groups are here – Hausa, I just stumbled on some Fulani, Igede, Idoma, Ibo, Yoruba and members of all religions. No discrimination, the essence of it is to have mercy on the masses. It is to put smiles on the faces of the people. We also introduce discount for the aged, aside the subsidy.”

Rev’d Adebayo reiterated, “Widows, pregnant women, the aged and people living with disabilities were given a special stand in order to safeguard them from rush. So far, it has been wonderful. They enjoyed free medical services, free drug provisions, in addition, we gave them fish, meat, chicken and turkey free, depending on your choice.”

He stressed the initiative was not financed by anyone, though not ruling out collaboration in the future. “This is strictly financed by my humble self and some of our brothers and sisters, we only came together to pool our little, little meagre resources together – N10, 000, N20, 000, N50, 000 and all, that is how this place is being financed, nothing from government, nothing from politicians, nothing from any traditional ruler as I speak with you but we are willing to collaborate with people who share our passion, who have empathy for the downtrodden, so, we will be glad to collaborate with individuals, with families, with organizations, with religious bodies, with government agencies, parastatals, and even politicians and even traditional rulers, we will be willing to collaborate with them, the more the merrier, we want to do this thing for five months at a stretch, we still have two months.”

Many patrons who spoke with ogbomosoinsightonline.com commended the church urging government and the well-to-do to emulate the initiative.