To tackle drug abuse and cultism in Nigeria and save the youths in the country, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has made the campaign against these deadly vices an integral part of his 83rd birthday celebration.
  
This was revealed by the Pastor-in-charge of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Continent 3 and Middle East, Pastor Johnson Odesola during a briefing in Lagos recently.
  
He disclosed that Pastor Adeboye will on Saturday February 22, 2025 lead thousands of his followers and volunteers in a campaign against youth involvement in cultism and hard drug use at the kickoff of the Lightup Lagos, which is a series of activities to be held in Lagos for his birthday celebration.
  
Odesola said that the event, which will hold at the Tafawa Balewa Square, TBS, Lagos Island, will also include seminars for secondary school students on choosing a career, free medical services for 5,000 people, support for small business owners, song ministrations, and special prayers for Nigeria and Lagos State.
  
As part of other activities to be held in Lagos, he said, “We are paying fines to secure the release of convicted inmates with the option of fines, contributing to the decongestion of correctional facilities,” Odesola said. He noted that similar programmes have been held in other states and would continue for a period of 83 days when Pastor Adeboye will clock 83 years.

“The initiative has already commenced about a few weeks back, and it’s still ongoing until we are able to count up to 83 days to celebrate our daddy in the Lord. Our programme has been there to train 350,000 youths across Africa in essential digital skills, positioning them for global opportunity. The world is going global, and our youth cannot afford to be at the bar. So the big deal is the mega crusade, an unforgettable day of prayer and worship more than what we have ever seen because the celebrant himself, Papa Adeboye, will be there to give Father’s blessing,” Odesola said.
  
While urging Nigerians to unite and campaign against youth involvement in cultism and hard drug use to preserve the nation’s future, Odesola who identified cultism and drug abuse as the twin viruses destroying the youths today, said no stone should be left unturned in eradicating the evils, given the strategic importance of young people as the future of any nation.
  
On his part, Pastor Emmanuel Emefienim, the Vice Chairman of the Reach for Christ Initiative, a programme of the church designed to impact the lives of the downtrodden, submitted that a major objective of the Lightup Lagos event is to win souls, which the General Overseer is passionate about.
  
Emefienim explained that the event at TBS will commence in the morning and last the entire day, adding that those for free medical care will be attended to as they registered at the venue. “Central Working Committee has been working closely with the local organising committee and the entire Lagos team to bring this to pass. This whole idea about the Reach for Christ Initiative commenced when our Father in the Lord, Pastor Adeboye was to celebrate his eighty third birthday, and we felt that for a man who has so much passion for souls, the best gift we can give to him for his birthday anniversary was to put together a programme where we can reach out to the unreached, preach the gospel of peace, of hope and of love and win souls for Christ. As of today, we have reached out to virtually all the states in Nigeria. We have reached out to as many as 250 towns and cities outside Nigeria, all over the world. February 22, 2025 is the turn of Lagos.”