The presiding pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Solid Rock Parish, Lagos, Pastor Bola Odutola, has said attaining the age of 60 years in Nigeria has become a prayer reference due to the current life expectancy in the country.
Odutola said this during a service marking his 60th birthday in Lagos on Thursday.
He said, “I must thank God for having come this far in life. The reason is that no human being can keep himself alive. I remember the closeness to death that I escaped, the accidents that I survived and the armed robbery situation that I overcame.
“It is also a good day in a nation where the life expectancy is around 53 and 54, to reach age 60 is surely a milestone.
“I appreciate those who have come to rejoice with me. A good number of them are equally aware that reaching the age of 60 in this country has become a prayer point.”
He also relived the memories of the support his parents and siblings gave him while growing up.
He said, “The help of God was much unto me through my parents. Today is a day of recollection. There are times when you lack revelation, you go for recollection.
My father told me and my elder brother a story and when I heard the story, our ratings of him altered.
“He said the first house he built in life was for our mother and for one reason, that in the likely and the unlikely event that he dies early, she would be able to use the income to cater for the children. That was the primary motivation for doing that. That was a sacrifice in huge places.”
The cleric also recalled how his father travelled to the United Kingdom to purchase a book his brother needed while studying Medicine at the then-University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University.
In his exhortation, Pastor Ephraim Osunde, quoting from Romans 2:12, harped on the need to guard the heart diligently, fill the mind with the truth and focus on God.
Friends and family members paid tributes to the cleric, who was flanked by his wife, Olubunmi, his children as well as his parents and siblings.
