Adadevoh: An honour from God’s house

The announcement by Rev. Chris Okotie’s Household of God Church that the late Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh has been nominated as the beneficiary of this year’s Karis Award at the Church’s annual G.R.A.C.E. programme, came as a great relief to those of us who think it was a serious oversight on the part of the […]

The announcement by Rev. Chris Okotie’s Household of God Church that the late Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh has been nominated as the beneficiary of this year’s Karis Award at the Church’s annual G.R.A.C.E. programme, came as a great relief to those of us who think it was a serious oversight on the part of the immediate past PDP government of President Goodluck Jonathan which failed to honour the late heroine with a national award.
On Sunday, December 13, 2015, when the mega-church once again rolls out the drums to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the church’s GRACE programme, its charity outreach that holds yearly, Adadevoh, through her family, will be honoured on behalf of grateful Nigerians at the colourful ceremony.  It was under the Jonathan administration, several months to its eventual winding-up that Adadevoh died, after being infected with the deadly Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, while treating the index case, a diplomat from Liberia, Mr. Patrick Sawyer, who sneaked into the country without disclosing to health officials that he had the disease.
The role played by Dr. Adadevoh and her colleagues at the First Consultant Hospital, where Sawyer was admitted, was momentous in halting the spread of the disease in Nigeria. The rampage of the Ebola disease, which came on the heels of the equally catastrophic Chibok Girls kidnap, held Nigeria hostage for months, as even the resumption of schools had to be put off for weeks, and compulsory sanitary measures taken to curtail the further spread of the virus.
Until the award was announced by Rev. Okotie, the pro-active role which the Lagos State Government (LaSG) of Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola and the Federal Ministry of Health (FMH) played in speedily and totally containing the spread of the malignant disease was the only true solace that made the death of a woman who ranks amongst the ilk of Nigeria’s great heroes, a worthwhile cause and sacrifice. The Karis award brings this great Nigerian woman back to the front pages of national discourse.
Dr. Adadevoh’s prompt and galant action and the commendable measures of the Fashola administration went a long way in ensuring that just a few deaths, including the index case of Mr. Sawyer, were recorded. This was a far cry from the projected number of deaths envisaged, going by the tens of thousands that were recorded in some other West African nations like Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. Dr. Adadevoh ensured that the nation did not record the alarming figures of deaths, especially in our densely populated cities.
G.R.A.C.E., the acronym for God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense, was conceived in 1990 by Rev. Okotie, as the church’s way of supporting some charitable organizations. Four NGO’s namely; The Spinal Cord Injuries Association of Nigeria, The Pacelli School for the Blind and Partially Sighted, The Strong Tower Mission and The Sunshine Foundation, have been beneficiaries since inception, receiving cash donations which now stand at N1 million each. In 1996, the Karis Award was instituted to reward any Nigerian who had distinguished themselves in service to the nation, but had not been adequately recognized: This award also comes with a N1 million cash prize.
Rev. Okotie said in a statement on his church’s website; “The Award is borne out of patriotism and the need to foster national unity and is without any religious, political, geo-political, tribal or social bias. The substantiation of this claim can be seen from the diversity of the previous Karis Awardees, the chairmen and special Guests of Honour of the G.R.A.C.E events, because Nigerians from different walks of life, different faiths, tribes, political leanings, geo-political zone and social backgrounds, had either been conferred with the Karis Award or chaired or graced the events in the past.”
In its bid to give back to society and encourage patriotism and selflessness among the polity, the church developed the annual national G.R.A.C.E programme as a special vehicle to ensure that this objective was accomplished. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the event and the 19th anniversary of the Karis Award, and it has notched a long history of positively impacted lives. Dr. Adadevoh becomes the third woman in succession to be honoured with the Karis award, coming on the heels of the 2014 awardee, the late Mrs. Beatrice Ibeneme (nee Okebugwu); pioneer female police woman with enlistment No.001, and the 2013 awardee; first One-Star General in the Nigerian Air force, Air Commordore Habiba Ruth Garba, Rtd. This somehow increases the critical gender balance in the polity.
For Rev. Okotie, the concept of the G.R.A.C.E programme and the subsumed Karis awards cannot be over-emphasized at a time like this when there is a dearth of icons that can be looked up to on the political scene. It emphasizes, encourages and rewards integrity, patriotism and selfless service to the nation, stressing the fact that service, personal integrity and honour are not wasted virtues in nation building.
As usual, for the Church which also backs the Gideon’s Bible ministry annually, the G.R.A.C.E programme will once again offer Nigerians from all walks of life the opportunity to savour the beauty of the famous Christmas trees of the church, as its premises is adorned with its unique array of Christmas lights, to celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Chiemena Onyedikachi Jacobs wrote from Nsukka.