The General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor William Kumuyi, and the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, have been announced as winners of the Irohinodua 2025 Persons of the Year Award.
The editorial board of Irohin Odua, the first pan-Yoruba news website, disclosed this in a statement published on Saturday. The board commended the duo for their outstanding service to God and humanity.
The statement signed by Feyisike Adeoye partly read, “The world and Nigeria are riddled with violence, hate, vengeance and human mystery, and these two individuals with their words and deeds have continued to profess love, peace and brotherhood, not only in Nigeria but across the world.
“In the year 2024, Nigeria, in particular, witnessed an upsurge of violence, hate and disaffection, driven by faith and ethnicity; these two individuals stirred the whirlwind of harmony in every part of the world where their religious institutions have strongholds.
“While others used religion to advance hatred and parochial political and ethnic goals, Pastor Kumuyi and Adeboye converted their multiple platforms to the advancement of peace and good neighbourliness.”
It added that although Kumuyi and Adeboye “came under vicious and violent attacks from their opponents,” their responses were measured, cultured and propelled by godliness.
“Among over 60 million Yoruba people all over the world, these two individuals remain some of the very few that, though hold no political positions, can knock and open the doors of any president or prime minister all over the world.
“Even though local authorities have not given them recognition, their stars continue to shine all over the world to the glory of the Yoruba nation,” the statement added.
Adeoye further stated that both pastors, with their impressive academic backgrounds, could have excelled in other fields but chose to dedicate their lives to ministry, which impacts people’s well-being.
She wrote, “It is also important to know that these two individuals are well educated and will be well to do without taking up the pastoral office.
“The two leaders run faith industries that heal millions of human souls, bring comfort, uplift the spirit and bring hope to the multitude of the hopeless. Apart from spiritual healings, it is important to know that millions of people, including non-Christians, derive their livelihood from their tabernacle.”
Irohin Odua said the decade-old award is given yearly to the most distinguished Yoruba personality.
Previous recipients of the Irohinodua Award were said to include Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka, Dr. Adeniyan Abraham, and the Olu of Warri, among others.
