By Lawrence Enyoghasu
The remains of Pastor Danjuma Tafawa-Balewa, Pastor of Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG Cornerstone (My Father’s House), Okota Road, Isolo, Lagos, who passed on in Lagos last month, have been committed to mother earth. The body of the deceased was interred in Ikoyi Lagos last Tuesday after a funeral service at Vaults and Garden Chapel, Ikoyi, Lagos. Close family members, friends and associates, led by his wife, Vera, and children, poured moving encomiums on the departed popular pastor.
Daughter of the deceased, Anna, read a moving tribute of her father at the funeral service which held at Vaults and Garden Chapel, Ikoyi, Lagos. Said Anna of her father: “His desire to bag a doctorate degree led to him siting again for ordinary level examination in 2014 at the age of 55 years. He passed all the necessary subjects to gain admission into the Distance Learning Institute of the University of Lagos in 2016.
He would have graduated with a Bachelor of Science but the school’s calendar was affected by the pandemic. My father was a great man and nobody could say otherwise. He would be missed by all of us and none can fill his shoes, not even his way of serving God.
More eulogies poured forth when Prof. Emmanuel Dangana of ICOF Global University, Cameroon started speaking on how he finally found out that Danjuma was his relative after they had had a professional relationship for years.
“He was a man of passion where he came from. He was loved by all who knew him. He gave all he had to church and his local government. He helped in the struggle of the local government, Tafawa Balewa Local Government in Bauchi State. He was a dogged fighter. We had plans of consolidating so many thing but death came early,” he stated.
Delivering the exhortation titled “Fear not” the Provincial Pastor of RCCG Promise Land, Femi Obaweya, said that the message was for the family and others. “In times like this, you need God because through His light, He will guide you. I pray that you meet genuine people that will help to continue his legacy,” he stated.
Danjuma was born around a lot of Muslims, but he was initially a pagan. Later, he converted to Christianity then joined RCCG where he established 17 parishes. He was also with the Nigeria Navy, where he served his fatherland for 13 years in the Seaman Department. It was while working in the Navy that he received the call to full time ministry. He is survived by his wife, Vera, seven children and other family members.