Pastor Oyakhilome Commissions Legacy Campus, extols late Benson Idahosa’s leadership qualities
The Founder and General Overseer of Believers’ Love World (Christ Embassy), Pastor Chris Oyakhilome has commissioned the Dr. Chris Oyakhilome Faculty of Engineering building he donated to the university.
Speaking at the official dedication and commissioning of the legacy campus and the faculty of engineering, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome said the donation was not only towards contributing to the actualisation of the dream of the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa, but also an opportunity for him to appreciate the BIU founder’s immense contribution to his life.
He said: “I didn’t think I was doing something other than expressing my appreciation. I took the opportunity afforded me to say thank you. I am one grateful person, grateful for what Bishop Idahosa was doing.”
“We are the legacy of his word; we are the legacy of his message. It is my joy to be a part of this. It is my hope that everyone will think about what he could really contribute to it. I am his legacy, you are his legacy, this is our campus, it is the campus of the legacy of Archbishop Benson Idahosa. We are his fruits. I count myself highly honoured to have been given the opportunity to be here. This is one University we all need and we have to have it. It is the vision of God. Think of what you can do. Everything you can do in this University, do it, dream of it,” he said.
He commended the late archbishop’s family for keeping up with his legacy, disclosing that the person he has become today was sharpened by the late archbishop.
Chancellor of Benson Idahosa University, Archbishop Margaret Benson-Idahosa, thanked Pastor Chris for his donation. She described the faculty of engineering building as state of the art, adding that the donor would be forever remembered for the gesture.
Archbishop Margaret Benson Idahosa eulogized the donor for sowing in the vineyard of God and contributing to the educational development of the nation.
According to her, she never doubted the actualisation of the University even when some people expressed fear that it would be a tall dream after the demise of the founder.
“Nobody ever thought that BIU will be a reality. I thank God for people like Chris Oyakhilome and others who have made this dream a reality”.
She described Pastor Chris as her son, and prayed that the financial contribution which he has made to the institution should grow up like a seed and should be reaped by him and up to his sixth generations adding that the gesture of the donation will impact positively on many people in no small measure.
The President of the University, Feb Idahosa, posited that BIU remained a legacy that was built by all, including the students and the likes of Chris Oyakhilome.
In his words: “It is not a one-man show; it is only a vision that was built by a community. We are all part of the success story of the legacy” he said.
The Faculty building consists of a 2-winged, 3 floor building with a pent house which forms the Dean’s complex/Faculty office as the fourth floor. It also houses 54 offices, six HOD’s offices and twenty four (24) hundred seater capacity lecture rooms. The building covers a total land area of 2,550M2
The commissioning of the Ultra-Modern Engineering building was graced by clergymen, government functionaries, business moguls, representatives of various educational institutions across the country and representatives of the traditional Institutions from both the palace of the Benin Monarch, Oba Ewuare II and the Olu of Warri Kingdom.