By BANJI OJEWALE
When the train of the nondenominational Global Crusade with Kumuyi (GCK) stopped over in Ota, Ogun State, for a five-day programme in late August 2026, it was more than a historic homecoming for its convener, Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi. He recalled old ties with Ogun: he had his primary and secondary education right here in Ogun when it was part of the sprawling Western Region of Nigeria; he was born again in the state; it was from here he gained admission into the University of Ibadan; and at Ikenne, here again in Ogun, he had the unique experience of working as a teacher under the mentorship of the late Tai Solarin, one of Nigeria’s greatest educationists and social critics.
Of course, as the milling millions watched worldwide, starting with the gathering at the Anglican Church Grammar School, Ota, the event venue, they observed that the celebrated preacher wasn’t going into those pasts as an orthodox raconteur under the moonlight; he was making a statement to deliver a message. He was saying he had moved on; he had also gone through a change he wanted all to embrace for a meaningful and profitable existence to benefit themselves, their families, and society. But Pastor Kumuyi needed to deploy those nostalgic landmarks to make a couple of points. First, he was a completely changed personality, no longer what he was back then; he had gone through major transmutations that offered him a turbo boost on the achievers’ highway. God, through His Son Jesus Christ, had been the prime Change Agent. Every entity, individual or corporate, needs to encounter Him for the lifetime transformation Kumuyi himself received to sustain him across several decades of tireless evangelical work.
