By Danjuma Auta
ECWA President, Rev. Dr. Stephen Baba Panya, has advised the late General Dogonyaro family not to mourn his demise like people who have no hope in the resurrection of those who have slept in the Lord.
He gave this counsel when he led a delegation of the ECWA executive on a condolence visit at the Rayfield home of the deceased.
According to him, the late retired General was a professing Christian who stood firmly for the sake of Christ and His Church as a result of which the Church was very proud to associate with him even in death.
He added that the deceased gave his all in the service of his fatherland and recalled how he was consistent and passionate in championing the cause of the Leah Sharibu cause within and outside the country.
Rev. Panya said that even though he had not met the General in person during his life time, his Christian activities, good works and remarkable achievements had always spoken for him and called to mind his times as ECOMOG Commander and Chief of Defense Staff in which he distinguished himself excellently.
Similarly, in a condolence letter signed by the ECWA General Secretary, Rev. Yunusa Sabo Nmadu, the church observed that the late General had worked for the unity of Christians in Nigeria and stood for the peaceful coexistence of all citizens.
He noted that the General was a soldier par excellence who dedicated and sacrificed his life for the peace of not only Nigeria but the entire West African sub -region.
Responding on behalf of the family, the eldest son of the deceased, Pastor Ibrahim Dogonyaro, thanked ECWA for the show of love, adding that the family believed in the unity of the Church and would continue to build on the legacies of their late father and husband.
He praised ECWA’s efforts in mission and nation building, especially in the areas of education, healthcare delivery, rural development and agriculture and called on the leadership to continue with the good work.
In a brief remark, wife of the deceased, Mrs. Esther Dogonyaro, thanked the delegation for finding time to condole with the family and said that ECWA was very dear to their father and the entire family and that they would continue to work for the growth and progress of the church in Nigeria and beyond.
Prayers were offered by the ECWA Vice President, Rev. Stephen Sunday Ajise, for God’s protection and grace for the family and for a successful burial. The deceased left behind his wife, four children – Ibrahim, Aisha Salome, Justina Julcit and Joseph Binfa – a brother, Alhaji Ahmed Benjamin Dogonyaro, and many relations.