Recently, Ikorodu, a sprawling community in Lagos, was agog, as many teenagers wearing branded uniforms literally invaded many roads and streets, singing, dancing and chanting ‘No to pornography!”
The campaign was organised by Wisdom Centre, the teens church of Joy Cometh Ministries, Ebute-Igbogbo Road, Ikorodu, a Pentecostal church founded by Pastor Olaitan Aromolaran, as part of its advocacy against pornography. It was gathered that several of the teenagers had confessed in church, during the series on the harmful effects of porn, that they had in the past become addicted to watching pornography but stated that they were able to get rid of the habit through the power of God.
“With the experience we had, we thought we should not restrict the teaching to the church alone. We felt we should take it to the streets. We knew that so many people are out there suffering, unable to remove themselves from the chains and bondage of pornography addiction. And this has been ruining the lives of many of our youths,” Pastor of the Wisdom Centre, Mrs Roseline Awoniyi explained.
The JCM teenagers, numbering over 300, were divided into different groups, and they marched through different parts of Ikorodu. From Ebute through Ogolonto to Agric and their environs, the teenagers sang and danced, chanting ‘No to Pornography, Yes to Jesus.’
They also carried placards with many inscriptions. Some of the inscriptions read ‘Pornography corrupts the mind, guard your mind with full diligence; Uncles, stop watching porn, you have done enough damage; Daddies, delete all the pornography from your phone, among others.
She said the objective was to show the young people and even the adults in those neighbourhoods the evil that pornography was causing. She said it was one habit that had become entrenched among many, including some professing Christians. In her words, pornography was causing a lot of harm to many people.
She stated that children, some as young as five, are now being exposed to pornography through their parents’ phones.
She said the habit, for starters, leads to masturbation which, she noted, causes damages to certain organs in the body. She said besides the physical dangers, pornography also causes damage to the minds and souls of those that indulge in the habit.
“Christ cannot be in a mind that is already polluted by pornography. We wanted to tell the children and teenagers, the youths that they should stay away from pornography.”
Besides the youths, the teenagers also ministered to elderly persons in the neighbourhoods.
“For instance, you still find mothers that dress up in the presence of their children. And that is indirect pornography. These children have seen their mothers’ breasts and so on, and they are imagining things. They get curious. So we spoke to the mothers in the markets and we told them, ‘don’t dress in the presence of your male children, no matter how young they are.’ We made them to know that they are indirectly introducing the children to pornography. We told them that pornography destroys destinies, and they should run away from it and embrace Jesus.”
Many people trooped out to watch the teenagers. Some of the spectators were also telling the people that the message being passed by the JCM teenagers was that they should stop watching porn.
Some of the teenagers expressed joy at being part of the campaign, even as they described the exercise as hugely successful.
“We are happy that we were able to touch people,” said the teenagers’ pastor. “Many of the young people we preached to promised that they would no longer watch pornography, while some of the mothers said they never knew it was bad dressing in the presence of their young male children. They promised to stop the practice forthwith. In all, God took perfect control, and it was a very successful campaign.”