Thousands of students at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, converged on the institution’s amphitheatre on Thursday as a large-scale gospel gathering featuring popular Nigerian praise leader Bidemi Olaoba drew an unexpectedly massive crowd that overwhelmed the venue’s capacity and triggered scenes of students climbing locked gates in a desperate attempt to gain entry.
The concert, titled “In His Presence Live,” was organised by the Great Ife Students’ Union through the Office of the Director of Socials and attracted an estimated 10,000 participants, making it one of the largest campus gospel gatherings recorded at the university in recent years.
By early afternoon, long before the programme formally commenced, hundreds of students had already surrounded the amphitheatre, while thousands squeezed into every available space inside the facility. Security personnel eventually locked the gates as the venue reached capacity, but the crowd outside continued to swell.
Witnesses reported that some students climbed over the locked gates in attempts to access the venue, highlighting both the scale of interest generated by the event and the limitations of the amphitheatre for gatherings of such magnitude.
Activities for the day had begun much earlier with a campus-wide prayer walk led by Bidemi Olaoba. The procession commenced at about 7:00 a.m. at the university’s Sports Complex Main Bowl and moved through several halls of residence where students gathered for worship and prayer.
The prayer walk passed through notable student hostels including Angola Hall, Awolowo Hall, and Fajuyi Hall, drawing worshippers who joined the procession in anticipation of the afternoon concert.
The main concert eventually began shortly after 2:00 p.m., with campus DJ Horphuray opening the programme, while hype man Biyi Praise energised the audience and maintained crowd excitement ahead of the main performances.
Several performers took the stage during the early segment of the event, including gospel minister Mike, the Oladosun Twins, and instrumentalist FOJ Sax, who delivered a saxophone ministration that drew enthusiastic applause from the packed amphitheatre.
Students also participated actively in the programme through spoken-word performances delivered by OAU students Emmanuel and Miracle, while dance groups led by Riayung and her crew entertained the crowd with choreographed presentations.
The major highlights of the event were the worship and praise sessions led by four gospel ministers: Paul Tomisin, Bidemi Olaoba, SMJ, and BBO, whose ministrations formed the spiritual centrepiece of the concert.
Minister Paul Tomisin opened the main worship segment with a session that saw thousands of students singing and praying in unison, transforming the amphitheatre into a large communal worship space.
When Bidemi Olaoba eventually mounted the stage, the atmosphere intensified as students participated actively in praise sessions known for the artist’s energetic performance style. During his performance, the gospel singer surprised a student who presented him with a portrait sketch by gifting the student ₦500,000 in cash, a gesture that drew loud cheers from the audience.
At different points in the programme, several OAU students were also given four-minute slots to present musical or spoken-word ministrations, an initiative organisers said was aimed at encouraging student talent and participation.
The programme later transitioned into another worship session led by minister SMJ, before concluding with a closing ministration by BBO, while an altar call delivered by Bidemi Olaoba emphasised the spiritual objective of the gathering.
Despite the celebratory atmosphere, the scale of attendance created logistical challenges. The amphitheatre was filled far beyond its typical seating capacity, leaving thousands of students outside the venue throughout the programme.
Some attendees expressed concern that the amphitheatre might no longer be adequate for events attracting such large crowds. A student identified as Solomon described the experience as memorable but suggested that future editions might require a larger open field venue.
Despite the logistical issues, participants widely described the concert as one of the most vibrant student-driven gospel gatherings in recent OAU history, reflecting the growing popularity of faith-based campus events and the ability of student organisations to mobilise large-scale participation within Nigeria’s university communities.
