Category: Saturday Interview

Lagos pastor and General Overseer of Ever Winning Faith Ministries Lagos, Rev Solomon Ojigiri, who clocked 50 last Sunday, shared with SUNDAY OGUNTOLA his harrowing experiences growing up without a father. Excerpts:

How was growing up without a father?

It was not funny or palatable at all. I am from Ilafin Isalu in Ayaba East Local Government of Kogi State. My mother told me that my father died two months before I was born. He was sick before he died. According to my mum, he was a very hardworking person. So many of his mates envied him and they said he didn’t like people giving excuses and all that.

He used to help people to construct their thatched roofs free of charge. If he saw that your roof was leaking or getting old, he can approach you that he wanted to assist you to change it. He went and did that for somebody. He mobilised people to join him for the communal efforts.

But some people were saying the sun was too much and cannot join him. Others said they could not stand the sun but he said the sun doesn’t kill. So, he proceeded with the work.

It was from there he was attacked and had headache. He returned home and told my mum he had headache. Before they knew it, within a very short time, he died the same day.

His death must have affected your upbringing negatively…

Of course, it did. I was the second child. I have an elder sister. Like most men in the village, he was the bread winner. So my mother had to struggle through and we moved from the village to Ilorin to find means of livelihood.

So she started managing her life and taking care of the two of us. In fact, we had to stay with our grandmother who is late now. I was informed my father had died, so I had to just look at how to take good care of myself and we had to struggle by ourselves. And usually my mother out of her concern always wanted to limit my dream. If I tell her I want to become this, she would say ‘Look understand the fact that you don’t have a father. Your father is dead and other people you see around you still have their fathers to take good care and pay their school fees.’

When I told her I wanted to further my studies, my mother didn’t know it would be possible. But since I knew I had no one, I had to strive on my own to go through.

So you went through secondary school on your own?

Right from Primary School, I went through on my own. But when I was in primary school, my mother was still okay. She was doing some jobs in Ilorin. But before I finished secondary school, she had problems with her business. So almost every day, I had to do menial jobs in farms.

Some of my teachers had farms. I was working in their farms for a fee.  So while other students were in prep classes, I would be working away in my teachers’ farms. But to the glory of God, I was still one of the very best students.

How much were you being paid?

I remember in those days, it was like N1 or N2. By the time we got to Polytechnic, one man usually paid us N4 per day.

So that was how you were able to help yourself?

Yes, we had all manner of menial jobs in the farms.  But when there was no farming work in harvest or dry season, we would look for construction works to do. I had two other friends who worked with me. I remember there was a man working with Rural Electrification Board. He employed us as casual workers and we were helping to put up electricity poles.

It was a very risky job to do because sometimes you had to plant a pole and when you turn back, you have to run away. So that was how I was able to pay through secondary school. In fact, my mother thought finishing secondary school was enough for somebody without a father. I could understand her because she had lost her business and things were very tough. So I had to stay at home two years after secondary school working in the farms, working in different places and all that.

So, how did you get to proceed for higher studies?

I told her that I wanted to go to Kwara State Polytechnic to do HSC so I could proceed to the university to study law. My mother didn’t know how that would ever come to past. But I told her how much I had been able to save from my farm works and all that.

She was shocked because usually I would save the money and give her some for upkeep. I was using the rest for my school fees and all that. But my friend and I didn’t consider it that we were suffering. We were doing those things gladly.

Then after the Polytechnic, we went to the University of Ibadan. But things were very tough. I finished from Polytechnic in 1989. I graduated from UI in 1992. To proceed to the law school became a very big challenge.

You still did menial jobs in the university?

Of course, we did. There was no other way to pay our way through. We usually spent holidays working. We looked forward to public holidays because they would allow us to work and earn a living.

We would go to farms to make some money and all that. When we were now going to the law school, God led me to contact Dr Samuel Oloruntoba.

He was actually one of the leaders of Rotary Club International. He assisted me while in law school and I’m still eternally grateful to him. I always said if others had fathers to take care of them, then God is my father. In fact, that was what I told my mother initially and she said ‘if God is your father, let Him pay your school fees’.

I said ‘He will’ and He did. But we had to work. In fact, in our church in those days, the Apostolic Church in Ilorin, there was nobody into farming whose farms we didn’t go to. We did all sorts of menial jobs just to survive.

How much of that background had helped you today?

Firstly, it has blessed many lives because when I give my testimony anywhere, people are wowed and determined to make a success of their lives too.  In fact there was a guy who came to our church the other day and was telling them in the church that today he has his Ph.D in law after hearing where I was coming from. He said if I could make it despite my background, he had no excuse to fail.  And there are several like him in the church and other places who have purposed to succeed after hearing me. It has also helped me to be philanthropic.

I understand some people are down by circumstances of their birth and background. They need help to rise up.  I try to assist some people that possibly were in that kind of situation now. God has helped us to be able to assist so many people. If I didn’t go through that, maybe my perspective will not be like that. But I know a lot of people are going through a lot of things, a lot of stuff.

How easy was it for you to go on full time?

Well it was not very easy because I felt I was losing what I really laboured for over the years to get. My initial dream was to become a senior advocate to also use that tool to fight injustice and corruption. But now as a pastor, you cannot even fight again. You just hand over everything to the hands of God.

How much of heartbreaks have you suffered in the ministry?

(Laughs) Heartbreak? Well I don’t think I have suffered any heartbreak. When you are teaching people on relationships, you have to let them know different aspects of life. It is only when you don’t know what people have the tendencies of doing, that is when you can be surprised.

I already know somebody can tell you I love you and he is saying the opposite in his heart. So if anybody misbehaves, I just know that is the nature of man. You may help a lot of people and maybe when God has helped them, they feel they don’t need you and turn their back against you. That doesn’t bother me.

I wrote something on Facebook sometime ago that I shared with my wife when we got married. I said anybody you are able to help is not so that they can be of help to us in whatever way but we have done it just for the Lord. I also said whatever you do for people, they may not have the capacity to reward you but God will never forget. He will always reward you.Then some of the people will turn against you and even speak against you or bite the finger that fed them. The fact still remains that some people will still be eternally grateful.

We have some people that lived with us. In fact, my wife was counting over 30 people that have stayed in our house. Some of them we don’t know their parents; some of them we don’t even know any of their relatives or anybody. Yet, they stayed with us for 5- 7 years. Some of them we gave jobs, assisted in so many ways, assisted to go to school and things like that. But there are some that after they left, it was as if they never lived with us. They never looked back. But there are some who are still eternally grateful. Some may not even be around us but they are still well connected to us and they are still great encouragement to us and all that.

What will change for you at 50?

I believe God, there are things I have set like goals ahead of me for life that I’m pursuing and I believe that where I am now is just a stepping stone to reaching or attaining those things that God has set before me. It is so hard to believe I am 50 already. Sometimes I wonder if I am but I know my date of birth. So I feel grateful to God and know that He has not even started with me.

• Why Nigeria records avoidable deaths
• Our bitter-sweet experience, by survivors

Moradeke Ojo grew with a lust for the world, amid the lush plains of Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.

At age five, she wanted to be a doctor, but 16 years later, her dreams changed. Having failed to gain admission into medical school, she decided to be a nurse.

She felt it’s the same thing; as a nurse, she would nurse the sick back to good health. Hence, Ojo proceeded into nursing school in pursuit of her dream.

But as her dream fluorished, a strange tissue grew in tandem with her will. Somewhere in her brain, cancer cells bloomed and opened their capsules. They split apart and spit pips in the red tide of Ojo’s blood.

The alien cells soon attained the size of a deadly mass, and began to manifest; first, as a simple headache. Then a dangerous migraine. When no medication could cure it, Ojo became worried. Soon after she was rushed home from school, in the wake of severe episode, Theresa Amoke, her mother, presented her to the emergency department of the public health centre where she worked as a cleaner.

At the hospital, a doctor diagnosed Ojo’s ailment as ‘an ordinary headache caused by typhoid and high blood pressure.’ Subsequently, he recommended antibiotics, analgesics and other medication in line with his diagnosis.

But the headache merely abated and resurged with severe implications. Goaded by the curious diagnosis, Ojo embarked on self-medication to treat what the doctor continually termed relapsing headache, typhoid and high blood pressure.

In November 2017, Ojo was rushed to the emergency department of a private clinic in her neighbourhood. At presentation, she reported with one week of severe fever, excessive sweating, weight loss and altered sensorium meaning: the sensory components of her brain and nervous system, which dealt with the receipt and interpretation of external stimuli, had been altered.

Ojo suffered recurrent seizure, loss of consciousness and anorexia (persistent loss of appetite) and weight loss. Months before her presentation, she allegedly suffered sudden blindness. Even though her vision was restored, she persistently suffered hazy vision.

A day after she presented at the hospital, Ojo lost her vision. Before an MRI could be done, she suffered respiratory arrest and could not be resuscitated.

Although she was continually treated for typhoid and high blood pressure, an autopsy revealed a large tumour in Ojo’s brain. She was 26 years old.

But while Ojo’s demise was triggered by misdiagnosis, Idowu Aka died due to prohibitive treatment costs and inadequate facilities. Having been diagnosed with brain tumour, Aka, 34, could not access the treatment he deserved.

“Besides the fact that treatment was too expensive, every time we visited the teaching hospital in Lagos for radiotherapy, they told us the machine was not available. There was always a long queue too,” said Rashida, his wife.

Consequently, Aka resorted to herbal and spiritual therapy. Three years after he was diagnosed with the disease, the 34-year-old transporter was rushed to the emergency department of a Lagos Island hospital. He reportedly slipped into coma behind the wheel.

At his presentation at the clinic. Rashida, his wife, revealed that two days, earlier, Aka experienced severe hallucinations.

“Few days earlier, he suffered seizures and temporary paralysis but we thought it was due to his excessive drinking,” she said. Aka reportedly binged on local herbal alcoholic beverages.

By the time he presented at the clinic, Aka’s pulse rate and blood pressure had increased. He suffered hemorrhagic stroke and cardiac arrest and could not be resuscitated.

‘US dog gets better cancer treatment than the average Nigerian’

The magnitude of Ojo and Aka’s sad demise resonates tragically at the backdrop of an American, Sean Murphy’s recent ridicule of Nigeria’s health sector. Few months ago, Murphy, a venture capitalist, caused a stir on social media when he posted a photo of a dog using a linear accelerator (a type of radiotherapy machine), and said that there was far more treatment for US pets than Nigerian people.

Murphy shared a photo of a dog with lymphoma, strapped up and pulled into a linear accelerator, and mocked the Nigerian healthcare system by saying it’s a shame that the dog in Miami, gets better aid than a woman with a tumour does in Lagos.

Murphy no doubt reiterated the irony of Nigeria’s healthcare paradox.

The Federal Ministry of Health confirmed in a recent release of health statistics that 250,000 new cancer cases are recorded annually in the country. The country already has over two million people diagnosed with cancer.

Nigerians diagnosed with the disease are, however, in serious danger, as most radiation treatment machines are out of use in various parts of the country. Out of the eight radiotherapy machines procured by the Federal Government over 10 years ago and distributed to seven states and the FCT, only one is said to be functioning at the moment.

Most cancer patients cannot afford to patronise private hospitals because of prohibitive cost of such hospitals. The few government hospitals that would have been available to such patients are now unable to treat people in dire need of immediate medical attention.

Survivor stories

But it’s not entirely a sad narrative. Popular comedian, Julius Agwu, recently narrated his ordeal with brain tumour, claiming he shuttled between life and death.  Agwu, who was critically ill some months ago, spoke for the first time since his second visit to the hospital over his ailment. He said he suffered a relapse because he did not rest properly after his first surgery. According to the ace comedian, an MRI scan revealed that he had two growths in his brain.

“They removed a tumour at the back of my head which was the size of a golf ball and the other tumour was close to my brain…They advised me that if they touched the other tumour, it could be fatal.

“They gave me drugs to shrink the tumour but I did not rest well and that was why it came back last year. I did not rest at all, after my surgery in America, I resumed doing my shows. I thank God for everything,” he said.

Like Agwu, Adedeji survived brain tumour. After a nasty experience with the disease, Adedeji with joy took to the social media to express his joy and celebrate his triumph. In a lengthy Instagram post that was widely reported by the media, Adedeji revealed that he was diagnosed with brain tumour in October 2016.

“I went in for a surgery one year later on the 2nd of October 2017 and came out successfully by the grace of God. The surgeon had said they will only be able to take out about 90% of the tumour, because of its location, in a surgery that should last about 4-5 hours with possibility of going paralyzed on the left part of my body if I didn’t recover from the post-surgical trauma of the area of the brain to be operated on (Right Brain Secondary Motor Area),” he said.

After nine hours of surgery, Adedeji said: “They were able to completely remove the entire tumour. But I went completely paralyzed on the left side of my body with zero bowel movements, a tube to leak urine passed to my bladder, swollen brain with a tube to drain the fluids in my skull and my left jaw was locked.

“However, to the surprise of the surgeon, doctors and physiotherapists, I gained complete movement of my left side within two weeks and relearned proper coordinated movement in a month. .

“I had suffered from seizures on a daily basis, from late November 2015 and several medical tests unsuccessfully gave wrong diagnosis: from cerebral malaria to ischemic stroke and all-what-not.

“It was two years of devastating ordeal. I even nose-dived into depression at some point and would prefer staying in quiet dark rooms alone. At tipping points, when it became overwhelming, I contemplated suicide and my work life, social life and everything around me was affected but Jesus Christ came through in all of these.

“I’m healthy and doing well. I’ve come out of it stronger and blessed beyond what words can express. The removed tumour was taken to the lab and tested. It was a type II, which means I won’t require any radiotherapy or chemotherapy.

“Glory to God! It’s six months after surgery and I’ll be 35 years old in a few days time. I’m forever grateful to God and I thank everyone that stood by me during the journey literally through the valley of the shadow of death,” he said.

The grim picture

With less than five per cent of Nigerians currently covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the disease’s prevalence has an impoverishing effect. This is accentuated by high diagnostic and treatment costs, significant out of pocket payments and lost income in advanced cases.

Cancer medication costs between N270,000 and N300,000 monthly, while chemotherapy or radiotherapy is valued at N200,000 or more; this is apparently beyond the means of poor, struggling families, most of whom eventually resort to crowd funding or alternative treatment.

Against the backdrop of high economic fluctuations and stagnant average income levels, the cost of cancer treatment is rising. For afflicted families, the consequences are dire. While sufferers in affluent countries have a probability of survival of more than 75 percent of all cancers combined, the reverse is the case with a Nigerian patient, according to health experts.

Findings revealed that epileptic power supply is also one of the major causes of equipment collapse in the country’s cancer treatment centres.

According to medical experts, the machines are sensitive to power fluctuations, thus they recommended uninterrupted electricity to power them.

According to a recent study published by The Lancet medical journal and entitled, “Expanding Global Access to Radiotherapy,” investment in radiotherapy not only enables treatment of large numbers of cancer cases to save lives, but also brings positive economic benefits.

The study reveals that the scale-up of radiotherapy capacity in 2015–2035 from current levels could lead to saving 26·9 million life-years in low-income and middle-income countries over the lifetime of the patients who received treatment.

It shows that the returns for low-income countries alone, by the human-capital approach, are projected to amount to $16·9 billion in 2015–35, and with the efficiency model, projected to amount to US$104·2 billion.

They also recommended the modern Gamma Knife machines for Nigeria’s public health facilities.

“This would avail the citizenry the state of the art radiotherapy techniques and prevent them from embarking on medical tourism abroad,” argued Iyabo Ayinla, a medical facility importer.

Challenges of brain drain also impact negatively on cancer treatment in the country. Nigeria faces shortage of medical personnel as many of the country’s health practitioners are travelling out in search of greener pasture.

Olumide Atanda, a Manchester, United Kingdom-based medical doctor, relocated abroad “because the Nigerian clime was not conducive for excellent medical practice.”

According to him, “Many of us here will return home if the situation improves. Right now, it is suicidal to practise medicine in Nigeria. Its hellish for the patient. It’s hellish for the doctor too.”

In 2011, Dr. Biodun  Ogungbo, a consultant neurosurgeon, lamented the dearth of neurosurgeons in  the country, with only 25 brain specialists available for 140 million Nigerians at the period.

He stated that the concentration of brain specialists  in only the city centres  has led to the high rate of deaths resulting from brain damage in accidents, particularly outside the cities.

Just recently, Professor Sam Ohaegbulam, President of the Neurosurgical Society of Nigeria, revealed that Nigeria has less than 60 neurosurgeons (for the country’s 180 million population) while West Africa has less than 200. This inadequacy leads to avoidable deaths, he said.

There were 2,272 registered practitioners with specialist training in various branches of Surgery in Nigeria as of 2014. Of these, 1823 were in category A; 322 in category B; 123 in category C; and 3 in category D.

The categories, according to the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria: Annual Statistical Report 2014, is explainable as follows:

Category A: A Fellowship of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria or a qualification equivalent to it in content, duration and status;

Category B: A sub-fellowship qualification or any other qualification, not being equivalent to the qualifications in (i) or (ii) above, but definitely demonstrating that the holder has acquired further skill and knowledge in a special area, subsequent to his/her basic medical or dental degree;

Category C: A qualification not being equivalent to either of (i) or (ii) above, but definitely demonstrating that the holder has acquired further skill and knowledge in a special area, subsequent to his/ her basic medical or dental degree;

Category D: A postgraduate qualification in the basic medical or clinical sciences at the level of a doctorate degree obtained after the basic medical or dental qualification.

The depth of the Nigerian situation was emphasised as the country marked the World Cancer Day recently in Abuja; the estimates of afflictions and cancer-related deaths hit the country like a sledge hammer. About 40 women and 26 men die every day in Nigeria from cancer, with survival rate of one person in every five cases.

These are reported cases. Globally, the disease was responsible last year for one in every six deaths.

What is even scarier was the statement by the World Health Organization regional director, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, in which she said that according to studies, Nigeria should expect a 75 percent increase in cancer-induced deaths by 2030.

Tade Ogun, a retired public health administrator, advised the government to devise a more surgical approach to reducing the nation’s cancer scourge. Recently, the Federal Government allocated N300 million to about 30 federal medical centres to fight cancer; this in the estimation of medical experts may be too paltry and ineffective to prosecute the fight, given that the average cost of one Linear Accelerator (LINAC) is about N20 million.

While allocation of 8% of over N8 trillion budget to the health sector remains a concern, given the poor state of health care in the country, stakeholders call for reprioritisation of the country’s Health Intervention Project to include the construction of at least six well-equipped Cancer Centres across the six geopolitical regions. This could be more effective than throwing an average of N300 million to over 30 federal medical institutions.

When Folakemi Bakare was first introduced into the fashion world, she felt out of place because of a misconceived notion that it was for dropouts. Fifteen years after setting up Nissi Clothiers, she says that the future of the industry is brighter than ever. She speaks with ADETUTU AUDU on the journey so far, challenges and sundry issues.

At what point did you choose this line of work?                       

Initially, I was not really interested in fashion designing because I felt it is for dropouts. Back then, we thought it was for old people and the uneducated. But somehow, when I was seeking admission and waiting for my JAMB result, my brother in-law suggested that while I was waiting, I should go to my sister’s friend who is into fashion designing to see if I can gain some knowledge, instead of waiting at home. And so, when I got to the woman, and I saw what she was doing, I was surprised. What really got me interested was that she is a graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University. That nullified my impression that fashion designing is for dropouts. That was how I got interested. And I decided to move on with it.

What about your academic pursuit?

When finally I gained admission, I was learning fashion part time. After that, I went to fashion school, and I still went to the university where I studied Business Administration.

When you discovered that you had a flair for fashion, why didn’t you study something fashion-related?

As at that time, like I said, we didn’t really know how big the industry is. So it was just like a part time thing. I actually wanted to put in for Industrial Chemistry. So when the idea to go into fashion came, I eventually said it would be like a kind of business. That was why I opted for Business Administration. And something must bring out something out of you. So by the time I went deeper into fashion designing, I discovered that this is exactly where God wants me to be because I was bringing out some creativity, easily, without stress.

How has it been in the last 15 years?

It hasn’t been all rosy, because we had our teething period and we had challenges in the country, power especially. Sometimes your staff will not see the vision the way you see it. Sometimes, majority of them will not put in their best. They are just there to get paid. But like some other countries that I’ve been to, some would want to put in their best in whatever they are doing. So we had that challenge. We had the challenge of power, because there is no way we can work without electricity. So we spent a lot of money on overhead.

What kept you going, despite these challenges?

What kept me going was the passion I had for it and the fear of failure. Every challenge is a stepping stone to higher grounds. So if you give up, it affects a lot of things. It affects the society, because we train students. Those who depend on you will have nowhere to go.

There was a time when people were not wearing African prints. What was that era like for you?

It’s just like when I thought fashion designing is for dropouts. That was the kind of mentality people had towards African fabrics. We don’t really know who we were. It got to a point that we had to rediscover ourselves. We now discovered that African print is nice and we are not doing badly; so our people started coming up with wonderful designs. And that was because fashion designing has been hijacked from the hands of the dropouts. So the real educated people were able to use their intellect and creativity to make sure that they bring the beauty of our African attire out. For the bridals, we import. Sometimes we have brides who are plus size, so it might be difficult for them to pick from the imported ones. So we try as much as possible to make for them. We also try to advise brides on how to customize their wedding dresses. We always have the mentality that if it’s not imported, it cannot be beautiful. So we try as much as possible to tell them that if they customize their wedding dress, especially with their colour of the day, they will look different and unique and beautiful, even though it might be difficult to convince some of them.

In this era where people are following the ‘Buy Naija’ trend, have you thought about making them here as against importing?

First, we try to enlighten them. If we make them here, because of the mentality, they may still think that it is not good enough. But now, we are trying to make them know that the ones made in Nigeria still look even more beautiful. We can’t just stop importing out rightly. We have plans for that but it has to be a gradual thing; when they have conditioned their minds that it is worth it.

You are also into wedding counselling…

By the grace of God, because I’m a minister of God, I try as much as possible. It is not just about the joy of that day alone, because there is a lot to marriage. And some of our young people may not realize that. So we try to counsel them that it’s for better or worse. Everything might not be rosy, but they have to stay in their marriage

How long have you been married?

I’ve been married for 19 years.

In this era where marriages don’t last, what has been your secret?

The secret is understanding; because two different people coming from different backgrounds, the way we were brought up is very different. Let me be practical. I don’t get angry easily. My husband is a very nice person, but he is not the patient type. So, if I’m not patient also, then the marriage will not work. The secret is to learn each other, study each other, because you can’t dwell only on the negatives; let the positives override the negatives. That way you will be able to get the best out of your spouse.

How do you make time out for the family?

God has been faithful. We close very late, but we also don’t come to work early. So everything I need to do at night, I make sure I attend to it in the morning. So when I get home late, I usually don’t have much to do.

How supportive is your husband?

He’s very supportive, hundred percent. He’s the best man in the whole world (laughs). If the job is taking me away for a long stretch of time, I make sure that everything he needs is at home. And he supports me with prayers.

Has the Nigerian economy it in any way affected your business?

We as children of God believe that no matter how terrible the situation or the economy is, God will always find a way out for you. God has just been there for us. We believe that when people are talking of a casting down, for us, there will be a lifting up. And that is what God has been doing. So there is always a way out. There is always a way out because there has been no time that we ran out of clients. Some people still have the money, no matter what you say (laughs). And for fashion business, we can never be broke, because the economy cannot be so bad that people will not get married. People must celebrate and sew aso ebi, so God has been faithful.

What would be your advice to those who want to go into the fashion business?

My advice would be that they need to believe in themselves. They don’t need to make money their priority. Money is a part of it, but your integrity is very important. If you are coming into the fashion business, make sure your integrity is very sound. If it is only about money, you will not be able to deliver your jobs on time and next time, they will not patronise you. Also, don’t say what you know you’re not. If you know you’re not good, don’t go and proclaim it.

Chief Enock Ajiboso is the National Chairman of Christian Conscience, a group that is persuading Christians to play more active roles in politics. A retired banker and two-term chairman of Agege Local Government as well as former Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperative in Lagos State, Ajiboso has lived the sophisticated life of a banker and the exposed life of a politician, but he cherishes his title as the traditional prime minister of his hometown, Inishan, a position his father once held, because he believes that culture is an aspect of life that must not be compromised. He told PAUL UKPABIO how he has had to shuttle between Lagos and Osun states for years just to keep up with two different lifestyles he enjoys passionately.

What is Christian Conscience all about?

IT is a group of people, like a nongovernment organization, who have made me their national chairman. It is a group that is clamouring for Christians to play more active roles and take more interest in politics. Christians are complaining of being dominated, but they have to be there because every aspect of life is political. We encourage Christians to get actively involved in politics. How would you say your early life has contributed to who you are today? I was born about 66 years ago in a village called Inishan in Osun State. I was brought to Lagos in 1962. I am eternally grateful to Chief Obafemi Awolowo because he made free education possible at that time. Without that, I would not have been able to go to school because I am from a polygamous home. However, I am also from a noble family. My family produces the king where I come from, and by the grace of God, I am today occupying that position. I am the traditional prime minister. I was able to finish secondary school and attended the University of Ibadan where I studied Agric-Economics and then the University of Lagos for a master’s degree in Business Administration.

I worked with First Bank of Nigeria for almost 20 years. I then went into politics and was democratically elected twice as the Chairman of Agege Local Government. In between, there was a military intervention. But because of my performance, upbringing and political integrity, I was also made a Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives in Lagos State during the first tenure of ex-Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola. Tell us about Inishan where you come from… It was a rural community at that time, where people depended much on subsistence farming. My father was a farmer, and I grew up following the family to the farm. Was that why you studied Agriculture in the university? Well, not really. But then it contributed to the decision I made, because I was already used to farming. But what really made me to study Agriculture was lack of information at that time.

I was not exposed to mentoring or guidance and counselling. I say so because I actually had good scores in Physics, Chemistry and Biology that would have given me other courses. But then for me, having the opportunity to go to school was a mere chance. What do you mean by that? In those days, like I said earlier, mine was a polygamous family. And in my father’s house, we the children were going to school by quota system. School was rotated among the children of the different wives. Going to school for me was delayed because my mother was the third wife. How many children did your father have? I don’t know the number, but we were more than 25 by the time my father died. In those days, it was the culture for men to marry as many wives as they wanted. Once you were well to do in a way, you could marry more. Also, friends freely gave their daughters to their trusted friends for marriage, particularly if you were wealthy by the standards then. My father was the Esa of Inishan.

There are two families that can produce or bear that title, which is the traditional prime minister of my place. So when my father died, the second house took over from him. When it came back to us, I was the one that my family decided should take over the office. So you are wearing your father’s shoes? Yes, but not the polygamous aspect of the office (laughs). Why you when there were other children? I wouldn’t know. I think it was the choice of the town. I don’t know what the yardstick was, but it could also have been because of my contributions to the community. Also the elders consulted the oracle even in my absence.

The king of Inishan also accepted. I had the highest votes according to what I later heard. What are your responsibilities as the traditional prime minister? It is a big role because I am the chief adviser to the king. I am also the chairman or the president of the kingmakers in our community. We meet every five days. I along with the chiefs and the kabiyesi deliberate on the goings-on in the community. Our main business is to ensure that there is peace in the community and quarrels are settled whether on land or chieftaincy, marriages and so on. So far, God has been assisting us. Does that not also mean that you have to live in the village? I do live in the village. However, because of modern day business and the other things that I have to do in Lagos, I come here regularly. Also, we have capable chiefs in the community. Most of us are well travelled and well exposed. Most of us have lived in different parts of the country and outside the country and have with time returned home to settle down again to help the community to develop. Modernity has changed the role a little too, because with availability of vehicles, we can move from Lagos to our hometown within three hours to attend to any urgent situation.

You studied agriculture. How did you get into a bank? That was in 1980 after my master’s degree in Business Administration. I applied to First Bank and I was taken. Again the issue of agriculture had started coming up and the agricultural guarantee decree of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo mandating banks to give some portions of their loans to agriculture had come up too. So the agric desk had come up, though I didn’t work there. I worked in operations, and after some time, I went to the head office, to the Manpower Development desk. I was also doing training, and there was a time that I was the Assistant Manager Training.

I left First Bank Plc as the Deputy Manager, Manpower Planning in the head office. What memories do you have of your stay in the banking sector? I have good memories of work relationship. Banking then was not like we have it now. There was no much movement. Banking then was more sedentary. Banking was more of a calling. I had always wanted to be a banker. At home I was called ‘Asula Banker’. My friends called me that too even before I became a banker. When I was employed, I knew it was a natural calling. I had job satisfaction in the bank. I thank God that I didn’t get a single query throughout my stay in the bank. Even when I was at the Apapa branch which used to be considered as the ‘house of fraud’ because of the volume of business that was being done there and the sailors’ accounts which sometimes used to be dormant and people tampered with them. Did you also learn to dress well in the bank? Not really. But bankers are always trying their best to look good. I was not rich, so I made do with what I had.

However, I thank my wife who ensured that the few clothes were well taken care of to make me look good when I wore them. At what point did marriage come in? I got married in 1981, after I had finished school and got a job. Does that mean you got married only when you were sure that money would start coming in? (Laughs) Yes. But the money had not come in yet. I was earning N6,000 per annum then, but it was okay for us. I had already learnt moderation in lifestyle from my noble parents. I had made up my mind that as soon as I got a job after school, I would get married. I knew that money would come. I didn’t want to be successful before I started to look for a wife. And my wife was my first girlfriend. I met her in the village when she was in secondary school, and it was before I went to the university. We courted for about six years. She told me that she knew she would marry me from the first day we met.

What has kept your marriage going? We were raising a family at a point. The resources were never always enough, so there were always problems. But determination kept us going because we knew our capacity and income. And we didn’t have any unnecessary ambition. I have to thank my wife for that. How about children? I have four children by the grace of God. They are four boys, all graduates. Some of them are still looking for jobs. I could have used my position, but I am not used to throwing my weight around. But I know that I have built a good name. Agege as a place has been good to me. My parents didn’t live in Agege. As a matter of fact, it was the day that I got married that I arrived at Agege. When did politics come in? I was still working at the bank. It was the Agege community that called me. They said that if I was in the bank and doing well, it meant that I would also do well with matters of the community. I was at my office in the bank when my phone rang. It was a land phone then. The political leaders called me.

One of them is still alive now. They told me that due to my commitment to the community, I should take on more responsibilities. You know I was living and still live in Agege. I was at a point the Zonal Chairman before I was elected the Chairman of the council. Although a lot of intrigues went in and because of the way I did my work, I was re-elected. Why did you accept to go into politics? I see the essence of life as being to serve humanity. Even as a banker, I was giving services to humanity. At that time, there was no computer boom like we have now. So I used to see people queuing inside the banking hall and it was hurting me. Sometimes I used to leave my office to go and facilitate their being urgently attended to. I was a council chairman during the time of Buba Marwa in Lagos.

My second term as Chairman was when Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was the governor of Lagos State. And I was a commissioner when Babatunde Raji Fashola was the governor of Lagos State. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was our leader from the beginning. He went on exile and returned to continue from where he stopped. The people of Lagos chose him as governor. We all worked for him because he is a true leader with leadership qualities and he has feelings for human beings. He is very ideological and he is always on the side of the progressives. What memories do you have of your tenure as chairman? I am happy that all the officials of Agege Local Government came through my system. I am glad that we left good example for them to follow. The present Speaker of Lagos was a councillor when I was a chairman. The one at the House of Representatives too.

That is what we pray for. Agege people are presently happy with what Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is doing with the bridge construction work going on in Agege, because I remember that I used to stand at Pen Cinema to control traffic, which I won an award for. What influenced your appointment as the Commissioner for Agriculture in Lagos State? Of course, I cannot remove the influence of Asiwaju’s (Tinubu’s) leadership in the matter. I remember that after I was recommended, Fashola expressed shock and said that he did not know that I went to school up to that level. That was when he saw my C.V. and found that I had a Second Class Upper division in Agriculture Economics in 1980, and then a master’s degree. He said again, ‘Oh, you went to good schools!’ He made me the Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives, and we made our mark before leaving. The Eko Meat Van you see today was conceived by us. So also was the aqua culture, the rice mill, planting of rice in Lagos and giving encouragement and loans to farmers. What do you do these days? I manage properties.

I am still in politics and community development. I keep myself busy with my traditional role in Inishan, though it does not bring money (laughs), but it makes me happy because of our heritage and culture. Any regrets? No. We have been trained not to have any regret. We have been trained to accept and see life as a roller coaster. I really thank God. I am glad that I studied agriculture as a course, though my thinking from the beginning was to be a banker. But getting the first degree was a basic requirement that set me on the path to become a banker, which was my main interest. What do you think 2019 has in stock for Lagosians politically? It will be beautiful. I made that prediction in Agege and I know this prediction is for Lagos. We are gradually becoming a one-party state. APC will sweep everything in the polls, from local government down to the governorship, and Ambode is going to come back for the second term.

That is what we are mobilizing for. What do you think is helping with your ageing process? I walk. These days, when I go to the village, I go to the farm. I have maize in my farm. Anytime we are going to the Oba’s palace, all the chiefs will converge in my house, I then lead them to the Oba’s palace. That distance is a kilometre. That helps my fitness. I also trek around the village a lot. It is only in Lagos that I use the car more. In Lagos, I cannot trek like that, because if I trek half a kilometre, I will just see people following me, because people know and recognise me here. Socially, what do you do? I used to enjoy sports. I watch and discuss soccer and enjoy community development and interaction. I love the traditional music of Ayinla Omowura and the music of Yusuf Olatunji.

•  Church of the Lord Worldwide Primate Ositelu

In 1998, Dr. Rufus Olubiyi Ositelu, Primate of the Church of the Lord Worldwide, emerged the 4th spiritual head of the church. It was a baton handed over to him after a spiritual election at the annual church’s convention popularly known as Tabieorar. For a young Computer Consultant who was making waves in Germany, his election came as a shock because it never occurred to him that he could be called to abandon his profession to heed God’s call into divine ministry. He spoke with PAUL UKPABIO and BIODUN ADEYEWA on his transition from a computer expert to a spiritual leader, how he got to marry a German and the alleged conspiracy that prevented him from becoming the head of a Christian association in Nigeria.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Ogere (a town in Ogun State). I attended CMS Primary School, a church missionary school in those days.

Your family has been grounded in Aladura Church from generation to generation. What was it like growing up in a home with a church background?

Growing up was interesting. It was a large house, though we were not allowed to mingle with other children in the town. Our friends used to come to us. That is why we do not speak much of the language associated with this place, which is Ijebu Remo, except for my elder sister. We speak normal Yoruba language.

How about the Christian value?

That was the most important thing while we were growing up. I recall the peace that used to be at our home. There was no rancour. It was a prayerful family which we did not take for granted. We were daily called to morning prayers at 6 am when sleep was most interesting, and night prayers at night before we went to bed.

How did that influence your person?

To a large extent, my mum had a great influence on me. She was the one that noticed that I was prudent, because those days at the public school we attended, she used to give us pocket money, but somehow, I was always the only one that came back home with my money, which I used to return to her to keep for me. At the end of the year, she added some money to my share meant for Christmas shopping and that made me to get extra clothing at Christmas seasons. My dad influenced me in spiritual matters. But in practical life, prudence, faithfulness and godliness, my mother influenced me more.

Did you ever imagine that you would one day become the overseer of the Aladura Church Worldwide as your prayer fellowship is also called locally?

Never! Even as a young man, it didn’t occur to me. I was into a different profession. I was a computer consultant when I was called to lead the church. It was much later in life in 1991 that I started my pastoral studies abroad. Even then, it still didn’t cross my mind that I would one day return to Nigeria to lead the church. I didn’t plan to become a priest. I wanted to have the knowledge which I felt was necessary in order to be more grounded as a Christian to be able to assist with counselling whenever the need arises.

What prompted you to travel abroad?

It was studies. I was already working with the Nigerian Bottling Company before I decided to travel abroad. I had three disciplines in mind when I decided I was ready to go abroad: Medicine, Agricultural Science and Computer Science. Somehow, I chose different countries for each course—Medicine for USA, Agricultural Studies for the UK and Computer Science for Germany. As a child of God, I put it into prayers. My prayer to God was that the first institution to send me a letter of admission, should be the best for me to attend. Eventually, the first admission came from Germany, so I ended up studying Computer Science in Germany.

How did you make your way to the leadership of the church?

In 1991, I met Archbishop David Douglas from the UK. He came to fellowship with us in the African Church which I attended in Germany. I don’t know what he saw in me, but he advised me to start the pastoral studies class. However, at that time, because of my background, commitment and service to God which I learnt from home, I used to assist the pastors that worked in African congregations in some of the churches in Frankfurt. I took his advice seriously. Eventually after two years, he came back to Germany to anoint me a Reverend.

At that point, did you know that you would be coming back to Nigeria to lead this large church?

No way. I was just an ordinary reverend at that time. In our church, a reverend is a laity. Moreover, I was not in full time ministry; I was still working as a computer consultant. It didn’t even cross my mind.

When did the idea of marriage pop up?

I was a young man when I left Nigeria. I didn’t even have a girlfriend throughout school in Nigeria. Not even when I was working at Cocacola. Though my mates had girlfriends in school, it was later in Europe, during my studies, that I met a lady that attracted my attention.

Was she a Nigerian or a foreigner?

Not a Nigerian. She was a German.

How did that happen?

We initially just started out as friends. Actually, I was with another Nigerian friend of mine and course mate when we met her and her fellow German cousin. The two of us became friends to the two of them and started dating. The relationship between my partner and I developed to a serious affection while theirs remained at a platonic level.

When you met her, did you tell her that your family has a history of working in the Lord’s vineyard and that you could one day be working in that vineyard?

No, I didn’t. What I told her was that one day, I would return to Nigeria, and she loved the idea. She immediately went about picking information about Nigeria and so on. The only wish she made was that when she comes to Nigeria with me, she would not want to stay in Lagos or in a city. She wanted to stay in the village. I told her that was okay by me, because Ogere actually has that sort of country setting that she suggested. I was happy because she was unlike some other people who would prefer Lagos and all its noise.

From your experience, would advise a Nigerian to marry a foreigner?

Marriage is all about love. You have to get to know your partner very well. If you truly love her and the love is vice versa, then go ahead. Marriage is a thing of the heart, though you have to apply common sense.

Did your German wife also embrace Christian values and the Aladura concept?

Oh yes, she did. She is a Christian. She saw the Aladura life as being deeper than her Christian life. She loved it and we did everything together.

Does that mean she brought Germans into the fold?

Oh yes. But there were other Germans who came into our church without her influence. I remember a German lady came, and after church, we asked her how she got to know about our church. She said she read about it in the newspapers. Over there, information about church worship services are in the newspapers. It does not cost anything.

What have been the challenges in managing a large organisation like your church?

First, we have to thank God. Because there is no organisation without its problems. God has in a very miraculous way prepared me for this assignment. I have practically worked in every department of this church. I didn’t study journalism, for instance, but I can write press releases. Because while I was in Germany, I was the president of the foreigners parliament and I had a secretary working for the state who used to do press releases. If she faxed it to me, I worked on it, made corrections and sent it to journalists. I used that as an example because in like manner, I had loads of work in other departments of the church, not knowing that I would eventually head the church. So, God prepared me ahead.

What is the size of the church today?

The church has continued to grow. Last census of the church ten years ago said the church had 8.6 million members worldwide. It is not only in Nigeria; it is a big church in West Africa, one of the largest churches in Sierra Leone. We have it in Ghana, Togo, Benin Republic, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Europe, America, New Zealand, Australia, and that is in line with our aspiration to take the gospel to all the crannies of the earth as commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ.

How do you coordinate these branches?

By the grace of God, we have ecclesiastical provinces in Ghana, Liberia and so on. In each of these provinces, there is a provincial administrator in charge. Under him are bishops and they report to me. So, administratively, this church is more organised than any of the Aladura churches who all look up to us. However, in a lovely way, we the Aladura churches work together and share advice among ourselves.

How has being highly educated impacted your church and its Aladura concept?

This church has been lucky and fortunate in that right from the founder who was my father to present day, leadership has been by educated men. My father was a catechist in the Anglican Church. After him came Adejobi who studied Theology in Europe. After him came my elder brother, Olusegun, who had a master’s degree in Agricultural Science. He studied for his first degree in UK and the second one in Canada. So it has always been educated leaders.

How do you marry that education with the African concept in Aladura?

Well, it depends on how you define Aladura concept. Because in the Church of the Lord, our liturgy though Aladura liturgy, is similar to the Methodist. Our spirituality and our administration is like that of the Catholic. If you travel to Europe and other parts of Africa, many people there do not know other Aladura churches. It is our church, the Church of the Lord, that is known. They don’t know Cherubim and Seraphim or Celestial Church of Christ even when these other churches have branches there too. However, these other two churches are very prominent in Nigeria. But why is that? It is mostly because of their atrocities. We have been affected because we are a white garment church too.

So what happened was that in 2004, God dropped it in my spirit to bring all the Aladura churches together so we can use such a forum to educate ourselves. By the grace of God, we have been working together and the name of the association is called United Aladura Churches. We are associates of the All African Congress of Churches. That is the first of its kind, because in all other ecumenical bodies all over the world, among the Aladuras, it is only The Church of the Lord that is there. Not that the others did not apply; they did but they were rejected. The application of the Celestial Church was rejected in Zimbabwe during the General Assembly of World Council of Churches in 1998. In 2006 in Brazil the application of Cherubim and Seraphim was rejected. So it is only the Church of the Lord that is found in any international ecumenical Christian body. But the same church of the Lord is less known in Nigeria among the Aladura churches because you hardly read of our atrocities in the newspapers in Nigeria.

How do you fund your foreign mission?

The foreign mission finances itself. Each country where our church is finances itself. We do not take money from one country to finance another, though they keep us informed and we guide them spiritually and administratively. Even if it is a building or musical instrument or whatever, they buy on their own.

What about the initial money spent to plant a church in a new country?

Initially, when we wanted to plant a church in the diaspora, most of the people we sent there would have already been members of the church in Nigeria.

A common practice with the Aladura church is to take a woman to the stream for spiritual birth. Is that biblical?

To answer that, I have to go to the basics, and that is when you read Timothy Chapter 3 verses 15 and 16, we are told that all scriptures are breathed and inspired by God, which means the old and the new testaments were inspired by God. Also Jesus Christ, the son of God, in Matthew Chapter 5 Verse 19, gave credence to the Old Testament. Having established that, one can say that any practice that is biblical is okay. Everything that we are not supposed to do is already said in Leviticus and in the New Testament. There is common understanding in philosophy which states that what is not forbidden is allowed. So there is nothing wrong in going to the stream to have a spiritual bath.

If you recall the military commandant who was told to go and wash at the stream; it is not that he did not want to go and have the spiritual bath, but he wondered why in a dirty water and not in the clean waters where the high and mighty were used to. But God used His servant to educate him. At the end of the day, he listened to his servant and got healed. So, stream bathing is not wrong.

Jesus never used the same method. One time he spat on the floor, made mud and rubbed a blind man’s eyes with it, and he got his sight. Another time, he said ‘your faith has healed you.’ So it is not all the time that it must be stream bath, except God reveals it to the prophet. We do such things in our church too. The difference however is that in our church, if it is a woman, it is a woman prophetess that will go with her, and if it is a man, it is a man that will go with him. Meanwhile, in some other Aladura churches, it is a man that will go with a woman. So all Aladura churches are not exactly the same. That is one of the reasons that we brought this United Aladura Churches so that we can come together and educate ourselves on some of these things that are wrong. They do it in Ghana too and in some other places. Pentecostal churches too practise it.

How has life been since you assumed office as primate?

I am totally at peace. It was my hobby which later turned to my profession. At a time while I was working, I was unofficially the assistant pastor of our church. People saw the trait in me that I love God and love the work of God. Whenever any of our pastors was engaged elsewhere, they put me in charge of the church. So it was my hobby.

Do you have any regret?

I am enjoying it, so there is absolutely no regret at all. If I were to be materialistic, perhaps I would have regretted it. But I am not.

What is your best food?

My best food is pasta. After that is our traditional iyan, which is pounded yam.