Recently when Lekki-based yuppie Pastor Ituah Ighodalo buried his father, six governors and other high profile guests filed behind him to pay a last respect to Pa Jeremiah Ighodalo, his late father. Even after the exotic burial ceremony and reception, the amiable yuppie head pastor of Trinity House Church in Lekki, Lagos, rolled out more basket of food, medication and other necessities to the needy who came in droves to the outreach he organised the following Saturday.
Pastor Ituah Ighodalo has come a long way from Christ Chapel, one of the parishes of The Redeemed Christian Church of God where his popularity was steadily on the rise. Few years ago, he left unceremoniously, but his fame went ahead of him and today, the successful chartered accountant, who is also popular in social circles, is said to be leading one of the fastest growing churches in Africa. Ituah Ighodalo spoke to PAUL UKPABIO at his luxury home in Ikoyi, Lagos.
From the high profile guests that turned up to honour your late father, did you imagine as a boy that you would one day attract such quality of people at your event?
The honest truth is that all my life I have always wanted to contribute my own quota to society. That could in a way have contributed to the calibre of people that turned out for my father’s burial. But then, a lot of those important dignitaries, the governors and other high profile guests that came, did not start out their lives being VIPs. They are not people that are recently known to me. Most of them, I have known from the time that I was a little boy. So whether they are VIPs today or not, we have known one another from childhood. It’s just that God has helped us overtime to grow and develop in a certain way that has made most of us to achieve and get to certain levels in life. Most of them were my school mates, party mates and so on.
What kind of relationship did you have with your father while he was alive?
My father and I were close. At the funeral, I said he was a righteous man. He thought no evil of anybody; he worked very hard, most times being vilified for his honesty because he worked in the midst of dishonest people. He was very straightforward, very truthful and lived within his means. Both of my parents I can say without any iota of doubt were very corruption-free, well educated and very civilised. My father could have base, he could have bound. He could dine with the queen today and be in the midst of the poor the next day and eat with them. He was comfortable with both sides. He had no airs about him and was a confident person. I miss him very much. I am grateful that towards his later years, he got the recognition he deserved in this nation, as a very forthright citizen. I am happy that the end of his life was very pleasant. He had everything he needed or that money could buy. I’m also glad that he got a glorious exit. It was very glorious indeed. I am happy that I was able to do the appropriate thing to my father. And I thank my brothers and my sisters for being able to come together to do so.
Tell us a little about your growing up years?
We lived a very simple family: both of my parents were civil servants, but we didn’t lack anything. We had the best of education, the best of exposure. We wined and dined with the highest in the society, and we were very comfortable with the poor. My parents never allowed us to forget where we came from, that both of them were children of farmers. Therefore, we had to treat everybody the same. We usually went to the village to hang out with our people over there and also we were going to the state house, to hang out with governors and presidents. That is the kind of life that we grew up in. My parents were disciplinarians but they also allowed us to develop ourselves and be self confident to decide who you wanted to be in life. They allowed us to drive cars from the age of 14 and 15.
How did you get born again?
In 1993, I decided to give my life to Jesus. My mom kept praying for me without being too overbearing. And also introduced me more into the scriptures: eventually she was able to show me through prayers that this was the way to go. A certain gentleman, Reverend Popoola, was able to speak to me about God and I received Jesus in to my life.
In your earlier years, were there any indications that you’ll one day be a top pastor in Africa’s populous nation?
There was no indication whatsoever. In my younger days, I was a boy about town. I studied hard and I did very well in school, Kings College. I was playing the guitar, dating the girls and taking a car out. I enjoyed myself; I didn’t drink at that time but later on in life, I drank a little bit. I didn’t smoke because of the influence at home; however, in terms of hanging out with boys and girls, we did a lot of that. And we were really boys about town both in Lagos and in Ibadan. I lived the social life until I was 30. I was really out there. I started slowing down from 30 when I also gave my life to Jesus shortly after my 31st birthday. I really thank God in a way that He allowed me to experience the different parts of life. Again, I started business early at 24, so I was a bit of an early riser and early starter in life.
How do you combine being a top flying accountant with a robust clientele and ministry work?
You’re right, I’m a chartered accountant and I’ve been running my business for a very long time. When I became born again, I did not have any inclination to give up my work or profession. Again, I didn’t want to depend on the ministry for my remuneration, I wanted to give back to society. So I held unto my profession and I must tell you that I enjoy both. Now, there is a bit of pressure on time because both are very demanding. Gradually, it’s like I’m doing less of my professional work. But I will never stop working, I could just reduce the quantum of transactions I do so that I can find more time for ministry work because ministry is a calling. But God has helped me as I take each item as it comes and I do one thing at a time. I have been able to successfully manage both. I delegate and I have enjoyed the support of my partners. While in the ministry, I have very supportive associates too. It’s been a team work. I grew up in a church environment where I also saw people who combined circular work with ministry work. So I thank God that the ministry has done well and no one can really accuse me of not doing enough. So I thank God.
What’s your assessment of the church in Nigeria?
The church has tried its best within the limits of its operations. You know church and society move in stages. At a time, the church made calls for holiness and righteousness and after a while, there was a call for prosperity which created a lot of changes and now there ‘s a call for the church to be more involve in national awareness. The church, especially the older cadre, is changing in that direction. We’ve got to a point in the nation when the church needs to be more involved. But the other main challenge that I have with the church is the lack of unity. The church is not united enough; and because of that, it is not as strong as it ought to be. But again also, these issues are being attended to. The problem, however, is that some churches have delved too deeply into deliverance and some others, too extreme with the message of prosperity. The balanced message is not there. So the church has to be careful about that. Added to that is that some of our colleagues have become superstars as it were, with convoys and all the trappings of power. At times, it is not so good for the church to have that kind of brand or image. Not that a minister of God shouldn’t have assistants or protection but do it in a more cautious way. All in all, the church has done its best, and I think that is one of the reasons that have kept Nigeria together. But the church needs to do a lot more.
What would you say is the excuse for the high fees charged by schools owned by churches in present day Nigeria, especially against the criticism that these schools were built from poor people’s money?
It is outrageous. In the first place, good quality education is expensive and the only way education can be a little cheaper is if it is subsidised. So even if the schools were built by parishioners, it still costs the church to maintain the school, have high calibre teachers, and have the kind of technology to keep people motivated. So the only thing is to appeal to mission schools to continue to subsidise to some extend or have different level of schools. That is, one highly subsidised so that everybody can attend, and another very expensive for the rich. So from what the rich pay, the other school is subsidised, which is what we are trying to do. Education is important and critical. I already have a foundation that gives scholarship to students. So we attack it from that entire angle to ensure that more and more people get quality education. It is the key to growth and transformation of Nigeria.
Leaving the Redeemed Christian Church of God Church must have been a hard decision for you and of course, a trying time. Tell us about that period of your life
True, it was a trying time leaving the Redeemed Christian Church of God and then Christ Church where I spent about 15 years. Ten years of pasturing that church, a place that I had given everything to. So it was heart-rending. But God made everything to work together. I spent a year just resting, praying to God, and asking for a direction. I had to ask God whether to go back into the ministry or go fully into my profession. Or should I relocate or what should I do next? Eventually, I heard very clearly that I should go back into that which I had been called to do. That is how Trinity House started and God has been faithful in that He has helped and supported us and given us favour and speed. We’ve been doing what we were doing at Christ Church, but doing it from a different perspective. We are people-oriented and social inclined; we deliver the transformation of people to affect the nation. We’ve created different kinds of NGOs to reach to all categories of people, NGOs for blind, for the deaf, the area boys, another for drug addicts, another to empower people and another to help street girls and prostitutes. We have NGOs to answer almost every social problem. We are heavy on personal development, holiness, living life according to God’s word and deliverance because of ancestral curses.
What’s your church plan for growth?
Any church that does not grow dies. God has been helping us with branches. As we speak, we have a centre at University of Lagos. We have eight other branches around Lagos. We have spread outside Lagos to other states. We are trying to really evangelise; we are doing a lot of missions in and outside the country.
Your style
My father was a power-dresser; my mother too, though she was not into much make-up. She was usually very simple and stylish. I guess we just adopted the simple style. My sisters the same and we married wives that are just like that. I grew up with excellence and style. Not loud, but simple, stylish and well put together attitude. Confident but humble: Achievable and approachable. I am a stickler for cleanliness, well arranged house, just the way my parents were. They went to England, studied the way people did things, came back, took another dimension with it and passed on the tradition. The most important thing to me is to be confident in whatever I wear. I try to wear the appropriate thing to each occasion without attracting too much attention to myself. Then I also put a little bit of colour and excitement into my dressing. I go for honesty, simplicity and uprightness and then hard work, the willingness to transform, not for your sake, but for the sake of the generality of all. The most important thing is to be able to change somebody else’s life.
Even after you became born again, you have remained a pastor who is also known as a socialite. Are you called to minister especially to the fun-loving ones in the society?
Of course, preaching generally starts off by you ministering to the people you know. That does not mean that I minister only to the rich, I have a call to minister to the down trodden in the society too. For instance, after we buried our father, the next Saturday, the church moved into areas where the less-privileged are, and I led an outreach to over 3,000 people in my village. There was free food, medication and other such things that could be beneficial to them. While I am accessible to my class of people in the society, I am also accessible to the down trodden. I keep that balance. Being sociable when I was not born again is true but even as a Christian, a pastor needs to be sociable to bring people to Christ. I have to attend their celebrations, and cry when they cry too. I must also be there to support them and I notice that they appreciate the support. I want to live the way Jesus Christ lived life. He was at the marriage of his own and again associated with Zachaeus, associated with Peter and he was there for everybody. A lot of his friends were rich. The man that came to see him in John Chapter 3 was a rich man. He came at night because he didn’t want people to know. And Jesus was also there for blind Bartimeus.
Your wife, Ibidun, is equally a successful person. How do you manage with a wife that is successful?
Thank God I do not have to manage my wife. She is a nice girl, very simple straight forward girl, we are very good friends, and we do business together. I appreciate her success and I allow her to be herself. One of my promises to God and to her is to allow her to be herself within the context of our spiritual environment. She works hard, she pursues her dream and I’ll like to see her happy and have my full support to be who she wants to be, and making sure that she is the best in what she has chosen to be. I am very happy that she is enjoying what she is doing.
What would you say about top pastors that are having problems with their wives? Those going through separation, and those going through divorce?
Some pastors were first of all people before becoming pastors. Even as pastors, they still make mistakes. Only God is without mistakes. What we need to do is to encourage one another and not to over-criticise one another because you may not know where the shoe is pinching. We are from different backgrounds, so wherever we see that one is not doing well, we need to reach out and encourage. So if a pastor that has been married for many years suddenly has problem with his wife, let’s move close and counsel.
Sometimes, one of the parties has to give up something for something to happen. So, who is the one that is ready to make that sacrifice for the benefit of both? If really it is not going to work, then we allow God to take control. And if there must be a separation, that is done in a simple and an amicable fashion because of tomorrow. We may disagree today only to find that we need each other tomorrow. So, we must manage every situation with maturity and understanding.
If a pastor fails in marriage, does it mean he has failed in his capacity as a pastor?
You are only a failure if you accept that you are a failure and you refuse to rise out of it. Moses failed, David failed, Elijah failed and Elisha failed in certain areas. The key is to learn from that failure so that you do not fail again in that area. Or do something better next time. Life is a constant change, because you have failed today doesn’t mean that you cannot succeed tomorrow.
Flamboyance is now a nature with Nigerian pastors and ownership of private jets is the vogue. What is your take?
I spoke earlier about too much of flamboyance in the church but then if a pastor needs a private jet as a means of transportation to reach souls, why not? But it must be used as a tool to advancing the gospel and not as a show of wealth.
What is the fastest means for a church to grow and the role of financiers?
I don’t know of a financier, but I know that for you to make an impact in ministry, you must have a calling from God. Secondly, you must have a passion for it. Thirdly, you must study the word and arm yourself with the right spiritual tools. Fourthly, you must know about administration. Fifthly, you must do the right thing at the right time. For that, Jesus is an example. And lastly, you must be sincere. If you are insecure, one day it will show. Size doesn’t mean success; the important thing is to make progress in your area of call. So you must have a way of measuring and identifying your progress.
