Calling the General Overseer of Divine Appointment Ministry in Lagos, Reverend Ben Eragbai, an unusual man of God captures his unique mission. Known for removing touts from the streets of Lagos, the ‘Jesus Soldier,’ as he is fondly called, celebrated his 60th birthday recently with an act of compassion. Amidst Nigeria’s challenging economic times, he distributed essential foodstuff to his congregation. In this interview with CHINYERE OKOROAFOR, Rev Eragbai reflects on his journey of faith, recounting his disillusionment with religious hypocrisy, his rebellion against Christianity, and the grace that ultimately transformed his life. Excerpts:
Founded by grace
The truth is my story began at the Fela Shrine back in the eighties. In 1985, while I was still at the University of Benin, I frequently visited Pepple Street, Ikeja, Lagos to smoke marijuana and attend Fela’s Yabis Nights. We would go for Yabis Nights on Fridays and return by Sunday. That street was the only ‘church’ I knew. That’s where I would go. After smoking on Saturdays, I and others would sleep on car bonnets. I was that bad, and my parents, who were in the village while I was at school, never thought I would amount to anything. Why am I saying this? I’m highlighting how grace can transform lives. Grace found me. If anyone has truly experienced grace, it is me. Despite being the least deserving, I was called. Back at the University of Benin, I was a rebel against Christianity, believing everything about it was fake.
“The reason is that I grew up in the Army Barracks with my elder sister and her husband here in Lagos, from my primary school days onward.
We attended church services in the morning, but in the evening, a native doctor would be invited to perform rituals and make incisions on our heads. As a young child in primary school, I had many questions. If the church we attended in the morning was truly powerful, why did my guardian resort to these practices in the evening? Because of that, I became very rebellious against anything related to Christianity as I grew up. When I finally went to the university, I decided to break free: no more church. Churches would often come to evangelize to me, but I thought they were all fakes. One day, however, I was invited to a fellowship. It was with Archbishop Idahosa’s church of blessed memory.
“I attended his crusade and witnessed genuine power and sincerity; unlike anything I had experienced before. Previously, the church felt insincere; we would attend services, but I would sometimes sleep through them because it was early morning mass. But Idahosa’s church was quite different. But it didn’t end there. I would jump in and out of church sporadically.
“However, over time, things changed. When I was invited to a fellowship, I started to realize that this way of worship was meaningful and genuine. Finally, I was invited to the New Covenant Gospel Church in Benin. There, I witnessed genuine sincerity in Christianity and realized that it didn’t need to be mixed with anything else, unlike what I was used to. Eventually, I accepted the Holy Spirit. When I received the fire of the Holy Spirit, it was a turning point in my life.
The experience was so profound that I didn’t even feel like eating; fearing that doing so might cause the experience to fade. After that experience, I traveled to Holland.
“As I mentioned before, I backslided in Europe. But when God was done dealing with me, He told me to return to Nigeria and attend Bible school. That night, I cried and asked for forgiveness. God insisted I go back to Bible school. After I completed Bible school in Benin at New Covenant, I told God, “I’ve done what you asked of me.”
“That’s all.” I relocated back to Lagos and would sit quietly after church services. I never told the pastor that I had completed Bible school because I didn’t want to be asked to become a pastor. I simply wanted to deepen my knowledge of Christianity, and I had achieved that.
“One day, while I was sitting in the congregation, Mama Abiola Omobude, the wife of Rev. Dr. Felix Omobude, spotted me. She said, “Isn’t that Brother Ben? What are you doing there? Don’t you know you’ve been running from God? You can’t run anymore. My friend, come here and sit behind the pastor. Pastor, this man is an asset. Don’t let him go.” I went home and cried, “God, I just wanted to stay in the background.” But from then on, one thing led to another. Whenever they asked me to do something, I did it, following Dr. Omobude’s advice.”
Taking drug users off the streets
“The current Lagos State Commissioner of Police is a very good gentleman who is known for his strong faith. I know him well because he served in my district here in Ilupeju. He can confirm this. He mentioned something significant from the early days. When we were preparing to build our first church at Fadeyi, he recalled saying, “I put my men on red alert because that land where you are building the church is notorious for housing troublesome youths.
“It used to be the area’s first motor park, and these boys were involved in various illegal activities and drugs. They even had clashes with the police.
Upon hearing that a church had purchased the land, the commissioner anticipated problems and thus had his men on high alert. However, he was amazed when, after we completed the church construction, there were no issues whatsoever with the church and the local youths. In fact, he sent his men to the area and discovered that two of the boys who had been frequent troublemakers were now serving as ushers in our church.
“I live among my boys. When we preach, we don’t just preach based on what we’ve read or heard, but on what we’ve experienced and lived through. That’s the truth. I was on the streets; I sold goods in the streets of Lagos and hawked items. You can’t just tell stories as an army man without facing consequences; they’d use a whip on you. So, I went to school and also worked to support myself.
How to deal with drug users
“The drug problem is going to worsen. It’s going to get worse because of the unprecedented hardship. Are you following me? Hardship has never been this severe before.
“Secondly, the Chinese have flooded the market with all kinds of drugs that we never had in our time. I used to hear names like Shashi or Shisha. Back in our day, it was different. You either had igbo (Indian hemp), heroin, or cocaine. But now, there are thousands of options out there. There are countless substances you can buy from pharmacies that can get you high, even higher than igbo and others. What’s the solution? The solution starts with accepting Christ.
“Secondly, counseling is crucial. They need proper counseling. Thirdly, you must give them hope. There has to be hope. You can’t expect someone to leave what they’re doing if you don’t offer a better alternative.
‘You can’t tell someone to leave their drugs or the places they go if you haven’t given them a better hope. Firstly, hope is crucial. So, the first step is to give them hope.
‘I let them know, ‘Look, I’ve been where you are. I’ve walked in your shoes. What are you smoking?’
‘After you finish smoking, this is how you feel. I make them aware of how they feel. I say, “But later, you’ll return to normal.” Like that, step by step.
After doing that, I start to tell them, “Okay, look at me. I travel around the world. In the past, who would have trusted me with a visa?”
Who would have trusted me? Embassies used to treat me like a fly, but today, I enter nations.
They might think, “Okay, this guy is with us. God has lifted him; maybe I should believe him.” They prefer to believe me over other men of God. In fact, they often dislike hearing from men of God. Do you understand what I’m saying here? They dislike hearing from men of God.
Sometimes, you can’t just tell someone to stop doing something; you have to provide a solution.”
My only regret in life
“My major regret is not accepting Christ earlier. I often imagine what would have happened if I had accepted Christ back when Pastor Chris was at Ekpoma and we were all in school. Pastor Chris would come to Uniben for programs, sometimes conflicting with our events in the hall. If given the chance, I would have preferred to start earlier than we did. However, I don’t regret our journey because, as I mentioned before, our mess became our message. Everyone has their calling, and they should all support each other in fulfilling it, just like Peter did.”
