By Sam Eyoboka

GENERAL Overseer of El-Shaddai Bible Church and the Apostolic Prelate of International Communion of Charismatic and Apostolic Ministries, (ICCAM), Archbishop Joseph Olanrewaju Obembe who completed his earthly mission on Wednesday, May 1, 2019 will be interred on Friday after a week long ceremony which begins tomorrow.

Releasing the special burial arrangement on behalf of the family and the ICCAM membership, the Apostolic Presbyter of the elite group, Bishop Taiwo Akinola who described the late Obembe as a notable charismatic archbishop, and perhaps the first cardinal of Pentecostal movement in Nigeria, said the events will kick off with a night of worship tomorrow.

“The first night of tributes by Body of Christ and anchored by El-Shaddai Bible Church comes on Tuesday to be followed by another one to be anchored by ICCAM on Wednesday. A service of songs is scheduled for Thursday,” Bishop Akinola said, adding that all the events will take place at the church in Dolphin Estate in Ikoyi, Lagos except the interment which is billed for Ogudu in Kosofe local government area of Lagos.

“The late archbishop was a man of lofty spiritualities, and he carried great and distinctive grace for kingdom innovativeness. Before his demise  the ground  breaking event for a proposed Charis University, which was being planned to be mainly a university of technology was conducted. The proposed university, for which large expanses of land had been acquired at the Lekki zone of Lagos, aims at promoting  Christian values while focusing on science, business and technology.

“He laboured tirelessly to attract investors to Nigeria because of his desire to alleviate the suffering g of many Nigeria a by granting tertiary education action at affordable cost to the people. He also expected that the investors would fund various projects based on property development t, agriculture and transportation,” Akinola who flanked Bishop Anietie Etukudo, Bishop Chioma Dauji and several others stated.

According to the Apostolic Presbyter who is also the General Overseer of Rhema Christian Centre with headquarters at Sango Otta, the death of Obembe may be gain to the heavenly host, but it is a loss to many “of us who saw him as a leading light and a pathfinder for many Christiand who have the apostolic vision to serve the Lord in their generation. He was a thoughtful leader in his time who spoke boldly the mind of Christ to both the lowly and the highly placed.

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“He was heard, seen and acknowledged by men in power and authority as one promoting the cause of Christ and Christians. He was an eloquent speaker. An erudite scholar, an accomplished author and undoubtedly, a great motivator,” he maintained, stressing that the fallen cleric had an unusually large heart that encompassed all, and he never withheld anything that could be beneficial to anyone, even at his detriment.

Continuing with the encomiums, Akinola said Obembe loved simply, he loved wholly and forgave easily. “To many of us. He was not only a leader but also a father. We proudly call him father because no other appellation suits a man who led others by. Carrying them on his shoulders to achieve or attain greater heights of success at no gain to himself.”

Also speaking at the occasion, Obembe’s only son-in-law, Mr. Temitayo Gaji, a legal practitioner explained to our reporter how he heard the news of the death, saying they were by his dying bed and “he was very courageous as someone who has dedicated his life to the work of God and died peacefully in our presence.”

Asked what’s expected of him as the only in-law, Mr. Gaji said his family and the Obembe family are expected to meet and fine tune arrangement ahead of the interment, saying that he was man enough to play his role as an in-law despite his youthful looks.

Still dazed by the death, the second daughter of the deceased, Mrs. Opeyemi Eniola Gaji (nee Obembe) said it still appears like a dream everybody calls him archbishop, he’s actually my boy friend. I am still hoping that someone will tell me at some point that it was all a dream. I don’t have the right words to describe what has happened. Its enormous loss to the family.

“I don’t know how to describe how I feel. In fact coming to Dolphin Estate, I have the feeling that he would just emerge from one of many offices and we will renew our father daughter relationship while making jest of those behind the huge joke. On the whole we are five biological children—four girls and one boy, but Daddy had hundreds of other children he was caring for,” Mrs. Gaji said, maintaining that at some point the family will have to take a decision on how to handle the issue of adopted children.

The only son of the biological family, 28-year old Senior Obembe who described himself as a communication specialist, also managed to speak on the father, saying that the late father was a father to several children and people across so many race and gender.

Asked how he had accepted the reality of the moment and he said: “there is nothing we can do about it except to pray for grace to keep up with the legacy he has left behind. Some student fellowship belonging to NIFEST used to do some documentaries and then Daddy would show up, pray with them and give them tea and sandwiches.

“One member of that group called yesterday from Canada to tell us. Some people would not reckon with such but this fellow called and recounted the experience which is what he remembered him by, that this man would pray with them and give them food and only God the purpose for that gesture. No matter how little we might seem it but it was something tangible for them to remember up till now,” he said.

He pledged that the dreams the father had will not die with him because they are divine and God who gave the vision will not allow such dreams to die. “We as a father have started taking steps to identify most of the people he was sponsoring to see how best we can continue with the vision. Because of the kind of person he was, very many of the things he did were not documented. But we all know that my father was very high on education.

“So the first thing we are thinking of is to establish a foundation that can take of the numerous people on his scholarship. It might take a while to establish the number of people he was taking care of. He was a father for everybody,” he maintained.