By Bilesanmi Olalekan
Behind the boisterous exterior is a man deprived of all essentials of life while growing up-food, shelter, clothings, education-except life which  is the prerogative of nature. Life for Bishop John Adebayo Alagbala Osa-Oni,presiding head of Vineyard Church International Incorporated, Lagos, was such a burden that he thought of committing suicide.

It was that bad. Any average person would have given up given the catalogue of man- made problems that besetted  him.”I was taken out of my town,Usen in Edo State, to the urban area with a promise by my guardian  to my parents that I was going to be given education but I ended up being a house boy  and hawker.

In those days, anytime rice  was cooked,the neighbourhood would know because the aroma was different. I would grind the pepper, make the stew but would not partake in the feast. Instead, it was two days left over eba by the children that  I would eat; the soup of course would be  sour”,he recalled. As he could not bear the problems no more, he ran away from the
house but the act only compounded his woes as he ended up in the market.”I would sleep in any of the stalls in the market and my usual meal would be  decayed  bread brought out to burn.”

Osa-Oni now presides over several branches of the church with headquarters in Osolo Way,Lagos where he recently celebrated his 55th birthday and silver jubilee of his marriage to Enitan,his wife. Talking about the opposite sex,Osa Oni was initially turned down by the woman he professed love to.

The lady didn’t just rejected him; she also documented the rejection in 34 full scap sheets of paper.”She said in the letter that I didn’t have future and, as such,there was no way she could be in any relationship with me. I used to keep the letters then. I didn’t blame her for her  action. I remember that whenever other students were returning home after holiday, I would stay back because I had no home. I was on self-sponsorship but thank God I met another lady who saw the future and since that time in 1986 when we got married, we are still together”, the  cleric said.

He may now be a soul  winning pastor  with signs and wonders following him but he would tell  you  the beginning  of his missionary work was as rough as his early childhood. When he found  Christ and his late father heard about  it, he  (father)  called him for two reasons- to confirm  and then  ask him (son) choose between him (father) and his God of Idahosa.

His no-nonsense father threw him out after he chose the latter. The late  Archbishop Benson  Idahosa, the founder of Church of God Mission,  for Osa Oni brought out the beauty of his missionary work  Christainity.”He started tele-envagelism. He made Christainity not only to be loved but appreciated.

He was always pushing me up, counselling me that I would make it even when I didn’t believe in myself then. So it was only natural to choose him when I was asked to choose between the late archbishop  and my father  and I never regretted that choice till this moment”,he stated. One of the highpoints of this man of God was the day he was concecrated as bishop
.”The crowd that witnessed the event was frightening but more than that I could see the hand of God literarily lifting me up because this was somebody nobody thought or believed  could ever get anywhere in life and here he was being concentrated as a bishop.

It was marvellous and this  is why I can never forget the late  Arch Bishop Idahosa. As a matter of fact, meeting him as well was one of my highpoints spiritually”. For those who, for hardship of the economy, indulge in  vice to make ends meet, Osa Oni has an advice:”

There is really no reason  one should be involved in any form of vice, there is no reason  one should not be focused because there is nothing legitimate that I have not done before I became who I am today. There is probably no type of menial  job that I have never done. I have taught, I have hawked all sorts of items.

I never knew I could  go this far too but, all along, while still in the valley, my anchor had always been the word of God, that used to be my consolation and that was and still helping me. So there is no reason  because of the difficult period of now, one should now commit himself to the devil all in the name of surviving”.

Islamic banking being championed  by the Lamido Sanusi led Central Bank has continued to generate controversy. Osa Oni says he stands by whatever  position the Christian Association of Nigeria,CAN, led by Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, has taken. The CAN had said it was opposing the introduction of Islamic banking because it was another form of  Islamising Nigeria.”

There is no free lunch anywhere. The money they are bringing into the Islamic banking is the money of some people else where. Such idea must be killed before it  gets  out of control. Whatever the position of CAN is my position, nothing more nothing less”.