•Pastors Adeboyes and Pastors Iluyomades
You may call my statement a prophecy but I am not a prophet. I live here in Canada.
But I was there when the Apapa Family led by Pastor Tony Rapu started at the Roxy Cinema.
I remember, sometimes, we’d come to service on Sunday and the cinema hall would be reeking of alcohol and substances used by Area Boys of those days that attended the cinema. We’d spend hours cleaning the place before service.
I was very present when Pastor Idowu Iluyomade and his wife Pastor Siju joined us.
As an Usher, I personally noticed them because Pastor Siju was very pretty and on the quiet side but I couldn’t miss her poise. She was very quiet. But I could see that the young couple were very enthusiastic to serve and I admired them because they were Lawyers that seemed to have a lot of potentials for success in their career.
Someone later told me that Pastor Siju was already quite successful focusing her practice on oil and gas and property law.
So, I wasn’t surprised when they joined the ushers department, because they were passionate about God and it was quite easy to see.
They grew fast in the church and one day we just heard they had been posted to Victoria Island to start what is known today as King’s Court Parish.
I am not even sure they were ready for such a huge task from their expressions when it was announced. But they took the assignment and worked hard, truly hard to grow the parish.
And this was how the General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, noticed and came to love the young couple. He personally paid them a visit in their home, then in Gbagada.
The Iluyomades surprised the entire RCCG when they led the King’s Court to start an eight storey building for their parish. Virtually everyone in RCCG got to hear about them and their ambitious Parish, the tallest building in that part of VI then.
Daddy G.O, in fact, invited them to his house, we heard later, and let them into his vision for the church and how the church would spread worldwide.
The Iluyomades completed the King’s Court structure but just before they could do the furnishing and finishing, they were posted out to lead the City of David Parish after the death of Pastor Eskor Mfon, the head of Apapa Family that Pastor ID had assisted. At this time the Iluyomades were like Daddy G.O’s adopted children. He gave Pastor ID the most important assignments and sent him on the critical errands. His wife practically designed, furnished and equipped the International Centre at the Camp where Daddy GO received his most important guests.
While in City of David the GO made Pastor ID head of the entire RCCG CSR department. Pastor ID took it from the scratch and raised over N100 billion. Daddy G.O felt truly proud of him and openly praised him on many occasions. The RCCG built dialysis centres, and Intensive Care Units in almost of all the states in Nigeria and the FCT in the name of the Daddy and Mummy GO. They set up RCCG free feeding centres in Lagos and many states and in many foreign countries, feeding over 350million people.
This CSR was what RCCG used to counter those that were fiercely attacking Daddy GO and churches claiming that the churches were just collecting money from people without contributing or doing anything.
Pastor ID and his wife, Pastor Siju, became so popular and so loved by Daddy GO that rumours started flying around that he had been anointed as Daddy GO’s successor. But this was a lie. Yet it had triggered envy everywhere. A lot of people began to complain of one thing or the other about them. But if you are truly a Christian you would see they were all jealous people.
The building and formal opening of Trinity Towers only increased the envy of some people. But Daddy GO loved them and so he didn’t react to all the petitions flying about because he genuinely loved and appreciated the Iluyomades.
One could even swear that Pastor ID was ready to lay down his life for Daddy GO.
So, the death of Herbert Wigwe and the 60th birthday party of his wife only gave the awaited opportunity to the petition specialists.
I gathered that Daddy GO even resisted the pressure to sanction them for a long time and that was why it took a while.
This should be made clear: They may have had some misgivings, yes and that is normal. Mummy GO loves them and in particular Pastor ID. So, after darkness, there will be light to the glory of all forgiving. Let no one rejoice over the present chaos. It will settle. Daddy and Mummy GO will still forgive the Iluyomades if they felt truly offended because they are deep and true Christians and they preach unconditional forgiveness at every given opportunity.
They cannot discard their own adopted children. Time will heal every wound and I believe it’s already healing. Daddy and Mummy will bring back their children to the family. And together they shall sing and praise God. Amen.
*Funmi Adenuga, a devoted member of RCCG, writes in from Canada
