Apostle T O Obadare Often made allusions of Miracle Acts

Apostle T O Obadare Often made allusions of Miracle Acts

Obadare often made allusions to miraculous acts which attended his ministrations. According to him, in 1998, there was a woman in Chicago, in the USA, who had lost all of her children. The next time she conceived she had difficulties with the pregnancy, which resulted in the removal of her fallopian tube. She was later invited to attend one of Obadare’s crusades – open air evangelistic meetings – which she did. During his sermon Obadare made it clear to his audience that God as the creator has the power to create or re-create any part of the human body that may be damaged. The woman developed a strong faith in this declaration and miraculously conceived and gave birth to a baby boy. This miracle was astonishing to the rational mind because it defied scientific or biological explanation. As a result of this miracle a television program of the ministry was broadcast in Chicago. In the same vein, Obadare related the case of another woman who died during a surgical operation in the hospital but was brought back to life when he prayed for her.

Such acts were characteristic of indigenous prophets who emerged within southwest Nigeria in the early part of the 20th century. Prophets like Joseph Ayodele Babalola of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC); Moses Orimolade Tunolase of the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement (C&S); Josiah Olunlowo Ositelu of the Church of the Lord (Aladura) Worldwide (CLAW) and Samuel Bilewu Joseph Oschoffa of the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) manifested this ability to perform miraculous acts. They delivered people from the clutches of witchcraft and the malevolent forces which elders claimed dominated the Yoruba environment of the time. Hence the indigenous prophets were viewed among the people as kinds of “Messiahs” sent by God to deliver them from evil. In fact, the revival ignited through the ministry of Joseph Ayodele Babalola in 1930 was so marked with signs and wonders that 1930 and the preceding years were later designated as the “Odun Aladura”, meaning “the years of the Praying Churches.”

Another factor which endeared the indigenous movements to their people and which also led to their phenomenonal expansion is the demonstration of spiritual (charismatic) gifts – charismata. The issue of the gifts of the Spirit, or charismata, is one which attracts the attention of scholars the world over. Pearlman defines it as “the spiritual enablement for the purpose of building up the church of God through the instruction of believers and the training of converts.” Barrackman says “they are measures of divine grace, by which the Holy Spirit enables believers to do special ministries, which today are involved in the building of the church.” Gafin stressed that these consist of particular operations pertaining to various ministries within the church.

Because of this, the indigenous churches and their counterparts in the Pentecostal denominations emphasize that the subject is of paramount importance to all Bible-believing Christians. The reason is that the believer needs to be thoroughly knowledgeable about these gifts so that he will be able to discover and stir up any of them that God might have given him or her. Scriptural teaching on the subject will encourage the believer to plunge into the gifts of the Spirit and receive them, while the right knowledge of the spiritual gifts will guard him against the danger of erroneous teaching and unscriptural experiences.

Referring to the teachings of the Apostle Paul in 1Corinthians 12:4-11, they identified nine gifts of the Spirit, which are further classified into three categories of three gifts each. The first category comprises the Gifts of Revelation, which are: words of wisdom, words of knowledge, and discernment of Spirits. These are said to be useful in the administration of the church as demonstrated in the appointment of Stephen and the other deacons. The next category is the Gifts of Power, which are the gifts of faith, healing and working of miracles. These are associated with dynamism. In the last group are Gifts of Inspiration. These are prophecy, diverse kinds of tongues, and interpretation of tongues, all of which have to do with inspired utterances. The indigenous churches emphasize that these gifts are needed to launch the believer into the realm of the supernatural. Proper use of them demonstrates the power of God among men and confirms the preaching of the gospel. Therefore, these gifts are to be desired by all believers.[27]

Working with these gifts, especially those concerning prophetic utterances, links people with some of the practices in their traditional religion. One of the practices in the Yoruba traditional religion is divination. In this practice, people consult a diviner who, by the power of the oracular divinity, assists them in investigating problems. On consulting with the oracle, the diviner often diagnoses the cause of a problem and also discerns its solution. For an average Yoruba person, this is a customary way to go about resolving a difficult situation. Therefore, it is not surprising that the churches found ready acceptance in this area, since they also met people’s needs with prophetic declarations. Obadare, as an indigenous prophet, dramatically displayed and utilized some of the spiritual gifts, particularly those of prophesy, healing and miracle-working.

Evangelism is yet another key factor in the growth of the African Indigenous Churches. It is a central tenet of Christianity and is acknowledged as the major reproductive mechanism for the church. The assertion is that just as procreation adds new members to the human race, evangelism properly practiced, enhances the overall growth of the church.[28] Scholars have identified two forms of evangelism, the first being apostolic or outreach evangelism while the other is pastoral evangelism. Apostolic evangelism is aimed at bringing numbers into the church, while pastoral evangelism is targeted at discipling people so as to make them functional members of the church. It is observed that the CAC is to be highly commended in these two areas of evangelism, because of the activities of its many evangelists and pastoral teams.

Obadare was revered for his exploits in outreach evangelism which played a big role in his huge successes in soul-winning. Much of his success was attributed to his wise deployment of the mass media, especially the radio and television, to get his message across. For a long time before radio and TV evangelism became the fad in Nigeria, Obadare’s voice had reigned on air, and it will continue to ring in the minds of many people in years to come. His early morning sermons and inspirational messages on the airwaves were irresistible to his audience. He also complemented his media activities with explosive open-air crusades to which the afflicted, tormented, demon-possessed and the deprived flooded for salvation, healing and deliverance. Eyewitnesses’ accounts have it that his crusades were characterized by conversion, healing and deliverance on a remarkable scale.

Ojo Olusegun describes the magnitude of these revivals:

In the 80s and 90s, the whole country reeled under the refreshingly sweeping wind of revivals anchored by this inimitable man of God. At the echoing of “Ogo ni fun Olorun loke orun,” (his popular slogan), witches, wizards, principalities, and African fetish priests cum gods quaked and blanched terribly. With volcanic moves of divine powers, many spiritually afflicted, physically oppressed and mentally tormented people were rescued from the jaws of fiendish forces. Through his abundantly flowing anointing, Obadare turned the world of the pernicious forces in Nigeria upside down while releasing thousands, if not millions, from their fetters.[29]

He observed further that Obadare ranked favourably among the world’s acclaimed evangelists like T. L. Osborn, Reinhard Bonnke, Billy Graham, and Dag Heward Mills, among others. In the annals of evangelism in Nigeria, Obadare and Bonnke competed indomitably. However, it could be said that after Apostle Joseph Ayodele Babalola, Obadare seemed to be the only CAC prophet to be as much anointed and spiritually gifted as Babalola, whose ministry led to the resuscitation of the dead and the healing of many physically wounded Nigerians.[30]

It is the assertion in certain quarters that “the golden era of the CAC ended in 1959 when Pastor D. O. Odubanjo and Apostle Joseph Ayodele Babalola died.” However, after the death of these two great apostles, the ministry of the church revived under the many evangelists to come out of the church over the course of time. Principal among these was T. O. Obadare. According to Olusegun, Apostle Babalola was unarguably the man who discipled Obadare but the uniqueness of Obadare’s evangelism, coupled with his incredible healing prowess, made him the new face of the CAC in Nigeria after Babalola’s death in 1959, particularly from the 1970s onward.[31] Alokan reiterates that this was consonant with the will of Babalola, as he had earlier prayed for God to raise other evangelists, prophets and prophetesses for the ministry.[32] The emergence of such a personality as Obadare was therefore viewed as an answer to prayer.

In spite of his blindness and limited education, Obadare’s mastery of the Bible was outstanding and challenging even to the sighted. God seemed to give him spiritual eyes and grace with which to read the Bible, and his claim that God had opened a part of his head and deposited the whole Bible there cannot easily be faulted. According to Oladoyinbo and Adebayo “though Obadare was blind, his followers recall that he mastered the Bible chapters and verses so well that if a chapter or verse was read wrongly, the late cleric would instantly correct the reader, to the amazement of the listeners.”[33] He also possessed exceptional knowledge and wisdom to drive home his messages to his audience, which many testified were like the “Balm of Gilead” for the troubled, tormented and spiritually disturbed. He preached the Scripture with a high degree of proficiency and zeal; stood for the gospel of conversion, liberation, reformation and restoration and was never a part of the modern gospel which characterizes contemporary Nigerian Christendom.

Some people believe that God specially sent Obadare to Nigeria, the black race and the whole world to be an instrument of God’s power in order to pull down the dominion of Satan and set souls free from the bondage of sin. Called to this great commission, Obadare fulfilled that call through the millions of souls that God won through him and the healings and deliverances God performed through his ministration.

Founding of Koseunti and WOSEM

Obadare started the Koseunti in 1970 in consequence of a vision which he had during a prayer and fasting session organized to round-off the year 1969. According to Obadare, on December 30, 1969, God spoke to him in a vision lamenting the vast number of dilemmas confronting many people in the world and emphasizing that many are faced with difficulties engineered by Satan. As a result, these problems often defy human solutions. God remarked that what pains God most is that Christian Churches were no longer dependent on God for rescue and healing, preferring alternatives – traditional and western medication. The most pathetic aspect of this was that many churches which had previously depended solely on faith healing had lost faith in it because of the absence among them of the Holy Spirit, the source of power for the Church.

Consequently, through Obadare, God promised to establish a place of prayer for people to come together and bring their problems to God. This would be a place they could get solutions to those problems and it would be known as Koseunti. Koseunti is a Yoruba word meaning “God never fails”. This refers to God as the Almighty, a God with whom nothing is impossible and who is prepared to rescue as many as would ask. God promised to grant the Koseunti meeting power and authority so that miraculous acts could be performed. Obadare was specifically instructed by God to dig a well, whose water was to be used for the treatment of all kinds of ailments, including problems which defied rational explanation. Obadare inaugurated the Koseunti on February 1, 1970. Before this, in September 1968, he had established the CAC Oke-Itura (Mount of Comfort) at Akure, the capital city of the present Ondo State of Nigeria. This eventually became the parent body of Koseunti, the international headquarters of WOSEM and the place of Koseunti Prayer meetings.[34]

When Koseunti monthly meetings started they were held in a hut, built with disused corrugated iron sheets, but this was eventually abandoned when it became too small to contain the ever increasing number of attendees. It started as a one day prayer meeting, usually on the first day of every month, and rose to that of seven days per month. In later years, it became a place of pilgrimage. It was commonly flooded with people, from all walks of life, bringing their myriad difficulties to God. In the available records there are a great many testimonies to the miraculous feats which attended the prayer meetings. The prayer meeting became so popular that it even found favor in the eyes of many traditional rulers and chieftancy title-holders in Yorubaland who formerly had not been favorably disposed to attending church services. Many of them became notable members of the meeting and made significant contributions to its expansion. It is also notable that the meeting bestowed blessings on many people. For example, farmers who had previously been poverty stricken among the community became quite prosperous and able to have houses of their own.

In discussing the Koseunti prayer meeting, it is necessary to give honor to certain people who joined forces with Obadare and through whose assistance the meeting can be described as a success today. Prominent among these are Pastors Oloruntoba, Samuel Adeniran, Matthew Awe, David Sunday Oluyi, Matthew Folorunso, Samuel Alonge, R. A. Olukayode (an Assitant General Evangelist of the CAC), D. O. Odebunmi, Moses Iyiola Abiola, Evangelists Gideon Adeyele, Michael Oluwasola, Samuel Sunday, and Pastor and Prophet E. A. Oke. Others are Lady Evangelist (Mrs) Makanjuola, Mrs Esther Akinwumi, Mrs E. O. Obadare (the Prophet’s wife), and Evangelist (Mrs) Bankole whom God used to translate Prophet Obadare’s message from the indigenous Yoruba language into English.

According to Obadare’s biographers the WOSEM, which was established in August 1974, is the grandchild of the CAC, Oke-Itura and the brainchild of Koseunti. In 1974, the Lord directed Obadare to establish a group that would sponsor his evangelistic campaigns and tours to all parts of the world. This group was initially known as World Soul-Winning Evangelistic Group (WOSEGRO), but had its name changed to World Soul-Winning Evangelistic Ministry (WOSEM) in 1975. It grew into a complex structural organ of evangelism for the Christ Apostolic Church from 1979. The motto of the Ministry is “Eagerness of God”. Obadare, through WOSEM, was instrumental in the establishment of Revival Centers in almost all of the 36 states of Nigeria. There are also WOSEM Revival Centers in Ghana, Liberia, the Republic of Benin, Lome, Togo, Cote D’Ivoire, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada and other parts of the world.[35]

The above assertion notwithstanding, the operation of WOSEM within the CAC has been highly controversial, with some leaders of the church accusing Obadare of sponsoring a parallel ministry within the CAC. WOSEM contributed immensely to the growth and popularity of the CAC through its exploits, but at the same time the organization allegedly engendered much confusion because of the ways in which it was administered by Obadare. According to the incumbent President of the CAC, Pastor Abraham Akinosun, the operation of WOSEM created division because there came a point in time when it was something of a competitor to the Church. He described the situation thus:

… By then God was using him (Obadare) to make exploits but those (churches) he was planting were not working for the CAC but for him. They paid their dues to WOSEM instead of the CAC. Even when he went for revivals, he would launch WOSEM there and all those converted would become loyal to WOSEM instead of the CAC. Our leaders started complaining about the activities of the WOSEM leader (Obadare) to the President of the church, Baba J. B. Orangun, who in turn gave Obadare many warnings to desist but he ignored them. When he ignored the last warning, he was suspended and some people who had sympathy with him were suspended along with him.[36]

Obadare’s camp, speaking through Dr. Paul Obadare, the eldest son of the Apostle, declared that Obadare neither caused the crisis within the CAC nor frustrated efforts to resolve it. Paul claimed that he personally made efforts to reconcile the factions when his father was alive. He insisted:

It is not true that my father caused the crisis within the CAC fold. In fact, his accusers were actually responsible and I made a series of efforts, which were frustrated by some of the leaders. My father carried on his WOSEM as an evangelical arm of the CAC for many years and he submitted himself to the authority of the church, which he still did until he was called to glory. A lot of people were at peace with WOSEM activities and they requested for branches which were granted by my late father. Some leaders saw this as setting up of an independent church, which was not the case. The statement that my father caused the crisis is not correct. It is not an honest one. Before his death, baba had on many occassions sent letters to the authorities, seeking their understanding on the need to be in one accord. I, also, on several occassions have gone to meet the leaders when Baba Olusheye was the president. I have also gone to talk to the new president several times about solidarity and pleaded with them to bury the hatchet and allow the CAC to move on as a united church.[37]

In the opinion of Solomon Adewoye, an independent researcher and commentator, reporting through Alaroye, a Yoruba (indigenous) newspaper, the bone of contention was the popularity of WOSEM, which tended to overshadow the name of the church (CAC) itself. According to him, Obadare started the WOSEM with the approval of the leadership of the CAC, when Prophet Medayese was the president of the Church. However, in latter years after the demise of Medayese, the WOSEM, acting as the evangelical voice of the CAC across Nigeria and other parts of the world, soon became more prominent than the church which was its mother. This naturally elicited reactions from subsequent generations of the church’s hierarchy, and snow-balled into negative actions and counter-actions from the various stakeholders of the church. This eventually contributed in no small measure to fueling the crisis within the CAC.[38]

Considering the nature of the crises in the CAC, it would be wrong to attribute their genesis and continuance in the CAC to Obadare and the WOSEM affair. Although it is difficult to completely exonerate the apostle from certain controversies within the church, other members of the hierarchy could also be considered culpable. The schism generated by various controversies, actions and counteractions from all the key players in the church has, over the years, devastated the CAC and made virtually all of those players vulnerable. Our earnest prayer is that God will grant the leadership of the church the courage to face the reality of the situation and wisdom to resolve the various controversies so that rancor and acrimony will be a thing of the past.

Personal Qualities

Many extolled the virtues of this great Apostle of Christ. Pastor Joseph Adegoroye, a former President of the CAC worldwide, while commenting on the establishment of the Koseunti monthy prayer meeting in 1985, said “Prophet Obadare is a hero as well as a dynamic man, whose knowledge is wonderful. He is a prophet of Jesus Christ raised to accomplish certain important spiritual assignments; bothering on salvation of souls; faith; setting the captives free and healing in Jesus name”. Speaking further he states that:

It is just because God desired peace for Nigeria in particular and the world as a whole in these last days, that he has raised Evangelist and Prophet Dr. Timothy Oluwole Obadare for the completion of the work of spiritual and physical healing of mankind according to the will of God for man.[39]

Another prominent CAC minister, Pastor and Evangelist D. O. Babajide, described Obadare as a “jewel of inestamable value” in the work of evangelism. He also described him as the Moses of our time: with authority given from above, raised to give law and regulations to kings, chiefs, civil servants, and all people, as Moses did to the children of Israel. He encouraged all ministers of God in this generation to emulate the steadfast commitment of the prophet so that blessings from the prophet may continue to rain till the second advent of Jesus Christ.[40]

Tributes

Many paid glowing tributes to Apostle Timothy Obadare. One of his aides, Pastor Michael Awe, who managed the media activities of Obadare’s WOSEM for many years, said “Baba had worked tirelessly as a general in the army of Jesus Christ. He travelled widely within and outside the country for serious and rigorous evangelical activities for many years and this will definitely tell on his health considering the fact that he also fasted and prayed a lot apart from the long sessions of counseling.” Bishop Joshua Ketiku, the Chairman of Ondo State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), described his death as a shock. According to him, “the news of Baba Obadare came to us a shock. Baba lived a good life. He is happy where he is now.” In the same vein, the Director of Publicity, CAC worldwide, Pastor Ademisoye Alawode, said the President of the Church, Pastor Abraham Akinoso, was shocked at the news of Obadare’s demise.[41] The Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko eulogized the late evangelist, saying that his life, ministry and influence could be likened to those of the saints – rare and impactful. He described it in this way:

In his way of life, concern for the lost soul and uplifting of the name of God, Obadare stood tall among the prophets of his generation and broke barriers that health attempted to place on his way. He was consistent and controlled; aggressive yet unobtrusive and had no pretesions about his faith and God. He, it appears, had discharged his duties and deserves blissful rest in the bosom of his Maker.[42]

Prophet Gabriel Oyelami, Assistant General Evangelist of the CAC says that though Obadare is dead, his work speaks forever and by his death he has lost a dear and faithful friend.[43] Reacting to his death, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, the incumbent President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), said the late Prophet Obadare’s death came as a shock, adding that he was a great man. He said, “It’s a shock. I’m surprised. He’s an elderly man quite alright but we never thought he would go so soon. He was a great man who contributed his quota to evangelism in Nigeria and Africa. We’re surely going to miss him. Obviously, God has called him and there is nothing we can do than to wish him good night.”[44]

In his own comments, the General Evangelist of the Christ Apostolic Church Worldwide, Prophet Samuel Kayode Abiara says:

He was our father in the Lord, a genuine prophet of God. He was a prophet of prophets, pastor of pastors. He was a pastor with uncommon grace and favour. He was an international preacher. What I found interesting about him is that if he asks you to read the Bible and you make a mistake, he will correct you (despite his sight disability). Well he is dead, nobody can query God. We’ll miss him. We must all emulate him. He worked all day to promote God. He preached the scriptures all over the world. God used him mightily. His preaching was centered on salvation. He was a wonderful man of God.[45]

Rev. Gabriel Osu, media Director, Catholic Church, Lagos described Obadare as one of the pioneers of television evangelism in Nigeria, who did his best to propagate the gospel and used the media to reach out to lots of people. Pastor Akinosun, the incumbent President of the CAC, described him as a great man of God, whose ministry was attended with authentic miracles from God.[46]

Apostle Timothy Oluwole Obadare went to be with the Lord on March 21, 2013 at the ripe age of 83. According to reports, he had been confined indoors for some years, but was said to have struggled to attend the March edition of the Koseunti Prayer meeting on March 1, 2013. He was brought to the church premises but could not come down from the car. When the news of his death came in, it dawned on the members that perhaps their leader had wanted to attend the meeting for the last time.[47] Apostle Timothy Obadare is survived by his wife, Elizabeth E. A. Obadare, six children, many grandchildren and great grandchildren

Michael Adeleke Ogunewu 

Faleye Oluwatosin Simon