I want to emphasise here that I am writing this as a duty to myself, the public and to God Almighty Jehovah only. I am not in support of any man but in defence of my conscience. First, as a Christian who is aware of the imminent second coming of Jesus for judgment; a child and mother, and member of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM)/participant at the ‘Corridor Prayer’ and what I have witnessed.

As a Christian

After watching five YouTube videos of Ms Maureen Badejo with various titles – but all on Allegations Against Dr Daniel Olukoya’ of MFM – I asked myself a question out of sincere confusion at the end of the video: Is she a Christian?

Ms Maureen Badejo said at the end of that particular episode: “Ko si bi e se le mu mi bi nu to.” That is, I will still pray. (Simply put: no matter the extent of my anger…. ).

If Ms Maureen Badejo is a Christian, as she indicated from her use of the name of Jesus, she should have controlled her outburst of anger, her hate speech and boastful utterances/gesticulation as admonished by Christ.

It is true that “one with God is a majority,” but the question is: which God? The living God or the god of this world? If it is the living God, then is God with that individual? Can such a person be fighting with God Almighty on their side as they demonstrate so much uncouthness amid hailing from the crowd of supporters?

What I saw in the videos show a very biased reporting, which can be suspected to have stemmed out of some personal motivation for or on behalf of a subject of interest. She repeatedly mentioned Sowore’s name and what he told her to do once she gets to court and which she was going to do.

The supposedly investigative platform was clearly one-sided, closed-up and already conclusive, regardless of any expository information that might be put forward. It was like someone being the accuser, the jury and the judge plus the executioner in a case. It was full of negative innuendos and assumptions totally contradicting the book of 1Thesalonian Chapter 5 verse 21 and James Chapter 3.

As a child and mother

I noticed that in the “war” being fought by Ms Badejo, an innocent minor has been dragged into the mud by adults who are supposed to protect him. I was once a child and a mother hence I know the implication of this thoughtlessness and insensitivity on the part of a mother herself. A mother is supposed to know the pains of other mothers and should be a mother not just to the child that came through the openings in-between her legs.

A child is not supposed to be exposed to ridicule because of the circumstances of their birth – purported or proven or because of who their parents are as this may affect their emotional state of mind, especially in their teenage age when they are trying to understand the world and the hormonal riot within them.

I consider it as wickedly insensitive to have brought up the subject of the son of Dr Olukoya in such a destructive campaign against him on allegations that have not been proven to be True. Bringing up purported financial worth of the child in a world that is full of evil-minded humans in terrorist organizations looking to extinguish the gospel of Christ through the annihilation of believers and their families, kidnappers for ransom and the like, is like advertising the innocent child as being for sale.

This is definitely not the action of a true mother. I personally feel very sad with her action more so when she mentioned she needed to end the show because she had other appointment/ she needed to go and pick up her son. It looks to me like the proverbial dog who knows to nurse her own baby while biting that of others.

Ms Badejo wonders why Olukoya is afraid and hiding his son; himself going about with licenced plate security?

By placing myself in his shoes, I don’t think Olukoya is afraid of anything or anyone, otherwise he would not be in the position he is today. Rather, I see someone trying to be protective of a child as any sane parent would, in order to let him have as normal a life as he can have growing up.

I can see that, he wants the child to grow up in an environment where he would not be accorded any preferential treatment; where he can play, fall, laugh and grow without special body guards, teachers and attention as a child of a “celebrity” (if I can borrow that word) or the royals. Or is it that those royalties are more special than the child in question?

Those politicians “doing a great job spending money when they visit the UK”, do they keep their minor children by their sides on rallies and political campaigns? Do they keep them at home in their local governments, states or country here in Nigeria?

Similarly, should a child of a gospel minister who is a minor, be left alone or does he deserve to have, at least, one of the two parents to look after him when the other is busy? Olukoya is a father to millions of children all over the places he goes to share the gospel of Christ. Should not his son have a stable life in order to get education and proper development?

They even said that this child rides on public bus to school. Which would have been impossible here in Nigeria as I who is still believing God for grace do not even leave my children to go to school by themselves nor travel in a commercial bus unaccompanied; because of the insecurity and the wickedness thriving in our environment.

Ruminating over this, I want to believe that that could be a probable reason Pastor (Mrs) Shade Olukoya, who is always by her husband’s side, might have had to sacrifice going away to the UK to bring up their son whom they had in their advance age in the ministry, unlike most other GOs in similar position. This is what I would do if I were to be in her shoes.

Even God Almighty instructed the earthly parents of our saviour Jesus Christ to take him away to hide in Egypt for a period.

Moreover, everyone is aware of the fact that the Pastor Mrs was usually present at most 'Power Must Change Hands' programmes at the Prayer City, in Lagos; a programme which takes place every month while Olukoya is said to regularly visit the UK and, most times, they are known to travel together till recently when we heard from the grapevine that she might be pursuing further studies. Are we then saying that she does not have the right to further develop herself?

The longest time I have not seen the Pastor Mrs in Nigeria is in the last 6/7months of the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, where everyone had to stay where they were/are not knowing what would happen next. Asking what she is doing in London while her husband is in Nigeria, I believe is totally misleading and using this against Olukoya as being sex-starved is tantamounts to giving a dog bad name in order to kill it.

As a member of the MFM and participant in the ‘Corridor Prayer’

Corridor prayer is just a name for one of the prayer programmes the GO organises for people in the church. Just as you can have mountain prayer, personal prayer, congregation prayer, e.t.c.

The MFM/Olukoya’s Corridor Prayer arrangement is where the GO, with the assistance of other ministers and pastors, directly conduct deliverance for people, and consistently minister to them until their cases are solved through prayers; people whose cases require a “second touch” as in Mark Chapter 8; while also attending to all other visitors, staff and pastors, both within and outside the church. It is the same place everyone and anyone who has prior appointment or who is able to get to the place before a particular time on his counselling days, meet with him.

The GO’s office is open to the large space hall/corridor where crowds seat, according to numbers, waiting for him. His office door is always ajar, with just a curtain. People seating and praying at the corridor can see the inside of the office as people go in and out.

It is by this curtain that the GO stands for hours attending to everyone – men, women, young or old; physically sick and healthy; only occasionally seating for short meetings with all and everyone who comes to him, including kings.

The only office I have seen without a table. Even the permanent chair in his office is just 2 sets. Chairs are brought in from time to time whenever he is meeting people who needed to seat down for the meetings; and then removed again to give room for people being prayed for.

The GO’s office is nicknamed ‘The Clinic’. You get to see a lot of cases that could put fear into your heart, if you are witnessing the scene for the first time.

Being the General Overseer of such a blessed and peculiar ministry, people usually target when he would be around, hence thousands besiege his office from all over the world.

I want to believe this avenue was created out of wisdom, for him to attend to as many of them as possible within his schedule. There, he encourages people to develop themselves and pray on their cases by keeping them by his office corridor. There, he and other pastors can monitor them praying with already prepared prayer points, targeting individual problems and challenges; while simultaneously attending to other matters and, at interval, comes out to pray sealing prayers for people at the corridor, one after the other.

In the process of praying, some get more attention because of what they exhibited or the severity of their cases and not because he liked them and are comfortable with them as Ms Debby claimed. These are the people he placed on admission for more intensive prayers just as in hospital, and they are in multiples at a time.

Cases you would never believe if told outside unless you were there or you were the person involved. People tearing up their clothes, aged voices speaking out from the mouth of young persons, people behaving like wild animals and vomiting right there on his carpet, and pastors who are always standing ready at the opened door, running in to attend to them and helping to remove this mess like professional nurses. People fall over and knock down chairs and, sometimes, almost injuring others in that state of completely unconscious/uncontrollable manifestation of demonic possession.

It is at this point that the few seconds short video recordings are made while praying for them. If you are conscious, there is no way you will not adjust your dress if, perhaps, it was opened when you fell.

People would be lying everywhere on the floor and at every corner; people coming in and going out and he is attending to all at the same time. Even Ms Debby said that she was never alone with Dr Olukoya.

Therefore, if others were there and he was the one who sent her the video, shouldn’t that point to her state of mind and consciousness at the moment of the recordings? If she was conscious, why didn’t she cover up her body or was her hands tied up?

I believe he attends to new letters and cases when he gets home, because that is when he picks up calls and makes direct calls to some people to discuss their cases with them if it requires urgent attention. I believe this is when he sends and discusses any video recording too with the person involved. The first question is: “What happened to you today?” If you don’t know, then he sends a clip and tell you what you unconsciously did or said or both. That is what will determine the next course of action and prayers he would recommend.

The questions he might ask you, at times, I must say, were usually very direct and precise, just as your doctor would. Dr Olukoya is not tactical or careful with words, in my opinion. He would call a spade a spade, both on the pulpit and elsewhere. He would scold you directly, letting you know how you contributed to the problem. He doesn’t care whose ox is gored. This is a first-hand account, hence not peculiar to Ms Debby and nothing occult from my personal experience.

Anyone can go to the church, obtain an appointment to confirm the above and reach a personal conclusion.

Every ministry has a mandate, I suppose, and this is the centre of their doctrines. The fact that you don’t agree with someone else’s ideology does not mean it is wrong.

Debby/Chinyere

Whoever goes to the hospital cannot avoid being touched by the consultant-doctor. But, where you do not want to be touched, then you don’t go. If, peradventure, the doctor acts unprofessional to take advantage of you, then report immediately to the authority and stop patronising the clinic.

Why would you continue to receive help and largesse from a Very Dangerous Man? Why would a Very Dangerous Man be paying your children’s school fees in a prestigious private school till two out of four of them finished secondary school? Why would the same man be paying your living expenses plus feeding allowance for your children? Why would a man who was and still responsible for your accommodation for years all of a sudden become ‘very dangerous and wicked’? What went wrong? Isn’t there a missing link to be found?

Instead, I saw Ms Badejo consistently trying to put words into the lady’s mouth several times, trying to make her admit to some insinuations and laying emphases on those insinuations, which she didn’t even say as if that was what she meant.

If Ms Badejo was interested in the truth, she could have obtained Olukoya’s phone number or e-mail address and ask him his side of the story or send undercover agent to go and investigate the allegations. But rushing out without caution in such a manner, I believe, is not what true journalism stands for.

If she had done this, she would have had a better grip of the true situation, positive or negative, which spiritually discerning people can work with. You say people should beware and stop following the ministry, but you haven’t shown us why.

On money laundering

I believe the authority can investigate if Olukoya is guilty or not. It will be rather unfair, if we have to crucify someone for the crime committed by another person just because we want to prove a point, regardless of the direction our compass is facing. One mustn’t just say they are doing good; they must be seen to be doing it.

If Olukoya is guilty, please prove it for us to see without any bias; but with some level of decorum as a journalist with professional ethics and some respect for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ whose emblem he carries, if truly you are a Christian and doing the world a favour without any motive for personal gain.

Let us not discourage people who are considering coming to Christ, especially after these trying times when people are learning about God and His salvation plan for mankind through the death of His only begotten son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is Lord!

•Betty Alade writes from Lagos.

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