( The Many Sins Of Charles Ogbonnaya Osueke Against …)
PART 8
THE HORRIBLE GENERALS.
THE REV PASTOR EJIKEME EJIM FACTOR!
Rom. 12:1-3
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
INTRODUCTION.
We all want to be in God’s service. It is not wrong to desire to serve God but it is wrong to serve God any how or as you like. The above scripture tells us that our service to God must be reasonable not unreasonable. It is reasonable, when it is done according to the prefect will of God.
Consequently, for our service to be reasonable,it must be done sacrificially with a holy body and with a renewed mind. Jesus Christ death on the cross was a sacrifice, and it was the perfect will of God. No man can ever do or discover the perfect will of God without passing through the cross. The cross is the only way to sacrificial living and sacrificial living is the only way to the perfect will of God. Sacrifice is evidence by marks on your body. Apostle Paul says that he bored on his body the marks of Christ. There are always wounds, bruises,pains, disappointments, threats,dangers, discouragement and sometimes actual harm that accompany the perfect will of God. All the Apostles did the perfect will of God through persecution, prisonment and martyrdom. It is not different now and can never be.
The perfect will of God comes only through a life of sacrifice! That’s why the song writer wrote, “I will cling to the old rugged cross and exchange it some day for a crown”. The path of the cross is the path of the perfect will of God.
Ministry means service and must be reasonable to God even if it fails to be reasonable to man. In all, it must not be done with a worldly mindset. Ministry is not politics but God’s business! It is done with the mind of Christ and phil.2:5-8 revealed to us the mind of Christ. It is a mind of humility, meekness and long-suffering. You can only have this mindset through the cross. It is only with this mindset that our ministry is both reasonable and acceptable unto God. When you do ministry to please only God, you’re horrible to men but honorable to God. You can now understand what I mean by horrible Generals. They are men who are horrible in the sight of carnal men but honourable in the sight of God.
REV PASTOR EJIKEME EJIM.
He is presently the Assistant General Superintendent of Assemblies of God Nigeria. Some years ago, during the administration of Rev Dr Charles Osueke, he was appointed as the chairman of the committee that investigated the crisis that rocked Abuja District. The investigation was very meticulous, while they didn’t not indict the ex-GS, they raised an eyebrow over certain actions and movement of the ex-GS, then the AGS around Abuja District that might have instigated or escalated the crisis.
I guess, Ejim led committee made sure that they didn’t left behind any little piece here and there. Probably, they decided to leave further details in the hands of the EC in case they smell a rotten rat. There were issues but again, the Osueke administration I suspect, preferred to look the other way when anything concerned the ex-Gs. Everything about him then had became very sensitive and he loved it so. He always looked for opportunities to drew attention to himself as a victim and curried for sympathies. Each time, it was the gullibles that fell into his hands of manipulation.
He was like proverbial blood sucking fly, that pitched on the scrotum sac, to ignore it is deadly and to kill it would be devastating. As far as Rev Ejim was concerned, he carried out his delegated assignment but to the ex-GS, it was a witch hunt and from then, Ejim was seen as an enemy. However, even though the Osueke administration chose to ignore those likely links to the crisis in Abuja, the ex-GS did not found it funny and again, he felt, Ejim intentionally damaged his reputation as the AGS.
Fortunately and unfortunately, Rev Ejim was elected into the EC. While himself became the GS. The election of Rev Ejim spoilt his joy. While everyone celebrated that he won as the GS, he mourned that Rev Ejim was elected into the EC. What an abuse of grace? It was our daily discussion and a reason for continual sorrows. Daddy Ejim was seen as one of the direct sons of Rev Dr Charles Osueke. The ex-GS feared he would serve as both the ear and the mouth of Papa Osueke. Of course, even though he had the same sentiment about Dr. Chidi Okoroafor but to some extent, he felt he was safer with the present GS, Rev Dr Chidi Okoroafor because at least, both of them pretended to be friends.
Surprisingly, Rev Ejim is an in-law to him. At least, that was a medium through which he could have won Ejim over to his side. As a matter of fact, the ex-GS does not care about relationships with anyone except he is using the person to do his abides. Once there is a crack or suspicion of any kind, he is done with a relationship. From that moment on, every steps he takes will be how to trap you, harm you or edge you out. He doesn’t repair or amend nor build relationships.
Eventually, when he realized that there was nothing he could do about the presence of Rev Pastor Ejikeme Ejim in the EC, he decided to trap him. He quickly appointed him as the chairman of the multi-billion Naria Assemblies of God retirement fund in AG Homes and Mortages Bank.
Meanwhile, Rev Ejim was totally ignorant of his ill feelings towards him. Obviously, he continued to discharge his duties as an elected member of the EC and to express himself accordingly to his convictions. Each time he did that, he was seen as a spokeman of Daddy Osueke even though he was not defending anything that concerned Osueke.
So each time they clashed, the ex-GS didn’t see it as a clash with Brother Ejim,he saw them as a clash with Brother Osueke. All that went wrong in the EC was Daddy Osueke especially if the opposition came from Rev Ejim. There was literally no word from Ejim that didn’t irritate him. Osueke’s sins here increased because there were people who believed the scripture and Christian living like he did. Rev Ejim is an Evangelical Pentecostal preacher with deep attachment to sound doctrines just like Daddy Osueke.
It still baffles me why a man in a position of influence would be intimidated by another man who used the same office he is in it to recreate himself positively in so many others and reproduced Christ in them? Friends, this is the reason why God gives us a position of influence. It is an opportunity to reproduce Christ in the lives of others.
The ex-GS bitterness against Rev Ejim came as a surprise to most people. Any person who has ever had any business with the AGS, Rev Ejim will admit that he was a man endowed with wisdom and excellent spirit. I remembered that the first time I met with Ejim, he was a student at Nigeria Advance School of Theology. My father was one of the lecturers there then in the late eighties (1986-87 there about). One day he visited our house with two other of his friends. I was with my father as he saw them off to the road, it was evening and we took the opportunity to stroll out. As we turned back and headed to our house, my father, who was very prophetic said to me, ” do you see the man in the middle, his name is Ejikeme Ejim. He is one of the most brilliant students in my courses and he is very wise. One day, he will become neither the GS or one of the four Generals of Assemblies of God Nigeria”.
I turned and looked at him again and from that day, I followed and monitored all his activities in the ministry. The prophecy about Rev Ejim looked almost impossible. For a long time, he was a district secretary and at a point, I heard that he resigned. Later, he came back again and from nowhere he became a District Superintendent almost very recently. Looking at his age and the chances around him, there was no way that prophecy could have been possible humanly speaking. Though, I have never met Rev Ejim closely except casually during Peniel, where we may have greeted and when we traveled together on a pilgrimage to Israel but I have never sat down to discuss with him. However, I can say for sure that such thoughts may never have crossed his mind of one day becoming one of the four Generals.
Everything my Dad ever told me about the future have all come to past including AG crisis. One day, he told me how close he was with Rev Dr Nwakanma after the Nigerian civil war. That was the case until he had problem with the General Council, then, he warned me, that as long as I am in AG, I must never join anyone against the General Council. He spoke so clearly as if he saw what would happen in 2014. That was why I did my best and all I could to prove that the ex-GS group was the General Council until Rev Ejim was elected as the AGS. From that day, I knew that tst group can’t be the Gen. Council. My father was a prophet of Christ and all his prophecies to the best of my knowledge came to pass.
Subsequently, the ex-GS got fed up with Rev Ejim and decided to relieve him of his chairmanship. Rev Ejim main problem was that he refused to compromise and he insisted on right processes, accountability and transparency.
Ejim looked to me like a man who loved details and perfection. I remembered when I came to be interviewed for the office of the National Youth Director by the EC. I answered correctly all the questions thrown on me by the EC then, Rev Ejim asked me why I wore two rings? One on the left hand and the other on the right hand. I didn’t see the question as necessary, so I was upset. I pointed at the GS and said, “my GS is wearing two rings, that’s why I wore two too”.
He asked me if that was my reason and I affirmed to it. Immediately, he sharply rebuked me. He told me that the office of the youth ministries is not for an arrogant man. His anger I believe was that I aspired to lead others but my action lack personal conviction. I thought that if I said that the GS wore the same, that it would intimidated him but not Rev Ejim. If I had replied, I love it that way, I guess he might not have had any problems. He believes that a leader should know personally why he does anything and be in a position to defend his/her actions without pointing to anybody.
I remembered that when I was invited by ex-GS appointed tst EC to explain my Post on Facebook, Rev Ngene reminded me how he heard that the whole EC rejected me but that ex-GS insisted and made me a national Director. He tried to implore sentiment to manipulate me to continue following them in their rebellion.
Anyway, I don’t know who told Ngene such lies to him. I guess Rev Ngene heard what he always wanted to hear. The above narration was exactly what happened. In fact, immediately I went out of the boardroom, the ex-GS sent me a text message with the following words, “I am proud of you, that was a wonderful presentation”. He actually congratulated for the way I composed myself.
When later that day, Rev Ejim heard I was the son of late Rev Obitulata, he was glad but insisted that I should follow the path of humility. Of course, Rev Ejim was right about me then, he discerned the arrogancy in me and it took only a spiritual man to speak them out.
Today, I am glad he did. His insistence showed that it was not about who I am but about what was right. In fact, after that day each place we met he would ask after my ministry and my mother. In some occasions, he gave me money to give my mother. I remembered when we traveled to Israel, it happened to fell within my wife’s birthday, so I announced it to everyone. He was there with his wife and they both congratulated my wife. They both promised to give her a birthday gift.
To my uttermost surprise, two months later, we met in one of our national programs (I can’t remember exactly which one)he met me and handed an envelope to me for my wife. It was #20,000 birthday gift. He just kept to his promise which I had long forgotten. That’s the level of integrity and perfection that Rev Ejim is known for everywhere.
Anyway, ex-GS successfully removed Rev Ejim, like I said earlier, the EC was not ready to confront him. He knew that and he took their loyalty for granted. Not only did he remove Rev Ejim from the being a chairman, he set up a machinery on how to remove him from the EC by the next election. As far as Rev Ejim was concerned, to the ex-GS, he was a horrible General.
Incidentally, the same Ejim happened to be one of the most loyal District Superintendents in the whole of the General Council. His district always took the lead in every programs of the General Council. During the ex-GS mega service which he held in all the districts of the General Council, the Lagos mainland led by Rev Pastor Ejikeme Ejim hired the stadium and filled it up with people. He gave the ex-GS and his entourage a royal treatment.
The best the ex-GS had ever received from any other district. Rev Ejim ensured that anything that had to do with the General Council throughout the tenure of the ex-GS was handled as a top most priority. However, the ex-GS was not after loyalty but enslavement. Rev Ejim’s offense was that he refused to be enslaved. I believe the ex-GS would have succeeded if he had gave Rev Ejim a chance. The painful thing about the ex-GS was that he didn’t trust those he called his friends and didn’t listen to any voices of reason. Rev Ejim offense was that he was
dedicated to his call and sincere to God.
REV DR UMAI UKPAI.
So many things were written about the role of Rev Dr Umai Ukpai in AG crisis. He is one of the foremost independent ministers of Assemblies of God in Nigeria, with his total loyalty to all the AG different leadership administration for many years now. After many years of dedication and loyalty to the AG, he has come to be loved, admired and respected by all and sundry in AGN.
I call him a general in AG because he has all it takes to help any leadership of Assemblies of God Nigeria to be strong and successful. Unfortunately, after about one year of the administration of the ex-GS, Dr Umai Ukpai did everything within his power to assist and contribute to the progress of the church but he was constantly snubbed by the ex-GS. At one point, he received an invitation for an interview in Evangel TV, Dr Umai Ukpai quickly cancelled all his appointments, he was told the ex-GS sent the invitation; so he came in honour of the ex-GS. He sent a message across to the ex-GS that he would be in Enugu the next day.
The ex-GS did not respond rather the next day he left Enugu that day and didn’t care to leave a message behind. Immediately Dr Umai Ukpai came, he asked after the ex-GS. He was told he left Enugu that morning. He called him and informed him that he came in honour of his invitation. The ex-GS gave some flimsy excuses which obviously didn’t matter to Dr Umai Ukpai. He went on and honoured the TV interview. At the end, he praised the ex-GS and blessed the Evangel TV facilities.
Furthermore, after about two years of the ex-GS administration, he invited the ex-GS to Uyo, pleaded with him to forgive him whatever wrong he might have done to him which have resulted his constant snub and being sidelined. The ex-GS told me that Dr Umai Ukpai sincerely apologised to him for whatever wrong he was assumed to have done imaginary and unimaginable. One side of Dr Umai that so many people do not know is that among every other things, he fears God and he wants to make heaven. He is the first to seek for peace with anyone once he sense any obstruction in your relationship with him. What he did with the ex-GS was what he did with four other person’s that he felt were not relating well with him. This was the second time I heard he went out of his way, just to ask for forgiveness to someone much younger nor popular like him. After his appeal and apology, he gave the ex-GS the sum of $1,000 as a peace offering.
Of course, one may assume that the hostility would cease but not at all. The ex-GS continued to keep his distance until his fracas with the Ambassadors and Osueke. He hated Dr Umai Ukpai because as usual, he is very close to Dr Osueke. The only way one would be accepted to be the ex-GS friend was to constantly revell Papa Osueke. You must belittle him and call him names before you receive any consideration.
However, rumours had it that some Ambassadors ran to complain to Dr Umai and to sought for his support. In the rumour, it was said that he declined to give any support and insisted that he would wait until he hears from his GS as he usually called him(my GS).
Immediately the rumour was verified to be true, the ex-GS didn’t want Dr Umai Ukpai to openly support the Ambassadors and the EC. Even on that, he didn’t want to relate with Dr Umai Ukpai to resolve the impasse, so he decided to manipulate Dr Umai Ukpai to be on his side. Quickly, he sent him an invitation to be one of the speakers in Peniel convention. At this point, there were tension everywhere, the EC and the ex-GS no longer see eye to eye in virtually everything. Umai Ukpai was the perfect man that can be used to both gather crowd and also to intimidate the EC. Dr Umai Ukpai accepted the invitation with hope it would be an opportunity to hear the ex-GS side of the story. Meanwhile, there were so many calls from all nook and cranny, that came just to discourage Umai Ukpai not to honour the invitation. Dr Umai Ukpai insisted that he can’t ignore an invitation from his GS.
As a result, he honoured the invitation as he promised amidst opposition from every quarter of the church. As soon as he came, he tried to hear from the ex-GS what was wrong but the ex-GS did not want anything to do with Umai. Instead he told Dr Umai Ukpai that he should not worry about the crisis,that everything was under control. He told him not even to mention anything that concerned the crisis and then promised to fully furnish him with everything about the crisis later.
Presumably, the Peniel convention went well on the surface but internally there were tension everywhere. Dr Umai Ukpai preached for 30mins and started to weep profusely. Then he said, “I weep for this Church…” The whole place was sensitised by the Holy Spirit and everyone began to weep. There were so much I believed the Spirit of the Lord placed in the heart of Dr Umai but he held himself from saying them because the ex-GS warned that he should say either good nor bad as it concerned the crisis.
The truth was that Dr Umah didn’t need to say anything before something was said. His brief message, his weeping and his silence spoke volume. At this point, the ex-GS should have opened up to such man for counsel and instructions but he refused. With tears, Dr Umah Ukpai entered his car and drove off. As soon as he left, we mocked, we attacked Emeka Eze too. This is because Emeka Eze regards Dr Umah Ukpai as his spiritual father. We were angry that Dr Umah came and wept, thereby created the impression that something was wrong. Also, he didn’t praise the ex-GS in any form directly nor indirectly. We were in enraged! The reason he invited Dr Umah Ukpai was to disarm the Ambassadors from using him against his administration. He wanted Umah Ukpai to be neutral and to stay away. Just like he wanted Osueke and everyone else to stay away, so that he alone will determine the destiny of Assemblies of God Nigeria.
After all that happened at Peniel, no other efforts were made to contact Umai Ukpai even though he promised him a full information about what was happening. Instead, he sent another invitation to Dr Umah to hold a crusade in his town that December. Again, Dr Umah said that he had to shift all other programs in his dairy in order to accommodate his GS request. He said,( we heard this from Umah after March 6th when the ex-GS went with some of us to plead for his intervention) that the reason he accepted that invitation at such a short notice was because he felt that would give him the privilege to discuss with ex-GS and then, to give him his own piece of advice. Shockingly, Dr. Umah Ukpai honoured the invitation but the ex-GS did not care to welcome him neither did he attend the crusade even for a night nor did he send a message across.
Friends please, put yourselves in the position of Dr. Umah Ukpai. I guess, it was after this humiliation that Dr. Umah Ukpai decided to give attention to the several pressures around him. It was no surprise that he honoured the invitation to attend the Genco. The ex-GS wanted him to be neutral, so he decided to be neutral. Neutrality means that one would accept both sides. All the while, he had honoured all the invitations from the ex-GS and now, it was the turn of the EC and rightly, he honoured them. We knew that the that invitation was extended to Dr. Umah Ukpai and our informant asked us to plead with Dr. Umah not to honour the invitation but the ex-GS felt too big to do so. I believe his conscience pricked him for the way he had maltreated Dr. Umah.
The Genco of March 6th came to us as a tornado. We least expected the impact the declaration of suspension on him first and myself secondly would produce until hundreds of people floored his official resident and were rolling on the ground weeping. It was then he realized that the world now sees him as suspended.
The ex-GS quickly requested for the intervention of PFN and CAN. Pastor Ayo asked him about the stand of Dr. Umah Ukpai and he told Pastor Ayo that Dr. Umah was part of the plot. He insinuated that Dr. Umah is a relation of Chidi Okoroafor, the benefactor. Here comes logic, he knew that Dr. Umah Ukpai is a relation of Chidi Okoroafor yet he invited him for Peniel convention and a crusade in his home town? So, the town’s man of Dr Chidi Okoroafor was good to gather crowd for you at Okpoto and in your town but evil when it was time to resolve the situation in the Church?
It didn’t make sense!
Anyway, Pastor Ayo asked him if he had taken time to discuss with Dr Umah about the crisis and he said no. Pastor Ayo shouted, “that was the first thing you should have done!”. It was Pastor Ayo that reminded him how influencial Dr. Umah is within and outside AG. He then instructed him to suspend everything and call Dr. Umah to fix an appointment. He charged him that he should do whatever he would to win him over. This assignment was very difficult because he continued to remind Pastor Ayo that it was Umah Ukpai and Osueke that plotted his removal but Pastor Ayo insisted that he can’t get involved if he didn’t go and meet with Dr. Umah Ukpai.
Reluctantly, he called Dr Umah Ukpai and both of them agreed to meet on a Saturday. On that day, he changed his mind, he decided that he won’t keep the appointment. As the day was closing, Dr Umah called him severally before he picked his call. He told Umah Ukpai that he can’t make it because his car had problem. Dr Umah Ukpai told him that he was ready to send his car to bring him the next day to his home town in Ohafia in Abia. Again, Dr Umah Ukpai reminded him that he had to cancel all other appointments to ensure their meeting held that day and that he would do the same, the next day if he would promise to come. I just described how much he despised Umah Ukpai and wished to avoid him totally until he was overwhelmed by the humility of Rev Dr Umah Ukpai. He later visited Umah Ukpai the next day with his so-called spoilt car though it never broke down on the way because it was actually a new Jeep.
During the meeting, Dr Umah wanted to know why he dispersed him so much after all his appeal to him at Uyo? He wanted to know why it took him so long to open up to him? As usual, he gave flimsy excuses. After all the discussion, Dr. Umah Ukpai expressed pity for him because he pretended to be repentant. Anyway, Dr. Umah finally agreed to intervene and promised to meet with the officers. One week later, he was in Enugu to meet with the officers of the General Council. The officers as usual were willing and open for peace. They requested that they would settle on the ground that he show some remorse and repentance by withdrawal all cases from the court. They gave Dr. Umah strong promise that once he does the needful, the remaining wouldn’t be a problem.
Friends, you don’t need to be told that the officers of the General Council hold Dr. Umah in great honour. There was no way they would express their willingness to reconciliation and give a condition and later go back on their words. Unfortunately, Rev Dr Umah’s efforts came to nothing because the ex-GS could not trust him to pull through the reconciliation. He refused to show remorse nor any form of repentance instead he filled more suits against the EC and Papa Osueke.
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