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| Dr Paul Obadare |
What do you miss about your father?
I miss his fatherly pieces of advice. I miss his leadership qualities. Because I am a minister and I had spent a greater part of my ministry abroad, I was able to relate with him as a father in the biological sense. I have seen him as a mentor spiritually. Whether outside the house or within, I saw him as a role model. Whenever he preached and read his Bible, I have always been thrilled. I am my father’s greatest fan. Apart from the father-son relationship which I miss so much, there are so many things that one misses about him.
I left home quite early so I didn’t spend quite some time with him as a son should with a father. I didn’t spend so much time relating with him. What I got from him is the life that a Christian leader should live. This was a man who lived his life to the core for the Lord Jesus Christ that he believed in. He didn’t only preach, he also lived the life. The lifestyle that he exhibited at home was fascinating and that drew me closely in appreciation of his life. I saw him so much as a leader.
If you had the opportunity to see him again, what would you have told him?
I remember when he was going through a challenge and I recall that I was not with him personally. I regret that so much. We were apart most of the time. It dawned on me that if I had been by his side more physically that would have helped me a little more. That has always been my regret.
Though I took so much care of him over the years but the very day that he passed, I was supposed to have been there. It was the last son of the family that was with him. He died in the hands of my brother. I missed that. I had to travel to America to carry some assignments. I shouldn’t have gone. We were holding a conference in America and I felt that I should be there. By not coming back to meet him before he died was painful.
How do you want to keep his legacy?
By God’s grace, before he left and even while he was still here, we promised him that things would only be better.
How do you feel when you see the factions of the Christ Apostolic Church struggle over where your father belonged before his death?
I feel that the people who are talking have no idea of who they are talking about. We cannot respond to those who are ignorant. I believe that those people know about his work but they didn’t his person. Baba has also told us that we should never defend him in any case. Whatever anybody is saying is just what they know or what they feel about the work of the person and not the person. He went out and broke every barrier to do what he did for God.
Those who are talking have been talking for many years. I want to let you know that if you live a life and if that life does not stir something, it was not a life that was worth living.
Do you think that you can fit into your father’s shoes?
We are all called differently. Obviously, the story of Elijah and Elisha comes to the fore here. We are all called uniquely. By the grace of God, we will be able to say that God will help us to do what he would have us do and better. We pray that he would help us to take the vision to where God desires it. The vision God gave us is global.
Prophets of your father’s standing are believed to have signs precede their passing. What were the signs that heralded your father’s death?
There is no how a great man of God like my father will die without signs, especially spiritual signs foretelling his death. I remember that shortly before his death, one man of God called on phone and said he got divine inspiration from God that Baba Obadare should not be buried elsewhere but at the WOSEM ground.
The second one is the members of WOSEM who came here (WOSEM conference centre) to pray from time to time to pray had great revelations in the course of their prayers on my father’s imminent departure.
Three days before my father’s death, my mother saw signs of an invisible being following her all about. It was after my father’s departure that my mother realised it was his spirit that was following her about, giving her final guidance before his death.
Did your father name his successor before his death?
I cannot answer that question until my father’s burial is concluded.
What is your take on the current state of the church in Nigeria today?
One of the problems that we have in the nation is lack of liberty. We are not unified as a body despite the fact that we preach the gospel. We really need to come together as a unified body not only to preach but to live the life for everyone to see that what we are preaching we are living it out.
Source: Tribune
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