Getting an appointment with Bishop Olusola Odedeji for an interview is not a walk in the park. Not that he does not want to grant interviews, it is just that his schedules are unusually crowded.
He oversees one of the largest Anglican Dioceses in Africa. Though a relatively young diocese compared to many other dioceses, the Diocese of Lagos West has proved to many that age is just a number and that it does not count when it comes to growth and maturity.
So, ascending the bishop’s throne in 2013 when the pioneer Bishop, The Rt Rev Awelewa Adebiyi retired; marked the beginning of a journey that has since turned him into a workaholic. He moves from one appointment to another while also trying to catch a rest.. But he managed to create time for us eventually.
Indeed, chatting with Odedeji is synonymous with sitting in a master’s class for human character development. He believes one’s altitude in life is predicated on how one has been able to relate well with both God and man. That is what has brought him this far in life.
Despite being a distinction student while at the seminary, he conducted himself so well among his peers and those ahead of him. That exceptional quality followed him through the years of his post-seminary education and even when he was ordained a priest; making it impossible for the authority to bypass him when there are openings at the top.
Bishop Odedeji hails from Eko-Ajala Village, Ikirun, in Ifelodun Local Government Area in Osun State, Nigeria. He had his secondary education at Origbo High School, Ile-Ife went to the School of Art and Science for his advanced level, and from there attended Immanuel College of Theology, Ibadan in 1990 for his Theological Education.
He was made a Deacon in 1993 and then ordained a Priest in 1994. He had his Bachelor of Art (BA) and Master of Art (MA) in Christian Religious Study from the University of Ibadan. His quest for more knowledge informed his pursuit of a PhD at the Lagos State University (LASU). Despite this string of certificates, Odedeji sees himself as a perpetual student in the school of life.
In this interview with Church Times, he shares his experience of how God has helped him in the onerous assignment of supervising the Diocese of Lagos West which clocks 25 on November 20, 2024.
Find below excerpts:
It will be interesting to know where you were sir in 1999 when the diocese of Lagos West was created.
Well, I was at the Archbishop Vining Memorial Cathedral Church. I have been there as far back as 1997. I was a young priest serving in the parish. I was with about three other priests in the parish. But when the diocese was created, Bishop Awelewa Adebiyi was translated from Owo to serve as the Bishop of the new diocese. He met me in the AVMCC because it had become the seat of the cathedral.
As a young priest in AVMCC, did you envisage all that is happening now in terms of you becoming the bishop of the diocese?
I never thought or imagined a day like this would come. And that is being sincere. But one thing that cannot be taken away is the fact that I am always likable by those I work with. My superior at that time did not mind putting me in position. That was why when Baba Adebiyi came, he picked me as his Chaplain. I had heard about him long before he came to Lagos. The first time I heard about him was in 1991 when we came from Immanuel College to Lagos. That was when the then Lagos diocese hosted the college mission. He was the Archdeacon of Ikeja Archdeaconry then. That was the first time I met him. Our part never crossed after that time until he came back as bishop of the new diocese.
You talked about being likable. What does it take to be likable? Is it a function of what you do, or just merely God’s grace upon your life?
What I learned from my parents is that to be great in life you need to be humble. I was made to realise that humble people are great people. That is what the Bible teaches. And that informed my disposition to people and how I relate with both the low and the mighty. When you are humble, people will not work against you. Even the Bible says God resists the proud. It also says the proud is hated by his people. So you see that being humble in life will take you far.
Again, God has been helping me to always be transparent to whoever is my boss and those bosses will see in my actions that I mean well and that I wanted them to succeed. That is what I do up till tomorrow. Anybody who is my leader, I will do whatever I can, to make him succeed and it will be evident. Such people in turn also reciprocate in a way. When they see an opportunity for growth, they give me.
For instance, when it was obvious I needed to be transferred out of the cathedral, Baba Adebiyi was conscious of where to post me. He knew there could be a need for me to render some help. He was also particular about my children’s school. One thing I know about the Church is that when you are a clergyman, supportive and you are sincere, the leader will not feel threatened. And when you do wrong, he will know that you have not done it deliberately.
What is the difference between being humble and eye service? How do we draw the line?
Unfortunately, some people think being humble is doing eye service. Sometimes it may be difficult to draw the line like you said. But it depends on the heart of the individual. For instance, Baba Adebiyi of blessed memory was old enough to be my father. I was just a year old when he was ordained in ministry. If I now respect him and pick his books for him or pick his Bible, is that eye service? The wife of Baba was old enough to be my mother. And if you are a child of God, you cannot harbour eye service. Why the eye service? I don’t do eye service.
But as much as lies in my strength I give honour where it is deserved. If I see my primate’s call, for instance, I will not just ignore it. Sometimes you call a priest and he sees your several missed calls, but he will not return the calls. And if you are now disposed to somebody else who is vigilant, ready to do the work and you show him favour, they say the person is doing eye service. There is this saying in Yoruba that, Oba kin yan ayo, eeyan lo ma so ara re di ayoo meaning the king does not choose a favourite, but rather it is the subjects that make themselves the king’s favourites by their disposition.
Up till today, I have not disposed with my first chaplain who is now Ven Taiwo Adebayo. He is a sincere man. You can trust him on whatever matter. To some people now, he is doing eye service. I must be honest with you I don’t believe in eye service. If it exists, I don’t see it. They have said such to me before.
How did you take it?
I took it in my strides. A priest was at the bishop’s court to greet Baba Adebiyi when he was the bishop and he saw me doing some work which he considered dirty. And he came to me and said, Sola, because he was my senior at Immanuel College. He said you are doing houseboy here. I laughed because I felt that if I was not a priest and I was at home with my father, I would do more. Eventually, I became Bishop and he was still a reverend. The day I went to his church for a function, he was running here and there. And I remembered, “You are doing Omodo (houseboy). To me, eye service may exist, but I do not see it.
But I’m sure you know it’s a challenge knowing where to draw the line between being humble and eyeservice.
Let’s put it this way, an arrogant person will see everything as eye service. I have seen a priest telling me before that I was giving the then Bishop the impression there was money in my then parish. The fact is that the bishop knows the capacity of all the churches under him. There is no church in this diocese I don’t know their financial strength. So, if any priest gets there and he is playing cards, I know. A lot of people do it. They will be in a parish and they will be so stingy to the diocese. They will not pay whatever is due to them. When they are posted out and another person is posted there, it will now be clear that the previous person was not sincere.
Bishops are not wicked people. I can’t get this far in life and be wicked. I have enjoyed the favour of God and the favour of men. Nobody is self-made. Nobody gets there except the person is assisted. People talk of eye service because of their ignorance. When a good thing happens to you, they say you have bought it with money or with eye service. They fail to talk about the sacrifices and the sincerity of purpose that might have birthed that good thing. What I tell them is that they too should go and lobby, do eye service, and see how it goes.
When the diocese started, what came to you then? What were your thoughts?
I noticed that the new diocese had a lot of potential and the potential are still there. Six archdeaconries were there at the beginning and these archdeaconries are among the developing communities. At that time, Ikorodu and Agege are not what they are today. All these archdeaconries were not strong to the extent that we had no support as such. But in any situation, I have learned to see potential. I will look at liability and the asset. I will see how assets can be multiplied. I will step down the liability. My prayer has always been that I want to leave this parish better than how I met it. And it has always been like that.
Bishop Adebiyi did excellently well as Bishop. When I came on board as Bishop, even as buoyant as this diocese was and is, I was not depending on what I met on the ground. I was thinking of what difference I could make. That was why I projected this Bishop’s court which is now the cynosure of all eyes. God helped me to make projections. I was able to project what we want to achieve in all aspects of the diocese including our drive for souls. I gave myself timelines for these projections. And that is what has happened. That is how I will be projecting until my time is up. That is how we have run this far.
I recall also that you have been to different parishes before you became Bishop. What was the experience in those parishes?
Yes. I had served in five different parishes. My first church was Christ the Saviours Church, Isheri Osun. When I got there, they only had one small parcel of land. The building there cannot contain 20 people. I was also at St. Peter Akesan. By the grace of God, the church there grew so well in our hands. We were able to get a befitting vicarage which they are still using. From there we were transferred to AVMCC. We were there for about 7 years. We moved from AVMCC to All Saints Church, Oshodi.
Under us, the Lord made it possible for the church to grow. God used the good people of AVMCC to support us massively. After seven years, the place grew. I became a canon and then the first archdeacon and then the first administrator when the place got the status of archdeaconry. After that, I was brought to AVMCC as the dean. And then we are here today.
You have been Bishop for over 11 years now. When you took over, what was it like?
God helped me because it was a big shoe that Baba Adebiyi left. I did not try to wear his shoes. But I made my own shoe and I was sure of what I wanted to do. And each stage I was in tune with God asking him what I should do. I relied so much on God’s leading and guidance. And I can tell you that God has been a good shepherd. When we look back, we discover that we have every reason to be grateful to God.
It was tough initially in the sense that virtually every move or project we tried to do was always being resisted. People felt they had done enough. They believe they should have less stress. There is also this wrong mentality that the money is there. I think it’s a wrong mentality because it is about demand and supply. And when demand is high and the supply is less everything can crumble.
I believe we need wisdom to carry out what God asked us to do. I was a young man when I became Bishop maybe that may be responsible for the initial toughness. But when I got to the College of bishops I discovered I was not too young because some people became bishops before they were 40.
But considering the size of the diocese you are supervising people believe you are young?
I think God has assisted me. I am always close to the elders and I learn a lot from them. When I am with them, I don’t only look at their faces, I listen to what they say. We were able to weather the initial storms together. Today we give glory to God.
You probably had ideas on how the diocese should be run during the time of Baba Adebiyi. Did the idea tally with what Bishop Adebiyi was doing then?
I was sufficiently close to the bishop. To me, Baba was doing a lot. As a young man coming on board, I had a lot of energy to dispense too. Truly I had my ideas. If I retire by the time I become 70 the person coming will do better than me. The prayer of a father is that the son will do better. And a son that does not do better than his father is a failure. Baba wished that I should do better.
According to him, having worked closely with me, he saw some genuine traits of greatness in me. So, when we started, he was not surprised. He had also seen greatness in some of the parishes that he had sent me to.
When I was being transferred to Oshodi, he said to me that the church life there was dead and already in the casket. And he said If I was able to do well there, there were many things for me. And he fulfilled all the promises. He made me administrator the same day he preferred me a venerable.
Let’s talk about the Oshodi Church. What did you do that made the difference?
The first thing God did there was that I was resolute to make a difference. I didn’t allow selfishness to take over me. It was obvious that I had come to make an impact even though people who would not have supported me were supporting me. I always had a good relationship with the people of AVMCC. There was a particular year I did adult harvest three times. I was calling different people and they were coming willingly. Even those who could not make it were sending funds to us. Many of them were so close. I could call them family friends. And they knew when any money is given it will be spent for the purpose it is meant for. That assisted me.
Some will perhaps say being in AVMCC before your posting to Oshodi church guaranteed the support you got from them. Is that the case with all the priests who served in AVMCC?
That is not correct. Interest is important. It depends on the relationship that exists between you and them. For instance, when I left AVMCC, they have a particular amount they give those who were transferred from there. But in their meeting, after I had left, many of the people said they had to adjust that amount for me.
They came to me and asked me what I wanted from them. When they came to me, I said, please don’t give me N1. Just come and help the parish I am currently in. By the time they reported back to those who sent them, people were amazed. They now gave about N2m to the All Saints Church, Oshodi. I used the money to do the pew for the church. And those who heard about my decision not to collect money from them were also asking what they could do to help. That is why I said it is not automatic to get help from AVMCC. There are some of our friends who left AVMCC and nobody followed them.
But I am sure you needed money. What informed that decision that made you say they should help the mission rather than help you?
There are times I need money that I will not take. I believe everything is not about money. It should be about the people first. Self-interest can boomerang. When I was in the Oshodi church many people picked interest in what I was doing because they heard how I turned down the offer for help and asked that the church be helped rather. But if I had landed in the place and I kept putting pressure on them, they would give peanut.
There was a time somebody came to me and said, they were giving me two envelopes, one for me and one for the church. The family said they had sent money to me before and the church sent a receipt to them thinking the money was for the church. If you give me cash and you don’t specify, I will put the money in the church. It is not that I don’t need money. I have children and family members who are dependents. But I don’t toy with church money.
But what is the disposition of your wife sometimes on this your attitude to money?
My wife has no regard for money. She believes we should be giving more than we are giving. She is not too given to money matters.
Looking back on the star project of the diocese, I mean the bishop’s court, do you think you can still come up with a gargantuan project like this the way you did because you did not pressurize people for money?
What I know is that God’s vision does not lack God’s provision. If tomorrow, God says we should do something like this, we will do it. God has a way of touching people and providing for his work. When God gave me the vision for the court, I told the people that I was not going to levy any church because that was their phobia. But I asked God to provide for the people and the project.
My wife and I were coming sometimes four times a week to join hands to pray at the site when the construction was going on. And we were seeing the hands of God. Even those who never gave, gave for this purpose. No matter the economy of the nation, I believe the feat can still be achieved and more, because we don’t rely on the economy of Nigeria for the work of God, we rely on God’s economy. Things are difficult but God can make a fish central bank. Personally, when God is involved in any project it will fly.
But then, one would want to ask, how do we know a project is God’s project or personal ambition?
Let me give you an example of this Bishop’s court. When I became a Bishop, the Bishop’s court I inherited had three rooms. Those three rooms: My wife and I had one room, and our sons had one room. Our girl had one room. I had to convert the garage to host my mother-in-law. I had no problem with that. We were doing quite fine.
But I said to myself, in the next 25 years when I would be retiring, will I hand over the same three bedrooms to whoever comes after me? Thank God for all those who have worked ahead of us. My predecessor was a great man. But I felt that it would not be good to hand over the same court to the person who would be coming after me. But I had to seek the consent of God before I could go ahead. God saw that I was not doing it for my personal ambition. I was genuinely interested in the future of the diocese. By the way despite the vastness of the new court, only 20 percent of the entire premises belong to the bishop.
You probably heard people making comments and saying it’s a waste of resources.
Of course, people will talk. But the question you should ask is whether what you are doing has God’s signature on it or not. But then you must also realise that whether you do something or you don’t’ people will talk. You have to make your choice
How do handle pressure from parishes under you in terms of demand, I see that the diocese disburses a lot of funds to help start-up parishes or what parameter do you use to offer support?
God has given me the gift to discern. There are many times God speaks to me on what to do. I get many revelations beyond my age. But God gives those revelations because of those he had made me to lead. When I get to a parish, I see the genuineness of the need before we render support. Whatever I am doing is being done on behalf of God. There are times I know people are sometimes being lazy, waiting for mana. When I see their drive, I am often motivated to assist. We have helped many parishes who don’t contribute to the diocese. But today they are doing well in terms of their finances.
The diocese is doing well. I am happy with the spiritual growth of the diocese. I know many have relocated. But we know God is a God of migration. There are times when people have to leave for a better tomorrow. We are not doing badly. Many parishes are not making enough to sustain themselves. But God is helping us to manage the resources at our disposal. We are very prudent with God’s resources.
Some have asked, why is the diocese not investing in Agric.
We can’t all be the same We may not enter into agric, it does not mean we are not doing some other thing. If we are led to do so, we will do. Everybody has their own area of interest.
We are not going to rest or enter into complacency. We believe the best is yet to come. By the time the diocese is 40, I would have retired. But we believe we will keep moving. The diocese will continue to grow in leaps and bounds.