80 interesting facts about Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye @ 80

Part 1

Born on March 2, 1942, into a humble family in the village of Ifewara, Osun State
He was from a poor background. The poor called his family poor.
His parents sold a few cherished possessions and borrowed from kind neighbors just to ensure he went to school.
In 1956, he was admitted into one of Nigeria’s foremost Secondary Schools, Ilesha Grammar School, Osun State.
His best subject while in school was English not even Mathematics that he later studied
He was equally good in the sciences and opted to study Mathematics because that was the course he could get a scholarship for
He obtained a Bachelors degree in Mathematics from the University of Ife, Nigeria in 1967
He holds a Masters degree in Hydrodynamics from the University of Lagos, Nigeria in 1969
A Doctorate Degree in Applied Mathematics from UNILAG in 1975.
His ambition was to be the youngest Vice-Chancellor in Africa.
He was a boxer apart from being an academia
Being a boxer, he said Mohammed Ali was his hero
He once cried over the health of Mohammed Ali
He got married to his beloved wife, Foluke Adenike Adeboye (nee Adeyokunnu) in 1967
His daughter who was then his third child became ill in 1973 and proved unresponsive to several bouts of orthodox medicine.
He visited many herbalists and doctors on account of his daughter’s ailment to no avail
A cousin of his, Chris Fajemiroku invited him and his wife to a parish of RCCG to seek divine healing for their daughter. That was in 1973. He did and God stepped into the case of the daughter.
On July 29, 1973, he made a personal commitment to Christ through the ministry of Reverend Josiah Olufemi Akindayomi, the founder and first general overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God.
He subsequently became the interpreter to Pa Akindayomi
He was ordained a deacon in RCCG in 1975
He prayed and fasted to stop the church from ordaining him a pastor
He was ordained pastor in 1977
In 1981, when the founder passed to glory, the baton of leadership was handed over to him by divine orchestration.
He abandoned academics for pastoral work
Abandoned his duplex and comfort to live in a two-room apartment in Mushin from where he served as the G.O of the Church
There were just about 39 parishes of the church when he became G.O.
Soon after he became G.O, the church had both model and classical parishes. (The model appeal to the rich, the classical appeal to the poor)
He began the monthly holy ghost service in March 1985
He was launched into international prominence on December 18, 1998, when he hosted the very first Holy Ghost Congress (open-air meeting) in Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria with an attendance of over 7 million people as reported by CNN and the BBC.
Holy Ghost Congress (HGC) and Holy Ghost service are programmes he created when he became G.O
The holy ghost congress started with a one-night event in 1998. It is now a week-long program today.
His passion for soul-winning feeds his passion for church planting, and through this, countless people have been inspired to follow him and serve the Lord in the ministry.
He appears regularly in a pinstriped suit, a gleaming white shirt, and a bow tie.
He wears Agbada (flowing native attire only on the yearly thanksgiving services of the church and special occasions like his birthdays and the church convention.
Since 1981, when he became the General Overseer of RCCG, he has been accorded the opportunity to conduct preaching missions in virtually every continent of the world.
Apart from being the G.O of RCCG, he is the founder of Christ Redeemers Ministry (this is the ministry operates arm of RCCG that runs the schools and some of the outreaches in the RCCG. The ministry is in charge of the media, the bookshop, and other businesses of the RCCG
His daily devotional, Open Heavens sells over a million annually. It is available in English, French, and other major languages of the world. It is globally distributed and widely read.
He is the author of more than 60 books
He has always had a long-time affection for traditional monarchs. That is why many of them attend the monthly holy ghost service
Adeboye’s counsel has been sought by presidents around the world.

Part two

He has received honours from both secular and spiritual organizations around the world.
He oversees a network of over 40,000 parish churches in 186 nations of the world. In the United States, there are over 600 RCCG branches, the largest concentrations being in the states of Maryland, Texas, Illinois, California, and Washington D.C.
In recognition of his contribution as a global icon and preacher of God’s Word, he was selected in 2008 as one of the world’s 50 most influential people by Newsweek magazine, USA.
After he became G.O., the first challenge he faced was with the elders of the church who felt he was too young and inexperienced to lead a church of such magnitude.
Many people left the church even before the mantle of leadership was handed over to him. When he finally became the overseer, he had to grapple with the task of knowing who is who.
He told Church Times in an interview during his 67th birthday that the greatest temptation that he ever faced was forgiving those who betrayed him.
The financial situation of the church when Adeboye took over was so bad that the church had to agonize each time they needed money for major programmes.
The entire tithe for the whole of the church at a particular year was put at N7000. Though the situation in the church has changed so well, it was a real battle for the Ifewara born clergy trying to change the mindset of the members of the church at the beginning.
He has had to contend with people he so much trusted but who eventually left the church. Since the establishment of the model parish, the church has suffered two major breakaways. One was when Pastor Tunde Bakare said God had asked him to start a new work. The entire members of the first model parish went with Bakare. That experience shook the church. Then, Pastor Tony Rapu who was among the first three intellectuals called by Adeboye to work with him in the church also took his leave. Though there were no reports that he went with members of the church, his exit was painful because he was one of those who really sacrificed and ensured that the model parish was well entrenched.
In 1998 he was rated the 49th most important person in the world by Time Magazine.
He has mentioned at some points during his ministrations how a woman in the ministry was all over him. The woman was said to have gone to the extent of addressing herself as Mrs. Adeboye.
Initially, the G.O. did not smell a rat as he took the sister on a face value relationship. But when she observed that the sister was stepping beyond her boundaries, he took some drastic steps, called upon God..and the rest is history.
His rating by Time Magazine as the 49th most influential person in the world gave him more headaches to contend with.
Since the rating he has been engaged in a running battle with fraudsters who have been dropping his name in their bid to dupe unsuspecting members of the public.
There was a time a text message went round, asking the recipients, mostly members of the church, to observe a prayer session between 11 pm and 1 am on Wednesday, July 1, 2009, so that someone closely related to them would not die. The message was purportedly sent by Pastor Adeboye. Many members of the church fell for the scam.
But it was shocking when the RCCG leader said he did not send the message. “I am aware of the message sent in my name, asking people to pray so that someone important to them would not die. I did not send any such message,” he said at the July 2009 Holy Ghost service.
A desperate job seeker once printed a complementary card bearing his name and then took it to a wealthy and influential Nigerian for assistance. “He printed a card saying that it was my business card and wrote a note at the back to the effect that I said the big man should employ him. Fortunately, the man was wise enough to check,” he said, adding that as a matter of principle, he does not send people around to seek help. “If anybody comes to you to say that I sent him, find out from me. I don’t send people to people. If I want to send people to you, I will come to you myself. Beware of 419,” he said.
He once said a certain man traveled to London and told some members of the church that their General Overseer said the money must be paid before he could bless their oil. “Have I ever asked you for money to bless oil? Before we discovered it, that person had got thousands of pounds for blessing oil, handkerchiefs, sponges, and other objects.
When he was 70 some pastors according to reports were said to have called the G.O. to a meeting asking him to abdicate the leadership of the church. Reports indicated that 20 of such pastors met with the G.O. at the Redemption Camp and asked him to resign so that a younger person could take over.
But Adeboye had insisted he would not resign because God has asked him not to resign.
He said, “Good success is more hard work. When I told God that by 70 I would resign, he did not answer me. I told him I wanted to go on sabbatical this year so I can sleep when I like, eat what I want, travel where nobody will know me, and enjoy myself, then God told me good success can only be maintained by hard work. So I have just begun.”
In 1999 he received honorary citizenship and key of Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
In 2000 during President Olusegun Obasanjo’s tenure he dedicated the first chapel in the Nigerian Presidential Villa, Abuja, Nigeria.
In 2002, he received the key to the city of Detroit, Michigan.
In 2005 he received honorary citizenship and key of Dallas, Texas, USA.
In 2005 – Received honorary citizenship and the key of Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
In 2008 – Awarded a National Honor (Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria) by the Nigerian President.
In 2009 – Led the Pre-Summit Prayers at the 64th General Assembly of the United Nations Headquarters, New York.
In 2009 – Awarded honorary doctorate degree – University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.
Also in 2009 – Awarded honorary doctorate degree – University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate degree in Theology – Canada Christian College, Canada.
In 2010 he was awarded a National Sports Honor (Spiritual Pillar of Nigerian Sports).
In 2011 he Chaired the United Nations Global Summit on the Road Map to a Culture of Peace in the Middle East. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate degree – University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
In 2011 he received an award as the Best/Most Profitable Icon/Personality in Nigeria
In 2014 he was awarded National Honour – (CON) Commander of the Order of the Niger
In 2015 he was awarded Honorary Doctor of Science – the University of Lagos, Certificate of Recognition – The Congress of The United States of America. He also got the Presidential Merit Award – The Nigerian Society of Engineers
He has been married for close to 50 years. He lost his Son Dare in 2021. Dare was his fourth child.
He loves to eat pounded yam.
On how he will die, he once said, “I will be healthy. I don’t have to be sick to die. I have told you how I will go. After I have lived my life, if the Lord tarries and I am old and every hair on this head is as white as snow, I will still come to church on Sunday morning, sing, dance and preach a wonderful sermon, go home and eat pounded yam and ‘go home. That is the way it is going to be. If I am holy, I don’t have to worry about enemies because, ‘If they come in one way, they will flee in seven ways. They have been attacking me since I became a worker in the Church. Since we began to gather the youths together and do something, attack came. And since that time, it is still on. But that doesn’t bother because the Word of God clearly says, “I am more than a conqueror”. Long after the enemies are gone, I will still be standing”
He believes in the controversial redemption of the firstborn with a price
He has been severely criticized for his position on tithe and first fruit.