Many things about the life of Pastor Oluwaseyi Samuel Ogunbomehin, Senior Pastor, Christ Apostolic Church Mount of Joy and Grace, played out like a script from Nollywood.
Or how else do you explain a man who went through about ten surgeries, had about five near-death experiences and still bounces around with the gait of a 40 year-old despite being 60?
He has been a winner right from birth. He was the first to open his mother’s womb and was born in the church premises.
His birth
His birth on June 25, 1965, was heralded by a prophecy by his father, Isaiah Ogunbomehin, a prominent CAC pastor reputed to have discovered the CAC Babalola Camp, Ikeji Arakeji in Osun State.
God told his father he would bear the name Samuel Oluwaseyi and that he would be the tithe of his father’s ministry.
To date, he has not been able to decipher the full implication of being the tithe of his father’s ministry. Perhaps it meant he would ultimately be an offering to the Lord.
But his life has been characterised by intrigues and strange happenings since he tried to carve a niche for himself.
School life, work life and marriage
A graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, where he read history, Ogunbomehin had always found himself in the church environment.
As a student at the OAU he was always fasting and did that for about four years apart from when he had ill health. This spiritual foundation notwithstanding, he experienced an unusual delay before he married.
He married at 42 and yet kept himself unspotted, his wife, Oluwatosin who shares the same birthday with him also was unspotted before marriage.
She was in class two at St. Joseph’s College, Agege, Lagos, at the time Ogunbomehin did his NYSC in 1989 in that same school.
Then, as a corps member, he did not have any inkling the innocent girl would be his wife. He left the school after his NYSC, but fate brought them together in 2005, and they got married in 2007.
Why late marriage
Ogunbomehin said it took long for him to marry because he had to follow God’s instruction. “God gave me series of instructions on the characteristics and pedigree of the person I was to marry.
He also told me not to be in a hurry. My father knew the grace of God on my life had also warned that I needed to be patient and careful about choosing a spouse.
“But nobody believed the patience would stretch till age 42. At the end, it was worth the waiting because my wife fit into the bill of the various instructions God gave me.”
Circle of vicissitude
But between the time he finished his NYSC in 1989 and when he married in 2007, his life had gone through a full circle of vicissitudes.
He started off as a journalist with Daily Times, reporting sports after earning a post-graduate degree at the Nigeria Institute of Journalism. He was there for about a year. But because of his heavy involvement in church activities, he discovered there was no way he could cope with the profession.
He quit and secured another job with Morison Industries, where he worked as their pioneer Public Relations Officer. That job went on for some time until he began to nurse complications from a surgery that was poorly done.
The whole thing began when he sensed a pain in his abdominal region. A church member offered to take him to the hospital for a checkup. By the time he got to the hospital, some drugs were administered on him, and then he had to undergo surgical procedure he did not prepare for.
The surgery went awry, and from then on, he was in and out of hospital. When his visits to the clinic were becoming unbearable, his employers had to relieve him of his job.
Trials and triumphs
At the last count, Ogunbomehin had undergone a cumulative 10 surgeries in a space of three years, 1995 to 1998. He has also had near-death experiences in different road mishaps; the last was the one that happened two months before the death of his father. He was in the hospital bed when the news of his father’s transition got to him.
The beauty about his life, however, is that his visage does not represent what he has been through. At 60, he goes about with an uncanny poise and the gait of a 40 Year-old
“Nobody would believe I would have survived all the hospital visits. Some people would have turned to vegetables if they had experienced what I have been through in life. The last accident I had, I broke my rib. I was in the hospital for about two months.”
Ministry life and the CAC connection
All these tragedies however, did not stop him from being faithfully committed to God’s work. His father, who died about five years ago, had founded a ministry that was once under the CAC, and later he pulled out of the CAC because of some issues he had with the leadership.
A few years after he died, Ogunbomehin thought it wise to return the church back to CAC; ignoring the fact that his father had issues with the denomination.
“The decision to return to CAC did not go down well with some people in the church. That is one of the reasons they quit the church,” he said
He added however, that he returned the church to CAC because the CAC was the first to extend the olive branch.
“When my father died, the CAC played a great role in his burial. When my mother died, they did the same. I felt there was no point holding to past issues and that we are better off going back and aligning ourselves with the church.”
Beyond the reconciliation, Pastor Ogunbomehin said he was not keen about the title of General Overseer. “My father indeed started the church, and I took over from him after his death. The natural thing to do is to hold to that title of General Overseer. But I am not called for that. I believe we’re better off as part of CAC. It comes with a lot of cost for us because we lost our independence after going back to CAC. But I feel more comfortable with that arrangement.”
Rebuilding the church
Apart from losing some church members who were not comfortable with the new arrangement, some left because they could not stay under his leadership. He had to start building the church from the scratches, a development that has come with pain and many lessons.
He announced gladly however that “the church has bounced back and God is glorifying himself daily in our midst. We have been able to move up higher than when my dad was alive.
‘He did a lot during his lifetime. Apart from investing the greater part of his ministry life in CAC, where God used him tremendously to discover the Arakeji Campsite, where all CAC now go for conferences and retreat, he impacted his immediate community where the church is located in Agege.
“My father tarred the street, facilitated the purchase of a transformer for the community and impacted many lives in the community. Since his transition, we have built on his legacy and done more for the community.
“We have a foundation where we carry out periodic free health care service for members of the community, and lately, we started giving out free food items along with the healthcare programme. Just a few months ago, we provided street lights for the community.”
Pastor Ogunbomehin, who was ordained pastor by the CAC church in 2001, before his father severed link with the church, said nobody thought his father would die at the time he did. “Though he was already in his 80s, church members did not see death coming. We all so much revered him. His death was devastating, and many are yet to recover from it even after five years of his transition.”
Being in the ministry all along, however, made it easy for him to step into the rather large shoes of his father, a development that has come with multiple challenges.
Challenges
“The greatest challenge I have had is with people in the church. That happened shortly after I took over the leadership due to my father’s demise. There was this constant comparison with my dad. But over time, God has enabled me to build those who respect me for who I am and appreciate the grace of God on my life,” he said.
Marriage and Music
At 60, Ogunbomehin, who got married on the same date of his birth and that of his wife, June 25, said, “Waiting for so long before marriage has exposed me to some truth about marriage.”
While praising his wife for being a great woman and being supportive of his ministry, he said, “Any person who wants to move forward in life can’t afford the error of marrying the wrong person. It is better to remain single than to marry the wrong person. The peace I enjoy today, despite all the health challenges I have been through, is because God gave me a woman who has been specially made for me.”
His love for music is top notch. He has a couple of albums to his credit and has composed many unrecorded songs.
An indigene of Irolu Remo Ogun State, Ogunbomehin says his greatest joy is that God has used him to touch many lives. “As a music lover and song composer, God has used me to mentor many people in music.
“I have discovered many raw talents that we have nurtured to become great in the music world. That is my greatest joy. God has used me to impact lives. There are people today who say God used me to bring them out of penury and want. To that I am grateful to God.”
Testimony
His wife Oluwatosin Ogunbomehin who shares the same birthday with him describes him as a man of great wisdom. ‘I.want to thank God for my husband’s life. We share the same birthday and I am grateful to God for bringing him my way. His kindness, wisdom and understanding have been a great asset for our home. My prayer is that God will continue to glorify himself in his life.’
Pastor Bisi Adewale a family life coach describes him as a man who loves the Lord and who is committed to Church work. Mrs Modupe Dunmoye corroborated this views adding that it is the grace of God that has kept him.
His secondary school mate at Christ Apostolic Grammar School, Iperu Remo, Rev Agbato Abayomi recalled his time in school with him..
‘When we were in school he was nicknamed ‘Ajaga’ then because he had bow leg. He was a footballer then in school and an active member of the school choir. He is an historian and a talented writer. I used to call him ‘Ebenezer Obey of Apollo 80′ because of his gift as a composer and singer of songs.’
Celebration
The celebration of the 60th anniversary which took place on June 28 a the church auditorium in Agege, Lagos turned out to be a a time of reunion and appreciation of the impact Pastor Ogunbknehin has made in the lives of people.
Many people including Muslims came to testify of the great work God has used him to do in the community and how he has effectively replicated the good deeds of his late father and taken it farther..
But the big shock for him was the impressive gift given to him by the church. He was presented with a Toyota highlander by members of the church.
The whole atmosphere was thrown into a frenzy when he was called outside to receive the gift. Clearly indeed, Pastor Seyi Ogunbomehin has impacted lives.