Archbishop Obembe Olanrewaju
He fought a good fight no doubt. But the late Archbishop Olanrewaju Obembe, General Overseer of El-shaddai Bible Church would have loved that his dream of a private university, which was in the pipe line before his death came to fruition.
Obembe who was a one-time chairman of the Lagos Chapter of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria had labored tirelessly behind closed doors to bring investors to Nigeria to put up the university which would have been largely funded by foreign partners.
The university which had acquired a large portion of land along the Epe-Lagos expressway had already secured the approval of the Federal Government during his lifetime.
Unlike other mission universities which were run by Church denominations, this university which was named Charis University was expected to be funded largely by foreign investors and it was being planned to be solely a university of technology. The ground breaking ceremony for the university took place about two years ago at the site with some church leaders present. But it was later gathered that land speculators were raising dust over the land allotted to the university by the Lagos State Government.
Since he was the hosting partner the investors had reached agreement with him that the university will promote Christian values while focusing on science, business and technology.
Read also: Benny Hinn’s Crusade: I was a victim of church politics- Archbishop Obembehttps://churchtimesnigeria.net/obembe-benny-hinn-crusade/
Our correspondent gathered that the late Archbishop labored tirelessly to bring the investors to Nigeria because of the burden to alleviate the suffering of many Nigerians. The investors were also being expected to invest in property, agriculture and transportation.
Obembe who was largely misunderstood for his role in the 2005 Benny Hinn Crusade once told our reporter that he was a victim of Church politics declaring however that he had forgiven all those who maligned him and had also apologized to those who felt offended in the course of the controversial crusade.
Obembe is reputed to have pioneered the printing of Amplified English Bible for the first time in West Africa in 1987. He had three distinctive degrees in Missiology, Systematic Theology and Christian Education. He is the Apostolic Prelate of International Communion of Charismatic and Apostolic Ministries. He was the first charismatic cardinal and Archbishop of the Pentecostal movement in Nigeria.
He died on Tuesday April 30 of an undisclosed ailment. He was 63
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