#EndSARS: ‘No father would kill his children even if they were wayward’

Mother Celestial (MC) Adebukanla Osibanjo is the visioneer of Celestial Women of Faith International (CWOF), a Bible-teaching group that preaches the gospel, impacts women with biblical principles of marriage sustainability and financially empowers widows and the poor. In this interview by IMOLEAYO OYEDEJI, she bares her mind on issues bordering on Christianity and women empowerment among others. Excerpt.

For seventeen days, Nigeria has been under the reign of #EndSARS protests, what is your take on this?

My take is that the government should fashion out the best of actions to douse the tension and address with all manner of sincerity, the agitations of the entire Nigerians, not only the youths.

Secondly, video evidence has shown that many innocent protesters were killed by force operatives, especially in Lekki, Lagos. As a mother, do you think this is the right measure to take in a bid to restore peace?

‘God is our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy past and our eternal hope.’ That is the song in my mouth. The #EndSARS protest is one of the constitutional rights of the citizens to demand for an end to varying untoward acts of the Nigerian security operatives, especially the police. I feel really sad as a mother to see the demonstration degenerate into destruction of lives and properties. My humble advice is that the government should play a fatherly role to its citizens; no father would want to kill his children even if they are wayward! There are many ways to disperse a crowd rather than by releasing bullets which have put an end to many youths’ lives. Our youths should also in my view be peaceful and law-abiding. May God touch the hearts of the rulers and the ruled.

In October 2010, you came up with a vision to impact the womenfolk, both within and outside your denomination and put smiles on the faces of widows in Nigeria, can you tell us more about the value-giving project?

I return all glory to God for His mercy. God has called everyone to serve Him and to impact humanity. Specifically in 2010, God gave me a mandate to preach the gospel all over the world (Mark 16:15), to remind women of the essence of virtue and to bring back the straying ones. This Gospel is about everything that delights God, part of which is widow empowerment among other Christian kind gestures. So, it is a project I passionately can’t take for granted with the backing of God.

What particularly compelled you towards empowering the poor widows and how well have you been doing it?

Just like I have rightly said, it is a mandate from God; so God’s word is my compelling force. In actual fact, I don’t do things God doesn’t ask or want me to do; I take all orders from God. To the best of my ability, I have been doing it year in year out with the absolute support from God.

One of the mission statements of your non-governmental organization is to empower women to be role models. How have you been achieving this?

I cannot count how many homes have been restored through this ministry as testimonies abound. You can’t imagine a husband telling me how the ministry has reformed the life of his tough wife; all these would not have been possible if the hand of God was not at work. I achieve these through Christ who strengthens me.

Findings have shown that there is a high rate of broken marriages in Nigeria and across the world. As a successful wife and marriage counsellor, what are the factors you believe are responsible for this?

Factors responsible for broken marriages and divorce are peculiar to the affected; some are self-inflicted, some are as a result of being too carnally-minded while some are as a result of distant relationship with God. If you don’t have a deep relationship with God, the giver of wisdom, your failure is certain.

In view of this, what do you advise women that are being subjected to mental, emotional and physical abuse in their homes?

I really can’t advise based on the normal ways that seem right to many but I will rather advise that women in such a situation should commune with God, the one who can make the impossible possible. He is a good listener of every prayer; you can pray for that abusive husband and his life will just change for good to your surprise. God is more than able to turn your sorrow into joy.

How have you been combining the demands of your business with that of your ministry and family seamlessly?

God is the owner of the business; He saw the business before calling me. He perfected everything and He has been proving Himself very kindly to give me a balance. After all, He owns our lives and properties! So there is nothing to worry about. God is my business and my business is God. For my family, we are all in for God; my husband is also a shepherd in the fold. I mean he is a clergy too and with that, you can see the balance.

Recently, the world celebrated the International Girl-Child day, in view of the consistent abuse and discrimination the female gender still gets in the country, especially in the North, do you still believe they have a voice that can be heard and in what ways can the government support the women, especially the uneducated and the poor widows?

The government is really trying in this aspect. They shouldn’t stop the awareness and they must bring up new policies that will be of great help in achieving assistance to the vulnerable.

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