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| The ArchBishop Benson Idahosa |
Arch-bishop Benson Idahosa (11 September 1938 – 12 March 1998)
Benson Idahosa, affectionately called PAPA or BA by his followers, was a Charismatic Pentecostal preacher, and founder of the Church of God Mission International with headquarters in Benin City, Nigeria. As the first Pentecostal archbishop in Nigeria, he was renowned for his robust faith. T. L. Osborne remarked on him as the greatest African ambassador of the apostolic Christian faith to the world.
Born to non-Christian parents in a predominantly non-Christian community, he was rejected by his father, John, – who had very many children as a result of polygamy – for being frail and sickly. He constantly had fainting spells as a child, and on one of his spells, his mother, Sarah, abandoned him at a rubbish heap presuming him dead. Hours later, he came to, and began wailing and was rescued by his mother. This act of a mother’s undying love – I believe – got her kicked out of her marriage.
As a youth, he got converted to Christianity by a certain Pastor Okpo, and joined his fledgling congregation as one of its first members. He was very active in proselytising and converting many to Christianity. After experiencing a revelation from God calling him into ministry, he began to conduct outreaches from village to village, before establishing his church in a store in Benin City.
By 1971, he had established churches all over Nigeria and Ghana. Known for his boldness, power and prosperity-based preaching, as well as an enormous faith in the supernatural, he was instrumental to the strong wave of revival in Christianity and marked conversions from animism that occurred between the 1970s and 1990s in Nigeria. He is regarded by Christians folks as the father of Pentecostalism in Nigeria, and was the founding President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN). Many prominent Nigerian pastors like Ayo Oritsejafor (current President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), David Oyedepo, Felix Omobude, Fred Addo, Bishop Mike Okonkwo and Chris Oyakhilome were his protégés.
The man was TOUGH! Looking at his protégés today, one can only imagine the level of boldness Arch-bishop Idahosa exhibited. He was notorious for getting in the Nigerian government’s way each time any policy or law was made that directed affected him, his ministry or Christianity in Nigeria as a whole. According to one particular account, the then military leader of Nigeria, Major Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, issued an order that the Church of God Missions Int’l headquater building be brought a storey – or so – lower in order to make way for the construction of a new airport in the area. Well, let’s just say that didn’t happen. In the midst of bans on public Christian gatherings in the west African nation, the bulky minister still had crusades with thousands in attendance in the capital state of Nigeria.
Just as the slogan of the Church – Evangelism, Our supreme task – indicates, he was a missionary to the bone. During his stay here, he visited 145 nations of the world with the gospel, setting up churches in some if not most of these areas where he went. He launched Idahosa World Outreach television ministry (IWO TV), which was a broadcast reaching a potential viewing audience of 50 million people. Arch-bishop Benson Idahosa had zero-tolerance for whatsoever stood in the way of the gospel that had so enormously elevated him. He once threatened to kill the National leader of the witches’ forum on a live national radio broadcast. According to the Arch-bishop, all he needed to do was accept he was a wizard, and he would kill him there and then. Apparently, the loudmouthed fellow didn’t feel like finding out if he was joking or not. He wasn’t really the type for jokes though.
His desire to meet the needs of the total man led him to establish several other arms of the ministry apart from the church. They include the Faith Mediplex, All Nations for Christ Bible Institute, Word of Faith Group of Schools and Benson Idahosa University which is currently under the leadership of his son, Rev. F. E. B. Idahosa. His wife, – Arch-bishop – Margaret Idahosa is the current presiding bishop of the Church of God Missions.
He is reported to have been used by God in performing many miracles, including healing the blind, and raising up to twenty-eight people from the dead at different times in his ministry. He had strong links with international gospel ministers like Billy Graham, T. L. Osborn, Kenneth Hagin, Benny Hinn, Reinhard Bonnke, Morris Cerullo, Oral Roberts, amongst others; and took the gospel to 145 nations in his lifetime.
At the time of his death in 1998, he was reputed as having preached to more whites than any black man, and to more blacks than any white man.
Benson Idahosa of great memory, a father of faith and gospel, we thank God for his impact in Nigeria, Africa and the world at large, please kindly share this post with your friends.