By BOLATITO ADEBAYO
the recent wedding of Olajuwon Obasanjo to Temitope Adebutu stirred up so much controversy, to the point that the mother of the groom, Mrs Taiwo Obasanjo, was compelled to seek a court order to have it postponed to another date, which she strongly felt would be in the best interest of her son. When that failed, she threatened to hold a public protest close to the venue, but later called it off. In this interview, she explains why she had to shelve the protest and shares her deep pain at the turn of events and the betrayal by her siblings.
Who told you to call off the protest?
Many people did and a lot of them were high ranking and important people in the society. Some Obas also pleaded with me. In fact two Obas said they would even prostrate for me if I should cancel the protest. So, if I didn’t heed to them it would seem like I had turned myself to a god and the Almighty God won’t be pleased with me too. They told me they were a product of a mother and that they understood what their mothers went through too. Also, I think the protest would have gone bloody, if I had gone ahead because I got professional protesters not the ones that police would use tear gas to easily disperse. I listened and God also told me to shelve it that the whole thing will turn messy and bloody.
After the wedding, have you heard from them?
From who?
Have you heard from your son and his wife?
I have not heard from them. They are adults.
But have you forgiven them?
We pray to God and he forgives. Although, it is not easy to forgive but I asked God to give me special enablement and grace to forgive them. I have been praying and the forgiveness is already there. You see, there is nothing I can do because I am a praying woman and I respect God too much. Moreover, God loves him more than I do, so whatever the level of pain, hurt or betrayal, there is no way you can justify yourself before God if you do not forgive.
Now that you have forgiven them, have you been praying for them?
Yes I have.
What kind of prayers have you been praying for them?
Let me be honest with you, because I told God that he is not my son and that the two of them are not mine but His children. Truly, they are not my children and I am only a vehicle that God used to bring them into the world and the level of the pain and attack that I went through on behalf of this man is high. You see, they forced this young man into marriage with this girl and the whole thing is beyond my wildest imagination. I never thought this would happen, because first of all I went to court. So when I made up my mind that I would not pray for them, the Lord said that I should honour him. All this shouting I have been doing, I never said it was all from me. If you have been following my expression of displeasure over this matter, you will know that I didn’t say the wedding shouldn’t hold. What I said was that they should postpone the wedding. They have done the wedding as it pleased them. In effect, they said the Almighty God is nothing; that they own this world and so, I let go. But God said I shouldn’t let go because the consequences of this disobedience, when it would come, that there is no way that I would not pity this boy and everyone involved. So, I had to start praying because all this while that they were doing their demonic fanfare, I was praying.
Where were you when the wedding was going on?
I took off to the mountain to pray. I was there praying for the disobedient boy because he is in a cage. He is not himself again. He is an Abraham. If you take a look at the story of Abraham in the bible, you will know that Abraham was not confrontational. Olujowon is a good man, he is quiet and respectful. He doesn’t know how to harm other people. He is nice and he loves to follow peace with everyone.
I want to believe that while on the mountain, you prayed fervently for them. So it means that the evil will not befall them again?
Yes, I prayed. Let us take for instance, my own brother, Kenny Martins, when the issue of the Police Equipment Trust Fund happened. We prayed and I continued to pray, but when the problem manifested, I also went to pray that God would not allow the evil to consume him totally.
What kind of prayers did you pray for him?
I prayed that God should have mercy on him. If you say God is not real, it is a lie. You see before this Delilah girl came, the Almighty God told me that there would be a big wedding and at that time this girl had not surfaced. I was told that it would be a union between two big families and I was also told that the girl coming would cause problem. I was told to pray that the marriage would not bring tragedy for my son. All this while I was going to court, my son was feeling comfortable in his father’s house at the hilltop of iniquity, enjoying himself. Yes, that is what I call his father’s house: Hilltop of iniquity. Not for one moment did he think about doing what God said. You know the story of how they met and my role in all that. I went to Ota where she is a magistrate, to ask her and she told me that they were not courting. You see it was on my prompting, intervention and God that this girl was able to marry this good man. Yes, my son is a good man and I am not boasting about it. But instead of them to appreciate me and see me as a friend they turned around against.
Is she not a Christian?
I don’t know but my son is good but they have turned him against me. Immediately, I told them I was not going to be a part of this wedding they all went into a frenzy; you need to see the attack from my siblings. These people are my full blood and my two remaining brothers, Kenny and Sammy Martins. They all attacked me and they all insisted on going ahead with the wedding without me.
How did you feel that day you were absent at your son’s wedding?
Ha! I had great pain. The kind of pain I had never felt in my life because Olujowon is the first born and he is a boy I love so much. God used this whole situation to make me know that betrayal can come from any quarter. God has used this situation to make me more normal because the excessive love I have for him has all gone. I am not saying I don’t love him, of course I still do. But the love was too much for him. And he sat down at his father’s house and he was so comfortable while everyone was attacking and humiliating his mother. He could not say no to it all because the whole thing hinges on God. He could not even defend his mother but aligned with evil forces.
So you haven’t heard anything from him?
No, I haven’t heard from him. I saw an attack and God said I had to pray for him. I prayed for him that whenever the repercussion comes he should not be allowed to weep to death. I pray that God should show him mercy and protect him like Daniel in the lion’s den.
What if he comes back to apologize, will you accept him back?
Whether he comes back or not, I don’t need his apologies. He is on his own now. He has his wife; he has his biological father and his Father, the Almighty God now. He has the Adebutu family and they have demonstrated that they are the mighty men on earth. But they have forgotten that they are all temporal. You know if you mock God, there is no way you will not pay for it, but I am asking God to be merciful. You see, I don’t understand his silence and disobedience to me. His mother has been humiliated by Rosemary Dacosta and her daughter but he is quiet about it all. I know this is not ordinary. You know, what they did was not a wedding.
But are you covering your son with the blood of Jesus?
Oh yes that is what I have been doing because at a point I said I was not going to be praying again. But God gave me an assignment and said if anything should happen to him, He would hold me accountable and I have been doing that, praying. These people are not interested in Olujowon being married to Temitope.
What happened to your political party?
It is still very much around. Abundant Blessing Congress (ABS) is going to implement the agenda of the Almighty God for our nation. I just decided because of what is happening in our society to start a political party. Too much suffering is going on, economic problems and so instead of being an onlooker and complaining, I decided to form a political party and influence things for the better. The political party is already on and we have been meeting. The party is a coalition of people who have repented and come back to their senses to do well, like the prodigal son that wasted the resources of the father, but the father later accepted him.
Why did you form a party instead of joining any of the popular political parties like APC or PDP?
I said earlier the aim of this party is to bring together people who have repented because there is too much desperation. It is like there is a “do or die” spirit attached to politics and governance in Nigeria. God told me the essence of governance. God said we are to bring in the Almighty and humanity into governance.
How do you intend to do this?
Well, I don’t know but we are doing it in our own way. We are not desperate for power or driven by the “do or die” spirit. I am not ready to go and bow down for anything in a political arena. All I am after as a mother is to build a people that will be united and tolerant; that would not repeat the mistakes of the past and fall into the errors of the past. When Buhari toppled the Shehu Shagari administration 34 years ago, he did that because of corruption. Now that he is back, the level of corruption is staggering. But the Almighty God told me that even though the corruption is mindboggling, he is still interested in these people because they are not deliberate wasters but that is the programme of hell to produce destroyers.
Do you think this type of party can survive?
Well, it is the Almighty God that gave me this project and I am very determined about it. So, I am not giving up on it.
Do you intend going in for an elective office?
I don’t intend going in for any elective post but when people come up on this platform we will not stop them from contesting. The only thing is that we are trying to evolve a system where there will be no killing to get to office. We want people who will come in and selflessly serve.
Nigerian politics involves a lot of money, how prepared are you for that?
God will help us because that is one of the challenges we have and I am not going to go into prostitution to fund a party. I pray that the Almighty God who has given me the assignment will help me and I am also forging ahead on this because God wants to be in the governance of Nigeria.
Is God not in the governance now?
God is outside the government in Nigeria now; if God is in it a lot of things that are happening won’t be happening. We have heard a lot of revelations about how people stole money and all the atrocities they committed and I am talking about corruption. These are not ordinary habits that people would take billions of naira for themselves alone because if God is in you, you won’t do that kind of thing. You see the people in power are not the ones controlling themselves because many have submitted themselves to Satan. There are satanic powers where these people go in to bow before them or they will be killed. When we talk about corruption 95 per cent of Nigerians are corrupt.
Are you saying that Obasanjo’s government was corrupt too?
Daddy OBJ’s government, ones before him and all others have been corrupt. So 95 per cent of all of Nigerians are corrupt, I have not been in a government before but if God should reveal the secrets of people, you will see what I have been saying. Jonathan is a good man but I know many people will not want to hear it because that is a tactics from hell. When there was every indication that there would be real problem on the scene, he decided to let go and he had all the backing to stay on.
What do you think about Buhari’s government?
Buhari’s government is okay and God has not given me a go ahead to criticize any government but he is a rigidly honest man. That rigidity is what is affecting him because we have very few people like him in the world.
What is your relationship with Obasanjo now?
I am not here to talk about Obsanjo, he is simply my ex-husband that is all.
When Obasanjo was in prison back then, we were told you didn’t visit him. Why?
Is this interview about that?
I just needed to know why you didn’t visit your husband when he ran into trouble then with the military.
Well, if you are insisting but I only want us to talk about current issues on ground. You see when he was arrested then I wanted to go but the security alert available to me told me not to go because the government then was trying to kill me. I didn’t go and I was wondering why they wanted to kill me.
But were you still married to each other then?
From day one, we always had problems like every couple and there was no big deal about that then.
So why were you detained then?
From the security report then they warned me to be careful and the confirmation came when security people would always ask me to come and report. You see, these were things I knew nothing about and after a while I started hiding and at a point I had to run out of the country. Then somebody helped me to get a passport and I used a name that was not mine to travel out. Even when I traveled I was told to be careful wherever I was. You see, this man they demonized, Abacha, was a good person before the coup saga. He had so much respect for us and he even told us then that we could use the presidential jet. Sometime he would call us too to check up on us. But all of a sudden the change came and I think there were people behind and they might have instigated him. I was wondering what I did wrong because Obasanjo had many wives and they succeeded in putting me in detention. It was hell during that time.
Nigerian has been going through a lot lately what do you think can be done to solve the problems?
The problem came from Nigerians and the solution can only come from God and us. But there is one individual who could be the solution, if only he could yield himself and repent. Daddy OBJ is the problem and he can be solution also if he can be genuinely sincere with God.
How is he the problem?
He is one man that God deposited too much in and said he should go and serve humanity and bring succour and deliverance to Nigeria. But because he has deviated and gone the way of King Saul, who was initially approved by God and when he offended God, he was rejected. Then an evil spirit took over and tormented him. So, the evil spirit Obasanjo submitted to is the one tormenting this nation because he is the solution provider to Nigeria but he has not gone in the ways of God. On the surface he is of God but deep down he is not of God; he is a dual soul, he has dual character and that is what is tormenting our country. On the account of one man captivity can come. On the account of one woman, Eve, problem came into humanity. On the account of another woman, Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus salvation came because she submitted her womb. So, on the account of this Baba, Nigeria can be released from captivity. What God expected Daddy OBJ to do when he left the prison he disappointed God. When he was in the prison was he abusing women, was he molesting widows? This man left prison alive. When he came to power it was only few and God knew about the atrocities he committed there. God gave him a capacity to redeem this country but he failed. Now he is calling this one a thief and another a thief, is he qualified to call anyone a thief? He is the fundamental problem of Nigeria like I said earlier. God gave this man a mandate to redeem this country to give joy to this nation but he is the one killing this nation, going about as if he is a god and everybody is afraid of him. He is living on his hilltop mansion, but very dirty things are done beneath it. Not that he is not a good man but he has a dual character.
Are you saying he should come back to rule us again, since he has the solution to the problem in the country?
No, it is because you asked me for the solution to the problem of this country and he is the one creating the problem. And he is the only one God wants to use, but not as president because that one is a taboo in Jesus name. His era is gone forever. God gave him a powerful assignment and the same way he humiliates God and fights him it is the same way he has done in this young man’s wedding too who is a son.