The life of a man of God is not easy. Fasting, prayers, counseling, and temptation all the time. It is worse that you are not married. How do you cope?
When it comes to temptation by women, it’s a normal thing. I’m not so ugly that women will not come looking for me. Women go to married men of God, not to talk of when they know I’m not married. But one of the things that is keeping me is setting the boundary. Remove your sandal, for where you are standing is a holy ground. There is a part of me you cannot cross because I love anointing more than sex.
I know the vow I took. I enjoy the anointing. I enjoy governors calling me on the phone, seeking advice from me, senators calling me, seeking advice from me. I enjoy it more than five or 10 minutes sex. There are cameras here in my office. Some girls used to come here and open their breasts. You’ll be seeing these breasts open. I would tell them that the camera person is downstairs watching everything happening in this office. In this office, there are cameras there. My camera team is watching what is happening in this office. I made it so to safeguard myself. I don’t go out easily. My movement is from this office to Zion Ground. Sometimes I stay six months and not go out, except I have a crusade abroad or other countries. I don’t keep relationships. They have tried to track me in so many ways. You can’t get me. Before you get me on phone, it may take six months or one year. I have phones that ring every second. But before you get to speak with me, it may take time. My personal life is very private. I don’t really give people access to me, ladies and men, except on consultation in the office. And I refuse to be staying in my house. Most of my stay is on Zion Ground because I’m not married. So, what am I going home to do? I sleep on the altar. I wake up on the altar. I’m dedicated to what I’m doing. I’ve studied the scripture. I understand the mistake of other prophets. And I learn from them. Somebody like David, somebody like Samson, I know their mistakes. Women are a powerful thing that can pull any man down. What God put in them is highly irresistible. They are part of us. And I cannot avoid them because so many of them work with me closely. But I set boundary, powerful boundary. Lot was not in Sodom but before you know it, he was already inside Sodom. Knowing that it is one of the three vows warnings – don’t have sex until you are married – I don’t even think about it. It’s affecting me to decide who to marry because I don’t know who is who. I am praying about who to marry. I am praying hard.
You have a crowded schedule. How do you unwind? How do you relax?
That is a very big problem to me. My mother has cried; my father has cried, everybody. That I have never collapsed is just the grace of God. I don’t know the last time I have closed my eyes and slept for like two hours. I can’t remember the year. Sometimes, I will be having meetings untill 6:00a.m. Where I sleep is my altar and I sleep on the tiles. To maintain grace is not easy. It takes a sacrifice to get to the top, but it takes a greater sacrifice to remain on the top. What I do is not easy in order to maintain people coming here all over the world, including foreigners. The hotels are filled up with foreigners. So, I need to do a lot of things, but it’s not healthy for me. I don’t even know why I have not been admitted in the hospital. For years now, I have never taken anagelsic tablet. I don’t sleep long. I don’t rest. That is just the honest truth. I don’t even know why I am still alive today. I am very busy. No human being will be having high engagement without time of rest and still be strong. It’s my fault. They said I should also set a boundary the way I have set a boundary with women. I need to plan my life so that I can also have a time of rest, which is important.
Was the movement of the Zion Ministry headquarters to Ngor Okpala a spiritual direction or just chosen because of the location?
So many things are involved. One is that this place does not contain us. Last two years, I think the governor of Lagos was coming to my birthday and there was so much traffic; I think he turned back. The road is always blocked. People would be standing. For us to keep buying and buying land here is not easy. Because of the presence of Zion Ministry here, the land is so expensive. So, why can’t we go to a place where we can buy a lot of land cheaper? Secondly, I am the type that have Igbo interests at heart. I don’t know how this will sound, but I am an adult. I have Igbo interests at heart. I have come to realise that Igbo are the only people in this earth that develop other regions but their own region is undeveloped. If you listened to my speech, I made it so clear in Ngor Okpala. Go to America, you will see Igbo and their industrialisation. Go to Abuja, you will see them. The best estates and houses in Abuja are owned by Igbo people. Go to Cameroon, go to Ghana. We are the only people who develop other regions but our own region is undeveloped. Somebody has to make a move. But this place does not contain us during weekly activities, not in major programmes. So, based on that we considered Ngor Okpala. If you folllowed the programme we did there, we rented two and half million chairs and the majority still stood. Where can we host that crowd here? No stadium can contain the people that were at Ngor Okpala. It was the biggest crowd so far in the South East. No gathering has been more than that. So, knowing that we don’t have much space here to host us, we have to go there. Also, we want to help the people there because a lot people are dying of hunger there. No infrastructure, no company. That was why I dropped Olive Oil and we prayed: anything holding the Igbo must be destroyed. I don’t think we are acting with our senses. We develop everywhere, but our land is not developed. We are comfortable in Ghana, Congo, Kano and elsewhere answering Eze Ndigbo, but the village of that person has no light. If it’s caused by juju, it must spoil by fire, by force.
What is the reason behind Seraphic Foundation?
When I was praying in 2009, the Lord told me that He will bless me, but I will be a blessing to people. When we came back to Lagos, we formed what we called welfare team. From welfare, I was praying in Sagamu and the Lord said I should name my foundation Seraphic. Today, we have Seraphic Water and Seraphic Hospital etc. If you go to Anambra, I am building a psychiatric hospital, Old People’s Home and a less privileged home. I am using 30 plots of land to build them. It is a massive project going on in Aguleri in Anambra State. It will be free of charge. It is my intention not to see any mad person on the street anymore. It is only in Igboland that you can be seeing mad people in every market. When I finish, we will have a team that will be going everywhere picking them. We are already doing that in Lagos and we will extend it to other parts of Nigeria. But charity begins at home. Everything will be free for the inmates. I told God that everything He has given me I will give it out. I don’t fancy being a billionaire. One day we will all die and nobody will enter the grave with money. Every term I pay over N80 million as school fees for secondary and primary school pupils. I am not taking about people I have in higher institutions. One of them came out the other day to thank me. So, everything God has given me, I give it out. There is joy in helping the people. I love it with my life. I don’t want to keep anything that God has given me.
Check this story on Part 4
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