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The late popular preacher, Pastor Bimbo Odukoya, was laid to rest in Lagos on Wednesday at a funeral which her husband, Pastor Taiwo, described as a celebration.
The late popular preacher, Pastor Bimbo Odukoya, was laid to rest in Lagos on Wednesday at a funeral which her husband, Pastor Taiwo, described as a celebration.
Bimbo was among the 107 victims of the December 10 crash of Sosoliso Flight 1145 in Port Harcourt.
Speaking at the well-attended open-air funeral service at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, Taiwo said God did not make a mistake with Bimbo's death.
He admonished that his wife's exit should be celebrated and not mourned. According to him, he had never in his life celebrated like he had been doing in the last one week.
Odukoya told the crowd, among who were the Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; his wife, Oluremi; and frontline Christian leaders, 'I am happy, we are celebrating today. Every month in our church we always have a theme. When I asked God, He told me that December would be a month of celebration. I never knew it would be this kind of blessing. We sometimes interpret God in a worldly way.
'My wife and I both knew from the first day we met that our lives would be spent in serving believers, and God gave us the grace to do just that. Our vision had been to build homes, and through that build the nation. Everything we did was geared towards that."
Amidst a thunderous applause from the congregation, the clergyman pointed to the remains of his wife in a brown wooden casket and said, 'This vessel, Bimbo Odukoya, achieved so much. She cannot be replaced, but she has been reproduced in many vessels."
Odukoya said he was humbled by the torrent of condolence messages he received both from Christian and non-Christian groups. He promised to ensure that the deceased's ministry did not die with her.
In his speech at the service, Tinubu said Bimbo would not have died if things were working properly in the country.
He said, 'Bimbo might have been with us today if there had been adequate emergency rescue service in our airports. Perhaps Bimbo would be delivering her sermons now if water had been available in Port Harcourt, a city built on water, to put out the fire that enveloped that plane and suffocated Bimbo and over 50 future leaders of this country."
The governor said the late pastor won his admiration with her commitment to the Christian faith and her genuine care about people.
According to him, Bimbo's life confirmed the words of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo that it is not life that matters but the courage man brings into it.
In his sermon titled 'Where do we go from here?" The Presiding Bishop, Living Faith Church, Bishop David Oyedepo, said the country was sick.
'Every aspect of Nigeria is groaning for survival. Nigeria is sick. Enough is enough of taking people's lives. Let us arise and tell the government what they are not doing well. The aviation industry is nothing but a trap, value for human life is gone," he added.
Oyedepo said for the nation to come out of the woods, Nigerians must pray for it, seek its good and exhibit genuine love for it.
The congregation was moved to tears during the short exhortation that the deceased's only son, Oluwajimi, gave shortly before he took the second reading from Romans 14: 7-12.
He said, 'Fathers, love, support and cherish your wives just like my mum did to my dad. Mothers, love your children just like our mum did to us. And children, love your parents. Above all, when you were born, you were weeping while others around you were smiling. Live your life in such a way that when you die, others around you will be weeping while you will be smiling."
His younger sister, Toluwani, read the first lesson from Psalm 23 while his elder sister, Oluwatobi, took the third from Romans 8: 35-39.
Men of TOS Funerals brought Bimbo's remains into the venue of the service at about 9.50am amidst a standing ovation.
The widower, his three children, Tinubu, Oluremi and other pastors of the Fountain of Life Church accompanied the corpse to the venue.
The body was laid to rest at the Victoria Garden City Cemetery shortly after the service.
Other Christian leaders at the service included the General Overseer, World of Life Bible Church, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor; Pastor, House on the Rock, Pastor Wale Adefarasin; General Overseer, The Redeemed Evangelical Ministry, Bishop Mike Okonkwo; General Overseer, Foursquare Gospel Church, Dr. Wilson Badejo; the senior pastors, Daystar Christian Centre, Rev. and Pastor Sam and Nike Adeyemi; and the General Secretary, Nigeria Baptist Convention, Dr. Ademola Ishola.
The PUNCH, Thursday, December 22, 2005