Posted by The Sun Online on
Reverend Ebenezer ‘Gbemi Otolorin is the chairman, Lagos State Baptist Conference and pastor in charge of Surulere Baptist Church, located on the ever busy Ojelegba Road, Surulere, Lagos. Rev Otolorin is a man who does not mince his words and will not call a spade by any other name.
Reverend Ebenezer ‘Gbemi Otolorin is the chairman, Lagos State Baptist Conference and pastor in charge of Surulere Baptist Church, located on the ever busy Ojelegba Road, Surulere, Lagos.
Rev Otolorin is a man who does not mince his words and will not call a spade by any other name.
In fact, members of his congregation know better than going to him with tales rather than facts because he is always ready to call the person involved and the tale-bearer to face each other.
He spoke to Daily Sun on variaous burning issues in the nation, the just concluded Nigerian Baptist Convention in Abuja, the ban on ‘miracle' by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), the outburst of President Obasanjo against the chairman of Plateau State branch of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Reverend yakubu Pam, among others.
Background
When I was young, from my father's discussions and behavior, I discovered that he will like one of his children to beocme a minister of God. I had an uncle who was a successful minister and was close to my father. So, any time he came to visit, I always followed him to his base in Kaduna.
Apart from this, in 1955, I had a tragic motor accident in which seven people died, I was in the hospital for 17 weeks. It was there that a figure like a woman appeared to me and took me on a long journey and showed me the heavenly abode. But when I wanted to cross over, she told me to go back and tell my people. So, that was the point of my compassion and my calling. It was a turning point in my life.
Although before then I have been very active in church activities, I didn't fully answer the call until 13 years later when I went to the Baptist Theology Seminary, Ogbomoso in 1968.
Foray into journalism
I didn't attend any journalism school or study it as a course. When I came to lagos in 1962, I got employed as a copy typist in a Christian newspaper, People's Monitor, the office was at Oremeji then. Later, I was promoted to edit the Yoruba edition, but it was not a registered paper.
If I had my way, I would still love to practise journalism, I love the profession so much. Even when I left people's Monitor I got a job as a lithographic printer in training with a publishing company.
Memorable day
Each day of my life has been memorable, each day you experience new things. I can't actually mention a specific day. Some will say when they got married or when they had their first child and so on. But each day of my life has been memorable.
Abuja convention
The 91st Annual Convention session was held recently at Kubwa, Abuja and some of the resolutions at the convention are that the president and all stakeholders should ensure that democracy survives. The government should see to the eradication of cultism in our tertiary institutions, that the downward trend of education should be looked into. There is also a programme to educate people on how to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. We preach abstinence to the unmarried and faithfulness to the marriead because it has been proved that one is not 100 percent safe with condom.
Banning of ‘miracle' broadcasts on TV
One cannot speak categorically on this. NBC has not given justifiable reasons for the ban. What exactly is their complaint or is it affecting people negatively to justify the ban? Are people not reasonable enough to know where and where to go? After the noise, people still rush there, that means they are getting something. People should be allowed to judge. I don't know or haave anything to do with them but I suggest that NBC should conduct its own investigation and if it discovers anything like stage-managing, they should come out and tell us like NAFDAC did with Indomie. People that claimed to have been healed should be interviewed to verify the claims.
Obasanjo calling CAN chairman idiot
Although I am from the same local government area with the president, I am not exonerating him from blame. Two wrongs don't make a right, if CAN chairman accused the president, as the head of state, I would not have expected him to react the way he did. What he should have done was to invite some of the Christian and Moslem leaders to Abuja and talk to them politely instead of abusing them. It showed the nature of the president-someone easily irritated. He allowed himself to be carried away. Anger often leads to chaos and it is destructive, that is exactly what happened in Yelwa and Kano. This should not be so, we should be our brother's keepers.