Edith is the daughter of the late founder of the Celestial Church of Christ, Samuel Bilewu Joseph Oshoffa. She talks about the life of her father in this interview with GBENGA ADENIJI
Tell us briefly about yourself.
I am Edith Oshoffa, daughter of the founder of the Celestial Church of Christ, S.B.J Oshoffa. I am a businesswoman. I have two elder sisters and two elder brothers from my father. I am the first child from my mother.
How was growing up with your father?
It was a fantastic experience especially when I recall when we were young. I remember that he came from a poor home; a very humble background. I knew he loved God and God answered his prayers. But I took him for granted a lot because to me, he was just my father and a good one at that. We were always busy spreading the gospel. Funny enough, I was born in a coastal area in the Republic of Benin when my father was into evangelism. We always went out with him. We later went to live with one of his friends, Pa. Goodwill Abiassi, who was an educationist. My elder brother, Ebenezer and I lived with the man. When he retired, he became my father’s secretary in the Francophone region. My father liked education a lot and he encouraged us to stay with Abiassi so we could learn more. We stayed there for five years. I returned to my father after to continue Primary Six. After school, I used to attend choir practice. At times, he would go in a trance and we would help him take notes of things he said. So many things happened to me when I was young. We attended many events together. A lot of people were usually in our house on December 24 of every year and we would all go to the Seme beach to hold services. Abiassi later lived with my father when he (dad) moved to Nigeria from the Republic of Benin, January 1976. They were together until the car accident of September 1, 1985. Abiassi was admitted at a hospital in Ibadan, Oyo State after the accident while my father was taken to a hospital in Lagos. Abiassi lived another eight years after the accident but my father died 10 days after the accident.
How did he make time for his children considering his busy engagements?
As busy as he was, he created time for all his children. He brought himself down to our levels. My father was not only a father but also a friend. There was an issue between my boyfriend and I then. He woke me up around 2am when he had time to speak with me. He humbled himself for us to know why we should do certain things and why he wanted us to do them. He was a very busy person but he created time for his children in a way that I cannot say how he did it. All his children miss him even after 29 years of his death. He also did not travel abroad because when we were very young, he got a spiritual message that he would be involved in an accident before his death. He later told us that he asked God to allow his family recover his body anytime he died. He knew that if he was involved in an air mishap, his body would not be recovered. For that reason, he refused to fly. He would not travel abroad because there was no way he could go abroad without flying. But we were always together whenever he was evangelising. Time of evangelism was like a holiday to us. There were always new happenings and experiences as we moved to different areas in Port-Novo, Republic of Benin, to evangelise.
How many wives and children did he have?
We are not a large family. People believe my father had many wives and children. His biological children are not so many.
Did he have 34 wives?
No, it’s not true. My father did not have 34 wives. All his children and wives know each other. My father never had a concubine and we all lived together. My mother was his third wife and my father was a polygamist before the church started. I think God decided to use him because he was a polygamist to show that He can do whatever He wants the way He wants it.
How was he able to ensure peace among his wives?
In a polygamous home, there cannot but be some little problems. But when I grew up to know my father, he was a man who catered well for his wives and children. Everyone wants to be loved and cared for and that was exactly what my father showed his family. Every week, one of our mothers always cooked for us. We would also eat from the same pot. When I was getting married in 1975, my father gave me two female house helps to follow me and assist with the chores.
What was his idea of punishing any child who misbehaved?
There was this intimate relationship we had which made my father not to beat me. I know this. He was a not a man who would beat, whip or slap his children each time they misbehaved. But when a child did anything wrong that was serious, he would call on someone to discipline such a child. I received more punishment when I was with Pa. Abiassi. If one was not among the first 10 in class, one was in trouble. My father was not a beater. I cannot remember the day he caned me. When I was young and I refused to do some things, he would call me later to explain why he wanted me to do what he instructed. I have learnt that kind of approach from him and I relate with my son well too. My father was a wonderful man. When people trembled seeing him, I just took him as my father. When he was involved in an accident on September 1, 1985, he allowed me to take him to the hospital. We were looking for him and did not know that he had been brought home. When we came home, we saw people trooping in to see him and I felt that he needed a rest. I approached him and told him in French that he would need to go to the hospital. He opened his eyes and said, ‘Edith, if it is you, I will go with you.’ That was how I was able to take him to the hospital on September 2, 1985.
Where were you when he died?
I was in the hospital with him. There were five people in the vehicle; the driver, Pa. Abiassi and two of my father’s aides, Mac and Thomas, who died instantly. Pa. Abiassi got injured. My father did not sustain any injury. It was only the middle finger on his left hand that broke. He died on September 10, 1985. I think his death was spiritual. He had a thanksgiving on September 8; two days before his death. I had an argument with the church’s Board of Trustees because I refused to disclose where I took him to. I later told my father about what happened. He told me that I should see myself as the daughter of a king and be assertive with whatever I want to do in the church. He asked me to bring a recorder for him to talk into it as proof that he said so. After the thanksgiving at the First Shadrack in Ilupeju, Lagos, he was joking with one of the persons he told us to invite for the event. It was the person that told him that his two aides had died. When the members left, he asked my brother and I where his two aides were. We told him that they were in a hospital in Ibadan receiving treatment since we did not want him to know the true situation. He asked us if we were sure and we answered in the affirmative. I told my brother not to come to the hospital in the morning the following day and we would pretend as if he was just coming from the hospital in Ibadan where my father’s aides were supposed to be receiving treatment. Immediately he entered the hospital the next day, I asked him how they were faring and he said the doctor advised them not to travel yet until they got better. My father just looked at us and laughed. He asked us if we wanted people to think he substituted the lives of his aides for his. We did not understand what he was saying. The next day after praying, he sat in his chair smiling and died. When the doctor came, I was told he was dead but I refused to believe because he was smiling.
What favours do you enjoy as one of the children of Oshoffa?
The name opens doors of favours everywhere I go. I remember when I just got married and I started using Oshoffa-Adewusi. My husband called me to choose between his and my maiden name. I chose Oshoffa because the name is a passport. I remember when I went to apply for a Nigerian Telecommunications Limited line one day after my father’s death. I applied for the line as Edith Oshoffa-Adewusi and the person in charge asked me of my relationship with Oshoffa and I told him. That day, he approved my line and ordered that it should be fixed same day. The name opens doors everywhere. Even at airports in Nigeria, the name brings recognition. It is a fantastic name.
What values did you learn from him?
One major thing I learnt from my father is that I should speak the truth always. My father taught us to be truthful and be open to others. I speak my mind and tell the truth always.
How did he relax?
He liked reading the Bible. I recall that he was the one who taught me how to read the Yoruba Bible when I was young. He would make me sit under a tree with him and read the passages that he would use to preach. He was a singer. He knew how to play the trumpet and organ very well. Sometimes when the organist was absent in church, he would take charge of the instrument. He was also a lover of good religious songs.
What was his dressing style?
My father was a fashionable man. He loved jewellery and I remember that a President of Gabon sent him a beautiful wristwatch. My father also liked wearing a long, lovely gold chain with a cross. He also wore garment of many colours.
Did he have any favourite food?
Yes, he enjoyed beans mixed with palm oil and garri. He loved to eat it with his hands. I always find it funny when people say members of CCC do not eat palm oil. When my father was in the hospital, he requested for beans mixed with palm oil and garri. It is part of the rules and tenets of the church that members should not put on shoes and not for any other reason.
What was his best drink?
In the 70s and 80s, he had a love for a particular kind of malt drink. If he wanted to entertain a guest and he felt like offering him a good drink, he would say ‘Bring that malt drink’
Why did you write the book, ‘S.B.J Oshoffa: The Enigmatic Spiritual Leader of Our Time’?
I wrote the book to share with my father’s spiritual children what they did not know about him. Also, I intend to use the book to remind members of the church the instructions he left and share his ideals with them.
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