Primate Elijah Babatunde Ayodele is a year older today, Sunday, February 14, 2016. He started heading church at the age of 16 and has made tremendous successes in the last 39 years in that he now has churches in Nigeria, Europe and the United States. Ayodele, who prefers to be best called “servant of the most high God” as against primate, bishop or a general overseer, did not start off as white garment church man as he was born into the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Idi-Oro, Mushin, Lagos where his father was a front runner and which the Junior Ayodele attended until 1972.He had his primary and secondary education in LCC and MTC, both in Mushin, during the days of morning and afternoon school system in Lagos. He then moved to Annunciation Grammar School, Ikere-Ekiti and, from there, to the Nigerian College of Aviation, Zaria, after which he joined the then Okada Airlines owned by Chief Gabriel Igbinedion.
Ayodele had been an SU, Deeper Life, gospel church man and had served as reverend father in Catholic Church. He had also been to other churches like Methodist, Anglican, Celestial, Cherubim and Seraphim. A church administrator, church manager, counsellor, evangelist, apostle and a prophet, the founder of Inri Evangelical and Spiritual Church Wolrdwide has no less than 250,000 who have benefited from his micro-credit initiative scheme for widows and has empowered over one thousand youths while assisting his church members to own properties. An instance is where he bought a car of about a million naira and sold it to a member for N20,000.
Recently, he built 10 units of self-contained apartments worth N250,000 per rent and gave them out to less privileged members of his church at one thousand per month. He has also so much invested in education, which is why he donated gifts to schools, both public and private, on the occasion of his birthday this year. His is the first white garment church to have satellite television called Golden TV. In this interview, he speaks on his life, step mother, church and his warnings to the nations as instructed by God. Excerpts:
Since over 39 years that you have been in the Lord's vineyard, what have been your major challenges and consolations?
I don't believe in challenges. Everything I have seen on earth since my days in the Lord's vineyard is just experience, not any challenge. Working for God has given me a wide experience to understand what life is all about and to take life easy. And from my experiences, I teach a lot of people. I must confess to you that if I did not work in the Lord's vineyard I might have died. My plan was to be a military man, a lawyer or a journalist. Honestly, I must say that it is a privilege and honour that God called me to work in His vineyard and I so much appreciate God that, if I would ever come again, I want to work as a prophet of God. And, on the strength of God, I want to serve people. I don't want people to serve me or take me the way people take pastors.
How do people take pastors which you don't want and how should a pastor carry himself?
A pastor must be humble. Yes, because you are anointed of God people want to respect you and they want to do anything to honour you. I don't feel comfortable to see people kneeling down for me. I am not God; so that they don't need to worship me. This is just a gift from God that any other person can have. Yes, people kneel down in admiration of you but they are only respecting the anointing in you. I appreciate my church members and I am more comfortable relating with them at their own level. I can even hold you in the hand so that you feel free and happy. It is not only when you kneel down that you respect me. You may be a traitor and still kneel down for me. I want a respect that is transparent and sincere.
I wasn't born as primate. It was in the Lord's vineyard that they started calling me primate. Some people call me doctor; in fact different titles, bishop and so on. My own is to humble myself before God and I am human. Just call me the Servant of God. You can even call me Brother Ayodele, I don't mind because it has no value to me.
So, I don't want to believe in challenges as problems. They only end up giving you strength and courage in order to forge ahead. The work of God has made me to have a lot of experiences and I thank Him for having made me to be one of the servants that work for Him.
Could you share with us some of your experiences in life, even outside the Lord's vineyard?
At the age of 10, I started doing hard labour but hard labour, is not punishment but for you to grow strong. Like at that age, I would wake up very early, about five o'clock in the morning, during harmattan and start going to farm. Today you call that punishment. And that is why I owe a very huge service to my step mother because I was trained and brought up by my father and step mother. My step mother did so well in my upbringing.
What happened to your mother?
My mother died when I was age 10 and my step mother took over from there and taught me every good thing that growing up child needed to know about life. It is very rare to have such a step mother. She taught me to be strong,which some people saw as punishment but it was not. My step mother was a woman like man, very courageous. She is still alive.
Now that you are celebrating your birthday?
I don't believe in birthday celebration. Birthday is a day for reflection and appreciating God and I say, 'God, I thank you for making me what I am today. It is a day you sit down to thank God, your parents, those who have added value to your life and even those who have not added value to your life.
How about your prophecies, considering your birthday in retrospect?
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