According to those who know him, you will likely not see him wearing agbada either. Prophet Jeremiah Omoto Fufeyin is a very simple man of God. You may not like him, but you cannot deny his humility. You can walk to him and still ask to see the very powerful and influential prophet whose congregation numbers around thirty thousand today. He would only smile at you.
In the days of Christ, when they came for him, they could not identify him because he was more or less the same with his disciples in what he was wearing, he would always tell you and also that the betrayer had to kiss him in order to identify him. Prophet Jeremiah believes God has been good to him an chase endowed him and so wearing suits do not in any way increase what God has deposited in his life. He spoke with BAMIDELE OGUNDANA and JUSTICE ABRAHAM. Excerpts:
As a man of God that is in high demand all over the country, and indeed the world, how frequently do you leave your base?
I wasn’t used to traveling. Indeed I don’t fancy it at all. But when you are called by God, when He has sent you, you must go. When He asked me to come to Abuja, that’s why I am here. Don’t forget, Jesus Christ was not for the Nazarites alone, he went out of his own comfort zone and traveled round for His ministry, He went from place to place evangelizing. He asked me to go round and that is why I am here. I am just coming from Ghana. It was from Ghana that I came to Abuja.
How did your ministry start?
It’s interesting. It is indeed an interesting story. 3rd of April this year made it six years that I was driven away from Mountain of Fire and Miracles, MFM in Warri by the Regional Overseer. I was a member of the Prayer warrior or intercessor department. It was quite an experience because miracles were happening and some people were not comfortable with it. They went round and said that I might be using something other than the name of God. So they drove me away. But I thank God, His work started in earnest and since that happened six year ago, things took a new dimension. Bishops, senior pastors have been coming around and exclaiming at what I am doing there in Warri, where we are spending billions and I mean billions to put structures in place. Despite the fact that we have been at it just for three years, God has been proving Himself. We got a swampy area, located just as you enter Warri, but God said that is where he wants us to build. And he has continued to be with us. I set out to be a prayer warrior but He said no, He wanted to use me more and He has been proving Himself.
When you were born, was there any sign that you would be a prophet?
That’s another interesting part of my life. It is a story you would like to listen to. When I was born, I was the third of four children by my mother, three biys and one girl. She told me that at the age of 10, anything that wanted to happen in our community, Ojobo in Burutu Local Government of Delta State, I would always tell her. If people wanted to die, I would tell her, if anything was to happen, I would tell her. And all these things always happened. When it was becoming too much, she started beating me up. At a point, she took took me to my father’s house, my father had eight wives and many children, where she reported me to my father calling me a wizard. My father told her, no. He said I was not a wizard. She brought me back home, but the situation did not change. Indeed, if my mother wanted to go to the market and I saw that she would not sell anything and I tell her, she would beat me up because she will surely not sell.
There was a day she was going to the market and I told her that all her goods would be lost as the canoe would sink. You know, in our area, we travel to the market by canoe as our area is riverine. So she went to the market and as I predicted, the goods were all lost as the canoe tumbled. I told her that she would cry and she indeed cried. She came back home again and it was another round of beating, calling me wizard and that now that she had lost everything through my wizardry what were we going to eat, she also complained that there was nothing to train me with.
After that incident, I remember that she had a pond far away from the community. I called her and told her what I was hearing that we should go to where the pond was and beside the pond there would be enough fish to replenish what she had lost. I told her and she said ok. Usually we dig ponds in February so that we can catch fish later. So we set out to go and catch fish in February. I told her to bring many containers but she only brought three basins and two buckets. I remember very well. When we got there, I pointed at an area, she went there, there was no fish as leaves had fallen on top of the water there. Again, it was another set of abuses as she told me that my wizardry was only good at destroying things and not helping the family. I knew that God cannot lie. She beat me up but I asked her to give me the last chance. I pointed at another spot and she went there and met many big catfish. She carried until she could no longer carry. At that point she now said I am no longer a bad wizard. Her attitude changed. Anytime she wanted to go to the market, she would bribe me to say positive things about her goods and she would promise me to buy things for me. I did that and things I said came to pass. That was how the prophetic aspect of my life started. Meanwhile after that night when Mama caught many to sell, the next morning, different people from the village went down to the place to try and catch fish. We didn’t go again. But they went. When they got there, they didn’t see anything to catch. It was like someone had packed all of them. But when they came back, they said they saw signs that we were there.
After some time, I opened a cinema and was now showing films, I was showing Nigerian films, and collecting money. Somehow, I ran into debts. Then the devil took charge and made me to try suicide. I sold all the property I was using to show films, I now bought Valium 10 tablets, 40 tablets. This was in 1990, exactly June 10. After buying the drugs, I entered into the forest, the Efurrun forest,. I took okada into the forest, rubber plantation area, swampy place then I arranged a rope to kill myself after which I prayed, asking God to take my soul but that he should not allow me to go to hell fire. I set the rope somewhere and then swallowed all the forty Valium 10 tablets, 40 in all. Nobody knew where I was. So nobody could stop me. I was there for three days. I knew because I was wearing a wristwatch that had dates. When I woke up and I was still alive, rain had beaten me seriously, you know it was in June. I realized I didn’t die. I climbed where I had the rope, to hang myself. Then the unexpected happened. I don’t know how the rope, very strong rope, cut and I landed on the floor. I found it difficult to believe that that rope could cut and that I was not dead. After I landed, I had to take a break. I went to rest my back on a rubber tree, then I noticed that something was licking my head. I turned, it was an antelope. I said to the antelope, if you want to kill me, kill me, why not a lion so that I could die.
At that time I was hungry and thirsty. I had never fasted for one day but here I was for three days I had not eaten. So I went to drink water by the stream around the place. I came back and I saw that the antelope was waiting for me. After some time, the antelope turned to go and I followed it. It was leading and I was following. Moments later, the antelope jumped and I noticed that it saw a big snake that was why it jumped like that it was a big snake that could have killed me. Now, me that wanted that die before, I didn’t want to die again, I went through another pathway to join the antelope, curiously it waited for me. That antelope guided me until I got to the closest village around. Then it went its way. Upon arriving at a farmland, I I saw a woman who thought I was mad and started wondering what a young mad boy was doing there. I told her I was not mad but I was hungry. She gave me popo garri which I ate, after which she asked me whether I had any relations around and I told her that I had an aunt by Warri waterside. She called a bike and paid for me to be taken to my aunt.
When my aunts saw me, she fainted. I was taken to an hospital where doctors tested me and wondered how I survived after what I took.
From that point, I decided to chart a new course.
Now the same spot where I wanted to commit suicide twice is where we have our church, two hundred acres of land and we are building there. The devil wanted to kill me to abort the mission but God’s plan prevailed. I want to use this opportunity to speak to those who are undergoing challenges today, who feel that things are not gong well, I want to tell them that Jesus is the answer. He has His plans for all of us, do not let the devil confuse you or convince you to do what God does not want for you. Just wait on God and He will remember you and bring you out of the problem.
So at what point did you join MFM?
I was in the village there with my aunt then one man came, he wanted to contest election for local government Chairman, our local Government, Burutu. So he paid people seven thousand Naira to help him paste posters per ward. He gave me three wards and instead of collecting his money to do the job, that spirit that was always speaking to me when I was with my mother told me not to collect his money. I went and paste the posters, I borrowed money and added it to what I had. The man was taken aback. All the others collected money except me. He thereafter said I should come and live with him in Warri. That was how I moved from the village to Warri. I was with him, and the spirit told me that he would win and how things would go, which I also told him and it went that way. The man attended MFM church and I also had to join him to attend the church. That was how I found my way to MFM
After your ministry started, have you reconciled with MFM?
Hmmmm. The APC, PDP politics is child’s play to what exists in churches. They came to beg me, but before they came they had lobbied my financiers who ere ready to leave if I didn’t leave. God told me not to. So I didn’t leave. I stayed back and after some time what I lost to those who left, I regained.
Why is it that you do not have branches of your church?
I don’t have branches because the one that I have is really very mighty and it is not easy. Presently what I do is that people come and I impart on them as sons and daughters and send them out. They later come come back to pay homage, bringing their tithes.
How has it been running the home, with your wife and children and also running the church?
Yes, I am married and have four kids. They are all girls. True, it is not easy. It takes the spirit of God and the cooperation of the woman for the ministry to develop. I thank God who gave me my own wife. I have been out of Warri for about a month now but my wife has been in charge.
