+What He Said About Her @ His Book Launch
The marriage between Pastor Enoch Adeboye and his lovely wife, Folu is one that has stood the test of time. It is now 50 years. And it is waxing stronger and stronger. They are a perfect example of a Godly ordained couple. And this shows in their lives, in the lives of their children who are all married and also to millions of couples who see them as mentors.
Their love story dates back many years ago, after a few years courtship. In 1967, Enoch Adeboye got married to Foluke Adeyokunnu and they both have 4 children: Leke, Adeola, Dare, Bolu Adubi and everyone of them has a key role they perform in the church.
Last week, his wife, Pastor (Mrs.) Folu Adeboye, presented a book written in honour of her husband to mark his 75th birthday, although the book ought to have been out early this year when Rev. Adeboye celebrated his birthday. The book titled ‘Pastor E A Adeboye, His Life and Calling’ reflects all you need to know about the life of Pastor Adeboye and his wife. For those who don’t know lets quickly tell you that the couple did their court marriage on September 8, 1967, and had their church wedding on December 17, same year. In another book written by popular author, Bisi Daniels titled, Stories of Pastor E.A Adeboye: The Power of Testimony, Adeboye revealed that he was the least qualified suitor coming for his wife then.
According to him “there were many of us contesting for the hand of my wife. I wanted to marry a beautiful princess but I was the least qualified among the many suitors. Out of the number, three of us were in the forefront. “But I was a student, while one of us was a lawyer who owned a car. All I had was a ‘foot wagon’ (moving around on foot). I decided to let her know my financial status. “I said to her, ‘Please, listen. I have nothing; no money, no house, no influence, nothing.’ I told her that if I had anything at all, it was the little brain God gave to me. ‘I have nothing to offer you except myself. If you will marry me, you will have me to yourself completely.”
Their public display of love last week at the book launch took many by surprise. Pastor Enoch Adeboye pulled Mummy G.O to his side and kissed his wife of 50 years, Folu Adeboye, on the stage during the book presentation in his honour.Adeboye, who expressed surprise at the occasion, said he would have stopped the project if he knew about it, adding that he was undeserving of the honour.
At the occasion, Pastor Folu Adeboye apologised to Pastor Adeboye for keeping the news of the book away from him till last week. She told the audience that she hid information about the book from her husband for one year, adding that she planned it to coincide with his 75th birthday.
While standing with Adeboye on the stage, together with their 4 children, she said her hubby was only informed about the event a day before.
The Master of Ceremony (MC) teased her to tell the audience the pet names she gave her husband, demanding an expression of love since the occasion also marked 50 years of their marriage. “Pastor ID, why are you fast? This is just presentation of a book, not marriage anniversary. Whatever you want, I will do it…,” she replied, as she hugged the husband and went on to kiss him as the audience erupted in excitement. Pastor Adeboye, in his remark, expressed surprise at the book presentation, which was written by 40 people.
He said, “The event of today, without any doubt, has been a great surprise to me. This is because my wife hid it from me, and we don’t normally hide anything from each other, because we have been married for 50 years and we are still on honeymoon.
“Why the event is a surprise to me is that God also hid it for me. I had no inkling at all from my Daddy that something like this is happening. If God hid it from me, it must mean that He approved of it. My wife knows that if I had any idea about what is happening today, it will never happen. I would have stopped it long ago because who am I without Jesus Christ? If there is anyone to be celebrated, it should be Him.
“People say I am humble, but people need to know where I am coming from. I cannot say I have any ability or wisdom. Everything has been the Lord Himself. When I was about 40 and I saw grey hairs on my head, I wondered why and God said I was carrying a burden that was not mine.
“God said, ‘I am just using you as camouflage. People need to see someone. So, I am putting you forward so that I can do the work from behind.’ So, everything that is happening in RCCG, nothing is of Adeboye at all; it is all about God. So, for you to say you are writing a book about somebody that is nothing, someone who has almost zero beginning, from a poor family and passed through secondary school by God’s grace.
For God to allow today to happen without telling me, it can only be that He wants to draw your attention to Himself that if you allow Him, He will do great things, using you as camouflage.”
Adeboye said it was a miracle he was at the occasion as he had slept one hour a night during the seven-day convention of the church which ended on the previous Sunday.
Many times over, Pastor Adeboye had shown to the world that his wife is surely the best part of him and he has never hesitated to openly show his affection towards her even in public.He usually makes an example of her to the congregation and no wonder, with all this attributes, she was tagged mother in Israel. The virtuous woman who seldom talk about her personal or marital life does so in few occasions like Father’s Day and during her husband’s birthday celebration to further rededicate her love to her husband. One of such was at Father’s Day when the US region of the Redeemed Christian Chuch of God did a video documentary to celebrate pastor Enoch Adeboye and his wife, Foluke also said some things about her husband, she said,” I see him as a father to many generations but to me I see him as a friend and as a brother”. She once also revealed many things people don’t know about Pastor Adeboye. In her words:” Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye is a man of God and a child of God to start with. He is spirit filled, very hardworking, has passion for people and very passionate about whatever he does and as we all jokingly call him, he is a coach. He doesn’t want anybody around him to end up being a nonentity. He wants you to make it in life. Even while he was a lecturer in the University, none of his students would ever fail exam because if he noticed your weakness, he would sit with you and make sure he taught you until you got it. That same attribute in him, has helped him to be an achiever. He will stand by whatever he is doing in life until he sees that he has a breakthrough. Not only that. We know that he is a lover of the Word and he is a Teacher, an Apostle, you know, whatever offices God has for His Ministers, he is qualified to be one of them. At various time in his ministry he operates in all these offices and we thank God for his life. He is a father to a fault. As he fathers the church, he fathers his children the same way, in a loving way. At the same time, rebukes and chastises when necessary. He loves and showers his love over them. He is always ready to do anything for any child who is obedient and teachable. For me as his wife, I have not seen him as a husband as such, but a friend and a brother. He has been very loving, very compassionate, he understands people, at least he understands me. I find him interesting to live with because without understanding there would be fighting. He respects and gives people dignity. Whoever you are, he will respect you for whatever God has called you to be even in the vineyard. As he does it outside, he does it in the house.
He is very helpful. He is not the kind of husband that does not provide for his home. Even while he was a student, we all understood that he was a student. I had to be at home managing affairs on two occasions for him to go for his Masters degree and for his Ph.D. Immediately he finished, he took up his job again and tried to redeem the time. Up till today, he is still redeeming the time. Pastor E.A. Adeboye is very appreciative. Whatever you do for him, he will appreciate it. He will not only say it by the word of the mouth, he also shows it. I think I said it sometime ago that in those days when we were still holding Congresses all around, because of the bulk of the work which was mainly on him and myself, after the congress he would just go out there and buy me shoes and things like that. That is because that is the only way he knew to appreciate but now he knows better. Probably you heard him often at times talking about it on the pulpit until I stopped him, that he must not put me in the open again. We fought about it, because I said he should just stop talking about me in the open. For me, it is to tell the whole world the kind of husband I have. He is very appreciative. Because of this, I pour out myself into whatever he does so that he can be successful. He accommodates people, whoever you are. He accommodates people to make sure he builds them. He is a builder! You can see it in the ministry, several people are being raised, by the grace of God, through him, through his teachings, his examples. He has indirectly built vessels especially within the RCCG hence we have so many teachers in the ministry, pastors, evangelists, apostles even though we don’t call them apostles but we know we have them in RCCG. Of course, there have been a lot of changes. By the time we married, he was not yet a born-again Christian, though a nominal Christian. We all go to church. I can say I even knew more of the Bible because I was already a Scripture Union (SU) member in the college. Transformation, a great one came after being born again. When we got married, we were together, being unborn again, for some 13 years or there about, until we became born again. So, salvation is the only key aspect where he has changed. He became more compassionate. He has more passion. We have heard him talked about it that it used to be very difficult to bring tears out of his eyes. However, from the time he became born again, he can shed tears for anybody even while he is counseling, because now he has passion and compassion for people more than before. I want to say that while he was still very young, he was extremely active in sports. Though he may not be jumping up and down as a volley ball player now, he still maintains that stature and strength for sports. I think every man should emulate him because he would take his walk in the morning which makes him to be fit, very fit. Of course, increasingly, the Holy Spirit is giving him a lot of visions and inspirations, more than before. He has always had inspiration for writing because he wrote a lot of poems in those days. In those days, whenever he wrote a letter to me, apart from about five sentences, the rest would be poems. He has transferred that passion to writing hymns and songs every year. Because of that particular gift in him, he wrote about three plays which we acted and they brought tears to the eyes of the people during the convention—The second coming of Jesus, The Noah’s Ark and the other one that he wrote, we acted when we were still using the headquarters church in Ebute Metta for the convention. So, you could say that most of the gifts that God has given him have been used better since when he became born again and with the inspiration God you can say that he has been a sharpened gift more than ever before. When we talk about family issues, we start from our children. We find time, a lot of time for them because when they are at home, they know that we are their parents and we play our role as their parents. We don’t just leave them like that; at least everyday we pray for them. What we do for them in those days; but we don’t have the time today, is eating together in the same bowl. All of them are married now, so they have their own homes but the relationship is very cordial, people can see it. Since none of them is disobedient, they hear what we say and they feel with us, they are side by side in the ministry with us in their spirit and in their doing. Every one of them has his role to play in the ministry; as you all know, all of them are pastors. The one who is not on the pulpit is doing one thing or the other to make sure God is glorified in the ministry and there is no loop-hole somehow. So, we still find time for the children and even the grand children. For the extended family, it is what you know how to do before you become great that you will continue to do. If you forget your source, there is no way you will not dry up. All his extended family members are well taken care of. We are in good rapport with them, they come, we share things; they tell us what their problems are. We don’t leave them with their problems. In their joy we rejoice together. If they are having marriages for their children, we are there. That is why many of them are now in the Lord which gives us great joy, both his family and my family.
– TAYO FAJORIN OYEDIJI
