Christendom Mourns Prophet Obadare

The Christendom in Nigeria rose in unison today to mourn the demise of famous evangelist and founder of the World Soul Winning Evangelical Ministry, WOSEM, Prophet Timothy Obadare, who died on Thursday at a private hospital in Akure, Ondo State, Southwest Nigeria. He was 85.

Obadare’s ministry spanned over four decades. He will be remembered as the man who pioneered television evangelism in Nigeria during the seventies.

Reacting to the death of the famous Bible preacher, the President, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor said the late Prophet Obadare’s death came to him as a shock, adding that he was a great man.

“It’s a shock. I’m surprised. He’s an elderly man quite alright but we never thought he would go so soon.

“He was a great man who contributed his quota to evangelism in Nigeria and Africa. We’re surely going to miss him.

“Obviously, God has called him and there is nothing we can do than to wish him good night,” Oritsejafor who spoke from the United Kingdom, said.

In his own comments, the General Evangelist of the Christ Apostolic Church Worldwide, Prophet Samuel Kayode Abiara described the late Obadare as “our father in the Lord and a genuine prophet of God.”

“He was our father in the Lord, a genuine prophet of God. He was a prophet of prophets, pastor of pastors. He was a pastor with uncommon grace and favour. He was an international preacher.

“What I found interesting about him is that if he ask you to read the Bible and you make a mistake, he will correct you.

“Well, he is dead, nobody can query God. We’ll miss him. We must all emulate him. He worked all day to promote God. He preached the scriptures all over the world. God used him mightily. His preaching was centred on salvation. He was a wonderful man of God,” Abiara told P.M.NEWS on phone.

The head of sacred Cherubim and Seraphim Church Worldwide, Dr. Solomon Adegboyega, described the late Prophet Obadare as a great evangelist who contributed a lot to the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

“I pray God grant him eternal rest. He was a great man of God. He left a great legacy and will be remembered for his great work in the spread of the gospel,” he added.

Also reacting to his death, Rev. Gabriel Osu, Media Director, Catholic Church, Lagos, described Obadare as one of the pioneers of television evangelism in Nigeria.

“He did his best to propagate the gospel. I pray for his soul to rest in peace. He used the media to reach out to lots of people. May his soul rest in peace,” he said.

Popular evangelist, Akin Fasawe, described Obadare as a great prophet who the Lord used to reach out to the world, adding: “God used him to make us evangelists. He was one of the revivalists in Nigeria.

“You can imagine a man with his eyes closed correcting the ills of others. It showed that he was called to the ministry by God. His name will forever remain with us.”

Primate Elijah Ayodele of the INRI Evangelical Church, Lagos said Obadare was truly a prophet of God and a gift to the nation, saying that he was a man God ordained to take the gospel to the people as it was in the Bible.

“He was not a flamboyant pastor. What he did will live after him. He talked straight. No doubt, Christendom has lost an icon of the gospel. He was an evangelist and he was among the prophets that kept saying that the coming of the Lord was near.

“I salute him, I see him as a role model to the younger generation.

According to Pastor Leke Akinola, Upper Room Baptist Church, “Obadare came to this world and he impacted a generation. We have lost a pillar in Christendom. We pray that what he left behind, God will sustain it.”

In his own comment, Pastor Abraham Ojutalayo of the New World Evangelical Church, Ikorodu described Obadare as a prophet, an apostle and an evangelist. “He was a man who was faithful and a sincere servant of God, who brought many people to the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ,” he added.

Rev. Oladapo Daramola of the Methodist Church Nigeria lamented that the nation had lost a spiritual giant and a man of God with legendary focus, adding that “he was an iconic man of God who lived an exemplary life. He confronted extremists in the north in those days through the preaching of the gospel.

“He made people believe the gospel can be preached by people with challenges. His words on radio penetrated the souls of many. He has joined the church triumphant and we are going to miss him.”

Pastor Biodun Tomilawo of the Deeper Life Bible Church described Obadere as a committed man of God. “I have known him since the 80s. He has gone home to rest,” he said.

—Lanre Babalola & Kazeem Ugbodaga