Crash of Okotie’s second marriage: We’re shocked, sad –Church members, celebrities

By The Nation: Paul Ukpabio

 

Okotie with ex-wife Stephanie

Shock, sympathy and caution still characterise the atmosphere around yuppie Pastor Chris Okotie of the Household of God Church, a few days after he publicly announced the break-up of his four-year-old second marriage to delectable ex-wife Stephanie, at a Sunday morning worship service. The news, which immediately spread like wild fire across the country, jolted many who could not help but recall the glamour and public support that followed his marriage just four years ago. 

Memories of his break-up with Tina, his first wife, remain fresh in the mind. Tina, who had come all the way with him for 14 years, had travelled to America where her prolonged stay caused members of the church anxiety. It took Pastor Okotie time before he finally announced more or less in the same manner he did just last Sunday of the crash of his marriage to Tina his first wife, at a service in his church. “Tina was not coming home to the marriage anymore,” he had said. The marriage was over and he was moving on. 

When our reporters visited the church during the mid-week service, the first of such since Pastor Okotie made his second famous marriage break-up speech, the mood that enveloped the church reminded one of the same mood that characterised the church when Tina left. Everywhere, there were echoes of un-answered questions. For most of the members who longed for more answers, they defied the rain of Wednesday, to ensure their presence in church. The expectation was much. They wanted to know more. What could have made their jerry-curled pastor to separate from his second wife Stephanie, who until that Sunday was usually called ‘mummy’ at the church?

After the praise worship, Pastor Okotie, in an all-white kaftan, stepped into the church, escorted by security men like the pop star that he had been many years ago. When he got to the pulpit, he took over the microphone and went into singing and spiritual chant. He had transformed to the spiritual realm. He spoke in tongues, jumped and gyrated all over as members flowed along to catch up with his pace. For many inside the church, he was the centre of attraction. They just stared at him, with much feelings for him, feelings that they could not express to him, which they would have loved to express. Many among them would have loved to wrap him up and tell him, ‘it is well’ because, once again, their loving pastor is alone, and the church is now without a ‘mummy.’ 

Finally, it was time for the pastor’s sermon, and the members shifted on their seats, with much expectation that here again, the pastor would tell them more about his separation from his second wife Stephanie. But he talked on how to grow in Christianity; how to grow into maturity and be in tune with and in a solid relationship with God. It was a moving sermon, which told the church members that their pastor is moving on in his relationship with God. He may not have matured fully, but he is in the process of maturing, and hopes one day, to mature fully. As for Stephanie and that marriage, he did not say a word. Pastor Okotie has moved on…? 

What some members said after midweek service

Around the vicinity of the Household of God Church, the members shied away from dropping comments on the break-up as the church ground bristled with security. You would think the church had advised the members not to talk about the incident. But not so outside the church. The members commented freely about the incident but most pleaded to remain anonymous.

Mandy: We are sad. And right now, we are worried about our pastor, worried about how this marriage separation is going to affect him. Personally, I wish it didn’t happen.

Ayo: I don’t want to talk about it. It is his personal decision. I don’t know what happened and what made him take the decision. I am a family man, I take decisions in my house and when I do, I don’t expect people to change it or scold me for it. I would have talked more if it was some other matter. This is my pastor’s matter, not mine.

Chuks: Definitely, there are unanswered questions. What beats me is that there was no indication at all. I meanwhile, I have been attending Household all this while, I can’t believe what is happening. I don’t know what to say.

Mummy B: Something is wrong somewhere. No two people live together for that long and then part without something having taken place. I was hoping that Pastor would tell us more today, but he didn’t. That cannot stop my family and I from attending the church though. It didn’t stop us when he parted ways with his first wife. It won’t stop us now. My husband didn’t come today because he is not around. If he was around, he would have been here. 

Sister Esther: Our Pastor needs our prayers at this time. I feel terribly sad. It is a blow to me because the pastor and his wife were a beautiful couple. The woman is so beautiful, but God knows best. Who are we to judge them? We cannot judge them. Like I said, God knows best. 

Dapo: I feel for Pastor, truly I feel for him. He is such a gentleman, only God knows what went wrong. It can’t be an easy decision for them, but one cannot rule out childlessness. You remember that it was an issue in his first marriage. Women are particular about having children for their husbands. I don’t think Stephanie will be an exception, even if she had already had children in another marriage.          

What some celebrities say:

Senator Ita Giwa (Politician)

I think marriage is a private thing between a couple, and not something that the public should influence. It is a private thing if a couple have any difference between each other, they should call themselves together and sort it out between them. I know Pastor Kris Okotie and I know they will sort it out with each other. It is beyond us, it is beyond the public. It is their private matter.      

Bashorun Dele Momodu (Publisher) 

It is sad and unfortunate that the marriage did not work. I feel like a stakeholder in that marriage. I attended their wedding and I was very excited about the love they exuded openly. Pastor Kris has been my friend of many years. He is a man who supported me all the way during my exile years. So I feel very bad that this is happening again to him. But then, he is a human being like the rest of us. Being a pastor does not make you less human. What I like about him is that he is a very brave man, who is ready to carry his cross alone at any time. Even Jesus our Lord carried His own cross at a time. So there is nothing strange or new in men of God going through trials and tribulations. If he finds love again, I don’t think anything should stop him from doing so. He cannot live alone perpetually. Every man needs a good companion. So we can only pray that God will find him a permanent companion. He should not be discouraged. As to your question whether he should marry a foreigner, I will say that it does not matter where a woman comes from, a human being is a human being. But I do not think that his choice of a wife should be limited to his church members. A man should look beyond his immediate environment for a marital partner. In a relationship, one person must make the move.

Gloria Doyle (Musician) 

I actually feel a lot about marital issues. Pastor should settle down and go out for the right reasons before taking the step. You don’t marry a woman because she is beautiful, you don’t marry a woman because of just any casual reason. You marry a woman because you want to share your life and love with the woman. If what they professed they had in their hearts for each other was genuine, then I don’t think they will get themselves to the point of separation. 

Right now, they are not disclosing the issues that led them to this. But they just agreed to separate. As to your question about the church not having fore-knowledge of what was going to take place last Sunday, I will say that Pastor Kris has always been a very private person, he is somebody that makes his business his business. Personally, if I say that I did not see it coming, I will not be sincere. For instance, I have been with Stephanie in the church and I have seen her. Pastor Kris needs the right hand. He is a pastor and a teacher, anybody he gets married to, needs to have a vast knowledge of the Bible. I think they got married because they have been friends for long.

Tee Mac (Musician) 

There is no point two people living together as husband and wife, if they are not happy with each other. Happiness is very important in any relationship. Two people can only live and be happy with each other, if it is so sanctioned by God. But if they both think that it will save both of them a lot of stress by living apart from each other or separating from each other, then it is best they do so. There is nothing like ‘till death do us apart’ anymore, that injunction is outdated. We are in modern times and every relationship has to be guided by love and happiness. It is correct for Pastor Kris and his wife to split if the love and happiness that joined them together are no longer there. Anyway, I believe that two people can live together without being married. I wish Pastor Kris Okotie all the best and also wish his ex-wife Stephanie all the best.

Benny Obaze (House of Bevista, City Clothier) 

The separation between Pastor Kris Okotie and wife Stephanie is unfortunate. I feel for the pastor, but he probably knows best. But if you are in a marriage and it is not working out, instead of living in despair or a pretentious life, it’s better to end the relationship. Pastor Kris has been my friend and pastor, so I am sure that the decision that he has made is good for him and his now separated wife. So like he said, I think we should respect his privacy. What I can do is to pray for him so that he can find his true love. I believe something must have gone wrong which we are not privy to. 

Marriage is a very difficult thing. We can never know the whole details of what went wrong. However, God said that it is not good for a man to be alone. So I am advising him to marry again, if he sees the right partner. I support him to re-marry because a marriage did not work does not make him a bad man or does it make Stephanie a bad woman. It was an irreconcilable difference. People can get to a point that they cannot reconcile and it becomes best for them to separate, instead of living a pretentious life. I’ve known the pastor over the years, he is not pretentious. He is straight. He is still a young man, in his early 50s, and a pastor of a very big church. So he should find a good partner who will serve God with him. 

 LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

Flooding: Lagos, Ogun residents count losses

By Linus Obogo, Segun Ajiboye, Miriam Ndikanwu and Oziegbe Okoeki 

Call it a day of rage and bedlam and you may not be wrong. It was a day the heavens’ violent and relentless yawning left residents of Lagos and Ogun States at the mercy of nature’s cruel hands. 

All across the two states, the story bear a familiar refrain. Flood, flood and flood everywhere. While the rains came as a welcome relief from the baking heat that endured between January to April this year, its present offering has come, rather as a pill too lethal to swallow.

With residents displaced from their homes and roads taken over by flood waters, this is one gift nature has unleashed with a tinge of vengeance. And since Thursday, from Lagos to Ogun State, virtually everyone has been counting his loses and lamenting his anguish, just as every home has equally been counting its misery. 

Leaving sorrows, tears and despair on its trail, residents of the two states recounted their experiences to The Nation on Saturday:        

Boloaji –Ikorodu: The rain which started at 7pm, continued relentlessly till 8am. We woke up only to find that the entire area had been completely over run by flood waters. Both human and vehicular movements were seriously hampered. The development led to many people staying indoors. While those who ventured out, did so with the help of an improvised canoe, others watched in abject helplessness. An area that was never used to canoe, suddenly witnessed the presence of such means of transportation. Apart from canoes, motorcycles were also used in ferrying people.

In what seemed like different strokes for different folks, Bolaji told The Nation that while it was lamentation for so many of the residents, it was triumph for commercial motorcycle riders, popularly called okada and canoe operators who had to quickly cash in on the torment of the residents by mother nature. Bolaji said that the okada and canoe operators made a kill of the bad situation, as they charged between N50 and N100 to get people across the floods ravaged area.

According to Bolaji, the nearness of the affected area to a canal also contributed to the flood watersFor Agbebi –Akute, Ogun State, it was hell let loose Thursday and Friday as residents of Alagbole and Iyakoyo were literally held hostage by flood waters occasioned by the torrential rain that lasted all day. For those who dared to make it out, it was not easy for them as they had to be carried on the back of others. But the service was not free.

According to him, it was a dreadful sight to behold as trucks and canoes were freely used in ferrying people to escape being drowned in the flood. “I was on my way to work and had to make a U-turn when I could hardly discern the road from the gutters. Everywhere was overtaken by flood waters. 

“For those carrying people on their backs, they charged as high as between N150 and N200, while canoes charged between N250 and N300. But for some families, there appeared to be no escape route following the invasion of their homes by the merciless flood waters.

For motorists who thought they could have their way with the rampaging flood, they were reduced to ‘submarines’. But so far, there was no reported casualty.

In the home of a certain family, they had to evacuate their children to a family friends’ house as their apartment was reduced to a swimming pool.”

Recounting her experience, Yemisi- Akute, Ogun State, “said  some part of Akute was like an island, no thanks to a dam which content was coincidentally released at the same time the floods came calling. Vehicular traffic was marred by the large body of water that took the entire road by the jugular. As late as 2am, long queues of vehicles could be seen snaking their way uncertainly to their various destinations.

For residents of Lambe in Ogun State, they were trapped in their homes and those who made it out were not so lucky to find their way home as the major road going to their houses was enveloped by flood waters.

Stanley –Ayobo, Lagos State: In Ayobo area of Lagos, houses could be seen submerged. Residents had a Herculean task entering their houses. It took some of the residents about five days to bail out water. It was such a pitiable sight to behold. The topography of the area further compounded the problem. I could not immediately confirm this, but a friend said the bridge linking Lagos and Ogun States was impassable because it was submerged.

Ndubuisi, Alimosho, Lagos: At Aboru, both married and single women freely lent themselves to be carried by men. The situation was so frightening that they were no longer bothered how they were being carried. What they were interested in was to be helped to a safer area from the flood strewn area.

At Apple Junction, Femi Kila and several other streets around Ago Palace Way, in Isolo Local Government Area of Lagos, many  residents were sacked from their homes by the Thursday and Friday’s downpour, which last for more than 18 hours.

According to Bayo Adeoye, the rain left many residents of the area trapped for several hours. 

Adeoye said residents who left home early in the morning were trapped because their homes were overtaken by flood waters. 

He said the flood waters made most of the houses in the area inhabitable. “The rains left may people along the Ago Palace Way homeless. It was tough for the people because their homes were overtaken by water. You can imagine somebody who went to work in the morning, but could not gain access to the house by the time he came back.”

In the Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Government Area of Lagos State, Idewu, Baale, Wilmer Streets and many others in the area were left flooded by the rain. A resident, Ayodele Olalere,  said the rain left many businesses paralyzed.

According to Olalere, residents resorted to the use of canoes and other floating materials to move around. “The flood paralyzed many businesses in the area. People started using canoes to move round the neighourhood.”

For residents of Isheri Oshun, Burknor Estate, suburbs of Lagos, it was double calamity. While the flood waters made their homes inhabitable, different kinds of reptiles ensured that they never went anywhere near their abandoned homes as they swiftly took over the waters.

Femi Salawu, a resident, said he moved out of the area after discovering that the waters were infested by snakes. Salawu vowed not to go back home until the waters receded. “I am not going back to that place until the water dries up. You cannot imagine what we are going through. Big snakes found their ways into homes of people, leaving us with no choice than to run for our dear lives,” Salawu explained. 

Meanwhile, road users on the Apapa -Oshodi express way are still subjected to untold hardship from the havoc the Thursday  downpour wreaked across the metropolis.

The problem is more compounded due to the prevalent bad road and blocked drainages that have left the route from Oshodi Apapa still flooded.

The deep gully at the Mile Two FESTAC end of the road almost renders the road impassible. Motorists who ply the route yesterday where held up in traffic for hours, while many commuters resorted to trekking to their offices.

At Sanya and Second Rainbow Bus stop, it was a vast stretch of water covering the road.

 “The situation is really disheartening, we have been on this road for over an hour now, we just have to come down and trek to Mile 2 so as to join another bus to Apapa, said a commuter who gave her name as Julian.

Julian wondered why Julius Berger reconstructed only one lane and left the other unattended to. “Since last year, the drainage from Second Rainbow Bus stop has been blocked and this makes it impossible for the flood to recede whenever it rains. 

 “We were excited when we saw Julius Berger working on the road from the Apapa- Oshodi route, hoping that before the peak of the raining season, there would have been some rehabilitation work on the other lane, but sadly, nothing of such happened and many residents that ply this route can tell you that the road has been blocked since Thursday.”

Another commuter, Jude Okezie, said the situation is so unfortunate considering that Federal Government visited the road severally last year and yet failed to address the challenge before the peak of this year’s rainy season.

“This situation was very obvious last year because the entire stretch from Apapa to Oshodi has completely failed on both lanes. The Minister of Works and other top government functionaries visited this road last year and they saw the challenge. Relief came when we saw Berger working on the other lane, but even work on that lane has stopped also.

Okezie said Julius Berger, knowing the challenge on the road would have helped open the drainage channel while still working on the other lane. “They are professionals and should know better where the challenges are on the road and could have put up palliative repairs while still working on the other lane. That way,  the impact would not have been this severe.” he added. 

For residents of Gloryland community in Isheri Olofin, Egbe Idimu Local Council Development Area (LCDA), they  have appealed to Lagos State Government to urgently come to their aid and rescue them from the problem of flooding in the area which started about seven years ago. 

The situation, a spokesman for the community, Mr. Isaac Okorie said, got worse with the construction of the LASU/Iba road, because the construction company, Chinese Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCECC) diverted erosion to the community. 

According to Okorie, a series of letters have been written to the appropriate authorities with no response. The Thursday’s downpour, he said has rendered most of the residents in the community homeless. 

“As early as 2am yesterday (Thursday), when the rains started, residents were trapped in their houses and have been calling on neighbors for rescue; right now, more than eight houses are submerged in the flood. We are appealing to the state government to come to our aid,” Okorie said. 

The streets affected according to him are; Bishop Ogbonna, Prince Wale, Prince Hakeem Balogun, among others. 

He also decried the non-existence of drainages in the area, despite promises by the LCDA chairman. 

Lagos to dedicate today sanitation on drainage clearing

Meanwhile, Lagos State Government has that it will dedicates today’s sanitation exercise to the evacuation of drainage channels as measures to curtail the effect of torrential rainfall that would be witnessed in the next two weeks in the state.

State Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello, said this was necessary considering that the coming weeks will be the most critical peak of the raining season.

He urged residents to come out for the exercise which has been specifically dedicated to the cleaning of drains in the state environment. 

He admonished Lagosians to join hands with the state government to ensure a flood free Lagos, saying his Ministry has also intensified its mid-rain cleaning programme.

Bello said the Ministry of the Environment has just completed the pre-rain cleaning exercise aimed at ensuring that all forms of impediments on drainage channels were removed to allow for effective discharge of storm water into the lagoon. 

He urged residents not to panic as all the major drainage channels had been cleaned and dredged in anticipation of this year’s rains, adding that as the rains get more intense during the year, Lagosians should relate effectively with their respective Resident Engineers and Drainage Maintenance Officers whose phone numbers have been published and presently been posted to all the 57 Local Government and Council Development Areas in the state, to tackle flood related matters. 

He  warned residents who still patronize cart pushers to desist from this illegal act as the refuse collected in each neighborhood, were been dumped into canals close to them at night by the cart pushers. 

He also urged Lagosians to patronize PSP Operators who will ensure that collected wastes in each local government were properly disposed of. 

The Commissioner also warned Inter-State Bus Operators, state transport owners and road transport workers association/unions, commercial bus operators and okada riders to comply with the restriction of human and vehicular movement order which is between 7.00am and 10.00am. 

 LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

Three kids to Fashola: help find our parents

By The Nation: Miriam Ndikanwu, 

 

 •Joel, Esther and Chisom...yesterday

Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) was yesterday at the scene of Sunday’s plane crash in Iju-Ishaga to see things for himself, encourage the rescuers and comfort the bereaved.
He was already on his way out when he encountered three distraught kids, who were wondering what had become of their parents.
Joel Okwuchukwu, 11,  his nine-year-old brother Chisom Okwuchukwu and seven-year-old sister Esther Okwuchukwu, until yesterday, lived with their parents  - Mr. Jeremiah and Mrs. Josephine Okwuchukwu - in one of the buildings affected by the crash.
Joel told the governor that they narrowly escaped the tragedy as they were sent out on an errand by their parents. The incident occurred while they were returning home.
They slept at a neighbour’s house and had not seen their parents since Sunday, the boy told Fashola.
The children said they could only remember the name of one of their uncles in Abuja - Tony Okechukwu.
Fashola, moved by their plight brought them to the State House, Ikeja, pending when a relative of theirs would be found.
 Speaking at the scene of the crash, Fashola said: “My sympathy and condolences  go to all of the victims and their families. It’s really hard finding words to express our pain and grief here but our condolences go out to the family of the bereaved, friends and relations.
“It is so sad that ordinary people trying to earn a living end up so tragically. This is a traumatic and painful experience but we also condole with the management and staff of Dana Air and we want to commend the first responder, the Fire service, LASEMA, NEMA, Red Cross, police and others that have supported in the rescue efforts.” 
The governor urged the public to stay away from the scene to enable the investigators carry out their assignment.
“I want to use this opportunity also to appeal to the media and other people; this is not a tourist site. It is an investigation site and we should keep our distance and allow the first responder to do their work. The difference between whether anybody would have surviveed or not is a question of how quickly they can get to that person and we should not be in the way of the first responder when they come to this kind of site and I want to appeal once again that whilst the media has a job to do here, they should keep a very respectable distance. They should keep all this sad images of body away because our children are at home to watch”.
The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Aderemi Ibirogba, alongside his Environment counterpart, Tunji Bello, released a help line 08023414111 to enable relatives make contact with the government.

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

32 abandoned shipwrecks found in Lagos

By OLASUNKANMI AKONI & MONSUR OLOWOOPEJO IKEJA—Lagos State Government, yesterday, said no fewer than 32 abandoned vessels were discovered on the state’s coastline.
It appealed to the Federal Government to release ecological fund to the state to address erosion challenges at Alpha Beach in the state.
Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Prince Adesegun Oniru, who stated this at the 2012 ministerial briefing in commemoration of first year of  the second term of Governor Babatunde Fashola administration, also condemned the environmental degradation caused by abandoned vessels on the state’s coastline.
He said some of the abandoned vessels were oil tankers, which can wipe out communities in the area within three months, if nothing was done to address the situation.
Oniru said: “Some of the vessels are oil tankers and you can imagine what happens to marine life when such vessels are scattered on the coastlines. Today, the ministry had found about 32 vessels across our 180km beach forest.”
He said lives and property on Alpha Beach are being  threatened by the recurring erosion in the area.

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

America worried over poverty in Nigeria, says ambassador

By Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja and Wale Adepoju

 

•McCulley

The United States (U.S.) yesterday said it is concerned about poverty situation in the country.

Its ambassador in Nigeria, Terence McCulley, said in order to reverse the trend, U.S. would work with government to alleviate poverty.

 McCulley said the U.S. government, through its agencies, would support the energy sector, Niger Delta, education, agriculture and regional security. The ambassador, who spoke to reporters via the telephone, said a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed to that effect recently. 

McCauley said President Goodluck Jonathan’s economic agenda offered incredible opportunity for poverty alleviation, adding that the U.S. would help to build capacity of Nigerians to curb insurgency in the country. 

He condemned the August 26 bombing of last year and other bombings, which, he added, affected the country and international community.

He said the U.S. was concerned about the extreme ideology of the Boko Haram group, saying it would carry out educational programmes to ensure the development of the North. He identified Bauchi and Sokoto as states which require education and public health programmes. 

He said: “The U.S. government will improve children’s education and restore hope for their future.” 

He said the U.S.  plans to extend its outreach to Kano. He said the threat by Boko Haram might stop the US from opening its embassy in Kano.

He said: "We are committed to partnership with Nigeria and we have programmes with the Nigerian Police in various capacities. I think that there would continue to be challenges and Nigeria can count on partners like the United States to help build capacities to address these challenges."    

On the fight against corruption in Nigeria, he said: "We have a variety of programmes to build capacity of the EFCC. We saluted the nomination of Chairman Ibrahim Lamorde. For a year and half, we tried to raise nomination because we recognised that the EFCC had not been able to fulfill its mandate. 

"We have a variety of training programmes in place to build the capacity of EFCC workers. Chairman Lamorde is going to Washington in a week's time to have similar discussion with law enforcement and other agencies. At every opportunity, we talk about the need to address the problem of corruption. It is a dialogue we carry out at the highest level of this government and we recognize there is a problem. But I think we are deploying resources to assist the government of Nigeria to address this problem and it is part of our public diplomacy message."

Police uncover ritualists’ shrine in Ogun

By The Nation Reporter (Ernest Nwokolo), Abeokuta
The Ogun State Police Command yesterday said it has uncovered a shrine in Ewualase village, Ogijo, near the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Mosinmi depot, in Saganmu Local Government Area.  
Police Commissioner Ikemefunna Okoye said the shrine was patronised by “ritualists and fraudstars”.
He said: “The Ogijo Divisional Headquarters, through a very high-level intelligent gathering, heard about the operations of the people found at the shrine. I gave them directives and they swung into action that eventually led to the arrest of two people at the shrine.
“For now, all we can say is that they are using this place for either rituals or to defraud people, or both. I can assure you that we are going to do a very thorough investigation on their activities.” 
The police chief addressed reporters during an on-the-spot assessment of the shrine.
He said two suspects arrested in connection with it would be charged to court after the conclusion of investigation. 
Ikemefunna urged the public to volunteer useful information to the police on the activities of criminals, adding that the police need the support of the public to succeed.  
“Policemen are not magicians; we can only work on information available to us. So, anyone with useful information on how the state can be safer should please come forward with such,” he said.