Come April 10, 2025 Amb Dr. Blessing Jibuike, President, Support Missionary AIDS (SUMA) International will roll out the drums and the cymbals to celebrate what she calls God’s mercies and faithfulness, with her family members, SUMA members, fellow ministers, associates and friends across the globe as she clocks 70.
“I thank God for His mercies. I can tell the world that God is indeed faithful. I’m shocked that even at 70 I’m still very strong and active in God’s service. I give God praise. I’m saved for His glory. God endowed me with a very sound health. I travel to nations on missions and return home stronger. I thank God for my home; for my children and grandchildren and for my handsome husband. If God had not given me such a supportive man as husband I won’t be able to fulfill my ministry.”
Mama SUMA, as she is fondly called, thus opened up her heart of gratitude to God in an exclusive interview with Christian Benefits magazine on clocking 70. It was a moment of memories for Amb. Dr, Jibuike and Christian Benefits magazine, recollecting how Christian Benefits was the first media outfit that broadcast SUMA missionary exploits at the Koma hill in the present Adamawa state where she encountered some strange beings still dressing in leaves partially naked in the 20th century.
This particular SUMA missionary exploits to Koma hill where Jibuike and her SUMA team of missionaries dressed in leaves like the Koma enclaves, earned her one of the first recipients of the Benefits Awards for Missionary Excellence (BAME Award) in 2004 for climbing a hill of height of 5,500 feet above sea level to rescue the dying and the perishing leaves-wearing beings living inside caves on the Koma Hill.
“Pastor Wole, this is a moment of memories. SUMA and Christian Benefits have come a long way together as partners for Christ. Christian Benefits was the first media that broadcast SUMA to the world when we climbed the Koma of height of about 5,500 above seas on our mission to rescue the perishing and to save the dying living who are inside the caves in the Koma hill. You know all our stories. You gave me my first Award of recognition; (BAME Award)in 2004 along other great missionary ministers like Evang. Elishama Ideh.”
Tears welled up in my eyes as Jibuike emotionally recalled how SUMA and Christian Benefits have bonded since 2004 as partners for Christ. The tears became incontrollable when she went down the memory lane on her Koma hill experience; recalling with nostalgia, how she dressed in leaves to win souls. In an exclusive interview with Christian Benefits in commemoration of on her 70th birthday, Amb Dr. Jibuike recalls her experiences on her soul-winning mission to the Koma hill where she saw some beings clad in leaves living inside caves.
“The first time we met them (the partially naked Koma people) I didn’t know how to minister the gospel of Jesus Christ to them. I asked God why he brought us there. After climbing the Koma hill 5,500 feet above sea level we were shocked to see these strange beings who tied leaves only on their waists; leaving other parts of their bodies stalk naked. I didn’t know how to reach out to them. I asked the Lord what to do and he instructed me to dress in leaves just like them to win their souls. I told my fellow SUMA missionaries on the trip to let us wear leaves like these people. It was funny to them. They wondered why we would dress in leaves like them because of them.
“Nevertheless, some of the men among us entered a nearby forest, cut some batches of leaves and we wore them as cloth like the Koma people inside the caves. But unlike the people we only tied the leaves round our waists. When they saw us dressed in leaves like them they were so excited that they started clapping to welcome us.
“As a missionary I have learned to trust God and obey his instructions. As soon as the people welcomed us God raised a little boy among them as our interpreter to communicate with them. They offered us their local black soup to eat to be sure we had not come to harm them. None of us had ever eaten such delicacy before. We were even scared of tasting it. Nevertheless in order for us to be able to win their souls we prayed and ate the soup. When they saw us ate their black soup they were so excited and opened up their world to us. That was how we entered into Koma.”
Thereafter, SUMA regularly visited Koma as its mission field;gradually bringing civilization and salvation to the primitive people living inside caves. Before SUMA left Koma on its first mission, the team dressed the people in clothing wears in place of leaves. “Before we left Koma on our first mission there we presented clothing wears to the people as better replacements for the leaves they wore. We removed the leaves from their bodies and dressed them in clothing wears. We studied the people, their culture and also identified their needs. On our second mission there, we brought foods, beverages and more wears for the people. Subsequently, we built a school for their children to get education. Strategically, we first introduced civilization to them before we finally gave them salvation,” Jibuike explained.
This was how SUMA missions in Nigeria and other nations started attracting the attention and support of many popular churches and preachers. “Papa Oyedepo and Mama Adeboye got to know about SUMA works. I started receiving invites from churches and meetings to minister. My invite to the Feast of Esther of Mama Adeboye opened the floodgate of recognition for SUMA. It opened me up to Pastor Bimbo Odukoya now of blessed memory; her husband, Pastor Taiwo Olukoya, also now of blessed memory and the Fountain of Life Church.
ON SUMA RELATIONSHIP WITH PSTS TAIWO & BIMBO ODUKOYA
I never knew the Odukoyas until Pastor Bimbo saw me at one of the Feast of Esther fellowships, and asked me to wait for her at the auditorium after the fellowship. Later she asked me to meet her the next day in her. When we got to her office the next day, the whole place was locked. No one was around to attend to us. As we were about leaving someone came and asked us to follow her and we did. I was surprised when the person gave us a 14-seater bus on instruction by Pastor Bimbo.
At this time we needed a vehicle to take us to Ghana and God made the provision through her. I’m the first miracle that happened in the Feast of Esther. That was how my relationship with the Odukoyas started; and by extension with Pastor Oluremi Tinubu, then, the first lady of Lagos state. When the bus was getting old Pastor Taiwo called for me, and like his wife, and gave us a luxurious bus. With that bus we travelled on missions to different places like Abia, Jos, Bayelsa, Kaduna etc and to some nations including Ghana and Cote D’Ioire. We traveled to Abia recently and renovated some hospitals and provided other things. After Pastor Bimbo died, Pastor Taiwo was giving me salary till he died too. He had people giving us essential things, including security personnel to follow to mission fields. Aside this, we have visited several other places like the old people homes, the school of the blinds, Umuahia, many orphanages, destititues on the street, violent and disasters zones and distributed reliefs materials to the victims and the affected, dug borne holes for water, renovated public schools and hospitals in most of the places SUMA had visited on our mission of rescuing the perishing and saving the dying across nations.
ON SUMA’S BREAKTHROUGH AND IMPACT IN AMERICA
I am more popular in America than I am in Nigeria. A lot of things happened in America. The Lord performed signs and wonders through me in America. I was asked to pray for a particular woman in a deteriorated health condition so bad that doctors had even said when she would die. I felt my faith couldn’t carry it. But while I was praying about it, the Lord instructed me to tell her to forgive everyone that has offended her. I asked her to choose between life and death; and she whispered that she chose life. I then prayed for her. The next day, I prayed again. Two days in the night I received a call that the doctors couldn’t see any trace of illness in her. Then, some other sick people started waiting for me to also pray for them but I refused because I had no leading to do so. I was officially invited to their church in Florida. I accepted and the Lord manifested his power. Other churches started calling me.
WHAT LIFE HAS TAUGHT HER AT 70
God has taught me that He is good to be trusted; no matter what you go through. Life has taught me that it pays to be patient and wait on the Lord in the face of challenges. God allows us to make choices and waits for us to come back to him when we make wrong choices. My experience of climbing Koma hill 5,500 feet above sea level typifies the Christian journey. In the middle of the journey if you are overwhelmed with issues and the devil tempts you to go back, if you yielld you will later start the journey all over again until you decide to finish the journey regardless of the devil’s temptations. The Christian journey is not pain-free. You must endure to finish the race well.
THE TESTIMONY OF RESTORATION OF HER HUSBAND’S HEALTH My husband and my son travelled and my husband became sick. He couldn’t walk or do many things by himself. He was rushed to the hospital but the doctors didn’t find what was wrong with him. Because he wasn’t a citizen of the country, they advised that he should be flown back to Nigeria. The doctors told me that he would not live. My husband to began to lose faith but I told him he wouldn’t die. While in the hospital I was praying and anointing him every day. The Lord instructed me to tell him to forgive everyone that hurt him. And he said he had forgiven them. At that time the doctors found out he was battling with cancer stage 4. They started chemotherapy treatment for him. After the treatment, his recovery was another different experience. Along the line he went back to the hospital and the doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with him again. The Lord has healed him completely.
