Baba Aladura Olorunfemi Ejide, the Primate of Cherubim & Seraphim Church for All Nations (Ogo Sioni) recently returned to Nigeria from the United states of America (USA) to host what may turn out the biggest gathering of the C&S members and leaders all over the world in one night under a body called the Cherubim & Seraphim Church for All Nations (CSCAN) on Friday April 26, 2024 at Ogo Sioni Int’l headquarters, Abesan, Lagos.
Primate Ejide, in this interview with Christian Benefits, explains why he left Nigeria five years ago for the United States of America (USA), and also shares the vision and mission of the nascent CSCAN. Excerpts.
Welcome back to Nigeria. How long have you been away from the country?
I have been away from Nigeria five years now residing in the United States.
Tell us the reason behind your leaving Nigeria for the United States (U.S).
There were a lot of stories behind my relocating from Nigeria to the U.S. I had a lot of issues that led me on self-exile to the U.S. The issues were so bad that when I look behind me I will discover that people are terrible. I was being castigated, persecuted and libeled at all fronts over some nasty issues. People, including some of my close associates, were spreading negative comments and information around about me that I had no choice than to run away to the U.S. The late Bob Marley said he who fights and runs away lives to fight another day.
Was it not risky leaving a well known church in Nigeria to start a new life in America?
It was damning risky! It was not easy leaving an established work in Nigeria to start a new life outside the country. It was depressing too. I was well known in Nigeria as a bona-fide member of the Cherubim & Seraph (C&S) and as the founder of then Ogo Sioni Aladura Ministry Int’l; now Cherubim & Seraphim Church for All Nations (Ogo Sioni). I was well known as the mouthpiece and defender of the C&S and White garment bchurches generally. So, leaving all that behind in Nigeria to start a new life in America was quite risky and depressing.
Can you give us some clues to what the issues were, that sent you on self-exile to America?
The problem started in 2019 when some of those I ordained as ministers turned against me. I can’t explain their reason for turning against me. I stomached the problem because of my image and ministry until it was causing some havocs and I decided to leave the country. Before I took the decision, I cried to God to help me. I told Him you are the only one I have now since everyone has deserted me. You are the only one I believe and trust now. And God spoke to me, leave the country and promised to take care of me in any country I move to.
How was it like settling down to a new life in the United States?
It was not rosy for me when I got to the U.S despite having some relatives there. I had to start life from the scratch. A lot of people abused and insulted me. Some said I have lost the glory; that I have turned from hero to zero. But I kept my calm and focus; praying and working very hard to irk a living in America. I was doing all manners of odd jobs for survival in the U.S. I faced a lot of challenges, including a terrible family challenge.
How did you manage to survive all of those challenges?
It was just by the grace of God. I came to realize that if God is with you, who can be against you? I came to realize too that you don’t have to depend on human beings but on God as your companion. Human beings may fail but God will never fail. So, I totally depended on God. I prayed and cried to Him every morning; God help me. You are the only one that can save me. I am human. If I have committed any sin, please, forgive me and save me from all my troubles and tribulations. Please, have mercy andnd restore me. Do not allow my life to turn like that of Samson. Let me experience a turnaround in my life to come and give testimonies. And to God be the glory, today I have the testimony like when the Lord turned around the captivity of Zion we are like them that dreamed. But I must confess, it was not easy for me in the U.S. The first year was very tough me. The second year was a bit okay. By the third year I began seeing some glimpses of hope and restoration.
Aside doing odd jobs for survival, were you still doing ministry work in the U.S?
Of course, I’m still doing ministry work in the U.S along my odd jobs. I’m just on holiday in Nigeria basically to fully put on the ground in Nigeria the Cherubim & Seraphim Church for All Nations (CSCAN) with a grand meeting of the members of from all the corners of the world on Friday April 26, 2024 in Lagos.
Tell us what the Cherubim & Seraphim Church for All Nations (CSCAN) is all about
Let me note here that when I got to the U.S even my own white garment people in America denounced me. I was convinced this was due to the fragmentations and segregation in Aladura churches, particularly the C&S. So, how can one remove the prevailing fragmentations and segregation in the C&S that is making the church backward in the comity of churches? As you are aware in my several interviews with your magazine (Christian Benefits) I’m always at the fore front canvassing love and unity among white garment churches generally; in the C&S specifically. Instead of taking it personal my denouncement by some fellow white garment brethren in the U.S I started praying how to bridge the gaps of disunity, segregation, fragmentations and individualism in the C&S. And the Cherubim & Seraphim Church for All Nations came forth as the answer to that prayer. That was how the association was formed in the United States to bring all the Seraphs across the globe together in love and unity on one hand; and on the other hand, to promote and propagate the original and the bgenuine history, doctrine and beliefs of the Cherubim & Seraphim (C&S) as originally founded and established by our father in the Lord, the Saint Moses Orimolade Tunolase. I shared the vision of the association with some notable Baba Aladuras and leaders in the fold. They all welcomed and embraced it as the ripe time to bridge the gaps in the C&S fold.
Apart from the notable Baba Aladuras and leaders, what has been the response of the C&S churches and members generally to the formation of the association.
The response generally has been quite encouraging from the Seraphs across board; most of whom acknowledged CSCAN as a worthy cause and development in the C&S. And this is evident in the over one million C&S assemblies and members in different countries that have joined the association in just six months of its formation. We have over about 900 members on the association’s whatsApp platform. As i said earlier, I’m presently in Nigeria on holiday basically for the inauguration and the first general assembly of all the members of the Cherubim & Seraphim Church for All Nations (CSCAN) from all the parts of the world on Friday April 26, 2024 at the Cherubim & Seraphim Church for All Nations (Ogo Sioni), International headquaters, Olorunfemi Ejide street, off Ogundare street, Abesan Ipaja, Lagos. The all-night (vigil) CSCAN members international meeting will start from 8pm till the next day Saturday April 27, 2024.