One-on-One Interview With the Church Vicar - Venerable Remi Afosi

An exclusive interview with

Venerable Remi Afosi

The Vicar of the Victoria Memorial Anglican Church,

Olorunsogo Akanran Road, Ibadan.

To the glory of God the VMAC Editorial Crew make it a one-on-one platform with the church Vicar equally the Editorial Board Chairman, Ven. Remi Afosi this day to have an exclusive chat section with him.

Ven. Remi Afosi is a goal getter and a noble man of God who has been a father, mentor and role model unto many in the church of God. In a one-on-one interactive moment with him, he speaks on his childhood, marital life, professional background, spiritual life, national issues, public issues and other interesting issues relating to his personal life and virtues.

Read and enjoy below our conversation with him;

Editorial: We appreciate this privilege for granting us this wonderful and impactful moment with you sir, despite your busy schedule.

Vicar:     Thank you, I'm also glad to meet you.

Editorial: We are the editorial crew under the prime leadership of Glorious Youth Fellowship led by Bro. Ifeoluwa.
The purpose of our visitation (interview) is to dig deep into your spiritual, marital, business career, family and general (national) life.

Vicar:     Thank you, welcome.

Editorial: Can we meet you sir?

Vicar:     I am Remi Afosi. I was born in December, 13th 1945 to the family of Pa. Busiluyi Afosi and Madam Afosi who happens to be my parent.

Editorial: Can we know more about your childhood experience?

Vicar:     Well my childhood days was good but was so unfortunate to lost my dad when I was two (2) years old. My mum took over my welfarism and she was about 24 years old when she lost her husband. She was always up and doing with cloth selling business and later she diversify to plank selling. She actually took up my responsibility financially.

Editorial: Can you share little about your marital life with us sir?

Vicar:     My wife name is Mrs Mojisola Afosi. We got married in April, 1979. God bless our marriage with two lovely children namely; Feyisara Afosi and Debo Afosi. To the Glory of God we have grand children's doing well and good.

Editorial: What and who really motivate you to be who you are?

Vicar:    In the olden days we usually have mentor and i took inspiration from my immediate uncle, although i have great respect for Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Taisolarin and my principal. I had personal contact with taisolarin and those that i mentioned has motivated me in one way or the other.

Editorial:     As a youth who and how should we choose mentor?

Vicar:     The starting point are your parents but basically the world is changing. You can have many role models and that has to start from your immediate society i.e choosing people that you are comfortable with and see are doing well around you, then you can choose from them.

Editorial:     Tell us some amazing things about your wife?

Vicar:   Apart from my mother the next person that took my heart and finally stole it is my wife. Always supportive! We grew up in the same environment without any intimacy; in-fact i can look straight from my house to her house. Until 1978 December precisely and i proposed to her and i can remember taking her out to tour the whole of Ijebu Igbo (that is our facebook then), we were both in Lagos but we did not meet in Lagos until when we both meet at home ‘(Ijebu Igbo). I went to her father the following day and he directed me to Mr Adeleye to do the necessary things formally. That was December 1978 and in April 1979 we got married and we went to registry with just about 16 attendees. She was 22 years old then while I was 24 years. I was still in school then at Yabatech. One of the primary reasons for my early marriage was because i need financial support because i did not like begging. She supported my education and i decided to support her as well. She was admitted to Yabatech after i graduated from same school. She was a self made woman, she had to drop out of school in class two not because she was not brilliant but financial constraint from parents. During the time she dropped out she was working and still reading, and by the time her colleague were about to do GCE then she already had her result. So it was not that she was not brilliant but her parent cannot finance her. She was admitted straight to Yabatech and i also supported her. Immediately after our marriage we had our first baby that was June 6th, 1980. “Feyi” was about two months when my mother came to take the baby from her. It was about one year 6 months later (December 28th 1981) we had our second child “Debo”. We started training the children and we decided to take them to the best school in our environment then “Ogun State University Staff School” and when they finished from there they proceeded to our lady’s of Apostle school. They had their tertiary education at UNAB.

Editorial:     What motivated you to go for Christ?

Vicar:     Well, my father was a Muslim and my mother was a Christian but the agreement between them before they married is that my mother must not be disturbed from going to church. I went to Anglican primary school and i was baptized when i was 6 years old but by that time i was a church goer. I always read newspaper inside the church (daily time and sketch). I gave my life to Christ on 8th August 1987 it was prompted by a problem of delay in pregnancy after our second born. I was actually introduced to somebody which was an unbeliever and he mentioned a statement that “if only you will believe” and in my mind i knew my faith and believe was even stronger than that of this man but that word was seriously ringing in my heart, “if only you will belief’. We got home but it was still ringing to an extent that I could not sleep. So we took a step to go to Dr. Jeola Jegede who was a lecturer at Ogun State University. We knew that he was a good Christian and for that reason we always try to hide from him because we do not want him to talk to us about Jesus, so we prefer greeting him from far. It was a surprise for him to see us and we narrated the whole problem to him and the reply we got from the man we previously met. But I asked what is it that we have to believe?. And as usual for core Christian he preached from Genesis to revelation and I could not pay full attention until when he quote a verse of the bible that says “if any man be in Christ is a new creation; old things has passed away behold all things become new”. The following Sunday he ushered us to his church and we accepted to quit Anglican Church for his church. I was able to digest and read bible rapidly then to an extent that I was almost ordained as deacon due to my activeness in the church. I was able to understand and experienced how God spoke to people then. It was almost some days from the ordination day as deacon that i received a revelation to go back to my previous church which is Anglican church.

Editorial: Sir, your calling into the priesthood, how do you came across it?

Vicar:      My calling into the priest hood came to me in such a mysterious way; I received the call when i was in bathroom, but i couldn’t get myself to normal state that day, then i rushed to my wife and i informed her about the change on place of worship aggressively. She was already dressing up children for church that day, when i rushed in for the alteration about the plan. We went back to St James Anglican church that day and i resumed my duty as an usher, in which i was before i quit the church despite that I used to read newspaper during the service. It was when i was on duty as usher that i heard the solemn voice just like the one i heard in the bathroom, but this time it wasn’t aggressive. The voice was that “come back and pastor this church” and i told my wife about the incident and she supported me. Then we walked up to the new vicar of the church in person of Canon Stephen and when he heard all, he was extremely happy about all the revelation i reported to him. He gave me the order to oversee the children church and within four months the church population has increased drastically to an extent that we divided the children church into twelve. By the end of six months at children church, God instructed me to go and commence sunday school in the Adult church . As at that time, there was nothing like Sunday school in Anglican church. Although, it later created a problem for us because by the time we are done with sunday school, most of the congregation use to pack off for the day. Despite all this the vicar remains determined for the sunday school. So later he introduce the English service to balance up the service. I continued with that till i started organizing revival and that gave birth to ‘Jesus rally”. Jesus rally was my major revival programme in Ijebu Igbo and that was how the whole journey started.

Editorial: Can you share some challenges you faced in the ministry with us sir?

Vicar:      Yes, there are a lot of challenges I faced in the ministry, one of them is "Jesus rally" revival programme that I initiated at Ijebu Igbo, this created some little problem because people are jealousy that how can this man that is not even ordained can be pulling this crowd. Although, we used to do it in two months interval and whenever we heard it the whole church is always clumsy to an extent that people started sitting on fence and the dilapidated fence collapsed and before i knew it i was reported to the bishop and the bishop transferred the vicar that gave me the chance to minister. It got to a stage that i was giving letter not to minister in any Anglican church again. You can’t rule out envy. So I decided that i will not minister in Anglican church but i will continue the ministration with the citizen and member of Anglican church that wish. This is how i started ministering everywhere using the platform of CAN and PFN. Through this i became the chairman of Pentecostal fellowship In Ijebu Igbo and i also have my fellowship but i decided not to start any church because I haven't gotten the approval from God yet. So i continued to worship at St’James Anglican church despite that i was instructed not to anchor any program in Anglican church again. At the end of the day, thank God for venerable Abiala – the man that was sent to deal with me left and when venerable came, he urged me to came back to the church. He was a very jovial and good child of God, through him i was pulled into priesthood by the help of God. I believe there is always God time.

It was in 2004 when I was looking toward my 49th birthday that i heard a voice to be preparing for priesthood by 50th. So immediately i remember that my crusade manager sent me theology school form to me some years back but I tore it apart then. Although I was scared of meeting venerable Igbare who was the Dean of Emmanuel College after when he had been previously sent to deal with me at St’James Anglican church Ijebu Igbo before. (He was the one that rescued me from probing of account then). I was unconscious of how i drove from Ijebu – Igbo to Emmanuel College; it was until when i entered the school premises that i regained my consciousness. In short i can’t explain it, even the gate men did not interrogate me. So i went straight to Dean office and immediately he saw me he recognized me by calling my name Bro. Afosi (Evangelist designation has been withdrawn after the withdrawal of my license due to probing) and he asked me of what i came for, and i answered him that i wanted to apply for the theology school. (He was joyous and prayed on the form). So because of me he extended the matriculations for a week and i did all the necessary things. I was 49 years old then as at 2004, and I spent 2years as a student of Emmanuel college and i was involved in all the harsh activity. I swept floor and do all sort of harsh work but later i was giving a prime treatment and attention. My first work as an ordained priest was at Agbowo U.I and thank God for the current Bishop Okubadejo for granting me rapid promotion.

 Editorial: Sir, about your business world, how has it been?

Vicar:     I will always be a business man. I could not get job immediately when i finished in school and i got the appointment at U.I and worked for months there and within that 4 months i bought bicycle there. And later i got a job at Yabateh in the laboratory. At Yabatech, i started door to door coaching. I also got employed at 7up and i asked for night shifting because i would go to school In the morning and i also got employed at Nafdac as laboratory technology  during my OND. During my HND i got employed at coca–cola and i shifted my service to Night. After my NYSC I got employ at girls school and i still retain my work at coca–cola. Then after a while i got employed at Flour Company before Banbagida closed down the company. Then I started my own baking– I started the baking business with N200. Actually N200 was my capital for the business and that was in 1986. When i decided to quit my business in 2004 the turnover was N4 million. After then, my son Debo Afosi took over and keep on manaing the business. Now I just keep on recieving alert from him everytime.

Editorial: What are the business challenges and how do you manage to survive?

Vicar:     One of the thing in my blood is diversification because i never satisfy with little. The first day i went out to sell i made a profit of N60 though that N60 then was sustainable. It was not easy then as well. Then i started employing workers (up to 8 workers before my wife came from Lagos). Then I diversify into farming which later lead to the production of goods i called blow corn. I was one of those that first used corn to blow flour. I had a 5 hectare farm.

Editorial: With your ministerial goals and business achievements, we discover you are such a successful clergy duly ordained by God. Sir what's the secrete of your success?

Vicar:     The World of God

Editorial:  What can you suggest to we youths of nowadays as source having a financial breakthrough?

Vicar:     See coming to youth of nowadays. I do not like people saying i do not have work. You have to diversify. Thing has not be fine since my time without parental assistance i still nuture my life and children. Government alone cannot provide job for youth, so church can venture into it. I buttress on it in my thesis at Emmanuel College. Youths should think of what to engage in that can fetch them income and stop depending on the Government.

Editorial: (National Issue) Considering the state of the country, what is your advice for our government?

Vicar:     There are three major problems that is affecting Nigeria government, namely: - Corruption, Indiscipline and Nonchalant attitude

Those are the major problems of this country. A lot of people think there is problem with the nation constitution. I do not think there is problem with Nigeria, but there is problem with the people. I still believe that regional government is better.

Editorial:     Sir, our leaders keep on saying youth are the leaders of tomorrow, but in real sense they seems not to give the Youth the space. How do you think the youth can secure their place in Government?

Vicar:      Well, I think it's true that the youth need to claim their place in Government but base on one condition which I earlier mentioned "the fight against corruption". I believe if youths can join arms together in the fight against corrupt practices, the dream of youths being the leaders of tomorrow will surely become a realizable one.

Editorial: (General issues) What is your favourite hymn and quotable philosophies of life?

Vicar:     My favorite hymn is SOP 515 and I like this quote “I am a man of only one thing and that only one thing I do; is to preach the glorious gospel of our lord Jesus Christ”

Editorial:     What is your favorite bible verse?

Vicar:     2 Corinthian 5 vs 17, Jeremiah 29 vs 11

Editorial:     What is your vision for VMAC in the next 5 years as VMAC is reaching 8 years in existence?

Vicar:     When  i was coming into the ministry i knew i have only 20 years as a priest. ‘The plan I can only work on is the immediate plan’. The church is now 8years and we have achieved so much by God grace. We’ve built avenue for Church self reliance, core evangelism and build peoples who know the God they are serving. We have planted 4 churches in 8 years by God grace. The primary aim is that people should be relieved in term of distance. Due to our achievement Bishop has positioned the church as head of denary and presently we are heading 13 churches. God has helped us on the Jesus rally and dew of mercy, the major plan is to continue with the evangelism and ensure the church self reliance.

Editorial:     What is your favorite food?

Vicar:     Appetite change over the years, I like rice but now it is beans.

Editorial:     How do you spend your leisure time or what do you do for relaxation?

Vicar:     I like writing and reading. That is why I am very happy with what you are doing (editorial crew) because it is what I love. Do not relent because there are generations coming after you that are currently watching you!

Editorial:     What is your plan for this year anniversary?

Vicar:     I think this year has been of great challenge for me, half of me in Yemetu and here. But by the grace of God let's be looking forward to glorious anniversary.

Editorial: Sir it has been a wonderful and impactful moment with you, we so much appreciate you for sharing your precious time with us. May God continue to empower you, your family and ministry. Amen

Vicar:     The pleasure is mine, may God continue to strengthen and empower you. Thank you so much.

This interview was conducted on Monday, 16th of October, 2017 by the Glorious Youth Editorial Crew coordinated by Bro Oso James Blessing (Editor-in-Chief).

Other members that partake in the interview include;

• Mr Olajide Ifeoluwa - Editorial Manager
• Bro Odunbaku Idowu - Editorial Assistant
• Sis Babayemi Omotola - Content Editor
• Bro Fawole Timillehin - Administrative Assistant.

 
Odunmbaku Idowu reporting for  Glorious Youth Editorial Crew
Signed & Edited by: Bro Oso James Blessing