Godfrey Otubu (1924 - 2004)
THE Prelate of the Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim Worldwide (C & S), Dr. Godfrey Itse Mene Otubu who died on November 17, aged 80 was a devoted Christian and religious leader of great distinction.
Dr. Otubu led the C & S for close to two decades during a period when the Nigerian society experienced severe economic and political changes. It has been a faith-testing period and many Christians, in search of spiritual succour as well as a meaning of the times have drifted from the old, established denominations to new generation religious groups that are tailored to the times.
In the face of this, Dr. Otubu not only sustained the unity of the C&S; Order, under his leadership, the membership increased to the present strength of more than five million, and the evangelistic influence of the denomination now extends to such distant places as Europe and the Americas.
Introduced to the Moses Orimolade-founded movement by a Ghanaian colleague in the year 1943, Dr. Otubu was appointed Rabbi (teacher) in 1955, ordained apostle in 1959, and six years later, became the General Secretary. Twenty-four years later in 1985, he was elevated to the highest post in the Order, having been, prior to this and at different times, a Senior Apostle and chancellor to the then Baba Aladura.
Indeed, he came into the church leadership fully equipped with intellectual knowledge and managerial skills. An industrious man, he studied accountancy by correspondence and earned a higher diploma from a British institution by age 25. His secular working career spanned the public and private sectors where he functioned at high levels including as Controller of Finance and Accounts in the Federal Ministry of Defence, one-time chairman of Zenith International Bank and of Bitumen Marketing Company of Nigeria, and Executive Chairman of Senforce Group of Companies.
It is a testimony to his personal qualities that in both the secular and spiritual arenas, he was respected and honoured: a Doctor of Divinity from an American University, national honours from Italy and, lately Nigeria. It is also a credit to his managerial capabilities that, during a period that has witnessed the fragmentation of many religious groups, the C&S; maintained its doctrinal and structural unity.
He was a man with a sense of mission. Recognising that the church must adapt to the dynamics of changing times even as it must retain its core Christian values, he instituted a programme of reforms that, thankfully, the church Advisory Board has promised to continue. While the details are not public knowledge, it is reasonable to assume that at the end of all, the Eternal Order of Cherubim and Seraphim will be the better for it.
Of course, reform, adaptation and tolerance were not new to the Baba Aladura and this explains his attainment of the highest position in a syncretic group that blends some aspects of African culture into its Christian practices. He was the first patron of the National Association of Religious Tolerance, and a member of the Inter-Religion Dialogue set up by the Obasanjo administration a few years ago.
Besides, he once presided over the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and subsequently stayed on as a member of its executive council. At the international level, Dr. Otubu was, until his death, International Chairman of the Kenya-based Organisation of African Instituted Churches (OAIC). In the words of Dr. Dapaye Bob-Manuel, "Dr. Otubu worked tirelessly for the growth and development of the church and for Christianity even beyond his land".
He was a man of vision too. The position of prelate, powerful and influential is highly coveted. With the benefit of experience from elsewhere, Dr. Otubu had reportedly warned his flock against intra-church succession struggle: he knew quite well how much damage this could inflict on the unity of the C&S; in particular, and the reputation of Christianity in general. An ecumenist of deep conviction, he worked for the unity of the Body of Christ irrespective of doctrinal differences. Anthony Cardinal Okogie acknowledges Otubu's role in fostering church unity through Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
Once he had cause to criticise the church in Nigeria for intra and inter- denominational squabbles that were fuelled, not always by genuine doctrinal differences but by ego, greed, and plain chicanery. Indeed, in the 1980s, the prelate argued that government should regulate the establishment of church groups subject to CAN recommendation. Some may disagree that secular powers interfere in matters spiritual. However, in view of the other-than-spiritual motives that seem to drive the proliferation of religious groups today, Dr. Otubu's suggestion may need to be considered afresh if only for the reason that society needs be protected from charlatanism in the garb of religion or in any other form.
And he was a man of action. Patriotic but not an activist, he believed in a separation of calling and duty and insisted that men of God had no business assuming political roles. Nevertheless, the Baba Aladura spoke up against injustice and government failings. His philanthropy was legendary: he gave as generously to those in material need as he nourished the spiritually starved.
Born on Sunday, February 24, 1924, into the Otubu royal family of the Ohenhen Kingdom in Oghara, Delta State, Otubu was, at different levels, a child of two worlds " the private and the public sectors; the secular and the spiritual. In each he served, he led, and he left his mark.
