A decision is set to be announced on the divorce suit filed by Anita
Oyakhilome against her husband Rev. Chris Oyakhilome, the President of
Christ Embassy church.
Funny enough, the couple’s first daughter Sharon Oyakhilome has
decided to take sides, supporting her mum against her father, Pastor
Chris. She took to Twitter to post a cryptic message which seemingly
appears to support her mother’s divorce decision.
Her tweets appear to be similar to the case Rev. Anita Oyakhilome
cited in the divorce papers where she stated that her husband had been
away for the most part of their marriage.
In Defence of Anita Oyakhilome the FRustrated Wife:
“Anita Oyakhilome, the frustrated wife of
Nigeria’s most flamboyant preacher, Chris Oyakhilome has obviously
passed through 15 years of adulterous endurance and what she needs is
our prayers and protective respect and defense of her choices to forget
all the anti-rhapsody of heartbreak she endured all these years.
Fifteen (15) years of being abandoned by a preacher husband is not an
easy way of lifefor a preacher’s wife. Fifteen (15) years of hearing
that some mini skirted daughters of Jezebel have taken over your
possession is not a joke. Fifteen years of a husband not staying with
the wife for up to a week on a stretch,while spending time with some
double breasted figure eight(ed) daughters of eve is not an easy thing
to swallow. 15 years of being used as a showcase to make church members
believe in Rhapsodies of Blissful Union, while dying in silence,is not a
palatable experience for any woman.
Fifteen years of being called Mama, Mummy, and other glorified names
of Senior Pastor’swife while some domestic harems sneer at the same
Mummy behind is not a sweet experience. For goodness sake, this woman
never probably had a good kiss in fifteen years and yet she is being
accused of carnality for crying out loud.She was continually being led
into temptation of seeking for s*xual satisfaction from outside for
fifteen years and she managed to escape the traps of sin.
Fifteen years when their two lovely daughters would wake up and ask
their mother why Dad had not cared to visit, and she would have to
release a lie to stave off the frequent probing questions. Above all,
fifteen years when Anita had to fake that all is well with their
marriage, while she is actually dying emotionally. Every person she
complained to among the pastoral cadre sided with the man, and she was
left alone to bear her cross.
I warned some pastor friends with Christ Embassy early 2013 that they
had better settle this marriage rift between Oga and his wife before it
destroys the church. The same pastors have called me to express regret
that a national embarrassment has ensued.
This woman has been called Jezebel by some pastors and members of the
church. Some claimed she was disrespectful while others claimed she was
always bitter of recent.They have tried to castigate her before members
of the church who came in private to ask for the way out. She was
described as unreasonable and insubordinate.
Her husband, according to news reports has even followed to cast her in
bad light. According to Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, “Bitterness is
prolonged and accumulate danger. My wife is always angry and bitter,”
Going further he told his members to “Be careful of the friends you
keep. My wife keeps friends who bring out the worst in her and help her
see the worst in people, instead of keeping friends that will help her
vision, especially as the wife of a global pastor like me.”
Please, which preacher woman who has been abandoned for fifteen years
will not be bitter and angry? Was Anita expected to clap and dance
while some hot legs are parading around the White House?
This pastor’s wife was also disclaimed by her husband who told his
congregants in reaction to the divorce saga that Anita is not
necessarily a Woman of God.According to Pastor Oyakhilome “Don’t act
like those people. If you are married to a man of God, it doesn’t make
you automatically mature. You can make mistakes; you can do something
that is wrong. But some people expect the wife of a minister to
definitely be at the level of that minister and so they may be looked
upon and the expectation may be like that, but it’s a positional
thing”.He clarified his theory by saying that “If a man of God is
married, it doesn’t automatically mean that the wife of a man of God is
therefore a woman of God.
“That’s not the way it is in the Bible.” Pastor Chris also added that
“That’s why you don’t really find the wives of men of God mentioned in
the Bible. How many of them? Who was Peter’s wife, did you ever know her
name? You never find that out. Who was John’s wife? Did you ever read
the name? What about all theother Apostles? How many of their names are
written in the Bible. You never find their names.”
Anita Oyakhilome actually proved that she has fear of God in the
manner she worded her divorce plea. She opted to use the word
“inappropriate relationship with female staff members” instead of out
rightly accusing her husband of adultery.According to the statement,
“the wife has discussed with the husband his appropriate relationship
with some of his female staff members. She has explained that this has
given her cause for concern. The husband has minimised her worries and
taken no step to alleviate her grievances.”
Anita Oyakhilome could have said that her husband abandoned her and
ran into the arms of sister A or B, or gospel singer C or D and left her
roasting and murmuring in the house. Anita could have said that her
husband is a hypocrite who says a thing and means another, but she
veiled her grievances of years of abandonment by saying in the divorce
file that “The wife feels that she has been used to portray and enhance
the husband’s image as a family man when the reality is that there is no
existing relationship between them. She feels that she has been present
for official functions simply for his convenience.
On occasions she has been copied into his travel itinerary which has
been given to him by his staff on a need to know basis”. “The wife has
tried to discuss her concernswith the husband. He claims that she is
carnal and he is insensitive to her feelings and her needs.”
Thus Anita had acted with much restraint in order to preserve the
integrity of Christ Embassy and the work of evangelism, and all she got
for her discretion was hate messages all many sections of church members
who wanted her to sacrifice her marriage to keep them in a rhapsody of
deceit.
This woman, according to the testimony of many British residents who
attend their church, is one person who is always willing to give gifts
to the needy. She is ever ready to counsel people and does not breed
class. She is a patient listener who laboriously introduced many things
in the church for which the glory goes to her husband. Londoners believe
that she is not that demon theywant to portray her as. Those who know
her closely have attested to an affectionate good naturedness and
stickler for details.
Whatsoeverthing some misguided church members want to think, Anita
had lived a lie formany years. Anita was said to have became born again
at believers Loveworldcampus fellowship at Ambrose Alli University
Ekpoma, while Chris was thepastor. She had probably paid her dues as a
Christian and knows what it is todeceive the congregation. She cannot
deceive herself and the church anymorethus she opted for divorce.
Divorce, according to scripture is unbiblical, but between deceiving a
congregation that already knows the truth but pretends otherwise and
staying in unfulfilled marriage, which is better. It is a matter between
her and her conscience.
Last year, a Nigerian personality blogger by name Ese Walter was
lured by her Senior Pastor in Abuja into a cozy hotel bed space in
London and after two weeks of adultery, the man cleaned up, returned to
Nigeria and told his congregation to shout some Hallelujah. The sin
partner was arrested by the Holy Spirit and she sought a meeting with
the COZA Chief to resolve the burden of guilt. She was continually
shunned and described as agent of satan even by other senior pastors in
the church until she turned the internet into the confessional. Ese
Walter freed her conscience and probably escaped eternal damnation but
the entire Christendom took the brunt of the exposure.
Anita has chosen to free herself from a life of deceit and lies. The
truth had set her free. However, I still counsel her that if the
misbehaving preacher husband demonstrates a verifiable change of heart,
she should consider him back and so that somebody can shout some more
Hallelujah. Fifteen years of adulterous endurance in the midst of
charismatic rhapsody is not easy and Anita Oyakhilome sure needs all the
defense and understanding she can get- Let somebody shout a better
Hallelujah!”