The Death of Josiah Akindayomi

One of the visions that is recounted that Josiah had early in his ministry was that he would

“preach the word of God in the Whiteman’s land” (Babatunde 1999: 19). This vision appeared unrealistic judging by the standards of the church and Josiah's inability to speak fluent English.

He knew it was about time the vision was realised when in 1973, a young university professor joined his church. Josiah made him his official translator and interpreter from the vernacular into English. This interpreter soon became his eyes and window to the outside world. Josiah first visited the “Whiteman’s land” on 28 June 1975, and again was in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the United States of America, in 1979. He established contacts which led to his ordination of an Indian-American, Stephen Rathod, as pastor at the RCCG national headquarters in Lagos in 1980.¹⁰⁵ This was a couple of months before Josiah died on 2 November 1980 after 28 years of leadership of the RCCG.

In addition to travelling to the US in 1975, Ajayi (1997: 83) reports that Josiah also went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem and other sacred sites in Israel in the same year. As a church founder, he had a special garb called “Jerusalem Pilgrim’s outfit” which he wore during these events.

Ajayi (1997: 92) further records that Josiah had an audience with the Pope during this same pilgrimage. RCCG at 50 (p. 24) is the only other source that mentions the Jerusalem pilgrimage but omits the bit on Josiah’s audience with the Pope.

However, before Josiah died, he tried to put his house and church in order, and so prevent what might precipitate confusion in his absence. He took his wife, Esther Akindayomi, to a spot at the Atan cemetery where he wished to be his gravesite. He confided in his interpreter his choice of a successor; he had earlier done this during their second trip to the United States of

104Personal interview with Pastor Johnson Funso Odesola, The Redeemed Christian Fellowship (RCF) National Secretariat, The Redemption Camp, 13 May 2001. Pastor Odesola is a provincial pastor and National co-ordinator of the RCF. RCCG as a “tribal church” can be compared to the concept of a “tribal/clan religion” which may be understood as a religion whose priorities are shaped by cultural/tribal grouping and sentiments, (Guinness 1983:142).

105Personal interview with Ifeoluwa Akindayomi, op.cit.

America, but urged secrecy on all present at the occasion. The secrecy was necessary judging that such a choice could have generated strong disapproval, rebellion and confusion because Josiah's choice was only six years old as a member of the church and four years as an ordained minister of the church in 1979. Moreover, there were still alive some of the original twelve members of Egbe Ogo Oluwa from 1952.

Josiah had also recorded into an audio tape what amounted to his official Will, indicating once more his choice of a successor and how the little property he had would be distributed among his children.¹⁰⁶ When he became ill with “cough and general body weakness”, he knew the end was near. He directed that a letter of forgiveness be written to one Pastor T. Oshokoya, a one-time leader of the Apostolic Faith Church (AFC) who, someone-time in the mid-1950s, caused some tracts of the AFC that Josiah had reprinted without the church’s permission to be seized and destroyed. The letter was considered a form of restitution for the protracted anger, resentment and embarrassment that the destruction of the tracts caused Josiah.¹⁰⁷ Josiah also directed that all the branches of the church observe 2 November as “Thanksgiving Celebration Day”. This date fell on a Sunday. He died about 04.30hours that day, but not without making one final, decisive point about his successor: About an hour before his death he indicated to the only pastor¹⁰⁸ in his room that

the name of the pastor to take over from him as leader of this church was written on a paper inside the Bible in one of the cupboards in his room and warned that the home of anyone who was against the choice of the successor would be destroyed (Olukowajo 1999: 146).¹⁰⁹

The imprecation contained in the last part of this statement is considered important in curtailing the level of anger and rebellion such choice would generate among his followers and assistants. From a Christian point of view, it may appear uncharitable but it is markedly similar to imprecations attached to traditional covenants and oaths in Yoruba traditional. The news of his death reached the branches of his church as the “Thanksgiving Celebration” was going on.

He was buried on 6 December 1980 according to the specific instructions he laid down before his death, in his special Jerusalem Pilgrim’s outfit. This brought to a fitting close the first

106 Ibid.

107 RCCG at 50, pp. 22-23.

108Josiah had sent away all the people, including his wife and the wife of the young pastor chosen to succeed him.

These were keeping vigil in his room. When they had left he asked that Pastor J.I. Olukowajo be sent for this special revelation.

109Pastor Olukowajo is much revered in the RCCG today for being the carrier of this special information from Josiah.

charismatic period in the history of RCCG and a transition from an old paradigm to a new and pragmatic one.

Chapter 3

RCCG: Routinisation and Recharismatisation

This chapter examines the process of transfer of leadership from Josiah to a successor, Enoch Adejare Adeboye¹¹⁰. It discusses (i) the imageries in which such transfer of leadership is couched, (ii) the administrative set up of the church at the exit of Josiah; (iii) the actual process of transfer of leadership; (iv) and its consequence; (v) biographical information on the successor; (vi) the continuity and discontinuity between Josiah and his successor; and (vii) the nature of routinisation and recharismatisation that took place in RCCG. Our sources of information for the present task are varied: (i) Ajayi (1997; (ii) RCCG at 50; (iii) the constitution of the church; (iv) Babatunde (1999); and Ojo (2001). In addition to these, autobiographical information from Adeboye’s sermons, details from Redemption Light; and significantly, interviews of Adeboye’s associates and top-ranking lieutenants will fill in what may be missing in the historical sources. The oldest records available on RCCG such as Tijani (1985) and Adekola (1989) are poignantly silent on how a successor to Josiah emerged. While the former did not mention the name of Adeboye at all, the latter skipped any discussion of leadership transfer in the church, making mention only that “the present General Overseer Pastor E. A. Adeboye […] assumed this office [of General Overseer] since January 1981”

(Adekola 1989: 283).