In the 1950s in Lagos, Nigeria saw the stunning announcement of a moderately aged Ijebu man named Olufunmilayo Immanuel Odumosu otherwise known as Jesu Oyingbo hotly anticipated Jesus Christ. Many individuals laughed, shook their heads in utter disbelief while individuals who believed him thanked their stars for witnessing the second one coming of Jesus Christ. The latter set of people packed their belongings and deserted their houses and households for the communal enclave of Jesu Oyingbo.
His actual names were Olufunmilayo Immanuel Odumosu, but he fondly called himself “Jesu Oyingbo”. He became exceedingly revered, loved, and commemorated with the aid of his disciples and followers, who believed that he loomed larger than lifestyles. He taught his adherents that he was the actual Jesus Christ and his presence on this planet turned into his second coming. Indeed, a lot of Odumosu’s adherents had to sell their properties, forsake their households, and joined the spiritual leader to build a non-secular enclave.
Even though the so-called religious leader declared himself Jesu Oyingbo, he never imparted any attribute to Jesus Christ who revived the third day. In established truth, he did not resurrect the third day as he had prophesied.
Odumosu was born in 1915 to Jacob Odumosu, his grandfather was Joseph Odumosu, a famous traditional healer in Ijebu Ode. Trained as a carpenter, he served with the Post and Telegraph Department during World War II. An active member of the postal workers union.
A general strike in 1945 prompted his withdrawal from the division. He took on carpentry work and opened a shop on Lagos Island near Oil Mill Street. However, he struggled as a carpenter and was always in debt, he becomes jailed for 6 months as a result of huge debt from his creditors.
During this period, Odumosu went to different Protestant places of worship in Lagos, however before long guaranteed he got dreams and dreams from God. He deciphered a portion of the dreams as messianic dreams and that he was picked as a savior that has come to redeem the world. He started his resurrection by holding evening gatherings near his shop.
His spiritual development began in 1952 at an area in Lagos Island. In the beginning, starting gathering was little, around 30 individuals could be included in 1954. During this time, he established offering to provide for help poor people, Odumosu additionally urged individuals to subsidize his outreaching missions. His development started to develop and better sorted out, the development helped with a gift by an affluent proselyte who gave his property to Odumosu’s utilization.
Since the founding of his ministry, participants lived at their very own residences, however, after the relocation to Ebute Metta, Odumosu asked them to leave their houses and stay in rented residences close to the church building.
Members declared their wealth to Odumosu who took 10% of the tithe and charged them rent. To expand his movement, he started out preaching his sermon with loudspeakers placed outdoor in the church hall, at an area close to Oyingbo Market, wherein he changed into occasionally derisively referred to as ‘Jesu Oyingbo’. To initiate new male contributors, he will whip them with 9 strokes of the cane.
“I am He. I am Jesus Christ, the very one whose second coming was foretold in the New Testament. I have come, and those who believe in me will have everlasting life and joy. I am the missing of the trinity. I have come to prepare the faithful for the judgment day.”
It was this declaration made in June 1959 that officially marked the transformation of 43-year-old Immanuel Olufunmilayo Odumosu to Jesu Oyingbo
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He reduced his sermons and started to initiate numerous enterprise ventures to fund a New Jerusalem. Among the ventures were Jolly Makers and Happy Day meals canteens, Deluxe bakeries makers of Goodluck bread, the properties housing this assignment had been then multiplied to consist of barbershops and lodging. Economy wise, the diverse companies supplied wages to his fans.
Odumosu’s sexual practices had been much less conservative than different Christian denominations and he was stated to have mounted sexual rights over many females within his sect.
Jesus Oyingbo was religiously tolerant, mixing, for example, Christian statues with Islamic and pagan symbols on his compound. But he was, perhaps too tolerant, in ways that drew accusations that he was operating a cult.
Passers-by would notice that some of his buildings on Immanuel Street, Maryland had the inscriptions such as ‘’Merciful and Mighty’’ and ‘’Everlasting Father,’’ surrounded by statues of Christ, caterpillar tractors, sculptures of lions and mermaids with water spurting from their mouths. Other inscriptions on the buildings included “Prince of Peace”.
People frequently traced his energy and air of mystery to draw followers to a cane he allegedly used to transform new adherents through supernatural means. But, a source claimed that the cane which he uses to transform his followers was given to him by his grandfather.
In this light, there has been an event when he married a guy’s wife as a way to punish him for his errant behaviors. On another event, he surpassed over the spouse of an unruly member to other men within the flock. Not to mention that at his will, he should choose to call any of the ladies who thrilled him to fulfill his wishes at any time.
Notwithstanding any of these, he married a lot of wives ranging somewhere between 30 and 80. The actual number of wives he married cannot be determined, as the communal way of life, where any members’ wives could be found in an acting capacity.
In June 1959, as at which era he already had seven wives, when he become asked about his polygamous intentions, he said: “I have not finished with wives yet. I am going to marry more. To save the faithful, I should behave like one in every of themselves. I ought to marry more ladies, for are they no longer the sheep and I the shepherd?”. However, reports from reliable sources confirm that his wives should be around 34, approximately 3 of whom had been his biological daughters.
The variety of his children changed into also not possible to pin down since a number of the individuals of his enclave went as some distance as adopting Odumosu as their surname, however, approximately 80 were formally listed and recognized. Most of his youngsters have been sheltered and protected within the enclave, and did no longer even get formal education besides for a few whose mothers took rate of it. However, they enjoyed different privileges like cars and drivers at their disposal to transport around as properly as financial benefits.
On a private level, neighbors, friends, or even his children describe him as a lively person, jovial, and humorous man who became friendly with all, and by no means does he give up trying to converts them to his ministry. Most of his neighbors said the only problem they had was the noise as a result of their activities from the early hours of the morning, even though they couldn’t complain.
He, however, entertained them in the evenings by projecting films for human beings to gather and watch, growing a type of cinema-like experience for them. Even even though he later relocated to Maryland, the call Jesu Oyingbo stuck, having been where he began.
There is even a Yoruba tune that mentioned his divinity declare despite not quite accepting of the declare which goes thus: Emi o mo Jesu Oyingbo, Emi o mo Jesu Agege, Emi o mo Guru Maharaji, Jesu ti mo mo l’apata ayeraye!!!. Meaning; I don’t realize Jesus of Oyingbo, I don’t understand Jesus of Agege, I don’t understand Guru Maharaji, The Jesus that I understand is the rock of ages! Most Lagosians who were born long after his loss of life, most probably first heard the call via this song.
Unexpectedly, nature called and the supposedly immortal “Jesu Oyingbo” answered. He kicked the bucket in 1988 while he turned into aged 73, and he died in a hospital out of doors the commune. Most of his fans did not believe that their messiah had died and waited for him to resurrect after 3 days, and while he didn’t, most of them got disheartened.
They hoped. Alas, Jesu Oyingbo didn’t resurrect until this moment. Jesu Oyingbo’s loss of life cracked his ministry for the middle could no longer hold. His elder youngsters attempted to fix the cracks, instead, they widened. As may be predicted from a husband to many, and father to dozens, Jesu Oyingbo died without a will and a mini civil war started among his children, wives, and followers quickly after concerning the sharing of the assets. It became tough as wives battles against each other, kids against youngsters or even a few members who felt they have immensely contributed to the movement and believe they are entitled to his will joined in the battle.
His eldest son, Olukayode Immanuel Odumosu, took the problem to the court and this becomes in which the atrocities perpetrated within the communal enclave had been unraveled. However, in 1997, the court dominated in favor of the kids who then evicted their father’s followers living within the enclave.
What is left of the enclave now are dilapidated and abandoned homes which might be frequented by using thugs, weed smokers, and criminals? What do you believe you studied of this man and his kinds?
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