Richard Elesho
An overseer is someone who directs affairs in an organization. Those old enough may remember the District Overseer, the ubiquitous and venerated DO, who supervised affairs at the grassroots in colonial and immediate post-colonial Nigeria.
Today, in religious circles, the word carries other prefixes. There can be an L.O, Local Overseer; Z.O, Zonal Overseer; and of course G.O, General Overseer, depending on the userr’s preferred linguistic collocation.
What about Mummy G.O? Yes, Mummy G.O! In recent times, the words have gained traction and vogue. Since the beginning of the new year, or so, the title has gathered fresh usage, and in fact, been trending in the social media.
In the past, the epithet carries along with it, a sense of gender balancing and presupposes the existence of a Daddy G.O. Not again. Before now what readily comes to mind whenever Mummy G.O is mentioned is Foluke, the 73-year-old wife of Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, the General Overseer of the multimillion members Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG. She has fondly been referred to as Mummy G.O for decades.
Foluke, whose father, Pa. Adeyokunnu was also a clergyman with the Methodist Church, got married to the mathematician, Pastor Adeboye in 1967. She has since been a strong pillar of support to her husband. Although, she operates more at the background, her roles are mostly felt in the areas of Christian education, African mission, children and women ministries.
In spite of her preference for operating far away from the kileglight, Adeboye extolled her virtues. “In the ministry, she has been extremely helpful. In fact, when I look back now I just wonder what my life would have been like without her. I don’t see how I could possibly have coped with the ministry that God committed into my hands without this woman.”
So much about the Redeem’s Mummy G.O. and her behind the scene efforts. Social media addicts have of late been inundated with the image and video of another Mummy G.O, Evangelist Funmilayo Adebayo. Some call her the pkatapkata crooner, while others tag her a ‘weird’ or ‘hilarious’ preacher. The founder of Rapture Proclaimed Evangelical Church of God, RAPEC, Iyana Ipaja, Lagos is also linked with an Abeokuta based Mountain of Solutions Church.
Born on 15th June 1970 in Ekiti State, not much is known about the family background of the lady evangelist, who does not hesitate to decree hell fire for several human endeavours. A deluge of her hell memes have been on Facebook, tiktok, instagram, whatsApp and other platforms. Among the things she demonizes are football, Titus fish, comedy, breakdancing, handsets and what have you. Listen to some of her jibes.
She cautioned men not to give money to girls emphasising that boys who disobey the injunction in 2022 “will be giving away their glory.” In another meme she frowned at the use of ATM and MasterCard as they could lead the user to hades. And those who love low cut, according to her are on free ticket to hell, a place she claimed to have visited on assignment, and perhaps excursion.
In 2019, the Evangelist who claimed to have once suffered poverty shocked her congregation when she warned them not to eat Titus fish or take vitamin C. She revealed that offenders will spend eternity in a lake of fire.
– On Handset
“All of you children telling your parents to buy handset for you on your birthday, you’re asking for the ticket to hellfire.”
– On Comedians
“My dear, if you are here and your dream is to become a comedian, I want you to renounce Jesus before that. You must renounce Jesus and reject him. To become a comedian means you’re destined for hell.”
– On Hair Attachments
“The first attachment on earth, I produced it. The name is Amigo. And we’re the ones that have the company that produced it.”
– Drug Pusher/ hired killer
“I wasn’t a fool before I met Christ. I was a cocaine pusher. I sold guns and rented ammunition to robbers. I was a hired killer. I had boys at my disposal. Whenever I want to give information to politicians, they pay me millions.
“The kind of cocaine I smuggled, I used flying carpet, straight to Germany and America. I don’t use airplanes. The reason why I have this knowledge is due to my long journey in the kingdom of darkness.”
– Name dropping?
“Obasanjo knows me very well. We are close pals. Even Babangida knows me. The police had no guts to arrest me. Sijuade, the Ooni of Ife, it was when I met him that his business started booming.
– On Football Stars
“Anybody that dies as a football star shall go to hell. Write it down. I’m not forcing you to believe it. If your child or brother becomes a star in ball, it’s an automatic certificate to hell.
“Especially you boys, when we tell you that ball is not good, you hate it. If you know it’s a sin, raise your hand. Football is a sin. It is a game of antichrist. That is why many general overseers and big churches are fighting me.”
– God restored my virginity
Mummy G.O’s claims sometime boarder on the absurd. For instance she claimed that God restored her virginity long after she had lost it and given birth.
“Do you know what? When that man married me, he was once my boyfriend. The day we married, this man stood up and said Funmi what is happening now? Were you not formerly my girlfriend? Why am I sleeping with you and you become virgin again? It took this man more than 30 minutes before he could penetrate, because I automatically became virgin again. My husband was surprised. I prayed and he answered me. And am not joking, He can do the same for you. Even till today, my body still remains close”
– Many of her narratives can only stand a chance in the surreal fantasy of religion and metaphysics. She claimed she was formerly a man and an ancient Egyptian warrior. She said she was trained in the afterlife and was sent for ‘I.T’ (industrial training) before she was sent to Nigeria where she was reborn as a woman.
– How I was converted
Mummy G.O’s conversion story sounds like a rendition of the Damascus road experience of Saul of Tarsus, the great persecutor of Jesus Christ, who later became Apostle Paul. The senior officer of the kingdom of darkness was on an evil mission when a higher power got her arrested and turned to a vessel.
The controversial Evangelist recalled that one day in the kingdom of darkness, she was going to hell to carry out an assignment. Suddenly, somebody shouted her name, “Funmilayo”, and she was shocked. she was shocked because she believe that nobody knew her real (earthly) name. So, who could have known her name in a place where her relations or people that know her could never be found? Suddenly, she was set on a very high speed and as she sped off, she heard the name, “Funmilayo” again.
She Said “When I heard the name the third time and I turned to rebuke the person, I saw a very handsome, huge, awesome and attractive personality. Then, I sensed that Jesus Christ must have been calling my name. I also remembered that during our training in the kingdom of darkness, we were taught about Him. The name they call Him there is Son of the Owner. Nobody dares call His real name (Jesus) because the name is so strong and mighty that it shakes the kingdom to its roots. Based on the way He was described as the most handsome, I was sure that the personality I saw was indeed, Jesus.
“When I made bold and turned to face Him, I asked: “What can I do for you? Who are you?” He replied: “I need you” and I replied that I was going on a mission. He said that He knew that I was going on a mission. Immediately He said this, my body was on fire and I surrendered and said: “I will go with you, I will be with you.” I also told Him to, “send me, I will go for you.” But later, I made bold to tell Him: “
“A servant cannot serve two masters. I have my own master. You know your people and your people know you. Why then are you coming for me?” But He said to me: “I own both you and your master. Heaven and earth belong to me. I own everything.”
“When I looked into His eyes, they were glittering like a burning fire and light that are incomparable with any other fire and light. They were so bright that I almost got blinded. Since then, my eyes are still not normal. I can’t see properly and I can’t read even a signboard or use glasses. I can only manage to read my Bible.
People have reacted in different ways to Mummy G.O assertions. Many people have condemned and put a lie to her claims, while others have been indifferent. Reno Omokri blamed the popularity of her activities on ignorance. The socio-political activist in a post on his official Facebook page, lamented how Africans are easily manipulated through the gospel.
He said, “One thing the current Mummy GO phenomenon has laid bare is how easy it is to manipulate the psyche of our people.
Son of the controversial Mummy G.O, Samuel has risen in her defence. He said some of the hell memes were fabricated and wondered why the fuss. He argued that the preacher was simply expressing her opinion and did not compel anyone to follow her.
“Everybody is entitled to believe what they want to believe. I don’t know why people are taking it personal. There is the freedom to believe whatever one wants to believe and neglect whatever one wants to neglect but there is always the freedom of expression. Even Christ didn’t say that people must accept Him by force by force as the son of God.”
