Remembering Pastor Bimbo Odukoya – the televangelist who provided light to millions of Nigerians’ dark paths through her ministry

On a fateful Saturday afternoon on December 10, 2005, a Sosoliso aircraft traveling from Abuja encountered difficulties as it attempted to land on the runway at the Port-Harcourt International Airport. The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 lost its traction in the heavy rain and crash-landed, hitting a drainage culvert before splitting into parts and bursting into flames.

Of the 109 crew and passengers aboard the airplane, only two made it out alive with severe injuries. The victims, many of  whom had their families at the airport awaiting their arrival, were mostly teenage students of Ignatius Loyola Jesuit College in Abuja.

Another victim of the crash that sent shivers down the country’s spine and left citizens cowering in the corner of their rooms in shock was a popular teacher, Pastor Bimbo Odukoya, who died from her injuries six hours later. No one in the country could make sense of the extremely painful loss.

Bimbo Odukoya’s husband and founder of Fountain of Life church, Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, recalled in his 2015 book ‘Gracious Legacy-The life and times of Bimbo Olukoya’ a decade after her death that her last words to him were “I will call you when we land.”

“She had called from the Abuja Airport to inform me of a slight delay with her flight. It was her last scheduled trip for the year; a two–part ministration, first in Abuja, with a connecting flight to Port Harcourt for the second,” he recalled.

The country’s reaction to the news of Pastor Bimbo’s death was understandable. Fondly referred to as Bims, she was a charmer who touched lives in more ways than one. She provided light to millions of Nigerians’ dark paths through her ministry. And indeed, to know Pastor Bimbo was to know joy and purpose.

She was more than just a pastor’s wife. By the time she got married to her husband Pastor Taiwo Odukoya with whom she co-founded The Fountain of Life Church, Pastor Bimbo, a History and Archaeology graduate from the University of Ibadan had fully dedicated her life to winning souls and saving lives. She served as the head of the counselling department at The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM) from 1987 to 1999.

She was born Abimbola Rosemary to the family of Mr and Mrs Oladipupo Segun-Williams on September 12, 1960. The Ogun State native who had her early education at St Mary’s private school, secondary school education at Holy Child College, Lagos and her ‘A’ levels at Federal Government College Ijanikin, would have celebrated her 60th birthday this Saturday.

“If she was alive, it would have been a big party – a landmark birthday,” Pastor Bimbo’s first daughter, Tolu Ijogun, tells this Neusroom writer.

At the Fountain of Life Church, the charismatic televangelist was her husband’s right-hand man for several years before her death, as she took up the mantle as associate senior pastor as well as the President of Discovery for Women. Pastor Bimbo quickly became a staple in millions of households through her television program Single and Married, which was broadcast locally and internationally. Her experience as a counsellor was brought to the fore as the uniquely produced program, backed by biblical principles, sought to be a guide for people in relationships and marriages.

But it wasn’t just the Christians who looked forward to listening to Pastor Bimbo’s teachings. People with different religious beliefs found her words helpful and inspiring. She racked up several honours while preaching the gospel and authored books on relationship and marriage. She was one of three Nigerian representatives chosen to carry the Olympic Torch in Athens, Greece at the 2004 Olympic games.

In death, Pastor Bimbo’s influence hasn’t waned. She has influenced the birth of a plethora of similar relationship and marriage programs.

“I normally think if she was around today, in this social media era when people can just go online and write comments; how would they have received her and her message,” Tolu wonders.

The daughter, herself an evangelist, is however thankful for the impact her mother has had on a younger generation. “She really set a good foundation that people like us and many other young Christian ministers can really stand and build on,” Tolu says. “And I’m really grateful because I look around today and see the Single and Married ministry is everywhere. She was a pioneer, she was well ahead of her time and she lived like she was living in the 2000s.”

If you go to YouTube, you’ll find several videos of Pastor Bimbo’s teachings. Many young people (married or about to) still rush to the video-sharing platform as they continue to find these videos useful. Pastor Bimbo’s first daughter is not as enthusiastic.

“I think my siblings do [watch the videos], but I don’t. It’s not because I don’t want to but it’s still a bit difficult for me,” Tolu says. “When I see her preaching, it’s like she’s alive. For my mind I can’t really reconcile it [her death]. I still have not been able to do that till now but I do hope in the future, I’ll be able to.”

Pastor Taiwo Odukoya lived with Pastor Bimbo for over 20 years before the cold hands of death struck. The university sweethearts had gotten married at the Yaba Baptist Church in 1984 after five years of courtship. Tolu says he “misses her dearly, he does talk about her.”

“But we know she’s in a better place and God called her. We don’t dwell on the past and we believe God has a plan and purpose and a greater future for us,” she adds.

If Pastor Bimbo was around today, she would be proud of her three children’s accomplishments. Tolu has taken in her footsteps as a passionate evangelist and is a marketing and communications expert, while her son Jimi is also an accomplished evangelist and an AMVCA nominated actor. Her second daughter, Tobi holds a doctorate degree in Psychology.

Pastor Bimbo, if she were here, would also have had her hands filled with her bubbly grandchildren. Tolu has three.

“I just had my third child. I know she would have loved her grandchildren, that’s something I do think of from time to time. They see her photos around the house and scream ‘grandma!’” Tolu says.

It’s been 16 years since the tragic Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145 crash that killed all but two aboard, but Pastor Bimbo who is resting gracefully at the Victoria Court Cemetery, Lekki, remains a shining light who will never be forgotten for her passion, selflessness, and impact.

• This story was first published on Neusroom.com on September 12, 2020.