Helen Oritsejafor: My Husband is a Good Man to a Fault

Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) President had has received some bashings lately due his jet's involvement in the $9.3m money for arms saga. His wife, Mrs. Helen Oritsejafor, who is all geared up for another Jubilee Word Festival of her husband’s ministry, the Word of Life Bible Church, in a recent interview with Mary Ekah, defends him passionately and says it was all scam

Your husband had received a lot of bashing lately. How do you react?
For us southerners, we might not really appreciate what Papa Ayo Oritsejafor is doing and the role he is playing in Christianity in Nigeria because we are not directly affected by the activities of the terrorist group, Boko Haram. Christians in the North are the ones experiencing it; they are the ones losing fathers and mothers, children; being dislocated. They are the ones who see people’s throats being cut off as chickens; their houses being burnt by petrol bombs and their young ones both boys and girls being abducted on a daily basis. They value him so very much. They know that whatever he is going through today is because of them. It was actually them who came to persuade him to run for CAN presidency. If there is anything I know my husband to be is that he is a good man to a fault, and sometimes I really feel for him. Unfortunately, the society of nowadays does not value a man like this especially those of us in the South. He is much respected in the North.

How did the news of his jet's involvement in the $9.3m money for arms saga hit you?
I was really surprised. I didn’t even know anything about it. I didn’t even know our plane was out of the country because we leased it out to a company in Abuja so that we will be able to utilize whatever comes out of the deal for the maintenance of the plane because maintaining a plane is very expensive. In all honesty, by the time we got to know that it was Papa’s plane, we knew that the enemies were trying to play some prank. It is natural because he is a symbol of Christianity in Nigeria. If anyone wants to move against Christianity in Nigeria, it would be easier for one to go after the symbol. The only thing is I wasn’t expecting people to get really dirty as they did.

It’s quite obvious that somebody was out for some sinister joke. Why was it that it was Papa’s plane that would be hired? How would it be that it would be his plane of all planes in Nigeria that they needed for that mission? It’s still very baffling. Number two, it became obvious that it was orchestrated and the whole essence of it is to see how they can give him a name God has not given to him, and all because he has been a very outspoken man. I know him too well, he is a very down to earth person, and he doesn’t know how to hide his feelings. He is a very quiet and reserved person. But then when there is a need for him to speak about anything, he would rather confront things the way they are rather than to hide behind his fingers. I know quite a number of people have been very uncomfortable with that especially with the Boko Haram situation. So he is now paying the price for being an outspoken man, defending his people, defending Christianity in Nigeria, and do not want Nigerians having to hide their heads later on in life because whichever way we look at it, history will tell.

Why do you think that some people would politicize a purely security issue like that?
Well it’s natural. Number one, it is the perception. By the special grace of God, a man who has lived a life that is worthy of note, a man with an integrity that is without blemish, who will never compromise his stand whichever way it is; automatically, that man has added so much value to Christianity and of course the umbrella of Christianity in Nigeria which is Christian Association of Nigeria. So a personality like Papa Ayo Oritsejafor, is a threat to anyone who sees him as one because they believe he has a voice, he has a clout, coupled with the fact that the present president of Nigeria happens to be a Christian who is also from the South-South. So they believe that this man is definitely going to support his brother, he would want him to come back being a Christian as well. In Nigeria we look for every necessary means to pull down people instead of fixing issues on ground.

At least now we all know that it is the National Security Adviser who hired that plane out, happens to be a relation of the Defence Minister and who happens to be an in-law to the Sultan of Sokoto. I had a lot of respect for the Sultan of Sokoto. Before this issue of Boko Haram and so on, himself and my husband used to be very close. I so much cherished his relationship with my husband. But I'm a little bit surprised because no matter how it is, you know your friend. We must not allow bigotry to take away our innocence, our integrity, our corner in the name of what we are trying to get. We must always remember posterity because one way or the other, posterity will always judge. And we must not throw caution to the wind because of whatever we are trying to achieve. We must also remember that Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor is a husband of a woman who has children as well; regardless of whatever we are trying to do. This is a man that I know, and some Nigerians also know that this is a man who is so loving and caring. If there were anything this man can do to alleviate the downtrodden ones in the society, he would do. He’s done many.

When you look at all these, when you look at a man who can do anything just to make sure that another man is comfortable, why should any man, all because of his disposition towards his people, go after him in this manner? It’s amazing. What that goes to tell you is that they have looked for everything. And I'm so proud of him. I'm proud of my husband. They have looked for every avenue. We have heard of one or two people caught in some unholy alliance and so on, thank God my husband was not involved. They have done everything they could do to try and pull him down. What they finally did was to use a gift that was given to him; he didn’t use his money to buy it. Some people said President Jonathan bought it for him. I wish he did.

I have the list of the names of people who masterminded this thing on our record. Hundreds and thousands of people, church folks who said this man served us with every vigor in him, we could see in him a great man and he’s not getting younger anymore. He is ever on the road constantly doing everything he can for the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; let us try as much as possible in elongating his life by blessing him with this gift. What I would have loved for them is to show me the receipt of the plane that was bought by President Jonathan and the person who said he bought the plane. I have heard all sorts of lies. There’s no human being that can stand up to say I bought this plane. It’s a complete lie from the pit of hell. Because of his person, and knowing the amount of money that it’s going to cost to maintain the plane he had to lease it out. If he were using church money to maintain it, they would have cried out to say he is using church money and if President Jonathan bought him a plane, can’t the same President Jonathan maintain the plane? Why must it be hired out so as to sustain the maintenance of the same? They politicize a lot of things. It’s really annoying.

Is Pastor Ayo really that close to President Jonathan as his accusers allege?
It is so amazing. I do not want to be rude or saucy so I'm trying as much as possible to hold my peace. Let me say this, I would love it if people can help me define that word ‘close’. Yes there’s a relationship that has to do with being in his position as the President of CAN and President Jonathan as the President of Nigeria. Automatically, whether he likes it or not, there will be some level of interaction and that is what Nigerians are calling closeness. Maybe they should tell us how President Jonathan gave him one naira to buy a plane. I don’t really think that Pastor Ayo is closer to the president than the Sultan of Sokoto, the co-chair of NIREC. Pastor Ayo goes in to offer his own advice or suggestion as the case maybe whenever he is asked to. When he wants to see the president, he makes request just like everyone else. And mostly, it is to discuss the issue of the nation. Many times, he goes with his CAN executive council members to sit down with the president and confront him on certain issues all to see how the nation can be well piloted. What I am saying is that please before you start giving this man a bad name, find out the true position of things. Do not go out there forgetting that he is a husband to a woman and he is a father as well. Besides that, he is a man who has sacrificed himself. I think Nigerians even have him more than I do.

How did he receive the news of the plane saga?

He didn’t also know. When everything happened, according to what we heard, the plane was released immediately and it came back to Nigeria. They didn’t even bother to contact us to tell us what happened. No one said anything. It was when someone called him and asked 'where is your plane.' And he said he didn’t know but he would find out from his wife. I have been the one managing it. When everything happened, they put it on him, but I have actually been the one running it. So he called me and asked where the plane was, I said I didn’t know promising to call him back.  The person who called him told him the plane was impounded in South Africa.

However, since they knew that the plane and the crewmembers had nothing to do with the transaction, they let the plane go which is the normal practice.

When we now did our own investigation, we discovered that by the time the plane touched ground in South Africa, the picture was already taken. And some people were already having a meeting in London, and coming up with all sorts of stories and so on and so forth about him even before everything finally blew open. So it was all orchestrated right from Nigeria.

Another Jubilee Word Festival is around the corner. What shape will this year's event look like?
With eminent speakers like Rev. Felix Omobude, Bishop Mike Okonkwo, Pastor Philip Thomas, Bishop John Francis (UK), Pastor Jonathan Miller (USA), and Bishop Wayne Malcolm (UK) this year's event billed for November 9-16, is loaded. We also have guest artistes like Frank Edwards (Nigeria), Lara Geaorge (Nigeria), VaShawn Mitchell (USA) and Sonnie Badu (UK) who will be ministering alongside our Milk and Honey Choir. Theme of this year's programme holding at the Word of Life Bible Church, Ajamimogha, Warri is, 'Talitha Cumi Arise 2015'. It’s really going to be awesome. Every time Jubilee is around the corner, I know it is another forum whereby God is going to use it to elevate certain people by the special grace of God.