Prophet Odumeje, the former leather goods apprentice stirring controversy
To many people who have met Prophet Chukwuemeka Ohanaemere, popularly known as Odumeje, he’s a man of small stature. But in recent times, his antics have become larger than life.
The Onitsha-based pastor, who has used words like the ‘liquid metal’ and ‘Indaboski’ to describe himself has always been in the eye of controversy. From his weird miracle and deliverance sessions where he lifts members of the congregation and smashes them into empty plastic chairs to the flaunting of the money he receives from tithes and offerings, Odumeje has raised many eyebrows with his unorthodox approach to his spiritual calling.
With sermons filled with self-veneration and mesmerising dance moves, Odumeje seems to be getting a lot of attention from social media lately. Clips of his performances at his Mountain of Holy Ghost Intervention Deliverance Ministry have left many believers questioning his ‘calling’ as a prophet. While many are quick to dismiss him as a hilarious showman, Prophet Odumeje has gained a lot of followers who indulge in his theatrics.
The self-proclaimed prophet who sees nothing wrong with dancing to secular music in the church has entertained many of such sessions. In one video clip that raised yet another controversy, he was shown with Nollywood actor, Zubby Michael doing the ‘zanku’ dance, created by Nigeria hip-hop musician, Zlatan Ibile while Mr. P’s ‘One more night’ blared in the background.
His style of worship has undoubtedly earned him a lot of criticisms. Many have described him as a show-maker and money-grabbing fake prophet. But in one of his viral clips, Odumeje who struggles to speak fluent English with Igbo-laced accent addressed his critics as noisemakers while showering himself with praises as usual.
“I am not a man of story. I have evidences. When you say I am a show maker, then you bring to me your evidences that make you to be better than me. You’re just a noisemaker! I play but my joke is too dangelous. I smile but my smiling is too dangerlous. I am coat of many corours. [sic],” he declared.
In another clip, he would go on to announce his uniqueness as a non-conformist. The verbose words he used to describe himself earned him a long list of titles, one of which has become a sobriquet among his followers — ‘Indaboski’.
“Everyone cannot be a preacher of love. I am not a preacher of love. I am fight, I am war, I am liquid metal, I am Indaboski, Pahose!” he charged
But long before he gained his current notoriety, Odumeje was only an apprentice, trying his hands on leather goods business in Onitsha. Having lost his chance of going beyond secondary school due to financial difficulties faced by his mother who was a petty trader at Upper Iweka, Odumeje had decided to take up a trade in leather goods.
The venture was shortlived as he abandoned it after receiving a ‘divine encounter’ to become a pastor in 2000. He started out as an evangelist by holding vigils in rented halls as he struggled to make ends meet. He made some progress in 2003 and moved his ministry to Bida Road in Onitsha. It was the same year that he released his first music.
Several years later, he founded the Mountain of Holy Ghost Intervention Deliverance Ministry, aka Land of Freedom in a public yard in 2010. The ministry was later moved to a permanent site with a reportedly 20,000-seat capacity at Bida Road, Onitsha, Anambra state. It’s from there that Prophet Odumeje carries out his controversial deliverance sessions where he ‘wrestles out demons’.
Ever since his deliverances became popular on social media, many people have accused him of staging fake miracles. The controversy grew further after he was seen in a video raising a presumably dead woman. He was also involved in a deliverance where he appeared to have healed a man of erectile dysfunction.
Despite not being taken seriously in most cases, Odumeje has caught the attention of many Nigerians and he is riding on that wave with a kind of controversy that evokes amusement and surprise.
Originally from Orsu Ihete Ukwa in Orsu Local Government Area of Imo State, he is married to Uju Ohanaemere (nee Ogbatuo) and they both have four kids, two boys and two girls