PASTOR TAIWO ODUKOYA, IN HONOUR OF A GENERAL: A Father Remembered, A Legacy Eternal

Today, June 15, 2025, would have marked the 69th birthday of Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, my father in the Lord, my mentor, my client, and one of the most profound influences on my life. Though he is no longer physically with us, his legacy lives, unyielding, unshaken, and undimmed, etched not just in memory, but in people, purpose, and power.

Some men die and are soon forgotten. Others live so intentionally, so deeply, that death becomes nothing more than a comma in their sentence. Pastor Taiwo Odukoya was the latter. To borrow the words attributed to Benjamin Franklin: “If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write things worth reading, or do things worth writing about.” Pastor did both, beautifully, boldly, and with eternal consequence.

Two years have passed since his transition, yet his voice still echoes. Like the patriarchs in Hebrews 11, “though he is dead, yet he speaks.” His life was not merely a sermon, it was Scripture in motion. In him, we witnessed faith tested, refined, and triumphant.

I write this tribute with tears in my eyes and deep, steady gratitude in my soul. I thank God that he answered the call. I thank God that he said “yes” when it would have been easier to walk away. I am who I am today, rooted in faith, firm in conviction, because he lived, because he led, because he never wavered.

I remember the first time I heard him speak, February 18, 1997. I was 26 years old, confused, disoriented, and searching for meaning. That day marked the beginning of a new life for me. Through his teachings and example, I found clarity, courage, and calling. From there, I became a homegrown son of the Fountain of Life Church: raised, empowered, and entrusted with responsibilities I could never have imagined.

I served in the Evangelism Team, the Children’s Church, the Youth Church, and the Teenage Church. I was appointed a Commissioner in the Discovery for Men Ministry. I later worked alongside Pastor in the Vicarage full-time for over two years, editing his sermons, accompanying him to studio recordings, and coordinating the broadcast of his Discovery for Men messages on radio stations across Nigeria. It was during this time that I witnessed, up close, the purity of his private life. I would go on to become his personal attorney, a steward of his estate, and Secretary to the Board of Trustees, once a clueless young man, now a servant-leader, raised under his mentorship.

Pastor Taiwo never presented the gospel as a promise of comfort or prosperity. He lived it as a call to perseverance and transformation. He taught us that the power of faith is not found in what it gets you, but in what it makes of you. Jesus said, “In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Pastor Taiwo embodied this truth.

When his beloved first wife, Pastor Bimbo, went to be with the Lord, he walked into his living room, lifted his hands, and declared, “Jesus, I will never disappoint You.” That moment, retold just yesterday at his memorial lecture by former Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, will forever be etched in our hearts. Worship in the face of weeping. Faith in the fire. Devotion without detour.

And again, when his second wife passed, he returned to church just days later, not to preach, but to worship. “I just came to worship my God,” he said. That wasn’t performance. That wasn’t duty. That was faith, pure, unfiltered, unflinching. The kind of faith the world desperately needs today.

Scripture tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:7, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” Pastor was never afraid to show his cracks. In those cracks, the glory of God shone through. He was not perfect. none of us are but his humanity made his divinity-belief all the more radiant. He reminded us that real strength is not in appearing invincible, but in pointing to the One who is.

He taught us that adversity is not the absence of faith, it is its proving ground. James writes, “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” Pastor Taiwo lived that Scripture. He didn’t just preach resilience, he embodied it. He showed us that faith is not how loudly we rejoice in gain, but how deeply we stand in loss.

His fatherhood was revolutionary. He did not lead by force, but by example. His authority was calm but commanding. He corrected with compassion. He mentored with vision. He never centered himself, he centered Christ. And in doing so, he made room for others to rise.

Even in our personal journey of preparing 15 years for a child, Pastor Taiwo was an anchor. At a Thursday Shower service, one year before our son was born, he prophesied: “There is someone here, you’ve never been pregnant before. By this time next year, you will carry your baby.” That word came to pass. When labour complications arose, he placed a father’s blessing over us, simple, sincere, soaked in faith. That prayer remains a turning point in our testimony.

So today, as the world celebrates Father’s Day, I honour a father of faith, of families, of nations. A man who lived large in obedience and small in ego. A man who changed the world, not by chasing greatness, but by choosing service.

Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, thank you sir for giving to the Lord. Thank you for standing tall when it was hardest. Thank you for your obedience, your simplicity, your vision, your legacy. You didn’t just inspire us, you instructed us. You didn’t just impact the world, you transformed our world.

Sleep on, God’s General.

Your reward is sure.

Your legacy is immortal.

We remember you. We miss you.

And by God’s grace, we will carry the torch you lit.

Happy Father’s Day!

Do have an INSPIRED weeks ahead with the family.