MEMORIES: Pastor Ina Omakwu: Death swallowed up in victory

Like a thunderbolt came the devastating news Pastor Inalegwu Omakwu, the amiable, soft-spoken and humble Senior Pastor of Family Worship Centre, Abuja. He died on Tuesday February 25, at UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, United States of America. Omakwu had been battling with brain cancer for three years. Iyefu Adoba and Juliana Taiwo writes.

 That Inalegwu Omakwu survived three years after being diagnosed with cancer was a miracle. The doctors told him he would not live another six to eight weeks. But not only did he live, he continued to preach the Gospel and win thousands for Christ.
When cancer first struck in 2002, the early signs as described by Inalegwu were intense headaches. He said it was like dozens of rockets going off in his head at the same time.
The sickness, church members believe, was demon-inspired, because preceding the headaches was a “visit” from strange visitors to his bedroom who for two weeks kept telling him that he was going to die.
Recounting the experience further, Ina (as the pastor was fondly called), said it was like all his systems closed down when the unusual cancer was detected. The cancer was seated in a section of his brain dressed like a net covering his head and intended to shut him down completely.
According to him, the entire situation was designed to make sure he died immediately. The attack came at a time doctors were on strike in Nigeria, and unable to receive adequate medical care, he was referred to a hospital in America. There, doctors diagnosed inoperable brain cancer and did not mince words by telling him that his case was hopeless. “By all indications what we are looking at is an aggressive malignant tumour,” said the examining doctor, “You’ll be expected in radiology shortly. I wish I could give you more hope.”
Tayo Olugbemi, his personal assistant and the presenter of 1 cube, a Christian musical video programme recalled the experience: “some days I would look at his eyes and the way he was breathing, and I felt Pastor was not going to make it, but then they told us that we had to look for a bigger doctor to help us, and the only doctor we could find then was Jesus. Nobody else, because they had written him off.”
 
“We pulled out the only weapons we had-prayer and faith in God’s Word and while many other churches and Christians around the world joined in around-the-clock prayer chains, Pastor Ina and his wife pulled out all the stops and bombarded heaven with confessional prayers, quoting the Scriptures copiously, “gulping the Word like babies.” Pastor himself kept praying: “I will say of the Lord,  He is my refuge and fortress, I will not die, I will live to proclaim the goodness of the Lord” non-stop for hours.
After three months of rigorous treatment in America, doctors sent Pastor Ina home to die. But he did not die. Flying on the wings of prayer, he made it against all odds. Once the cancer stopped bleeding, he returned home to Nigeria, and plunged himself into church work, he was on fire as usual for the Lord. Despite the presence of cancer he was able to manage himself and did not slow down his assignments. Even while he was in America, the Church still carried on an earlier planned blitz in Ghana, virtually saturating Ghanaian airwaves with the Gospel. At the end of the programme, “in spite of all the noise of hell, 3.1 million Ghanaians either gave their lives to Christ or rededicated their lives to God” said Ina.
However mid 2002 during a trip to Ukraine where he had gone for ministerial assignment, Ina had a relapse and he once again headed for the US where the prognosis was still bad. He came back home once again determined to carry on working for God, cancer or no cancer.
His last active assignment was the hosting of Pastor Creflo Dollar from America Family Worship Center, Abuja. Dollars deep impression of Inalegwu at that meeting was that of an aura of a great statesman. He also sensed the Oral Roberts spirit in him who has also made indelible marks in peoples lives that cannot be erased.
Not long after this assignment however, it was back to intense pains and he was admitted into the National Hospital, Abuja from where he was flown to America again before he breathed his last on Tuesday, February 25.
In answer to the question uppermost in most peoples mind-why cancer and why Pastor Ina. Stating that obviously God’s ways are not our ways, Ina told the congregation in Abuja shortly before his health deteriorated that even the righteous suffer affliction, but the reassurance is that through it all, God never forsakes them. According to him, even in the midst of this mighty tribulation, the blessings were tremendous. He said God is only using Cancer to tear the kingdom of Satan apart and that when it’s all said and done, God will be glorified.
“Whatever pain I am going through is a walk through. It can’t stop me. I’m coming over at the other side. It’s just a shadow; it’s not the real thing. It’s not a time of parking and dying and not a time to panic. God does all things well and I am grateful for everything. My only boast is in the Lord who is my deliverer and king.”
The ‘quintessential gentleman’, Ina was humble to a fault, ever ready to believe the best of everybody. Indeed no human being including Ina Omakwu can claim to be perfect, but testimonies abound of Ina’s goodness and genuine love for other people. The pastor of another fast growing church in Abuja said when he first came to Abuja about seven years ago; Ina was the first pastor that reached out to him and showed him immense love.
 
A member of the Church said when she and her husband had problems with their marriage; Pastor Ina was practically in their house every day begging for peace. Another said when she wanted to be forgiven over a particular incident; she went down on her knees begging for forgiveness before the Pastor. Immediately the Pastor also went down on his knees begging her to stop kneeling for him, as he was only a mere mortal and not God.
Family Worship Church places great emphasis on love and care and prefers to be known as “the people who care.” And Inalegwu demonstrated and practised this personally. He was genuinely touched by the sufferings of other people and would go out of his way to help in any way he could. A peaceful man, he tried to live at peace as much as possible with everyone.
When the church received the news of his death, they were iin shock. And after the initial shock, the church, which was already praying for its pastor, started another round of 24 hours, seven days of relentless prayers for his resurrection. The reaction of the church was natural. Considering their pastor’s life and nature, no one could blame them for wanting him back. In an exercise of faith, they refused to accept his death and prayed for his resurrection. They backed up their faith on countless Biblical examples such as Jarius daughter and Lazarus who were raised up from the dead by Jesus himself.   

 
But on Sunday March 9, Dr Sam Kujiyat, the pastor of Rhema Church, Kaduna urged members of Family Worship to accept the sovereign will of God over this matter. Ina drew his last breath in Kujiyat’s arms in far away Los Angeles eleven days earlier,
According to Kujiyat, if speaking positively, confessing the Word and aggressive prayers were enough to bring pastor back from the dead, Inalegwu would have come back, because the whole world prayed for him. He called on the church to acknowledge that Ina’s assignment on earth is up and recognize the finality of his death. He said it was time to consider the reality; that Inalegwu was delighted to be away from the pains and agony of cancer.
Commending the church for exercising faith, he said “the truth of the matter was that once Inalegwu crossed over to the other side, he was no longer interested in coming back to this earth” and so Kujiyat prayed the Church to let him go.
With most members heartbroken to hear this news, Kujiyat prayed for the Holy Spirit to comfort the church. He also enjoined the church not to falter in their faith, but to learn that there are always lessons to learn from even the most painful experiences. He acknowledged that even though the grief and sorrow of the church was great, the power of God is even greater and even in the grave, Jesus is Lord. Death, he declared, has been swallowed up in victory.

Kujiyat said he displayed resolute faith through all the challenges, trials and tribulations of life. His faith, he said, saw him through, lifted him up and led him to many people and places and guarantees him a place in history as a hero of faith.
With the completion of several projects, the construction of the imposing N400 million all marble church, reaching out to over two million people of a certain ethnic group in the Northern part of Nigeria, sinking boreholes in non-Christian communities and taking under his care over 100 widows of pastors who had laboured in the Northern part of Nigeria, it is clear that Ina, like others before him, had completed his assignment on earth. Being an anointed visionary, innovative and consistent man of God, he left behind a blueprint on how the church should be run for years to come.
Pastor Ina, a native of Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State, started off studying Microbiology at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and is a 1991 Master of Arts graduate of communication from Regent University, Virginia Beach, USA and also has a masters of divinity from the esteemed Oral Roberts university, Tulsa. His wife Pastor Sarah and three children-Blessing, Favour and Worthy survive him.
Culled: BNNheadlines