The 20th child of the founder of Celestial Church of Christ, Worldwide, Olatosho Oshoffa, popularly known as Tosho is the shepherd of CCC International Headquarters, Ketu, Lagos. He spoke on some controversial issues surrounding the church and its founder, the late Bilewu Oshoffa
How related are you to the CCC founder, the late SBJ Oshoffa?
My name is Olatosho Mathew Oshoffa. By the grace of God, I am the 10th son and the 20th child of the late founder of CCC. So, I am a real and proud son of Oshoffa for that matter.
Over time, there has been controversy about the CCC founder, especially regarding the number of wives and children that he has. Can you shed more light on this?
Well, this is no longer private. My father left this world on 10th September 1985. He left behind 13 wives and 53 children. Many people have said he has 100 children and so on. But no. We (The children) know ourselves and up till now, I can tell you that we know the number of wives that gave birth to this number of children for my father. So, we know ourselves and relate very well. There is one love in the family, no matter how many we are. The number of children is 53, but we are all in one love and one accord.
How possible is it for the entire 53 children of the CCC founder to be well connected and united as you said?
Let me tell you something, my dear brother. Our father, while on earth, used to gather us together and tell us, “Never say you are a son or daughter to any of my wives. But tell yourself, you are a son of Oshoffa.” This means he has used that girdle of love to tie us together. So we don’t see ourselves as children of our various mothers but as children of Oshoffa. And that is the same way we related when he (Oshoffa) was still in this world and has been doing after his demise. Even as of today, the remaining Oshoffa wives that were younger to my mother, I still refer to them as my mother, because of the love that our father (Oshoffa) has used to bind us together. So, we all remain one as SBJ Oshoffa children.
But given the scriptural position that a Bishop must be a man of one wife; don’t you think those condemning polygamous men of God are right?
Can I tell you something, my brother? You see, in that scripture, Paul was only advising. Tell me in the Bible, which prophet of God had only one wife? Do your research and tell me. Secondly, if God were to judge by the number of wives, my father would have been the first to be disqualified as the founder of CCC, because he was already having three wives before God called him. Yet, he was given the vision and mission to found CCC Worldwide. This year, it will be 76 years since the church came into being and it will also be 39 years since the founder left the church. But the church has kept on waxing stronger and stronger every day. So, if it was not the will of God, then, Oshoffa wouldn’t have been the first to be contacted.
I am sure in 1947, if there was a better candidate to found CCC, Oshoffa wouldn’t have been chosen. But because there wasn’t a better candidate, he was the only one that God found worthy to found CCC, despite having three wives. So those condemning my father should know that he never had any concubine. He married them (His wives) and they were all under his roof. But today, the so-called men of God with only one wife will have concubines outside. Which one is better? So, I will tell you that if God were to judge by the number of wives before sending a bishop or pastor on a mission, my father would have been disqualified because he had three wives before God called him. And thank God, the church he founded is still alive today, despite all the attacks here and there. The church remains one and keeps waxing stronger every day.
Based on this, what is the position of CCC on polygamy?
Based on this, anyone who desires to marry only one wife is allowed to do so. The church allows it. In the same way, the church does not have a law that binds a clergy to have only one wife. So you have a freedom. Maybe in the future, there will be a law that will bind us to have only one wife, but as of today, there is no law that binds a shepherd or prophet in CCC to marry only one way.
Does this mean that polygamy is not forbidden among the shepherds in CCC?
As of today, to be frank, polygamy is not forbidden among the clergies, the shepherds, or pastors in CCC. Tomorrow, there may be a law if God says so. But as of today, no law forbids polygamy in CCC.
About six different pastors claim to be the authentic spiritual head of the Celestial church. What is your take on this?
Let me assure you that this church came to sanctify and save the world. It was for salvation. Now, when the founder of this church departed, the same way Jesus Christ departed there were troubles among the apostles about who will lead. The same way as well that according to history the Catholic Church at a time had multiple Popes. But today, they have only one Pope after so many centuries. This is the same situation with CCC. After the demise of its founder, there was so much trouble. The apostles also faced the same challenges on succession as those of the Catholic Church.
Today, it is our turn. I believe that despite all the problems that we are facing today, a time is coming when the church will have only one leader. But as of today, the most acclaimed and accepted leader in CCC all over the world is the first son of the founder, my eldest brother, Rev. Emmanuel Oshoffa, who is based in Imeko, Ketu, and Makoko, the headquarters of the church. A time is coming when the church will become one again. It is our prayer that when that time comes, it will be during our time so that it will not happen when we might have passed away.
Are you saying that the church can still be united under one leadership despite the depth of the division within the fold?
We can still be united, my dear brother.
How?
I believe in one thing, which is dialogue. In Isaiah 1:18, God called all the people and said, come let us reason together. A time is coming, and it is not far again when we shall all reason together and see where our faults are. And believe me, we shall become one again when we sit down and reason together. It is my prayer once again that when that time comes, we shall be tools that God will use to give a way for our church to have one leader that will be accepted all over the world. I believe it is possible and it is my prayer that it should not be far. And we are working towards it. And that is the vision and mission of the Pastor, Rev. Oshoffa. So whether we like it or not, the church will be one again, because, without the oneness of the church, it cannot fully accomplish its mission. We have to be one. And God must enter the hearts of everybody to make us one because it (The church’s mission) is a task that must be achieved.
Does it seem the Cherubim and Seraphim churches also have similar divisions to that of CCC or is the situation different?
No, no. Let me tell you why we are different. During the time of Moses Orimolade, the founder of C&S, he was frustrated. He was so frustrated that on the day he was dying, he picked a bunch of brooms and scattered them, saying, “You C&S people because you have made me suffer this much, you will not be one anymore. He gave a collective curse to the C&S. But during the time of my father, the founder of CCC, he laid down individual curses. What was the curse? He said anyone that will divide my church, his ways, blessings, family, and inheritance in heaven shall be divided. That is an individual curse. And believe me, none of those who have a hand in the problem of this church has had a good end. It is always evil. You can see the difference. There was a collective curse placed on the C&S but an individual curse placed on CCC. That is why we still have room for reconciliation and oneness according to Isaiah 1:18. There is a big difference between collective curse and individual curse.
What are the efforts that Pastor Emmanuel Oshoffa has taken towards reaching out to other factional pastors in a bid to unite the fold?
I believe he is making his best efforts. No one is perfect. Let us put it that way. But recently, during the burial of my late younger sister, Arewa Deborah Oshoffa, the Deputy Pastor of CCC in Benin Republic, Babanla Shimi, sent by the CCC leader in the French country, met with Pastor Emmanuel after the burial. And they both spoke about the oneness of the Celestial fold. So, I believe that Pastor Emmanuel is trying in that area. He took over the leadership of the church on December 25, 2002, but he was enthroned on 23rd February 2003. I was his Personal Assistant for 13 years, so I know much about him.
When he became the Pastor, there were only a few parishes loyal to the CCC headquarters in Ketu, Makoko, and Imeko. But today, he has spent 21 years on the throne and many parishes have returned to his stream. I am not condemning other spiritual heads that are not in Ketu. No. As a leader in my little way, I cannot condemn anybody. That’s why whenever any parish returns to Ketu, Pastor Emmanuel never criticizes them; he will simply say, “Welcome to our father’s house.” So, I am not condemning anybody in his favor. And since every Celestial parish still prays with the God of Oshoffa, I believe the church still has a chance to be united. Already, despite having different leaders, our ways of worship, praying, singing and tenets have not changed. This means every CCC member is Papa Oshoffa’s child. Even the founder said so while he was alive. So for me, he has laid down the foundation of unity for the church. Based on this, I believe a time will come when the entire CCC members who are all Oshoffa’s children will come together and chart a way for the ch