Bishop Humphrey Bamisebi Olumakaiye came into this world On January 28 , 1969 with a dress at his naming ceremony which made him looked like a bishop. That alone showed Bamisebi came with a mission.
He started his pastoral duties 33 years ago and during this period he took the work of evangelism to the nooks and crannies of Nigeria and to the outside world.
When he came into Lagos he hit the ground running declaring to take the Diocese to higher level, Bishop Olumakaiye said his top priority would be evangelism and revival of the church, which he noted had been a significant pillar of the evolution of the Anglican Communion since the 18th Century with the emergence of the Church Missionary Society that God used to bring revival and awakening to the church.
Bishop Olumakaiye’s emphasis on the revival and reawakening of the church in Lagos diocese is not a surprise to many people who were familiar with his activities in his previous pastoral postings. He was well known for his uncommon zeal for the spread of the gospel as well as the spiritual development and welfare of both the shepherds and the flock under his watch.
True to his words, the revival in the Lagos diocese began with a spiritually loaded 21-day Fasting and Praying programme which started on Wednesday August 1, 2018 two days after the Bishop’s enthronement. He made it mandatory for all churches in the diocese and vowed to pay unscheduled visits to the various assemblies to ensure compliance. This he did with precision.
In furtherance to the revival, the Bishop inaugurated a healing and charismatic service which holds in the evening of every first Sunday of the month at the Cathedral Church of Christ. The first edition took place on Sunday August 5 and according to worshippers, it was a glorious encounter with the Holy Spirit.
The 53-year-old Bishop had a very eventful journey of 33 years in the ministry. He was also an excellent scholar. He had Doctorate degree in Religious Studies from the University of Ibadan and had many scholarly theological publications to his credit among which is a book: “Inculturation and Decolonization of Oral Liturgy of the Anglican Communion Nigeria.” Bishop Olumakaiye was spiritually supported by his wife, Prof. Motunrayo Olumakaiye.
HIS LIFE AND TIME
Archbishop Humphrey Bamisebi Olumakaiye was born on January 28, 1969, at Okenne, Kogi State to the family of the late Venerable Theophilus Akinbobola and Mrs Abigail Olumakaiye, who hailed from Idanre in Ondo State.
EDUCATION: After his elementary and secondary education, he had his Theological training at Immanuel College of Theology, Ibadan. He was ordained Deacon in June 1993, priested in December 1993; was preferred Canon in November 1999 and was also preferred an Archdeacon in 2000 by the then Bishop of Ilesa, The Rt. Revd. Ephraim Adebola Ademowo, the erstwhile Bishop of Lagos Diocese, Archbishop of Lagos Province and Dean Emeritus, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion.
The Most Revd Humphrey Bamisebi Olumakaiye PhD (Ibadan) being presented as the Archbishop of Lagos by The Archbishop Metropolitan and Primate of all Nigeria , The Most Revd Henry Ndukuba
As a priest in Ilesha Diocese, Archbishop Olumakaiye served outstandingly. He was always a go-getter and an unparalleled achiever. In any of the Churches he served as a minister, his footprints remain indelibly engraved and very difficult to match. The late Archbishop Olumakaiye had to his credit an enviable record of robust human relations just as his caring and pastoral spirit are sky-rated.
Following Olumakaiye’s unequalled diligence and loyalty in service, he was elected as the Pioneer Bishop of Osun-North East Diocese and was consecrated on July 12, 2009, and enthroned on Thursday, 16th July 2009 at the age of 40 at the Cathedral Church of St Philip’s, Otan Aiyegbaju, Osun State.
As the pioneer Bishop, he turned a tick forest into a Mega City. These are evident in the multi-million naira Bishop’s court, a chapel, library and Resource Centre, Diocesan Headquarters, a multipurpose hall, Bishop’s office Complex and schools at different locations within the diocese. To increase the spiritual lives of the priests and the congregation, he came up with the idea of building a prayer mountain and a prayer city which was named after Mrs. Oluranti Ademowo.
After a decade of faithful service at Osun North East, The Most Revd. Humphrey Olumakaiye, PhD was translated to the see of the Diocese of Lagos and was enthroned as the 8th Diocesan Bishop on the 30th of July, 2018.
The Diocese of Lagos was a prepared and fertile land for Archbishop Olumakaiye who came to continue building on the spiritual legacy of Archbishop Ademowo and to push further in Church planting cum human and material development. It is to his credit that within three years of translation, Archbishop Olumakaiye had taken the Diocese of Lagos to greater heights. He was translated just about when the celebration of the centenarian existence of the Diocese was to kick off.
His unprecedented achievements can be categorised into six major headings: Spiritual, Structural, Media, Education, Youth Empowerment and the Welfare of priests and the congregation.
Spirituality: On his enthronement as the 8th Bishop of Lagos, he came up with innovations that triggered a more spiritual awakening of the diocesan congregation. This manifested the opening of each new year with a 14-day fasting and praying programme and has not been broken so far.
This is followed by the declaration of 21days of fasting and praying tagged The Memorial. It is another period of waiting upon God to renew the strength of worshipers and improve their spirituality.
A jolly couple
As soon as he was enthroned, he made an episcopal visit to the entire Diocese of about 150 mega churches, including the coastal areas (just like Nehemiah in the Bible). This gave Archbishop Olumakaiye an insight into the exact situation of the churches handed over to him. Seeing the Bishops in most of these areas was like seeing God. He introduced and founded the Divine Mandate Voices as well as the Divine Mandate Partners both of which gained recognition at the start of the 100 years anniversary of the existence of the Diocese of Lagos.
He declared a five-fold ministry of priestly, pastoral, prophetic, prayer and praise ministry for the diocese. In addition, Olumakaiye also started the Healing and Charismatic Service which now comes up every first Sunday of the month at 4.00 pm in the Cathedral.
He also declared the first three days of every month as Power For The Month in all parishes at 6.00 am; not forgetting the Lenten Diet of 40 days devoted to the in-depth study of the word of God.
It is worthy of mention here that fact many of the members in the diaspora are always looking forward to this programme.
The late vibrantly innovative Archbishop also ensured that the Diocese has one target to attain via a dedicated theme for each year. To further enhance the spirituality of members, there is a periodic festival of Hymns. He also led street evangelism that has opened doors for raising more evangelists among priests. The Emmaus Experience which takes place every Easter season is a booster to the faith as members are able to see clearly during the season the way of the cross and visit Gethsemane Garden where notable places in Jerusalem are replicated at the Centenary City.
- Olumakaiye, the prayer warrior
Structural: The greatest of these monumental achievements, is the acquisition of 1,500 plots of land covering five kilometres for the Diocese of Lagos christened the Centenary City. In this city, there are General TY Danjuma’s Low Income Estate, Gethsemane Garden, Chapel, Convention Grounds, Women and Youth Empowerment Centres, Low Income Housing Estate, Amusement Park, St. Luke’s Global Hospital, Games village, and more. Work is currently ongoing on the site in an unprecedented way to the glory of God. There is also the acquisition of Delight International Schools now worth about half a billion naira (#500,000,000.00). The school that was acquired with less than 200 students now boasts of 1000 students within an academic session. The Archbishop Ephraim Adebola and Mrs Oluranti Ademowo Resource Centre is now of a world-class standard with the whole compound fully transformed. The Rocks Apartment (Old people’s home) at Ikorodu which was gifted to the Diocese by the Cathedral Circle, a society in the Cathedral Church of Christ Marina, has since been renamed the Diocese of Lagos Hospital for Elders. It will be the take-off point for St. Luke’s Global Hospital. The lives of individuals are being touched to give to the development of the Diocese.
Media: Archbishop Olumakaiye was a televangelist. He invested so much in making the church occupy her rightful place through the media. It paid off during the invasion of Coronavirus as it became the only means of communicating with the members. Membership of most of the churches increased through social media platforms and this was also evident in the financial status of most churches. The procurement of a digital billboard at the Diocesan headquarters/Archbishop’s Palace in Marina for the advertisement of Diocesan and Parish Programmes was a great achievement.s The establishment of a 24 hours online radio and Television named Lagoon Radio and Lagoon Television remains a big credit to the memory of Archbishop Olumakaiye. All these new developments have offered job opportunities to over 20 youths in the Diocese. The Lagoon Radio and Lagoon television also serve as a learning place for students on Industrial Training in such fields of study.
Education: The Archbishop, being a scholar with a PhD from the Premier University, the University of Ibadan, believed so much in education. Hence, his Professor-wife, Mama Lagos, Motunrayo Olumakaiye, teamed up with him to improve on Archbishop Abiodun Adetiloye Comprehensive College, Igboye in Epe. The same is extended to Delight International Schools which recently acquired functional science laboratories, Basketball and Volleyball courtyards and a Library. A new school, the Episcopal Anglican College, was established and the first set of students resumed in September 2021 for the 2021/2022 academic session at a temporary site in the Aiyeteju area of Lagos, while the permanent site will be at the Centenary City, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos. Archbishop Olumakaiye was noted to have always encouraged first-class graduates of the Diocese in all universities through a scholarship grant of one million naira (N1,000,000.00) each upon securing admission for Post Graduate studies in any part of the world. This he had fulfilled without fail. And two of these beneficiaries are already studying abroad for their Master’s.
Empowerment: Archbishop Olumakaiye has also made a significant impact on the youths through his constant quest for improvement in their social status. Apart from providing job opportunities, he also followed strictly the path of his predecessor, the Most Revd. Dr. E. A. Adebola Ademowo by giving out non-interest loans to the youths in their businesses in form of empowerment. Every year, selected youths from various Archdeaconries are given between N250,000.00 (Two hundred and fifty thousand naira only) to #500,000.00 (Five hundred thousand naira only) each. Over 100 youths have been empowered since the take-off of this scheme. This is done at every synod in the Diocese.
The welfare of priests and the congregation: The creation of the Directorate of Welfare came into being during the scourge of Covid-19. Archbishop Olumakaiye was the first cleric to stand by the Government with the sum of N5,000,000.00 (Five million naira) to support the efforts of the governor on palliative measures for the citizens even as he encouraged churches to replicate this gesture in their parishes. Hospital bills were settled for indigent members and priority was given to priests with any health issues.
Other achievements of the Archbishop include improvements in the clergy’s physical and spiritual development. Priests are assisted with interest-free loans for their personal house projects and are allowed to go for further studies. There is a Continuous Clergy Education programme to help in the personal development of the clergy. More directorates were created to give room for all clergy to exercise their God-given talents in at least one of the directorates. Archbishop Olumakaiye also introduced Clergy and Clergy-wives Christmas get-together that allows the clergy family to catch some fun and interact with themselves every December.
All these achievements would not have been possible without the support of his amiable consort, the prophesying Professor, a praying machine and a Mission Partner, Professor Mrs Motunrayo Olumakaiye whose resourcefulness has added laurels to their pungent achievements.
Everywhere Archbishop Olumakaiye had the privilege to serve had turned out to be a miracle centre; hence the Diocese of Lagos is now a miracle centre to the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion. All the monumental achievements are the written testimonies of the Most Revd. Dr. Humphrey and Professor Mrs. Motunrayo Olumakaiye.
To crown their testimony of the over four years of Episcopal reign and achievements in the Diocese of Lagos was the hosting of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) Standing Committee meeting which was held from Monday 20th to Friday 24th September 2021 and had in attendance over 900 delegates comprising Archbishops and Bishops, their wives, Chancellors, clergy representatives and women representatives across 170 Dioceses and affiliated Provinces and institutions. At the end of the Standing committee meeting, the Diocesan and Missioner, The Rt. Revd. Dr. Humphrey Bamisebi Olumakaiye was elected the Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of Lagos by the house of Bishops. With this new development, the Most Rev. Dr. Humphrey Bamisebi Olumakaiye became the Primus Inter-pares of Bishops in the Province of Lagos. At their recent meeting of the old province 1, in October 13, 2021, all the Bishops, clergy and laity pledged their loyalty to the new Archbishop who was set to translate all the achievements in the Diocese to every part of the Province of Lagos.
Archbishop Olumakaiye was the first Nigerian priest to preach at St. Merilebourne Church, London; and for four years (2011-2015) was an annual guest lecturer at St. Luke’s Central, Birmingham, UK.
He was a man of international repute, a prolific writer and author. He published two great books of international standard namely: Anglican Women: Position, Privilege and Prospects of Women In The Church and Inculturation and Decolonisation of Oral And Liturgical Theology of The Anglican Communion, Nigeria. He has many other publications in journals to his credit.
Until his call to glory, he was the Chairman Board of Governors, Immanuel College of Theology (foremost theological Institution in Nigeria), Ibadan. He is married to the Professor Mrs Motunrayo Olumakaiye, Professor of Public Health Nutrition, former H.O.D of the Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University. Ile-Ife and their marriage is blessed with a son, Richard; and many spiritual sons and daughters.
In a nutshell, Archbishop Olumakaiye is an embodiment of God’s grace and testimony.
Without any iota of doubt, the Most Revd. Dr. Humphrey Bamisebi Olumakaiye was loved by people for his doggedness and love for the Youth, Elders and Evangelism. He was a pragmatic evangelist to the core; a dynamic leader, a quintessential personality, a spirit-filled Archbishop, a prayer warrior, a born-again child of God, a man who delivered so much in a little while that he became the Diocesan and Missioner of Lagos diocese. A pacesetter and a go-getter, a dynamic preacher and a man with a large heart.
We pray for the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
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