Apostle Eugene Ogu, President/CEO, Arm of Hope Foundation, a non-governmental organization and General Overseer of Abundant Life Evangel Mission, ALEM, recently, shared his life experience and his passion for helping the needy, during a live radio interview in Port Harcourt as part of activities marking his 60th birthday celebration.
Excerpts:
Question: Pastor Eugene Ogu, every single time everyone has spoken about you, one thing that stands out is your life of charity. When did this all begin for you? Take us back to your life as a preacher, when you started the ministry how many people do you have in attendance because your church is one of the biggest churches in Port Harcourt?.
Response: Well, let me start by thanking God for sparing my life and giving me another year today. I’m 60 and I’m so grateful to God, I count it as a privilege and opportunity to serve God and humanity. Let’s get back to memory lane. Its about 1987, July 1987. So the journey of Abundant Life Evangel Mission, ALEM, began as a result of the burning passion in my heart to give to God without protocol, without rules. I was in a church in Port Harcourt here as a pastor of CPN, the church that God use to mould me, but you know because of the history of my past coming from a very challenging background, a very poor family that could not really provide for us. Because of the civil war my dad lost everything he had and we moved to Cameroon where we became farmers trying to survive. Also, from there when I lost my mum who was the breadwinner of the family, there was no way for me to continue to go to school so I dropped out of school in Primary 4. And so from there my dad gave me out to become a houseboy. So the memory of my past lives with me. I always remember where I am coming from and so while God appeared to me on the carpenter’s table on the 27th of September 1983, what he told me was that He will transform my life and use me for His own glory. What is this using for his own glory? Its to give attention to the people of my former constituency which is the poor, the neglected, you know the world is two. The world of those who have what to eat, they have people to listen to them and the other world, the neglected that surround the other people but they seems not to look their way but I came from that constituency and so when God transformed my life, I choose to live my life with the poor, anywhere I go you will see the footprints of the grace of God upon my life in the lives of these poor people. Many of them are great people all over the world anywhere I go when they hear I am coming, they are at the airport waiting for me. I think its a wonderful way of living, the best way of living . I resigned from CPN, tendered a resignation letter. I did not disappear and I waited till my resignation letter was accepted you know. Sometimes people must be very careful how they do things. You don’t just do things to think nobody will beat you, nobody will flog you. You must be very careful how you handle issues about people you’ve lived with, people you have work with because what goes around comes around and so I waited until I was given the permission to leave. I did not only leave, I waited until they prayed for me and did not only pray for me. When I had anniversary of Abundant Life Evangel Mission, they were the key speakers. And so it’s being a journey of sacrifice, it’s being a journey of giving, it’s being a journey to define the purpose of living and life is not all about its duration but it’s donation to the lives of others.
Question: When did Arm of Hope start officially for you?
Response: Arm of Hope became a part of my life officially it was incorporated in 2010 because it was obvious that this is something that has to live on its own, have to be on its own when I am not there but it has been a part of my life since God transformed my life. Anybody who knows me who I was before and without any formal education and seeing what God is doing in my life, the stages I speak and places, people that I minister to will find it difficult to believe.
Question: I’m sure that sometime you look at yourself, where you’re coming from and wonder if its really you?
Response: It’s always amazing to see what God can do. You know the Bible says when the Holy Spirit shall come, he will teach you all things, wisdom, how to communicate with people, respect, humility, understanding your environment, understanding people, you shall know what to do at the time you need to do it so the Holy Spirit is a perfect teacher and has been my teacher and the reason for who I am today.
Question: I know that over the years, you’ve done many charity programs and you cannot even put a number to them. But what are those moments that have stock out for you? Those people you have met in your journey as the founder of Arm of Hope, what have been the most prominent if you can speak of any?.
Response: Well, prominence will be to the people, more people whose life have been affected for me. The Bible says, it is God who put in us both the will and to do. I always count myself as a privileged participant in the works of grace and I will not forget Dogo Na-Hauwa. That was a day that really turned my life around. Dogo Na-Hauwa, 7th of March 2010, innocent citizens of that community in Plateau State. They have gone to bed and wake up in the morning, invaded by the Fulani herdsmen, whatever name they are called whether bandits or Boko Haram or whatever they are called. Terrorists who took the lives of 354 human beings, fathers, mothers, daughters children and I have never ever in my life believed that such kind of cruel massacre can ever exist in history. Not even in the time of war and painfully it’s something that most Nigerian don’t even know. I was privilege to be In Jos then. As human I got to Dogo Na-Hauwa, Barkin Ladi local government area. The local government is difficult to access then because there was no road there at that time. I think Governor Jang did road there now, you can access it easily by then you take a 1hour 30minutes from Jos to Dogo Na-Hauwa. I got there and I saw corpses littered over the place. I wept, I vowed that I will be a part and parcel of that community because what happen in this country is when we hear massacre we announce them and we hear about them after one or two days we forget them. We only talk about the massacre but the humanitarian crisis that arose from that situation is one of the most challenging thing and unfortunately the churches all over the country we preach, speak in tongues, build cathedrals, we celebrate singing and dancing, I wonder how God feels knowing that those our brethren are there facing difficulty. As a matter of fact, after the burial, I attended the mass burial and after the burial I called the community together and asked them how we could be of help, of course we began by repairing the buildings, after that we now called all the widow’s those who lost their husbands, about 87 of them whose husbands were killed and I asked them how much do they need to start up something, what capital, guess what? They said 1800. That is what they needed to start business because imagine 2010 to them, they sell kuli-kuli, kunu, that’s the kind of business they do and they do it well. They are solid and hard working people and so but I felt that it will be unfair to maybe work according to the low level of thinking, we felt that if I must help, it should be seen as help so what I did was first and foremost I gave all the children in that community scholarship, all of them who lost their parents, we gave them scholarship. We identified the school’s where they were, those who were in primary school, secondary school, we took over the payment of their fees. We were not giving them money, we go straight to the school and pay direct to the school. Then it was becoming challenging because most of them were graduating from primary school, getting to secondary school was now a problem because you need to trek a long distance. So we now have to build a secondary school, well equipped. Arm of Hope Memorial Grammar School. That school is still there up till date, we pay the teachers from our church tithe and offering. We pay teachers uptil date, we dont owe them. And children who graduate from that school have scholarship to university and so that’s the debt we owe them. You know, so we cannot just sit back and we hear about all this massacre, I went to Maiduguri, 54 churches were burnt, 68 people were burnt to death, I visited all those churches, got the people together about 3000 people. The least person left with 25,000 Naira. And you know in Maiduguri as at then, you can rent a house for one year for 12,000 Naira. So it cut across the country. When you go every were you see people are going through a lot and what is my life if I can’t touch those lives. What is the meaning of a life that works and accumulate wealth, you have estate here and there. There is nothing wrong to have estate, but if the income of those estate are dedicated to support mankind, to support the needy, I think that is why we live because it doesn’t make sense that when I’m no more and I accumulate wealth somewhere. Anything you have that you don’t use for service, is meant for other people. You have to understand that. So I think any life that must live, must live to impact the lives of the poor around them. Go to your villages you will see them, when you go across this country, you will see a council built with all facilities and with light in the day, by the side is a mud house and I wonder when people drive in their gate and they see them, why can’t they extend just a little part of what they have to that neighbour there and let them become witness to the blessings of God. And I tell you, that is the life I live by the grace of God just to ensure that someday, anyday, anytime someone’s life is touched.
Question: There is no known sponsor of Arm of Hope apart from tithe and offering and you have told us how sometimes you dispose some things to fund Arm of Hope that, how does your wife takes all of these things?
Response: Well, it’s not easy; I won’t come and tell you it’s easy. Not easy for her and not easy for me too but one thing that has worked for us is when I met my wife, she was not in university, she had just finished her secondary school and I know that the best pillar you can lean on in times of challenge will be your wife. So what did I do, I decided to say okay go to school, she went to Alvan Ikoku Owerri, she went to University of Port Harcourt, from there I sent her to United Kingdom, she read law in Buckingham University, she came back and went to law school and she is a lawyer so my wife is made and she understands, she can pastor the church in my absence, she can take care of herself with her money. We have only one child.
Question: Was that deliberate?
Response: That is how God wants it, we didn’t go out of our way to look for more, we just see it as the gift and plan of God and we don’t want to bother our head. He is married. He lives in UK with his wife and taking care of his family and it’s just both of us and so its not really easy for her, for me but then, its because we made up our minds, she made up her mind to accept me and to accept the work that God has given me. I wouldn’t say that it’s easy for any pastor to do what I’m doing am also will not say I’m doing anything because I see it as God doing what he is doing through me. And we have impacted lives, we have touched lives and she gives me like a blank cheque. Whoever I help, she doesn’t interfere. She knows its my life and she understands that and she gives me all the support and prayers.
Question: Have you had opposition in this journey?
Response: Ofcourse, when you help the poor man who is being oppressed by a rich man what do you expect? The rich man will fight you, when you help a weak man who is being oppressed by a strongman, the strongman will come after you. I have heard several opposition and blackmail where people just feel that why would he go and help that poor man especially those who want to take community lands that belongs to poor people, we go out there and we fight for them. We hear all kinds of things. As long as humans live, they must exhibit different characters. And so that shouldn’t come between you and your commitment to God because no one can give back to you what your putting in, and so each day of your life you have something to thank God for and there are you help, build until they become great and they feel they are big and don’t even come back to say thank you. Jesus experienced it. He healed ten and only one came back. Challenges could be the reason but if you want to serve God, you have to make your decision like someone who’s on a journey, cross the bridge, no turning back, you don’t because of how few people react and you stop doing good. Sometimes, they do that and fall into problem, they still call and we go to help them, you won’t say because they misbehave so you won’t go to help them, it’s God’s grace given to everyone. It’s like the sun, when it shines, it shines to all even to those who offend the Lord, God does not say no to them. So, if you begin to do that then it’s no longer the nature of God. It takes the grace of God to do that and definitely we will.
Question: Does this opposition also come from the Christian community?
Response: There is nowhere opposition can’t come from. Jesus had twelve disciples and even within them was opposition but it’s important to focus on that which is positive because people have their low moments and high moments and so, when people are low they could be tempted to say things maybe because they don’t like the way you are, what your doing or your testimonies but you don’t concentrate in that, you look forward. I believe also that the church is doing greatly, the body of Christ and pastors are greatly more than what we are doing. Maybe if we didn’t come here now you wouldn’t know what we have been doing. I didn’t also know but people just organised this and said come. I’m not a media person, I love my life quietly, affect people’s life and just tell them to go and I go my way. God gave me a wonderful congregation in members of Abundant Life Evangel Mission, they follow me to places and are ever ready to stand with me anywhere anytime and despite opposition from people, the church is standing because of the species of people God gave us and because they are seeing what is doing.
