Anglican Church Province of Lagos welcomes new Archbishop Nov. 7

The official presentation of the Most Rev. Dr. Humphrey Bamisebi Olumakaiye, the fourth Archbishop of the Province of Lagos will take place on Sunday, November 7, 2021, at the Cathedral Church of the Advent, Gwaripa, Abuja.

According to Abiola Fasoro in a write-up on the new high-ranking man of God, Archbishop Humphrey BamisebiOlumakaiye was born in January 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.

After his elementary and secondary education, he had his Theological training at Immanuel College of Theology, Ibadan, Oyo State. 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 later The Most Rev Dr E. Adebola Ademowo PH.D; FNAL; OON; The erstwhile Bishop of Lagos Diocese, Archbishop of Lagos Province and Dean Emeritus, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion.

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 where he served, his indelible footprints are very difficult to match, his human relationship, caring and pastoral spirits are second to none. His unequal service led to his election as the Pioneer Bishop of Ijesha-North East Diocese and was consecrated in July 12, 2009 and enthroned on Thursday, !6th July 2009 at the age of 40 at the Cathedral Church of St Philip’s, Otan Aiyegbaju, Osun State.

As a pioneer Bishop, he turned a tick forest into a mega City. These are evident in the multi-million naira Bishop’s Court, a chapel, a library and a Resource Centre, Diocesan Headquarters, a multi-purpose 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.

The Most Rev. Dr. Humphrey Olumakaiye, after a decade of faithful service at Osun North East, was translated to the see of Diocese of Lagos and was enthroned as the 8th Diocesan Bishop on the 30th 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 and in human and material development. And within three years of translation, Archbishop Olumakaiye has taken the Diocese of Lagos to greater heights.

He was translated to Lagos at the peak of the 100 years of the existence of the Diocese. His achievements are unprecedented which can be categorized on five major headings: Spirituality;; Structural; Media;  Education; YouthEmpowerment; and Welfare of priests and the congregation.

At his enthronement as the 8thBishop of Lagos, he came up with innovations that triggered the spirituality of the members of the Diocese. Some of these are: The foundation, which is designed for the opening of the year with 14 days of fasting and praying. This is followed by the declaration of 21 days 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.

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 the exact position 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 Divine mandate Partners which he recognized 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. He also declared Healing and Charismatic Service in the Cathedral every first Sunday of the month at 4pm, as well as declaring the first three days of the month as power for the month in all parishes at 6am. Lenten Diet of 40 days for in-depth study of the word of God was not left out. In fact, some of our members in the Diaspora are always looking forward to this. And to bring the Diocese under one focus for each year, he introduced a yearly theme. To further enhance the spirituality of members, there is a periodic festival of Hymns. He led in street evangelism that has opened doors in raising more Evangelists among priests. The Emmaus Experience that takes place at every Easter season is a booster to faith as members are able to see clearly (during this season), the way of the cross.

The greatest of these monumental achievements is the acquiring of 1,500 plots of land covering five kilometres for the Diocese of Lagos called ‘the Centenary City.’ In this city, we have: Gethsemane Garden, Chapels, Convention Grounds, Women and Youth Empowerment Centres, Low Income Housing Estate, Amusement Park, St. Luke’s Global Hospital, A Five-Star Hotel, Games village, etc. Presently, work is going on the site in an unprecedented way to the glory of God. Acquisition of Delight International Schools now worth about half a billion naira. The school that was acquired with less than 200 students has now grown to 1,000 students within a session. The Archbishop Ephraim Adebola and Mrs. Oluranti Ademowo Resource Center now stands a world-Class standard with the whole compound fully transformed. The Rocks Apartment (Old People’s Home) at Ikorodu was a gift by the Cathedral Circle, a society in the Cathedral Church of Christ Marina. It 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 touched to give to the development of the Diocese.

On Media, Archbishop Olumakaiye is a televangelist. He invested so much in making the church to occupy her rightful place through the media. It paid off during the invasion of Coronavirus as it became the only means of communicating 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 Bill Board at the Diocesan headquarters/Archbishop’s Palace in Marina for advertisement of Diocesan and Parish Programmes was a great achievement. The establishment of 24 hours online radio – Lagoon Radio and Lagoon Television, was a big credit to Archbishop Olumakaiye. All these new developments have offered job opportunities to over 20 of our youths in the Diocese. The Lagoon Radio and Lagoon television is serving as a place for Industrial Training for students who are in such field of study.

In the area of education,  the Archbishop believes so much in education hence with Mama Lagos, the Professor Mrs. Motunrayo Olumakaiye, teamed up to improve on Archbishop Abiodun Adetiloye Comprehensive College, Igbooye Epe. Same is extended to Delight International Schools recently acquired with functional science laboratories, Basketball and Volleyball courtyards and Library. And now a new school (Episcopal Anglican College)is being established, with the first set of students due to resume from September 2021 for the 2021/2022 academic session at a temporary site at Aiyeteju area of Lagos, while the permanent site will be at the Centenary City, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.

The Archbishop Olumakaiye has continued to encourage First Class students in any of the universities by a scholarship grant of one million naira 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 Masters.

Congratulations a million times to the New Archbishop of the Province of Lagos.

For a better society