On Saturday July 20, 2024, Pastor Joseph Ayodele Rotimi Dakobiri, a foremost civil servant turned cleric in Christ Apostolic Church would clock 75 years. In CAC this is a milestone as it marks the end of a clerical career in the Church.
To celebrate the celebrant, Pastor Timilehin Ajayi a media cum security consultant, on Friday July 12, 2024 organized a media parley with some selected Christian media representatives including PTL News where Pastor Dakobiri often referred to as one of the last of the titans in CAC, and a custodian of CAC knowledge, told the story of his life.
It was a knowledge sharing discourse about his life, career, experience, and contributions to modern development in Christ Apostolic Church. He spoke about his background, family, civil service, life as a minister of God and his Christian experience.
Speaking about his birth and background, Pastor Dakobiri disclosed, “I was born and named Joseph Ayodele Rotimi Dakobiri. I was named Rotimi because of my family experience. I was born as my parents’ 6th child after they had lost 5 others. I did not add Rotimi because it was not in my official documents.
“I had the privilege of knowing and meeting the founding fathers of Christ Apostolic Church. All the Babas carried me in their hands. They knew me one on one from Oba Akinyele, Pastor Odubanjo, Apostle Babalola, Prophet Babajide, Odusona and Adelaja. I was the luckiest person. I also knew Baba Adegboyega who led The Apostolic Church then, and Pastor Sakpo.
“I was born on July 20, 1949 to the family of Pa Joseph Emiola Dakobiri. I am an Ijebu man by birth but I was born in Lagos. I attended Holy Cross Cathedral, and when it was noticed that I was moving towards Catholic, I was almost thinking of becoming a Reverend Father, I was removed from Holy Cross Cathedral in 1963.
“I got admission to Odogbolu Grammar School in 1964 and because of sickness I was moved to The Apostolic Churcch Grammar School, Orishigun and finished in 1969, and later to Adeola Odutola College, Ijebu Ode, for my HSC, but I could not continue due to lack of fund. My mother was solely responsible for my education then. I had to give way for my other siblings to complete their education. I was fortunate to be employed into the civil service through my nephew, the late Pastor Michael Oluwole Odubanjo, who was then the head of that department through which I was admitted to the civil service.
“I also attended Federal Cooperative College, Ibadan. When I left Cooperative College I was working with the Civil Service to the Cooperative department. I was lucky to be given an assignment to introduce cooperative society to fishermen in the riverine areas of Lagos with the assistance of United Nation’s Food and Agricultural Organization. I was later sponsored to go to India in 1978 to go and study Cooperative Management, and I came back, to join the ministry. I was in that department until 1985 when I retired. That is about my career as a civil servant.”
Spiritual Experience
I was a member of the choir. I had been a member of the choir since I was five years old even before I entered the primary school but we were allowed to join the choir. I had a bad voice, my voice was not on the organ but I was allowed to join them, and I was trained to become a very good singer. I was at the front when Baba Odubanjo was buried. I was a member of National Association of CAC Choir. From choir I became the secretary and later the Assistant National Secretary of the United Association of Choir in CAC. It became a force in CAC, and when it was rested it metamorphosed into what we now call Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministry.
I never dreamt of becoming a pastor because I was rascally as a young person, though there were speculations that I would become a pastor. When I was to be appointed as an Elder when filling the form I refused to comply with the section that made us to abide by the rules that guide Church Elders in CAC. I am a honorary Pastor in CAC I don’t earn salary.
The story of MFM and CAC
Many people think it was Dr. Olukoya that started that movement, no. MFM was a movement of the choir of CAC. MFM was not founded by Dr. Olukoya. Rev. Alfred Theophilus Babatunde Williams came to do a revival. At the revival there were sessions of what we now call deliverance, that you see young men and women coming out to make confessions that they were witches and wizards mentioning names of others. That brought about a lot of confusion. I want to say here that Rev. Babatunde Williams never pointed to anyone that he or she possessed evil spirits, but it was during this revival that children were falling down and they were confessing, mentioning names of members of their group in the spirit world. The revival shook the church so much that the revival was stopped and the revivalist was asked to go, and the church authority expelled some of the members that were sympathetic to Rev. Williams.
They then moved to Dr. Olukoya’s residence to start a fellowship. Dr. Olukoya led the fellowship. He is a very intelligent spiritual leader. From there one thing led to the other and Dr. Olukoya registered the fellowship as Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministry, and he became the leader. He registered it, we did not register it and he was leading it as the General Overseer. I did not go with them because there was a prophecy that I should not go with them. Many of our colleagues went with them to found MFM. Dr. Olukoya was a member of CAC Oloto. The Central Choir used to have vigil at Ebute Elefun, his wife was a chorister at Ebute Elefun.
Rev. Williams also found Christ Faith Tabernacle International Churches coined out of the original name of Faith Tabernacle group that metamorphosed to the Christ Apostolic Church. He presently has his Church in London, Canada, America and in Lagos, Abuja and different parts of the world. He is also doing well.
My becoming a Pastor
I did not wish to become a pastor, but after several failed attempts, Baba, late Pastor Paul Bandele, former General Superintendent of CAC, and Pastor Olusheye, former CAC President nominated some of us and invited us to Ibadan, it was about 12 of us. They told us to wear our suits. My wife never knew I was to be made a Pastor, my children didn’t know I was to be ordained. One of us was not available he had travelled to London. When we got to Ibadan they said they wanted to ordain us, and told us to go and prepare. That was June 12. We told them we would go and prepare for it, and they told us to go and buy our clerical shirt, and they asked us to come back prepared. We did not lobby for it, it was God ordained that we would become pastors.
At Ebute Elefun
I was made the Church Secretary at Ebute Elefun, I later became the Secretary of the Building Committee. We started the building and three people joined us. We pulled down the old structure and set up a new one. Each and every one of them pledged to do one thing or the other about the building. Later other members of the Church joined us.
After the building, I was also made a member of the Management of CAC Theological Seminary Idimu till now. Not only that I submitted a paper in Lagos when two people approached me, that they heard about my exploits in the area of cooperative and asked of what I could do for them. They asked me how I could organize cooperative for the pastors, who they said were suffering. That was how I came up with Ministers’ Welfare Scheme and it was accepted by Lagos, and when Baba Bandele became the General Superintendent, he introduced it at the General Secretariat, and the President Baba Olusheye invited me and it was introduced nationally and till now I am the chairman of the committee. But Pastor Wemimo Odunaiya now late was made the pioneer Chairman.
I was asked to be there, but for one reason or the other I was not part of the initial committee. By the grace of God that body built the first Guest House in Ikeji Arakeji, when we saw the suffering of pastors who would come to Ikeji Arakeji and had no place to rest. By the grace of God we purchased plots of land in Ikeji Arakeji to be sold to Pastors who need it as homes after retirement. The welfare scheme is supposed to take of the needs of our pastors after retirement. I am the current chairman of that body up till today.
CAC Savings Scheme
We intend to build more accommodation in Ikeji Arakeji. The land belongs to CAC. We have asked them to give us more and they still promise to give us, as we are willing to have more. We don’t have more than 60,000 members in the savings scheme. The guest house in Ikeji Arakeji has not broken even. We have 40 plots of land already acquired in Ikeji Arakeji. Works are in progress there. We are thinking of buying more.
We observed that CAC has no plan for its retired ministers. I remember the case of one pastor at Olushi, that died because he feared a bleak future after retirement. He had no home and no plans for his future. He became dejected and frustrated, he died shortly after. That is why many of the pastors do cut corners and tell lies about their age and manipulate figures. It is because many of them are afraid of their retirement. Many CAC Pastors receive pittance. Some earn as low as N7,000 after serving for 20 years, and we still discover that many of the assemblies still find it difficult to pay them. We should think seriously of the life after retirement of our ministers.
My family
God gave me a wife of my choice. My children are very supportive and they are Christians. I don’t know how I can appreciate God. I am grateful to God. I am very healthy. I will serve God till the end of my life. I will be 75 on Saturday July 20, 2024.
Life after retirement
I am a honorary Pastor in CAC. My engagement has not been terminated. I would have preferred a younger person takes over. I am a retired civil servant and I still earn my pension. My children are also assisting me.
My father was part of the leaders of CAC and he always told me the history of the Church.
CAC doesn’t have much control on their assemblies. There are many assemblies established by the founders. My mother was the secretary of the CAC Good Women’s Association when Babalola Memorial Girls Grammar School was founded in Ilesa.
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