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Pastor ITUAH IGHODALO Reveals A Lot
Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, senior pastor of Trinity House and one of Nigeria’s most respected clerics, delivered a heartfelt and deeply personal tribute to his longtime friend, the late Olorogun Oskar Ibru. Known for his spiritual insight, engaging storytelling, and humour, Pastor Ighodalo spoke with nostalgia, emotion, and admiration, painting a vivid picture of a man he described as “a truly great friend, a brother, and a very outstanding personality.”
Opening his tribute, Pastor Ighodalo prayed for the family and expressed gratitude for being given the privilege to speak. He said, “I do pray that the Lord will give you comfort and strength at this time. Peter and the rest of the family, I do share your moments of this moment with you all. I’d like to thank you for giving me the privilege to give this tribute to somebody that I consider a truly great friend, a brother, and a very outstanding personality.”
He recalled first meeting Oskar around 1975, during their teenage years. “I was in King’s College. He was at Holy Child… yeah, we met at Holy Child to do what young teenage boys do at Holy Child,” he said. He remembered the school staging either Joseph’s Coat of Many Colors or Jesus Christ Superstar, and that was where he met Oskar for the first time. Peter, Oskar’s brother, was also there. Pastor Ighodalo described them as “very chubby at that time, big chubby boys,” and recalled how they kept running into each other at various literary days and discos. He also remembered a peer, Colin Fisher, whom he did not like because “all the girls liked Colin Fisher.”
He explained that he learned more about Oskar through a gentleman called Fenyon Sheeliger, who “loved Oskar too much” and often spoke of him. Their friendship truly deepened during their university years, even though Pastor Ighodalo was in England and Oskar was in the United States. “Oskar would come from the U.S. and would spend time with the family in the family house in Pierhouse, in Chelsea. There are Kufu Quays and I think there are Kerelay’s Heart Flats there also,” he recounted. Over time, as they both shed some of their teenage weight, they began to enjoy Lagos together after graduation in 1982.
He shared memories of Lagos life in the mid-80s. By 1987, Pastor Ighodalo had an apartment at 14 Jibo Street, Yaba, which he described as “legendary for many good things.” Oskar also had a home at No. 1 Marine Road, Apapa, which became a hub for parties and social gatherings. “Many bachelors’ eves took place there,” he said, recalling old friends who were central to organizing these events, though he refrained from naming them all because they had become respectable gentlemen.
Oskar was creative and inventive, always planning something exciting for every gathering. “He was always thinking of something new, something exciting to do at every party. Fireworks, lights. At one of the parties, for those who were not there, we had a boat coming from the water. And there was a girl hidden in the boat. And she came out with all the fireworks. I think the girl is still alive now. She’s about 62 years old. After this service, I’m going to go and look for her and put her back in the boat.”
He remembered being present at Oskar’s wedding, which his video company recorded. “It was a tough thing getting your money out of Oskar after the wedding. I said, but you drink my beer now. You don’t drink my beer for the wedding.” Pastor Ighodalo also shared memories of visiting Oskar when his children were born at 25 McDonnell Road. He affectionately called him CJ Chi and reflected on the deep bond they shared. “He was a wonderful guy. He was a beautiful soul. He was a sincere person. And he meant very well all the time. I have learned some lessons from Oskar’s life.”
He outlined six lessons he learned from Oskar, beginning with authenticity. “The ability to be your own authentic self. Oskar, Christopher, Ibro, no S, no braces. He had money, but he didn’t let the money have him. You can have money, but you mustn’t let money have you. Oskar was a friend to all. He just wanted to have a good time and make sure everybody could have a good time.”
The second lesson was loyalty. “Oskar had a commitment and a loyalty to most people that he considered to be his friends. A deep loyalty to his friends. I remember when Biggie died, Oskar was in confusion for many weeks because of the bond and the loyalty that they shared. And he never gave up on that loyalty. Loyalty is important. It’s essential. And I’m sure most of us are here because Oskar played a part or two in our lives. He was loyal and committed to us.”
The third lesson was kindness and concern for others. “Some of Oskar’s staff have been with him for 40 years, 45 years. He retained them. He kept them. Those are the staff that we used to work with in my rocking days. Smartpatch was one of them that called me to say that my friend wasn’t feeling very well. And I was in England at the time. This was a guy I hadn’t seen in about 10 years. But he remembered to call me that my friend wasn’t feeling very well. A guy called Twinkle told me a story. He said he went to visit Oskar once. And Oskar was in the kitchen cooking several dishes, running up and down. And when he finished cooking, he brought it out to the patio and started serving it. Twinkle asked him, Oskar, who are you cooking for? He says, it’s my driver’s birthday. I’m cooking for my driver and my staff. And if you’re going to clap, I think you should do better than that. I don’t know how many of you cook for your driver or even celebrate their birthday. Oskar cooks a five-course meal because it’s his driver’s birthday.”
The fourth lesson was integrity and owning up to mistakes. “The ability to own up and to be true to yourself. Oskar messed up quite a bit, and he messed up from time to time. But Oskar always owned up to his mess. There was a time I had to come and settle him down in the house. And then he took me out to a proper book club. After he had done all the chakra in the house, he said, I messed up. I messed up, but don’t tell them I messed up. He really had no secrets. No secrets. Even when I visited him in hospital, he said to me again, It was God. I messed up again.”
The fifth lesson was love, both fierce and unconditional. “Oskar loved all his siblings. Most if not all his cousins. All his aunties. His father’s wife and his father’s wife. And they lived together. He knew about everything. Even when Oskar quarreled with them, he still loved. And he would take full responsibility of his obligations to them. I mean, you are quarreling with somebody and you are still sending the person money, paying their rent, paying their air tickets, buying presents. Wanda, Oskar loved you very much. Deeply respected you. In spite of everything and anything. You are his number one. And you will always be his number one. To the children, your father was extremely proud of you. And he loved you very, very much. And the grandchildren. I have the privilege of visiting him in hospital in those last few days. And it was the first hospital room I’d ever seen in my life that had the picture of every member of his family. I’d never seen that kind of thing in a hospital before. Big, huge pictures of everybody. And he kept on staring at those pictures and telling me how much he loved his kids, his grandkids, and how he could not wait to get out of this hospital to be there with them, to make it up to them, and to really show them what kind of a man he really was. Oskar loved you all very much. And I don’t want you to ever forget that. He was a big dreamer. And nothing was too big for him to dream.”
The sixth lesson was generosity. “Oskar was an extremely generous person. To all and anybody. Oskar was so generous, he allowed people to cheat him. You could cheat Oskar and he would know you were cheating him, and he’d say, it’s a job. Leave them. They must make money, Johnny. Let them make money. Then he’d say, I have money. I have money. I have money. Hit them. Let them make money. And money meant nothing to him. Paid to be his bed, medical, or support his people. Almost single-handedly funded St. Andrew’s Church. I’m sure you heard that. Maybe they should change that name to Love the Church. To St. Christopher or St. Oskar Church. When my brother was campaigning for governor, Oskar called me out of the blue. He said, it’s a job. My brother did campaign. I said, yes. Give me bank account, make I send money. Money. Money. Wanda, Peter, Emmanuel, I’d like to say thank you. He said, this money is from Peter, Emmanuel, and myself. I’m sure I said, Peter, don’t put money. But Oskar put it in. So we must do the Oskar CJ Ibru Foundation. We must do it. And God will help us do it.”
Finally, Pastor Ighodalo shared Oskar’s profound spiritual moment shortly before passing. He told the story of a near-death experience in which he saw departed relatives and felt himself drifting away. Pastor Ighodalo asked him, “Do you want to give your life to Christ?” and Oskar replied, “I want to give my life to Christ.” They prayed and cried together. “Ladies and gentlemen, Oskar made it to heaven. Oskar made it to heaven. Oskar made it to heaven. I pray you make it also. Thank you very much, Pastor Gudano.”
Pastor Ituah Ighodalo’s words highlighted the enduring legacy of a man whose authenticity, loyalty, generosity, love, and faith left a mark on everyone who knew him. Oskar Ibru was not just a remarkable friend, family man, and social figure, but also a man of integrity and faith whose life lessons will continue to inspire all who were fortunate to know him.
By Benprince Ezeh
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