Pastor A.C. Ohanebo: Old-Fashioned Preacher At 80

By Modestus Chukwulaka

“Where tradition is lacking,” Leon Trotsky writes, “a striking example becomes relevant.” 

*Pastor Ohanebo

In every sense, this is true. In biblical church practice, as in other spheres of endeavour, this is an essential part of the catechism of transformational leadership. It demands that leaders be inspirations to their followers, in line with the principle exemplified by Jesus, who began “both to do and to teach.” 

For a preacher and teacher of the word who is engrossed in a relentless pursuit of a restored church, this is even more compelling. For such a pastor, demonstrating by words and deeds what the church in its purest essence should be in an imperfect world is not just an uncompromisable charge; it could be a compulsive obsession. Think Pastor Aloysius Chukwuemeka Ohanebo, the General Superintendent of the Watchman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement.

When Pastor Ohanebo lighted on Nigeria’s amorphous Pentecostal scene with the old-fashioned gospel over four decades ago, he had a single overarching goal in mind: The church, as the bride of Christ, must be restored to its rightful Master. He uses the word ‘non-negotiable’ to underline how central this pursuit is to his calling and the ministry of the Watchman. 

As he would readily explain, his journey into ministry was not for want of ministers or denominations. But in an era of progressive institutional backsliding and invasive permissiveness, the church had been left more vulnerable than ever, nearly unrecognisable to the one whose interest it purported to serve. What was in dire short supply, therefore, was a striking example, in a manner that resonates with the life and teaching of the Christ, who declared that his kingdom is not of this world.

The coming of Pastor Ohanebo and the Watchman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement was in response to this yawning gap. Of course, the word, ‘Catholic’ here is not to be misconstrued as a denominational appendage. Rather, it reflects, as in the original meaning of the word, the universal nature of the cause the Watchman is championing, with Pastor Ohanebo at the helm. He has always insisted that if the church was what it should be, there should be no need for more denominations in a field that was already glutted with all manner of preachers of different hues, often with a cacophony of contradicting messages.  

But the church, orthodox and Pentecostal alike, was (and still is) in a shambles, weakened by a relentless buffeting of implacable forces from within and without. Sadly, this institution, conceived as a treasure-house of the pristine values that distinguish the kingdom of Christ from the world, has not been able to convincingly hold out against these advancing forces. As church leaders compete with celebrities and with one another, using strange parameters and material prosperity to benchmark their relevance and success, the church inevitably loses its ‘savour’, and therefore, its relevance, in a world in dire need of direction.

If the church is not sick, what then is sickness? In the words of Pastor Ohanebo, the sick church is in need of urgent help. Somebody has to bring clarity to a confused world as to what the church should be. It is in such defining moments that transformational leaders emerge. But the hand that must clean the vessel has to be clean, no? So, as he has always argued and demonstrated these past decades, the individuals or institutions who will pull the church out of the cesspool should not be mired in the same affliction from which they seek to deliver the church.

Enter the Watchman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement.  Pastor Ohanebo believes the peculiar foundation and circumstances of its emergence has properly positioned the Watchman for a key role in God’s plan of restoration for a world that is living in borrowed time, left hanging on a slender thread, threatened by a wave of imminent wrath. He says the Watchman is uniquely programmed to lead this charge because, all things considered, that is its raison d’être. Pastor Ohanebo cites the Watchman’s particularly remarkable origin that that is unusual, and which makes it, if you like, a special purpose vehicle.

He underlines the foundation of the church, which he describes as blameless, completely free from the acrimony and other not-too-ennobling passions that herald the birth of most denominations and ministries. The Watchman did not arise out of some disagreement among leaders of the same church, prompting the one who felt he had been left with the short-end of the stick to bolt away to start his own ministry. Nor was it formed by some person who felt he had become too big to be under another pastor’s leadership because of what he has to offer, and must go out to found another ministry.

It was not formed by some Christian person, who, having suffered some economic misfortunes because of business failure or job loss, decided that the best way to stay afloat was to go into church business. Neither does it owe its origin to some dream or vision received by a some random church person to start a ministry. It was not established because some zealous gifted person in the church, often out of ignorance, had felt there was no need to continue to be under anybody any more. In which case, the person decided to bolt so that he could showcase his gifts to the world on his own terms.

Furthermore, the church was not founded in the Pentecostal tradition of the church being an open market where ‘everybody who has something to offer’ can display their wares (ministry), a practice, which is usually fuelled by pride and unbridled ambition. The Watchman was not founded because someone who had been placed under discipline would not submit to the disciplinary measure, and decided to go out in defiance, to float a ministry as some ministers have often done.

Pastor Ohanebo did not set out to be a pastor or a church founder. Born in an orthodox religious family in Uli, Anambra State on July 17, 1944, he had a deep yearning for God, before he had a brief encounter with a young street-side preacher in February 1975. His life ‘drastically’ changed after that encounter, as he often recalls. This experience triggered a burning desire in him to help multitudes of un-regenerated religious folks that filled the places. Driven by this great compassion, he remained in the midst of the religious people he wanted to reach, seeking for opportunity to share his experience with them. Shortly after, scores of young men and women accepted the word he preached, and also became drastically born again.

In a wave of push back, the church to which they belonged could not tolerate this new-found passion and conviction, notwithstanding the positive changes that was there for all to see. They were booted out of the church, against their wish. Nevertheless, they continued to grow in the new experience, determined to help whosoever was willing to come to the same experience. In his words, “it is this band of young men and women with this experience that grew in the course of time to become the Watchman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement.”

What struck me when I first heard him speak about God was the clarity of tone and the depth of his conviction. He spoke about God in a style all his own – the way only a person who was sure of what he was saying and had a deep connection with God would. Decades down the road, I still trembled when I hear him speak about God.

Today, the Watchman has presence in across far-flung corners of the world, propagating the same old-fashioned gospel with the same conviction. At 80 today, this Man of God, a quantity surveyor by training, is as super-charged as ever to lead what has been termed the Second Exodus – i.e. the mass transition of people of all races, nations and creeds from diverse errors and ungodly practices to the liberating truth of the gospel of Christ.

*Modestus Chukwulaka writes from Abuja, Nigeria.