Rev Dr (Mrs) Egoyibo Ibeneme is a Consultant family physician, General Out-Patient(GOP), Department, University College Hospital(UCH), Ibadan and Overseer Pastor, Faith Chapel Nigeria INC., Ibadan. She shares with TOLUWANI OLAMITOKE,  her  reason for  the choice of profession,  while also  shedding  light  on  her journey  into deliverance ministry which she ran  with her spouse, late Rev Dr Izuwanne Ibeneme before his demise. Excerpts:

WE had more women studying courses like Home Economics  and  Education during your university days. Why did you  choose to  study Medicine?
I was not given the opportunity to try so many other things before I picked up Medicine. By the time I went through secondary school and higher school, I made up my mind to study Medicine. As a small girl, less than 7 years old, I had  a foreign object in my ear and was taken to the casualty department of the hospital and from there, to the  theater where the object was removed. During a ward round,  I sat up in bed and watched the doctor attending to us with  admiration. There were people following him —medical  students and nurses. He asked me  if I wanted  to be like him  and I answered yes and he said, “Okay, you will be like me.” I kept having the picture in my mind and made up my mind to study Medicine in the university.

Your ministry  seem to be the first deliverance ministry in Oyo State. How did you and your spouse conceive the idea of the ministry?
We didn’t start as a ministry. We were having a fellowship. There was the University of Ibadan fellowship and any time brethren gather, we pray and sometimes people manifest  and they were prayed for. This continued when we crossed to the University College Hospital (UCH). My spouse was two years ahead of me in the medical school. As medical doctors and  Christians, we normally hold prayer meetings at  Preventive and Social Medicine  unit of the University College Hospital(UCH). We didn’t take it as a special  ministry. People come to the fellowship and these have needs and we go all out to minister to them. We didn’t see it as a calling, but as a part of ministration of Jesus Christ.

There is much attention focused on deliverance these days. Who needs deliverance?
When somebody is born again, he or she embraces Christ and the spirit of Christ comes over. He or she before being born again   may have  been  exposed to the spirit of this world. This kind of person will not enjoy the Christian life and find it easy to be faithful to all the expectations of the kingdom of God. There are some things which could make it impossible. It can be through background, exposure or life as an individual. If you do not conform or you are  not obedient to the kingdom principles, the spirit of the world will take over your knowledge and the spiritual  principles are affected. One needs to renounce it and be delivered from it. The essence of deliverance is realised when people are taught of the fact that we don’t get all we want because of the operations of demons. This makes it necessary that the person to be delivered is exposed to the word of God. Anyone who is not ready to live a holy life after deliverance shouldn’t go for it because he or she would be exposed and afflicted with  more demons than that which was cast out.

It’s observed that some pastors hold a  reservation   for  deliverance. What do you think can be wrong?
I think some of them  reason, “To what extent did Ibeneme  who started  it go?” It’s believed in some quarters that he died early because of the deliverance he went into. When he  was going, he was sick unto death. I spoke with God and He told me he has finished his assignment. So I know he wasn’t killed by demons.. I believe a minister of God who engages in deliverance will be protected by the spirit of God. You won’t say you won’t minister deliverance  to people because you don’t want to die or because you are afraid. The Bible says “Greater is He that is in you than he that is  in the world.”

What were the challenges faced in the early days of the ministry?
The main challenges were ignorance and the fear of the unknown.  Many people  were asking, “why should I go for deliverance?” Faith Clinic Ministry has a bible school where people were taught or given  idea of what to do. People  were afraid of demons. When my spouse died,  the number of people who were  attending the Faith Clinic  gradually reduced because they believed  demons killed him. Again, the people to be administered deliverance to  might not be able to say or explain everything because they don’t have much understanding of their problems. Deliverance is not a problem to me because my eyes are opened to the person who causes problems. He doesn’t have the  power, but  he is just operating on the ignorance of the people. If you want to go into deliverance ministry  and be a deliverance minister, you have to take up your Bible and not sin.

How did people react to the idea of you as a woman  taking up the leadership of the ministry after the  death of your husband?
My husband did more of the traveling, while I stayed at home to see that everything about deliverance was done. I did most of the teachings. Everyday, we try to talk to people about deliverance and I did most of it. When he departed, the whole thing continued the way it was. Someone had to stay at home to encourage and  explain  issues surrounding deliverance and among the brethren then, I was the person. People are still doing the deliverance and I, the explanation. We have people coming from both within and outside Ibadan for the Bible School. There was the distribution of duties. The last teaching would be his if he was around. If he was not there, I take  it  up.

What effect does his demise have on the ministry?
The crowd is almost gone. When he was around, people surge in from in and outside the city, but now the crowd has reduced. We now train and groom people on deliverance and they go back to their different churches.

Can you tell us the effect  of your ministry  on the home?
It affected me, I would have liked to study another area of Medicine. The children must be taken care of. It wasn’t any easy task, but God helped  us. Many of us started with Christ or nothing. If you see anything then clashing with your faith you withdraw from it because you don’t want to go to hell. You have to train up a child and this task falls especially on the woman.

Some Christians rely solely on faith when they are sick. As a deliverance minister and medical practitioner, what’s your take on this?
If you look at it from all angles we need deliverance because of spiritual attacks. Someone  people may be sick because   they broke the word of God. Some sicknesses are afflictions. We are not allowed to say all sicknesses are demonic because if you are ignorant of the law of health, you can fall sick. A lot of people were under bondage and once they were prayed for, read the bible, made up their minds to live by the bible, the see positive results.

What do you miss about your spouse?
His presence, we both grew up together, went to federal school of science. He was a simple person and would  always say, “the bible says this and it must be this.” He was also humble. I miss him in the training of the children. A woman can train a child to a certain age, but they also need the presence of a  father. I have a wonderful joy in my heart he made heaven.

There are many signs of this.

What’s your stake on women whose minds are made not to live  under a man?
A woman who decides on this  knows  she can stand alone. But then if you are alone it can  be lonely. You are not given your rightful place in the society and side-tracked at periods when important  decisions are to be taken. If you are not married, quite a percentage of respect is cut off. Again, if you are not careful, your friends will not like it because if their husbands learn you can do some things on your own, they would start comparing  their wives with you, which will make them(friends)   feel inadequately equipped.

How long has your spouse been dead?
18 years.

Why are you not remarried?
I have four children, I can’t carry four children into a marriage with another  man. That would be wickedness. And no matter what the man does, the children won’t take him as their father. For companionship, I can remarry if I become too serious  about it and tell God.  He will guide me to it again.

How do you relax?
I  can  pick a topic in my time of relaxation, meditate on things and  God will talk to me along the line. I enjoy talking with God.

What outfit do you like appearing in?
Anything nice and decent  goes.