Fr Mbaka X-Rayed as He Marks His 24 Years Priesthood

As Fr Mbaka marks 24 years of his priestly Anniversary in this month of July, it is apt for us to talk about this name FR MBAKA and its underlying meaning. Many people think FR MBAKA is just a name. They call his name without thinking of the underlying meaning behind the name. To us FR MBAKA is not just a name but an acronym for the following words F= FORTITUDE, R= RESOURCEFULNESS, M= MIRACLES, B= BLESSIGS, A= ASSISTANCE/ AID, K= KNOWLEDGE, A= AFFABILITY. The next time you see that man or call that name FR MBAKA, remember that this is what he stands for. Let us adumbrate on these words one after another to reveal their hidden significance.

 F = FORTITUDE,

The synonyms of the word fortitude are Strength, Courage, resilience, guts, stamina and determination. These words aptly capture the person of Fr Mbaka . Let us take these qualities one after another.

Fr Mbaka is a man of extra Ordinary strength, it is very clear that no normal human being exerts the kind of energy that Fr Mbaka exhibit especially on his spiritual ministerial duties.  This extraordinary strength is demonstrated in the several hours that he could stand preaching the word of God every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday programs of the ministry with a surprising stamina.  During the ministry’s special programmes like crusade, Fr Mbaka can minister the word standing up and bubbling with amazing energy for several consecutive nights and days that the programme lasted without having a sleep or taking a nap.  The amazing thing is that he practically lives on fasting that one cannot help wondering what gives him such energy. In him we see the demonstration of what Jesus told satan “Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the Lord”.  No wonder during AMEN Supernews exclusive interview with Mr  Chigozie Philip Agwuncha , the chairman of the Committee that organized the last London Crusade that Fr Mbaka attended , he  had this to say about Fr Mbaka.

He spent time listening to people. We actually had to intervene at some point sometime to take him away, let him have some rest and even when we tried to encourage him to have some rest he would tell us listens this is the reason why I came to London. I am not tired, I don’t need rest, let me do what I have to do”, so when you see him, you will see a man of great compassion, a man of great love. This is just true; it’s so obvious when you meet him.

“Another thing you could discover is that father could go on for days preaching and ministering. I don’t know how he does it and to our own confusion, you wouldn’t see him eat. And this was one of the feedbacks one of our chaplains gave. He said they were together with him in the house, you will see him wake up and sometimes he will be indoors all day, in the evening he would come out and go for the crusade , come back, go back in and you would not see him again until the next day. You wouldn’t see him eat yet he is not tired and even looking stronger and fresher than you who have been eating all day. This is just strange. When we were pressurizing him to eat he told us listen, “I am stronger when I do not eat, I become weak when I eat”. I don’t understand that myself but yea that is father.

Fr Mbaka is also a man of courage; he is as bold as a lion and has no iota of fear in him especially in speaking the truth no matter whose ox is gored. When his prophetic courage takes hold of him, he can speak the unspeakable to the high and to the low. It is this quality of him that usually pinches politicians against him.  Speaking truth to power has been his hallmark. Instances of this abound and these have been the sources of the major sagas that had usually dominated the media. To mention but a few are the Abacha Saga, the Chimaroke saga, the  Goodluck Jonathan’s saga and most recently the Peter Obi saga. Details of Fr Mbaka’s prophetic utterances to this political leader will be a story for another day.

Fr Mbaka is a man that can stay awake all through the Friday Adoration vigil programme and from there proceed to celebrate wedding mass for his worshipers who are getting married on Saturdays and then proceed from one meeting to another all through the Saturday to Sunday when he would celebrate his Sunday mass that takes almost the whole day and continue the cycle of other activities. The amazing thing is that year in year out; he radiates with ebullient health and bubbles with life.

R = RESOURCESFULNESS.

Fr Mbaka is resourceful. He is industrious, original and ingenuous.  His musical ingenuity first comes to mind.  Fr Mbaka is a celebrated musician and lover of music.  He plays original, highly inspirational, creative soul-lifting, liberating, sanctifying and prayer focused music. In fact once he is at peace, in good mood and inspired, you find him churning out new songs. He can make songs out of every situation and circumstance. He has so many albums to his credit and was variously honoured by Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PIMAN).  His albums are as follows: ‘Chidera’ (once God has written) which he released in 1998; ‘Ebube Muo Nso’ ( Shekinah Glory)  which he released in 2000. ‘Ovungwongwo’ ( My Burden bearer) which he released in2000. ‘Behold the King’ which he released in 2001.‘AgudoEluigwe’ which he released in 2003. Others were ‘Onyinye Muonso’ which he released in     2003. Ogwugwo Nsowhich he released in2003. Bless me Lord which he released in2003. ‘Aka ndi Muo Ozi’ (Weep no more) which he released in 2005. ‘Uwana-ementughari’ which he released in   2008.It is well which he released in2008.’Akara ugochim’ which he released in 2011. Others were ‘Ekpere Ngozi’ released in 2011. ‘Divine high tension’ released in 2011. ‘Chikamso’ released in 2012. ‘Hakunamatata’ released in 2012. ‘Omarichanduru’ released in          2012. ‘Chimbusomma’ (Odabara Adoration) released in 2013.‘ Iga –anwude Agunaka’ Who can catch the Lion?’  released in 2014. ‘Chim Akonam’ released in 2015 and’ Ikuku Oma’ which he released in 2015.

Besides his musical ingenuity, Fr Mbaka is an industrialist.  He has lots of business ideas up his sleeves and has put many to work in order to provide jobs for the masses. A ready example is his Aqua Rapha Company that is into water and juice production business that has provided job tens of thousands of people. The products of Company are second to known in Nigeria and had won several national and international awards courtesy of Fr Mbaka’s ingenuity.

Fr Mbaka has natural gifts for excellent designs and architecture. This demonstrated in the patterns of building and structures that he erects at his ministry. Most of the designs of these buildings are originated from him.

M=MIRACLES,

Another term associated with Fr Mbaka is God’s wonders otherwise known as Miracles. That God works miracles through Fr Mbaka is an understatement. Uncountable numbers of people give testimonies of diverse miracles they receive through Fr Mbaka’s prayers. Some of these testimonies are too real to be true and that is why they are published with the phone numbers of the testifiers in every Edition of AMEN Supernews for all who may care to verify them. Every Friday Night before his second vigil mass, people file in a long queue to testify the miracles of God in their life through Fr Mbaka. When we multiply the number of such testifiers by the number of weekly Friday adoration night programmes that Fr Mbaka had had since the start of his ministry it will give you a fair idea of innumerable lives that God had touched through Fr Mbaka. Don’t forget that it is not even all who received such miracles have had the opportunity to so testify. We will not proceed to mention any of the miracles here for want of space.

B=BLESSING

Fr Mbaka is a man associated with good things. Those who have had encountered with him always partake in his blessing, Each time he sees anyone and wants to speak with any one he always start and end with the phrase “God Bless you”. He doles out God’s blessing to people as freely as he receives it. He is associated with multiples favours. He blesses people both physically and spiritually.  He is a source of blessing especially to the poor and the less privileged. He is also a blessing to the rich, the high and the low.  His ministrations are inundated with messages of blessings of God.

A=ASSISTANCE OR AID

Fr Mbaka is a man of charity. In fact he is charity epitomized. He had a vow that any money that would ever come to him would be used for charity and for God’s work. He had had once described himself as the treasurer of the poor, and post master whose job is to find whose name is written on anything that comes to him and he would deliver it to the person. The story of Fr Mbaka and his charity will be a story for another day.  Suffice to say that the main source of Fr Mbaka’s wealth today is his musical albums as he continued to churn out inspirational gospel musical tracks that have today dominated most of the songs sang in almost all places of worship across the nation and beyond.

Fr Mbaka is generous to the church according to the measures of the blessings of God on him. For instance, every year, during the annual cathedraticum of the diocese, he donates generously to the diocese to such a measure that no other parish in the Diocese could out give him. when he was the parish priest of Christ the King Parish, GRA Enugu,  the Parish maintained the position of highest donor in every financial demanding situations among the all the parishes in the dioceses all through Fr Mbaka’s stay at the parish.

He supplies free water to some seminary schools in the Country year in year out. Inspite of this, his growing popularity in Charity, defense of the poor and social justice was a sort of threat to some people who felt that he should be stopped.

A Source once said this about Fr Mbaka “Fr Mbaka does not place unnecessary condition is burying the dead  as we witness in most parishes, he conducts funerals for them without charges and even add his own money. Whenever he attended the burial of any of his  parishioners, he would request to see the family of the deceased in privacy to find out the areas they need help and would adopt the less privilege among them in his scholarship scheme  his Charity foundation, Multi- Life savers for the less privileged. He means Nehemiah which means God Comfort to us”.

The Media Chief of AMEN Super News, Barr Ugwuoke once noted this about Fr Mbaka

Few years ago, following the request of Annunciation Hospital from Fr Mbaka to pay the Bill of  millions of naira that accrued from the medical bills of the less privilege that were treated under his Charity foundation by the Hospital, Fr Mbaka sent me to meet the Hospital management for the account reconciliation. The visit was an eye opener for me as it afforded me the opportunity of seeing the long list of patients whose medical bills made up the figures. I couldn’t help asking myself, if this bill of such magnitude of millions was what Fr Mbaka was yet to pay the Hospital, how much of such millions he could have spent over the years for these indigent patients.  Again another thought that struck me while I looked at the long list of names of the patients and their folders was that those lists were nothing but the roll call of lives that would have perhaps been lost if not for Fr Mbaka’s charity and life-saving.

Today it is pretty difficult to successfully count the number of people under his charity- the students, the sick and discharged, the homeless, the widows and orphans, the jobless and many more. He can sit down clear a cheque book of more than tens of millions of naira at a seating. In fact people close to him jealously think that Fr. Mbaka is generous to a fault. He even extends his kindness and generosity to his fellow priests.

Fr Mbaka’s act of charity knows no bound as he has not less the 5,000 students under his scholarship at various levels of education system in Nigeria and overseas.   Uncountable patients were being treated in the various hospitals in Nigeria and overseas under his bills. He provides jobs and food on the tables of not less than 10, 000 Nigeria who work directly or indirectly in various establishments that were his brain child. His Aqua Rapha sachet water production which he had refused to hike the price despite its high sanitary purification process and quality is today the cheapest selling commodity in Nigeria which has help to cushion the effect of inflation especially in the south East in area of water needs. Through this, he had stepped down the use of sterilized water from the table of the bourgeoisie’s to that of the commoners and saved the lives of Millions of poor Nigerian that would have been wasted in epidemic of water borne diseases especially in the South East. That is the man Fr Mbaka for you

During the days of the battle for the soul of Adoration Ministry precipitated by Fr Mbaka’s 2014 December 31^st night message, Fr Mbaka, sent as a trailer Load of material reliefs, comprising of clothes, shoes, yam, bags of rice and so on was to one of the refugee camps in the North, precisely in Jos, as relief materials for the suffering citizens of this country in the camp.  AMEN Super News was at the CKC Parish compound where members of the stewards of Adoration Ministry Enugu Nigeria gathered in large numbers to arrange the items in bags for ease of convenience of delivery to the North. The items which were fully stock packed inside one of the rooms in the parish house from where the members of the steward ministry transfer them to the parish compound where they were arranged and loaded inside the trailer truck.

Interviewing the female leaders of the Ministry Miss Udoka, she expressed her appreciation to the Spiritual Director of Adoration Ministry on behalf of the stewards for his magnanimity towards the victim of the troubled North part of the country.

In the same vein, some of the Hausa People that came to carry the relief items spoke to AMEN SuperNews. One of them Abubakar who happened to be the  Lorry Driver’s assistant stated that Fr Mbaka is one priest who is more popular in the north than here in the East. He stated that although he is a Muslim, Fr Mbaka’s charity and care for the poor are great virtues that he and his brother Muslims admire as he doesn’t draw discriminate against people based on their origin, and religion when he embarks on his charity works. He stated that the conditions of the Nigerians in the regugee camps in the North are pitiable and that they will be greatly relieved when they receive the gifts. He expressed hope that one day, FR Mbaka would visit them in the North where many people are desirous of seeing him stressing that the Easterners do not value him as they do in the North.

Again, on the 26^th March 2015, over 1,000 South East returnees from Northern State converged at Christ the King Parish, GRA Enugu following Fr Mbaka’s invitation to them to share their plight.  The invitation which the Spiritual Director of Adoration Ministry thought will have very few people in attendance turned out to witness a mammoth crowd of returnees that filled the parish church compound as at 10 am.  At the gathering, some of the returnees from Maiduguri, Kaduna, Jos, Abuja, Kano, etc shared their ordeals.   Mrs Florence Ede a mother of five recounted how he relocated to Enugu from Kaduna State with no body caring whether she and her children are dead or alive, she said that she made attempts to seek the help of the government put was chased out from the government house with a gun. Ozo Helen, whose husband was as successful patent medical dealer in Zaria, recounted how her husband became a truck pusher upon their return after the burning of their shop in Zaria. The most pathetic was that of Juliana Igwe who lost his husband and child in the last year’s Jos bomb explosion.  Martin Ozo who returned from Kaduna after recounting his story regretted the systematic disenfranchisement meted out to them as internally displaced persons. According to him, they collected their Permanent Voter’s Registration in the North but there is no arrangement by the government or INEC to ensure that they cast their votes now that they had to run to the East for their lives.  Others who shared their ordeals at the event included Rosemary Elobike, Christian Chime, Chinenye Ugwu, and Rebecca Okaria among others.

Rev Fr Mbaka later addressed a crowd of the returnees. He used the occasion to announce that his accounts that were earlier freezed by EFCC has been unblocked and that he could now make withdraws. However the commission still directed the banks to track his accounts and furnished it with his transactions in for the last six months.

It was as result of this that he was able to make the provisions of the material reliefs he gave to the returnees.

He told them that the essence of his invitation to them was first to welcome them back home, secondly to find out how they are faring and lastly to console them in their conditions by letting them know that their situations shall end in testimony. In his address that lasted for about an hour he gave them psychological succor and comfort in their situation. Each of the returnees went home with bags of rice and clothes and some other food and gift items some of which were contributed by members of Adoration Ministry Enugu Nigeria, Following Fr Mbaka’s appeal to them.

K=KNOWLEDGE:

Saying that Fr Mbaka is intelligent is an understatement. His intelligence is on the superlative measure.  With his knowledge and wisdom he can hold his listener spell bound for long hours.  His knowledge of the scriptures is incomparable. In fact he is a mobile bible. During his ministration, he can hardly make any utterance without backing it up with chapters and verses in the bible. He could quote a dozen scriptures to back up every spiritual point and recite the word without reading from the bible itself. He is bible personified.

Fr Mbaka is a man of wisdom. He is to our generation what Solomon was to Israel.  His analogy to every situation is as intuitive is as his logic that is unbeatable.  He is unassuming  and behind his unassuming personality lies a colossus of  wisdom and knowledge. He can provide solution to practically every problem and has great intuition. He is expert in discernment of spirits and have an uncommon gift of knowing the unknown.

He demonstrates his wisdom and knowledge in the words that come out his month. He had once described himself as a word tapper whose father was a palm wine tapper.   A view of his wise sayings are:

“Don’t please the world, please the Word, the Word will save you, the world would destroy you”.

“For those whose gift is to misunderstand what I say, my gift is to say what they misunderstand.”

“What is borne of the wind cannot be destroyed by the storm”

“There is always one person to every marriage who sustains that marriage.  It is either the man or the woman. Anytime that person gets tired of continuing to endure what is happening in the marriage, it will breakup”.

“A man is like a vehicle, and if you don’t service the vehicle, the engine will knock. When you pamper, adore and take care of your husband just the way you take care of your hair, you will get the best out of that man”.

He has many other wise sayings and aphorism in every aspect of life.

A = AFFABILITY

Friendliness and sociability is another hallmark of Fr Mbaka. He is spiritual life does not detract him being affable to the people around Him. He is always cheerful and happy. He is a ready drug for hypertensive patients. Practical jokes are his stock in trade. He is lover of children and plays with them, He is not a man of pride. He is down to earth.  Responding to AMEN Super News interview on this point, this what Philip in London had to say of Fr Mbaka during his last London Crusade

“I don’t know how to approach this question now but there is a lot to say about Fr Mbaka.  But let me speak somewhere. Fr Mbaka, from what I know and from what I have even experienced in a deeper way is unique in too many ways. When I say unique I mean it with every sense of sincerity.  Like I said before, one of the things that will strike you when you meet father is that he is man of genuine humility and simplicity which to my mind is one of the hallmark of a true servant of God, a child of God and someone who has the spirit of God. Like the Lord Jesus whom the bible say that even though he was God, he humbled himself and did not claim equality with God and he became humbler even to accepting death on the cross. The kind of humility that father carries with him is unbelievable. This is one of the things that anyone who comes across father will testify to.

When you are with him, he never tried to prove the fact that he is a prophet or that he is a man of God. He just plays with you like a normal human being, just like any father would do with his children, speak with you. He just presents himself like a normal man even though he is endowed with great potentials, unbelievable anointing and power.  But father is just father. That is the way he presents himself and that is the way he wants us to see him. So he is very approachable.