By Ebenezer Adurokiya
AS today marks the 15th year anniversary of her passing, the memory of Deaconess Victoria Olufunmilayo Ogunmola, mother of Ebenezer Adurokiya, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of high soaring digital news platforms, Stonix News, Crimes Chroniclersand NaijaSporaNews, remains deeply etched in the hearts of her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and all who encountered her remarkable life.
She passed peacefully in Ibadan on September 28, 2011, aged 69, after a lifetime marked by hardship, resilience, sacrifice, evangelism, prayer and an unwavering conviction in the mercy of God.
For those who knew her intimately, however, her story was never simply one of hardship. It was, in her own understanding, a testimony of God’s matchless mercy.
A childhood shaped by adversity
Victoria Olufunmilayo was born on November 25, 1943, at Magongo, in what is now Ogori-Magongo Local Government Area of Kogi State.
She was the only child of Pa Samuel Adefolarin, a prophet of God from Ikole-Ekiti, and Princess Rebecca Bintu Adefolarin, a merchant and daughter of the reigning royal family in Magongo at the time.
Her early years were far from easy. The intervention of her maternal grandfather, who was then the king of Magongo, and an aunt married into the Arogunmasa family of Ogori, provided the care and protection she needed as a child.
Fondly called Olu (for short), Victoria attended St Peter’s Anglican Primary School, Ogori, where she reportedly demonstrated considerable academic ability. Under the tutelage and care of Pa David Arogunmasa and Mama Folake Arogunmasa, she was said to have conducted herself so well that members of the community regarded her almost as their own daughter.
Yet, circumstances prevented her from advancing beyond Standard Three.
Her limited formal education would later stand in sharp contrast to the depth of wisdom, spiritual conviction and practical counsel for which she became known among her children and members of her community.
Marriage to Joel and the beginning of a new chapter
In 1959, Victoria married Joel Amodu Ogunmola, a brilliant and resourceful teacher from the great Alajata Dynasty of Oba-Akoko in Ondo State, who later became Evangelist Joel Ogunmola.
The marriage took her from Ogori to Oba-Akoko, where the young couple began building a family.
Their home was blessed with children, but family life was not without its difficulties. Extended-family pressures, cultural expectations and traditional religious beliefs created challenges for the couple.
It was during this period that Victoria experienced one of the defining moments of her life.
While going through prolonged and difficult labour, she was caught between life and death. Traditional remedies had failed to provide the relief she desperately needed. She eventually sought help from a branch of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC).
That experience became a turning point.
Following the birth of one of her sons, Victoria’s curiosity about Christianity deepened. Having previously lost a daughter, Gladys, she had given her children English names. But the circumstances surrounding the new son’s birth prompted her to seek a deeper understanding of the Christian faith.
Together with her husband and three of their children, she embarked on a new spiritual journey.
What began as a personal search for answers gradually became a lifelong commitment to Christian ministry.
A family constantly on the move
The Ogunmola family lived in several communities as Evangelist Joel pursued missionary work.
Between 1970 and 1976, they were in Oba-Akoko and later moved to Ikare-Akoko, where Ebenezer, the writer of this brief biography, was born.
In 1977, the family moved to Ado-Ekiti, before spending time in Awo-Ekiti between 1977 and 1978.
Their missionary journey subsequently took them to Ilara in Ogun State, Alapoti (Olorunsola), Orobiyi, Abule Babalawo, Igan-Alade and eventually Ilaro.
At Ilaro, the family found greater stability. It was there that their youngest child, Eunice, was born.
The family remained in Ilaro for much of the period between 1980 and 1999, although Evangelist Joel continued his missionary engagements in satellite parishes and communities across the Egbado, now Yewa, area.
The constant movement had consequences for the children’s education, but Victoria remained committed to ensuring that her children survived the difficulties and eventually found their paths in life.
Widowhood and a mother’s burden
Approaching his twilight, Evangelist Joel retired to Oba-Akoko and later passed on December 28, 2001.
Victoria remained behind with the children, carrying the responsibilities of the home while her children pursued education, employment and marriage.
As some of them secured admissions, jobs and marriages and moved away from Ilaro, the burden gradually became lighter.
Victoria subsequently moved temporarily to Sagamu, before eventually returning to Ogori, the community of her birth.
By then, her spiritual journey had taken another significant turn.
She had worshipped at different Christian denominations, including the Christ Apostolic Church, Deeper Life Bible Church and Foursquare Gospel Church.
At Sagamu, through Ebenezer whom she briefly lived with, she had an encounter with the Lord and subsequently became a member of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG).
It was there that she developed an even deeper personal commitment to her Christian faith.
Returning to Ogori to rebuild a church
When Victoria returned to Ogori, she joined an RCCG parish that was struggling for survival.
At the time, the congregation reportedly consisted essentially of the pastor, Pastor Idris Isah, who’s now an Assistant Pastor In Charge of Provincial (APICP), and a few members.
Victoria arrived with two of her children, while another child was already schooling in Ogori. The three children became part of the congregation, providing a new foundation for the struggling parish.
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Her arrival would eventually prove significant.
She became deeply involved in evangelism, prayer, counselling and the growth of the church. Accordingly, her presence helped transform the once-small congregation into a growing Christian community, extending to adjourning communities such as Magongo.
Her commitment also came at a huge personal cost.
Ogori had traditionally been dominated by established Christian denominations, alongside Islam. Victoria nevertheless chose to pursue what she believed was a deeper relationship with God through RCCG, despite mockery, opposition and threats of ostracism.
She remained undeterred.
A woman of prayer, prophecy and service
Victoria was regarded by those around her as a woman with a strong spiritual gift, including the gift of prophecy.
Her work contributed to the growth of RCCG in Ogori and neighbouring Magongo. The parish, who is today a Zonal Headquaters, eventually birthed several other congregations, helping to expand the church’s presence in the area.
She eventually became a parish pastor in Magongo and continued to champion evangelism and the establishment of new places of worship.
Her commitment to Christian service was formally recognised when she was ordained a Deaconess during the 2009 RCCG Annual Convention at the Redemption City.
But titles meant little to her compared with the work itself.
She was remembered as a woman who believed strongly in prayer, fasting, righteousness, truth and evangelism.
Even when circumstances became difficult, she continued to speak about God.
Her final charge to her children
One of the most poignant episodes in Victoria’s final months came during the wedding of her youngest daughter, Eunice, in Magongo in June 2011.
The day after the wedding, she unusually summoned all 11 of her children for a meeting.
She gave them what would become her final charge.
Among other things, she counselled her daughters-in-law to be vigilant about influences within the church and urged them to raise their children in the ways of the Lord.
At the time, none of them knew they were listening to their mother’s final major counsel and charge!
Within weeks, her health began to deteriorate.
Her final journey
Victoria began experiencing lower abdominal pain and later travelled from Magongo to Ile-Ife to receive medical attention at the home of her first daughter.
She subsequently travelled to Ibadan, where two of her sons lived, and was admitted to the University College Hospital (UCH).
Dcns Ogunmola and late Princess Denise AdurokiyaShe spent about two weeks at the hospital before requesting to be returned home.Her admission represented a significant moment because it was not only her first known hospital admission but also her first experience of seeking medical treatment at a public hospital.
On September 27, 2011, she requested to be taken home despite medical advice.
The following day, September 28, she passed in Ibadan at about 10pm, peacefully in the hands and presence of her sons, Ebenezer and Joseph, and daughter-in-law
She was 69.
A life that ended without losing its faith
Perhaps one of the most striking aspects of Victoria’s final days was that illness did not silence her prayer and evangelistic spirit.
Even while receiving treatment, she continued witnessing and distributing Christian tracts to medical personnel attending to her.
Her concern was not solely about her own condition.
She remained deeply concerned about the church, her family and the work she believed God had entrusted to her.
One of her final aspirations was to return to Success Parish in Magongo, which she had pastored, and help rebuild its church building.
Like Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, she dreamed of returning to restore what she believed needed to be rebuilt.
She was also outspoken about what she regarded as the growing influence of materialism within Christian ministry. She criticised religious leaders whom she believed placed excessive financial demands on worshippers while failing to provide the spiritual support expected of them.
A mother remembered for giving
Victoria’s generosity was notably legendary within her family as well as neighbours.
Even when she had little, she gave.
She had hoped to have a permanent house of her own, but that dream remained unfulfilled.
Yet, in the faith that sustained her throughout life, she regarded earthly possessions as temporary compared with the eternal home she believed awaited her.
She did not leave behind great material wealth.
She left something else: children, grandchildren, faith, memories and a legacy of service.
At the time of her death, she was survived by 11 children, 27 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
The meaning of mercy
For Victoria, mercy was not an abstract theological concept.
It was the thread she believed ran through her entire existence.
She often described herself as someone who had been forgiven much and therefore owed everything to the One who had redeemed her.
From an uncertain childhood to an early marriage; from the struggles of raising a large family to widowhood; from repeated relocations to Christian ministry; from obscurity to becoming a spiritual mother to many, she interpreted her life through the lens of divine mercy.
That conviction became the title of her testimony:
God’s Matchless Mercy.
And perhaps that is the most fitting way to remember her.
Victoria Olufunmilayo Ogunmola’s story was not the story of a woman who accumulated material riches. It was the story of a woman who endured, served, prayed, gave, raised children and remained committed to the faith she had embraced.
She was remembered as a no-nonsense woman, a lover of purity, a unifying force, a counsellor, an evangelist and a developer of young people.
Her life touched different generations, and her influence extended beyond her immediate family.
Eleven children, but one enduring legacy
More than a decade after her passing, the memories of Victoria remain particularly strong among her children.
For Ebenezer Adurokiya, her third son and pastor in RCCG, her final moments remain among the most unforgettable experiences of his life.
Her death brought into sharp focus the fragility of human existence and the certainty that every earthly journey eventually reaches its end.
But her family remembers her not only for the circumstances of her death, but for the life she lived before it.
She endured what many might consider a difficult earthly journey, yet she continued to give, pray, counsel and serve.
She may not have left behind the physical house she once hoped to build.
But in the faith she professed, she believed she was heading towards a home “not built with hands”.
And that belief defined the way she lived.
Resting in the memory of those she left behind
On September 28, 2011, exactly 15 years ago today, Deaconess Victoria Olufunmilayo Ogunmola transitioned onto eternal glory.
As of the time of her passing, she left behind 11 children, 27 grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and a legacy that cannot be measured in material possessions.
Her children may not remember her for wealth accumulated or houses built.
They remember a mother who faced adversity, raised her family, embraced Christianity with conviction, served her community, made her shared mistakes, obtained Mercy and remained steadfast in what she believed until the end.
For a woman who repeatedly described her life as a testimony of mercy, perhaps her greatest legacy is the faith she transmitted to those who came after her.
Fifteen years after her passing, her voice may be silent, but the story of her life continues to speak.
And for the family she left behind, the remembrance remains both a tribute and a testimony:
Deaconess Victoria Olufunmilayo Ogunmola: a life sustained by mercy, a woman of faith, and a mother whose legacy lives on.
May her memory remain blessed.