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A few weeks ago, a mother of four, Rosemary Chukwu who hid her neighbour’s 7 year old son in a box purportedly for ritual purposes was apprehended by Eagle-Eyed neigbours. The woman, after investigations, identified Lagos Pastor, Ernest Nwankwo as their Kingpin and the mastermind of the kidnap. The lady, after further investigations, told security operatives that she was sent by the Pastor to get him the young boy. That single incident would be the catalyst for the spotlight on the Prophet and his Holy Family Ministry a.k.a. House Of Mercy Church located in the Ogolonto area of Ikorodu, Lagos.
The Pastor was later declared wanted by the Police. On the 30th of June, Nwankwo was allegedly arrested by Police detectives from the Panti Police Station, Yaba, Lagos to tell them all he knows about the kidnap story. Although the 50yr old Anambra-born Pastor denied the allegations the negative feelings it has already generated within Nigeria has been enormous. But who really is Pastor Ernest Nwankwo, what is his area of calling, when did he start ministering, what about his church?
Nwankwo provides all of these in an interview he granted a Lagos based magazine St. Eve Magazine in 2011. Prophet Nwankwo, the General Overseer of Holy Family Happy Family Ministry also known as House of Mercy (formerly Jesus Divine Healing and Deliverance Catholic Ministry) is an indigene of Nsugbe, Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State and was born in Onitsha on 3rd November 1964 into the family of Mr. and Mrs. Nwankwo Egbunike. He had his primary education at Development Primary School, Abata, Nsugbe after which he went for apprenticeship.
He was a successful businessman before his divine call to serve God. A staunch Catholic, Prophet and Deliverance Minister who manages a rehabilitation centre called Happy Home Foundation in both Lagos and Nkwelle-Ezunaka where the mentally sick are healed through prayers. The healing, feeding, accommodation of these mentally sick is free of charge. Prophet Nwankwo facilitated the development of his community; assisted many church thereby facilitating the propagation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He has consistently assisted widows, less privileged and granted scholarship to many. In the year 2000, his community honoured him by conferring on him a Merit Award in recognition of his contributions towards the development of his town, Nsugbe. In the year 2007, Canaan Christian University conferred on him a Doctorate Degree in Christian Education. St. Martin of Tour Catholic Church Nsukwu Abatete gave him a certificate of appreciation for sponsoring a church project in 2008.
St. John De Baptist Catholic Church, Catholic Women Organisation (C.W.O) Nsugbe also appreciated him for his contributions to C.W.O project in 2009. The most recent and over-whelming contribution/healing that we cannot stop giving God the Glory is the healing of cancer of different stages of which he received an award as a spiritual Director and for humanitarian services, from Princess Nikky Onyeri of Nikky Breast Cancer Foundation in 2010. A family man to the core, Prophet Ernest C. Nwankwo is married to Sister Odelia Anulika Nwankwo and is blessed with children. Excerpts.
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Can you elaborate more on your gift?
Concerning the gift God gave me, he gave me different kinds of gifts. He gave me gift of curing and treating different diseases like mental disorder, cancer, HIV and other sickness through prayer. God also gave me other gift like the use of herbs but we are not selling it in the ministry. The only thing we tell people to do is to go and get it to treat or cure the sickness, we do not collect money from anybody.
Are these herbs like everyday herbs that we use?
Yes, just like fruits.
Has there been any case of illness that you were not able to resolve in the Church?
No. There has not been any case we were not able to solve in our ministry. We can resolve any case by His grace. It’s not by our might that there isn’t any case that we can’t resolve in the ministry. There are some people that when they come to me, I look at them and tell them their problem is not spiritual but medical that they need to go to hospital for treatment and that after the treatment, they should come back to me.
How do you determine when sickness is spiritual attack?
The spirit realm isn’t what many people know about or aware of. So it’s not everybody that knows about the spiritual.
When should a Christian seek spiritual help and when is it right for a Christian to go and see a doctor?
A Christian can go to the doctor at anytime for test.
As a prophet, you attend only to Christians?
No, in my ministry anybody can come, Pagans, Muslim and Christians.
What about their belief?
If their belief is that when they come to the ministry, they will have healing and by God’s grace when they’re leaving the ministry, they would have had their healing. For instance, last week somebody that had no money at all went to the hospital and the wife was pregnant, the placenta covered the baby and the baby was on caesarean operation which will cost the husband fortune. The only dime the man had was 10 naira so the man rushed to the ministry; we did prayer for the woman, and gave her anointing oil. After that, the placenta gave way and the baby was delivered.
Are there any other striking testimonies like this one you have just cited?
Yes, somebody who had mental problem for 37 years came from America, he stayed only one year in the ministry and was healed. As of today, he is no longer mental. Another is that of a man called Augustine, when he had mental related problem and when he came into our ministry, God healed him. He is married now even to a lady in the ministry with at least four children and he’s an Engineer.
In respect of your rehab center, how many has benefited from it?
More than 100 people within these 13 years.
And you are still having more people coming and going?
Yes
Do herbs actually heal?
Yes, the use of herbs are in the bible, herbs heal different kind of illnesses, like coconut can be used to cure sickness. After the person drinks the coconut water, we pray on it before the person starts using it, if a lady has not seen her menstrual cycle for a long time maybe up to a year, as she’s taking the fresh water in the coconut up to a month or two months, her menses will come out. The fresh coconut back can be used if someone has an infection, it can be used together with bitter leaf. You boil both the leaves and stick of the bitter leaf, and then filter it, give to the person to drink and the infection stops.
The herbs must be brought to you for prayers before it is used?
Yes.
Do you mean feminine infection?
Both male and female infection.
Even Children?
Anybody.
Do you prescribe dosage and how do you determine amount per serving?
It depends on the weight of the person.
Any other recommendation?
Yes, there are many like that, we have for typhoid you can use mango stick and leaves, pawpaw (male). You know we have two kinds of pawpaw, the one that bears fruits that people eat and the one that just brings out flower, its this second one that is used for typhoid.
This one for typhoid, is it to be cooked?
Yes, you cook it, and then filter the water, as the person drinks it, the typhoid clears. We have herbs for malaria, for poison, to reduce weight, using cucumber and other fruit. You can use cucumber, tomatoes and onions for the eyes, you can also use avocado pear for joint pains and also use coconut water to wash your eyes if there is something wrong with your eyes, we have so many.
We would like to ask, in terms of Christians and food and health, are there some kinds of foods that people should stay away from, to promote healthy living?
What is killing people nowadays is what they eat. For me there is nobody that is supposed to be suffering from illness but due to what they eat. That is what brings the illness. For example, I do not go to the hospital, I do not take drugs and I don’t fall sick. I thank God for that, you will see one person eating Isi-Ewu, pepper soup, eat fresh fish, eat bitter leaf soup in just one day, so that person would not know where his sickness is coming from. If he drinks alcohol, he will drink wine, drink mineral, these things combined will not be what his system needs, but his mind will keep on telling him to eat it, he doesn’t mind if it will kill him or not. He just wants to eat it at that moment.
If you are eating anything bad, discontinue with it. Don’t insist because someone you know does it. It might be good for that person and not good for you.
Are all sickness spiritual attacks?
Not all sickness are spiritual attacks. Although these days people assume all sickness to be spiritual. When someone is down with Malaria, instead of going to the hospital they assume its spiritual attack, they go to churches in search of deliverance instead of going to hospital. There are times, certain individuals rather than going to the hospital for fibroid operation, prefer to go to church to seek for healing. Fine, she might have the healing in the hospital but it’s medical. Hospital are also important because that’s why God gave us doctors.
Could it be an issue of faith that makes one go to church instead of going to the hospital?
No, some that seek spiritual help because they either don’t have money enough to pay for their treatment. Although there are cases where people who are sick go to the hospital and undergo series of tests but the results can’t really diagnose what is wrong with them, because of the peculiarity of the society, so they seek for alternative help by seeking the face of God, and some of these people develop faith and get healed. To some others, their faith brings them to Church. In your own view, is it right for someone to leave the hospital where adequate medical help is administered for the Church No, it’s not right. But at times, it might be that the person doesn’t have the money to stay in hospital then he/she starts looking for an alternative, which is the house of God.
About Unknown
Deji Sadiq, a.k.a DEJI OF LAGOS is a LASU trained Economist turned freelance journalist, a Blogger, an information strategist, a public affairs analyst and a committed activist with a passion for equal opportunities.
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