CAC General Evangelist, Prophet Hezekiah O. Oladeji
By Oluwagbenga Bankole
The General Evangelist of Christ Apostolic Church, Nigeria and Overseas, Prophet Hezekiah Oluboye Oladeji, has shared a remarkable testimony of how God miraculously rescued him and other members of the Evangelistic Outreach from a near-fatal plane crash last Saturday.
The aircraft carrying the CAC General Evangelist and members of the Evangelistic Outreach from Abuja after an indoor crusade at Medaiyese Regional Headquarters, in Abuja veered off the runway and plunged into the grassy area at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos State. The Xejet aircraft, carrying 52 passengers and crew members, had departed Abuja before the incident occurred.
At a thanksgiving service held at CAC All Saints' Chapel in Ibadan, Prophet Hezekiah shared the miraculous story of their escape from sure death. "I was scheduled to be at the Altar of Praise program in Akobo, Ibadan, by 12 noon on Saturday. Due to the program, we purchased Abuja to Ibadan tickets. However, upon landing in Abuja on Friday evening around 9 pm for the Abuja Crusade at Medaiyese Regional Headquarters, we received news that our flight back to Ibadan had been canceled. We scrambled to book another flight to make it to the program, but all airlines were fully booked. We had to settle for a flight to Lagos instead."
Prophet Hezekiah, who has always found solace in Psalm 11:6, continued, "We boarded the aircraft around 11 am from Abuja. My team and I, a total of eleven people, including seven ministers of God, were on board. The plane took off around 11:15 am. Thirty minutes into the flight, the pilot announced that the weather was bad in Lagos. Later, he announced that due to the bad weather, he would either return to Abuja or attempt a safety landing in Ibadan, but Ibadan was experiencing heavy downpour accompanied by storm as well, making it unsafe. The pilot decided to try his best to get to Lagos. We were expecting a safe landing, but what we experienced was indescribable."
As the aircraft struggled to land, Prophet Hezekiah recounted, "The next passenger in front of me pointed out a problem, but a Xejet aircraft crew member assured him not to worry. As we continued on the journey, the aircraft couldn't land as planned, and whenever it approached Lagos, it would turn back due to strong winds. The pilot eventually said he would try to land, but anything could happen. As the aircraft landed, it turned in the opposite direction and lifted up again, and I screamed. I prayed, 'The God of my fathers, the God of Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola, God of my calling, take over the flight from the pilot.' As I said those words, the aircraft plunged into the grassy area at the airport and stopped. If it hadn't swerved into the grass, we would have entered the airport's tarred road and hit the airport fence, causing an explosion. We had to break the emergency exit to escape. We jumped down from the emergency exit. I saw death that day, but thank God for His goodness."
Other members of the CAC World Evangelistic Outreach who were part of the trip included Secretary of the outreach, Pastor J.O. Makinwa; Superintendent of CAC Oke-Osun DCC, Pastor E.O. Alalade; District Superintendent of CAC Goodness District, Pastor J.O. Popoola; Personal Interpreter of the General Evangelist, Pastor Femi Adefowora; Personal Assistant to the General Evangelist, Mr. Marvelous Okunola; Mr. Lawrence Bamiteko; and others.
Prophet Hezekiah concluded, "The summary of my testimony is that the God of CAC took over the battle, and we were saved by mercy."