Mrs. Mary Foluke Shem, wife of Commandant Sunday Shem Obafaiye, is one of the children of the late Evangelist Timothy Obadare of WOSEM. In fact, she was the Personal Assistant to the reverred evangelist who incidentally is being buried today. In this interview with YEMISI ADENIRAN, She debunked the rumour that she went to Channels Television to plead on her husband's behalf.
Why have you not included Obafaiye in your name?
My husband does not want it so. He wants me to bear his own name directly. Shem is his own name not a generational name.
Is it true that you went to Channels T.V. management to plead over " My Oga At The Top" saga?
This is not just funny but it is very strange. But you know it is normal to have all kinds of rumour spread over such an incident. I was not even in Lagos when the event took place. I was in my husband's village for his father's burial. There was no network, so, I did not even know what happened.
It was when we got back to Lagos that we now heard and saw what it had turned to. And if I had I been in town, why would I go and be begging. What would I have gone to beg for? The show was a live one, what they spread was on the internet, how many places would I have gone? Besides is he a school child and Channels, his school where he would be disciplined? I never went there and I thank God because He has been in control since.
What's your assessment of your husband?
He is a good man, self-disciplined and God-fearing. He is a responsible man, respectable and a workaholic. He takes his job and superiors seriously and of course doesn't joke with his family.
You were Papa Obadare's Personal Assistant until he died. What were the challenges of the job and how are you missing him?
There was no big deal in handling that job. It only needed a very dedicated heart, a heart that is hooked on God and one that is very committed. I was doing it for my own father, so I did not see it as any big deal. As for papa's death, he lived a glorious life, a life that was committed to a God-given assignment.
He was a good influence on his generation, he made a great impact and we all will miss him for a long time. But what can we do? He has to go and he has gone. It is now left for us to try and contribute our own quota to life as much as we can to influence our world and make a good impact in God's kingdom.
How are you enjoying Ibadan?
We thank God for everything. Ibadan is a quiet place, not like Lagos. Although we have just come to Ibadan, it is a new place but we are adapting really well. It's a nice place her and we are enjoying God's love. We thank God for everything.
National Mirror