When, on 30 July 2023, the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, announced the renaming of 1st Ugbor Road in Oredo Local Government Area of the state after Archbishop Margaret Benson Idahosa, everyone who heard the news agreed that it was an honour well-deserved.
The Woman of God, preacher, author, the Archbishop of the Church of God Mission International (CGMI) and, indeed, Africa’s first female Archbishop, had just turned 80 and a thanksgiving service was being held at the Mega Convention 2023 in Utesi Community, Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of the state, in celebration of her 80th birthday.
At the event, Governor Obaseki said the road, which leads to Benson Idahosa University (BIU) Campus, was thenceforth to be known as Archbishop Margaret Benson Idahosa Road as an honour to her “for her contributions to the society, state and country”.
“Mama lives for all her children. She has sacrificed to make sure the children of the state have a good future. She provides healthcare and education to thousands of children in Edo State. We can’t thank you enough because God brought you to give us hope,” Obaseki said.
The governor described Archbishop Margaret Idahosa as an institution in Edo State, noting that it was impossible to talk about modern-day evangelism of the Pentecostal movement in Nigeria today without mentioning the Idahosa family.
“They have contributed to our society in the area of education, healthcare and youth empowerment. They have been a pillar of our society and our state,” he said.
But the 80th birthday celebration did not start with the thanksgiving. Earlier, there was the first edition of the Chancellor’s Public Lecture held at Benson Idahosa University (BIU) Campus in Benin City. The lecture, titled “Breaking the Glass Ceiling”, was delivered by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin, Prof Lilian I. Salami.
This was accompanied with the presentation of a book, “Christianity and Society: Essays in Honour of Archbishop Margaret Benson Idahosa”, with contributions from professors from 20 universities as well as several Church of God Mission (CGM) Pastors and Bishops.
That Archbishop (Dr.) Margaret Benson-Idahosa, wife of the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa, deserves all the accolades is not in doubt. Her passion for humanity shines through her dedication to empowering others through her religious, educational, and philanthropic work widely known in Nigeria and abroad.
Speaking of education, the Woman of God, whom many refer to as the founding mother of Nigerian Pentecostalism, is a trained educationist with a Masters degree in Education. She is also the Chancellor of Benson Idahosa University (BIU), Benin City. No wonder she established the Word of Faith Schools, which currently has more than 100 schools at kindergarten, primary and secondary levels all over Nigeria. Through these institutions, Dr. Margaret Benson-Idahosa provides scholarships for brilliant but indigent students.
But beyond education, her love for the less-privileged and abandoned babies led her to establish an orphanage home, My Sister’s Place, where such babies are cared for, with regular provision of food, clothes, healthcare, etc. She also, through her foundation, provides grants for widows to set up small businesses to maintain their families in the absence of their husbands.
Her humanitarian gesture is not limited to Edo State but extends to all other states and countries where Church of God Mission (CGMI) has branches.
In her commitment to nurturing leaders, Archbishop Margaret Idahosa established the International Leadership Resource Institute (ILRI) to teach leadership ethics and principles to pastors and other categories of leaders and church workers. She is also the President-General of the Christian Women Fellowship International (CWFI), a non-denominational body that is committed to teaching women how to discover their true potentials, to be good mothers, wives and instruments for end-time evangelism. Branches of this body are in North America, Europe and Africa. A 10,000-seat multi-purpose facility named the Restoration Centre has been built for this purpose. The centre is also committed to rehabilitating and empowering destitute young women with skills to help them become useful to themselves and society.
She is the Executive President of All Nations for Christ Bible degree programmes for local and international students.
Since the passing on her husband on 12 March 1998, Archbishop Margaret Idahosa has successfully steered the affairs of the church with over 4,000 branches across the country as well as Africa, Europe, North America and Asia. Those who had feared that her husband’s magnificent legacy may dwindle have since found that his widow is a talented, committed builder, leader and coordinator of repute. Rather than decline, the church has continued to grow in leaps and bounds.
In furtherance of the founding mission of Archbishop Benson Idahosa to “merge the hand of prayer with the hand of medicine to heal the whole person – spirit, mind and body”, the church is also dedicated to the extension of health delivery service to mankind, hence it established, in 1989, the Faith Mediplex Group of Hospitals in Benin. The hospital, like all the legacies of Archbishop Idahosa, has since grown into a multi-speciality teaching hospital complex with multiple training programmes and extension hospitals in Abuja and Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. The group of hospitals provides medicare for both church and non-church members with little or no charges at all, especially for the indigent. Only recently, an annex of the hospital, known as the Big Ben Children’s Hospital (BBCH), came on board to specifically provide state-of-the-art labour and delivery facilities, obstetrical theatre, neonatal ICU, and birthing centre suites.
In recognition of her contributions to the society both at home and abroad, Archbishop Margaret Idahosa has been conferred with honorary awards/tributes, including a certificate of special tribute by the Governor of the State of Michigan; a certificate of special tribute from Senator of the 14th Senate District of the State of Michigan, and a certificate of special tribute from the 43rd District of the State of Michigan, USA, all in the year 2000. She was conferred with the Justice of Peace by the Edo State Government in the year 2001, and chosen as one of the 100 most influential Nigerian women in 2002 by Nigeria’s News Weekly Magazine.
On 14 February 2008, Archbishop Margaret Idahosa was conferred with the national honour of the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) by the Federal Government of Nigeria. Also, on 21 October 2008, the University of Theology, Republic of the Philippines awarded her with an honorary doctorate.
Her other honours and awards include the Nigeria Union of Journalists Award of Honour for Outstanding Contributions to the Propagation of the Gospel (2011), the Global Network of Christian Leaders Award of Excellence in Ministry (2011), Fellowship Award of the Nigerian Society for Experimental Biology (2012), CEPAN Africa Honorary Award as African Education Icon (2012), Enunuedo Award in Recognition of her Contributions to the Prestige of the Benin Community (2012), Doctor of Practical Ministry from The University of America (2014), Certificate of Recognition, State of California Senate (2014), Organisation for Women in Science for the Developing World award in appreciation of her contributions to the uplift of women and the educational development of the girl-child (2017), and Honorary Doctorate of Letters (D.Litt.) Honoris Causa, University of Benin, Benin City (2018).
Born on 29 July 1943 to a royal family in Benin Kingdom of Edo State, Nigeria, Margret Idahosa obtained a Diploma in Home Economics from Leeds Polytechnic in the United Kingdom and a Master’s degree in Divinity from Friends International Christian University. She also obtained a Master’s of Education degree from Oral Roberts University, Oklahoma, USA.
She was married to the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa, the founder of the Church of God Mission International. She was inducted into the ministry on 24 May 1983, and became a bishop on 5 April 1998. She became an archbishop in November 2009.
Archbishop Margaret Idahosa has authored a number of books, prominent among which are The Womb of Harvest, Tearing the Veil, The Female Minister, and Expansion without Limit.
