Bimbo Odukoya, popularly called Pastor Bimbo, was the wife of Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, the fonder of the Lagos-based Fountain of Life Church. Bimbo was not just a pastor's wife, she was a very popular Pastor on relationship and marriage and her audience cut across denominations and even religions.

That was why when the news first broke that she was aboard the crashed aircraft, many people received it with anguish and grief. She had, with her ministry, been able to impact positively on the lives of many youths and married couples.

The thrust of her teachings was total submission by wives, abstinence by singles and evils of abortion among others, which were always practical and driven home with true-life examples. She had a very wide audience of the young and adults as her television programme, Singles and Married is televised in 16 television stations across Nigeria and on a few stations in Ghana, Kenya and England .

Apart from the television programme, Pastor Bimbo had a very popular class on relationships every Monday, which was widely attended by spinsters and bachelors, many of whom are not members of her church. This invariably translated into more crowds for the normal church service, as they never got tired of listening to her.

Not many people knew that Pastor Bimbo's Singles and Married Ministry was established by her husband, Pastor Taiwo Odukoya. It was Taiwo, a mechanical engineer-turned Pastor that appointed his wife the head of the ministry. The ministry was conceived as a means of teaching youths, especially eligible spinsters and bachelors, the nitty-gritty of marriage before they venture into it.

However, Singles and Married soon became very popular, much more than the Church and with the ministry's popularity, Pastor Bimbo became a household name. Despite the ministry's phenomenal growth, she refused, whenever the question of her greater visibility than her husband's was raised, to bask in the glow of public adulation that followed her success. She often took pains to attribute her success to the support given her by her husband. "I have a wonderful and understanding husband who allows me to walk in my call. I respect him dearly and he is my mentor," she once said.

Pastor (Mrs.) Bimbo Odukoya was born on September 12, 1960 to the family of Mr. & Mrs. A.O Williams; she is the third of five children. She had her primary and secondary education at St Mary's School and Holy Child College respectively, both in Lagos . She attended Federal Government College, Ijanikin, for her 'A' level before proceeding to the University of Ibadan where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Archaeology.

She became a born-again Christian just as she was about leaving Federal Government College. According to her, two weeks after she gave her life to Christ, she was made the Vice President of her School's Christian Fellowship and that gave her an indication that God wanted to use her.

"The position meant that I was to lead other ladies in the fellowship, most of whom had been born-again before me." she said. But it was at the University of Ibadan where she studied History and Archaeology that her faith grew. It was also there that she met Taiwo who was to later become her husband and father of her three children - Toluwani, Olujimi and Oluwatobiloba.

After leaving the university, she worked briefly at the National Theatre, Lagos before entering full time ministry. She was ordained a pastor in 1992 by Bishop Mike Okonkwo of the Redeemed Evangelical Mission. Bimbo maintained regular columns in both the local and international newspapers and magazines.

Before her death, other ministries fashioned after hers had appeared on the scene. But none of these ministries succeeded in building a base that is similar to hers. In fact, the gap between her and the ministers who were in her field only widened more and more in her lifetime. She authored the book How to Choose Life Partner: 165 Questions to Ask.

In this insightful book, she dealt with practical aspects of marriage and relationships based on God-given principles. She tackled issues as abuse and infidelity' head-on and pointed out how they influence the relationship between a man and a woman.

As a testimony to her acceptance/popularity in all spheres and levels of life and society, Pastor Bimbo Odukoya had received many national and international awards for her trail­blazing efforts to humanity. These include:

The Midas Touch Award 1995; The Strong Tower Mission for the Outstanding Compassionate Friend Award 1997/98; Women of Courage, The Woman of Distinction 1999, in recognition of her immense contribution to the uplift of women in the society; Ladies Christian Fellowship International, 2nd Merit Award for Women in Ministry in acknowledgement of her fruitful stewardship in the Lord's vineyard and contribution to Kingdom Development 2000 and the Outstanding Young Persons Of Nigeria Award 2000, given to her by the Junior Chambers International, in recognition of her exemplary - Moral and Environmental Leadership.

Others are The Nigerian Women Award-2000 in recognition of her contributions to the Nigerian society; The Nigerian Woman Of the Year Award in the category of Role Model and Inspiration; The Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan Distinguished Alumni Award 2000, Christian Missionary Fund Award ­ in recognition of her service in the ministry; People, State and Resources Magazine, The Woman of Merit Gold Award 2001, City People for The Female Achiever in the Religious sector 2001; African Independent Television (AIT) The Emotan Award in the Celebration of Feminine Virtues; NTA 2 Channel 5, Merit Award presented to Singles & Married as the best Independent producer in the year 2001; The Christian Support Award in recognition of her Contributions to the Christian ministry 2001.

She also bagged The Distinguished West African Leadership Gold Award 2001 in recognition of her distinguished leadership role in Nigeria; The University of Ibadan Christian Students Award 2002 in appreciation of her enormous impact.
* Culled from The Comet