Evangelist Lydia Idoko is the wife of a former Chief Judge of Benue State, the late Justice Alhassan Idoko. Mummy Idoko, as fondly called by her admirers, is the Founder and Overseer of Faith Women Fellowship Ministries with headquarters in Makurdi, Benue State.
She was once the Executive Officer in the Health Management Board and one-time State Executive Secretary of Benue State Christian Pilgrim Board, the position she held until she resigned to concentrate fully on the ministry she established on May 29, 1986.
In her quest to transform lives, the Lily Idoko Foundation was established on May 29, 1994 for humanitarian services.
Today, the Foundation has helped countless less privileged families, widows across Benue and beyond with food, clothing, medical bills and scholarship, as well as empowerment of women in small scale businesses with interest-free and non-refundable finances.
Educational background
I have a certificate in Business Administration from the Benue State Polytechnic and a certificate in Theology from World of Life Bible School.
I was doing a distance learning Degree Program in LLB Law at the University of Abuja when my husband became ill.
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The condition of his health compelled me to discontinue the program,though we finally lost him.
Career background
I have a desired goal to set up a centre for the total child, to help women in public and private offices and business train up their children in line with the biblical injunction, “Train up a child in the way he should grow, and when he is old he will not depart from it” Proverb 22:6.
While praying towards it, I enrolled for a Child Evangelism Ministry Training and after completion, I further decided to enrol in Child Evangelism Fellowship Training as well, in order to help me to acquire deeper knowledge in raising godly children for families and society.
What growing up was like
I was a victim of a broken home.
My father took custody of me when I turned eight years old.
My father believed in me and had always encouraged me as a female child to do better than ten sons.
This made me to believe in myself and confident that God will make me one of His jewels in life.
I was exposed to hard work, strict discipline and self-actualization to become the woman God intended me to be.
My beloved father also desired that I should become an important woman in life.
Challenges faced in life
I have personally discovered that life is a battle field. Human beings are actors; everyone takes a bow at the end of their act.
To me, every challenge in life is a platform for personal advancement.
I surrendered every challenge I ever had to God to handle because no one can handle his/her challenges without the help of God who is all knowing.
Lessons learnt over the years
My greatest lesson in life is people; so many people are with hearts too deep to uncover.
Their thoughts are too obscure to discern and words too sweet to doubt.
But what is man? “Man’s heart is full of wicked intent.”
The trend and direction of some people are only towards evil, man’s heart is full of hypocrisy, eye service, double dealings, self-centeredness, deception, pride and laziness among others.
How my passion for humanitarian services started and how long I have been in it
My passion for humanitarian services is enormous.
First and foremost, I have been desirous to be used by God to meet the needs of the less privileged, the needy and vulnerable.
Love for God and people is all about sharing the good news of salvation and meeting the financial and material needs of others through the resources God has blessed us with.
God has assigned us to help others.
My greatest moment in life is to put smiles on the faces of people, especially the less privilege, poor and the needy, vulnerable, widows, motherless and fatherless children.
My humanitarian career started right from my teenage years when I used to beg my parents to give me some food stuff, money and my old clothes to give to my age mates from poor homes.
Even when I got married, I continued to share almost all we had as a family with other families, until in 1994 when God changed my name from Lydia to Lily.
Prayerfully, ‘Lily Idoko Foundation’ was established in other to carry out my humanitarian services in a higher dimension.
By the grace of God,the Foundation has helped countless families, including some ministers of the gospel and their families.
The Foundation distributed food stuffs, clothing, and empowered women in small scale business with financial support, with no refund or interest.
Countless women and widows who benefited from this gesture have become self-reliant.
The foundation has also paid house rents for some pastors, assisted some families in settling their medical bills, offered scholarship to children from indigent families.
My passion is transformation of lives and preaching the gospel of Christ Jesus so that men can live righteously, thereby promoting godliness, holiness, purity and righteousness.
What motivated the establishment of the foundation?
In my quest to put smiles on the faces of the masses, God divinely changed my name from Lydia to Lily, and the only way I could immortalize the divine name was to, through the leading of the Holy Spirit, establish Lily Idoko Foundation on May 29, 1994.
It was also to commemorate the 8th national anniversary of Faith Women Fellowship Ministry.
My love for humanity also motivated the setting up of the foundation.
My view on harmful widowhood practices in Nigeria
I was once a victim of harmful widowhood maltreatment after I lost my husband. It was the grace of God that sustained me and my children.
I did some research on harmful widowhood practice in Nigeria despite modernization.
The study revealed self-centeredness, illiteracy, poverty, male dominance, religious belief, tradition, cultural practice, poor socio-economic status as factors responsible for the harmful practices.
I discovered that there are certain cultural imbalances against widows and even widowers that leave the victims disorganized and traumatized.
To this end, a widow in the Nigerian society is most times denied her late husband’s property, made to perform harmful rites, and undergoes unjust discrimination and inhumane treatment.
However, our Foundation is making effort at empowering such women spiritually and physically.
We encourage them to have a personal encounter with Jesus Christ as this is the foundation of godliness that will end the trauma and totally heal them of emotional torture.
We also, through our organised Women of Excellence, Men and Women of Worth conferences as well as workshop, equip them spiritually to live a sound moral, spiritual and peaceful life.
We also try to meet their financial needs.
Most cherished gift and where it came from
My most cherished gift in life is the Holy Bible which I bought by myself when I was a teenager.
Also, a Holy Bible presented to me by my late husband during courtship.
How I met my Husband
My uncle’s wife introduced me to him.
I was very young then in Kaduna.
My most cherished attributes of him
He was very loving, caring, supportive and encouraging.
He never wanted to see my tears, always thankful for the things I do for him.
He was very supportive of my chosen career.
A great father, amiable husband and a God-fearing man. In fact, he left a legacy for us as a corrupt-free judge.
My top five wish lists
First, to serve God more devotedly than before and never to associate with wrong people.
Secondly, to inculcate godly and excellent moral spiritual values in people.
Thirdly, to influence people with godly virtues which God has entrusted into my hands and never to betray the confidence of God.
Fourthly, to live a practical godly and sincere life. Fifthly, to be a role model in godly attributes and to guide many to truly honour God in all things.
Favourite kind of music
Faith-thrilling gospel music
The first App I check in the morning/bedtime
My bible App.
What I wouldn’t be caught wearing
I will never be caught wearing anything that depicts the attire of a whorish and subtle woman.
I teach women to be modest in their dressing, to create value for self and family name by their outlook.
My best travel destination and why
United Kingdom – For holiday and for research to enhance my leadership performance in the ministry.
I love to be on holiday in London from time to time to enable me have a good rest and to pray, reflect on my performance and to meditate to enhance the progress of my career.
How I relax
I relax by taking half or one-hour nap, sometimes by studying my bible, reading some books or listening to gospel music.
I also do a lot of reading, writing and meditating on the word of God.
Best food
I love semolina with vegetable soup and hot tea.
My definition of lifestyle
My definition of lifestyle is very simple.
First is to look fresh, happy and elegant.
Favourite fashion design
Traditional attire with simple embroidering.
Favourite perfume
Poison by Christian Dior.
Favourite designer shoe and bag
My favourite shoes are from Clarks and my favourite bags are Prada.
Mum’s advice that stuck with you
My mum’s advices are: “Give yourself respect and be yourself.”
“Never make friends because friends can lead one to hell.”
“Never covet but instead be hard working.”
“Stay humble and simple but be principled in dealings with everybody.”
“Give no room to gossipers and accept no gossips.” “Above all love and fear God genuinely.”
Favourite spot, colours and weather
My favourite spot is the House of God and in God’s Presence.
My colours are purple, gold and lilac while my favourite weather is cold weather.
Beauty routine
I love to be neat, simple and natural in all my outlooks.
No makeup.
Life achievement
My life being dedicated to God and that of my family is my greatest achievement.
The level of ministry attainment and countless souls won into the kingdom of God, being generous to countless families in sharing the love of God and relief materials in cash and kind through Lily Idoko Foundation, the ministry’s Charitable Department.
Role models
The Lord Jesus Christ, Lydia, Esther, Naomi, Phoebe of the Bible and great men of God with proven integrity and self-respect in all things.
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