A Conversation on Faith and Finance

Dr. Ofure Ogbidi isn’t just another regular doctor, she is the doctor who raised millions and secured a bus during her tenure for her chapter—CMDA Nigeria Students’ arm, UBTH. With her as a vessel, the chapter also sponsored over a 100 students for a national conference, travelling all the way from Benin to Nassarawa. The grace of God has been evident in her life, even as she now mentors young believers in the faith while she also learns from those who have gone ahead of her. 

 

She is a devoted member of Celebration Church International(CCI) under Pst. Emmanuel Iren and a committed member of the vision and mission of CMDA Nigeria (Christian Medical and Dental Association of Nigeria). 

 

Well, these are what anyone would see and say from a distance about Dr. Ofure. I believe everyone has a story and a version of who Dr. Ofure is to them, and below is mine, just to give you a background of the wealth of insight you will be getting through the next lines.

 

I came to know Dr. Ofure during my transition from a 400-level (PathPharm) class to my 500-level subspecialty posting, and I must say that her wealth of knowledge is one that came timely. 

 

You must have heard that the PathPharm class in medical school is one of the toughest, so just imagine going through the so-called toughest year of medical school and hitting rock bottom on almost every other aspect of your life—spiritual, financial, physical, and mental. Yeah! In those moments, I was always in search of someone who could pour into me, and Dr. Ofure created that time for me out of her busy schedule, and with her own exams also on the way. 

 

By the way, the article on the interview of Dr. Covenant Osondu — Conversations on Leadership and Balance was one inspired by her advice. I told her how I loved to pick brains and she said, “Then you should pick National’s (like she fondly calls him)”. Sorry for the lengthy preamble, this one is truly special to me.

 

Alright! Let’s dive in.

Q1: The student arm of CMDA Nigeria, UBTH, secured a bus during your tenure and ran a successful campaign—the Project 200—where you carried over a 100 medical and dental students to a National Conference at Nassarawa state at a discounted price. I know you don’t attribute this to yourself, nonetheless, Ma, how were you able to pull that off?

 

Well! Like you rightly said, in God’s mercy and grace, I truly was just a vessel, and all I had to do was to surrender to what He had planned out.

 

Nonetheless, here are a couple of things I would say made me believe in such a possibility:

1. Exposure
2. Obedience to His promptings over time
3. Growing in the understanding of Matt 6

 

1. Exposure

The year before I became President, I was privileged to be exposed to some dimensions of faith and finance. My church, CCI had our building project launched the year before in December, and our lead pastor, Apostle Iren, had made a call for partnership for those who were willing to partner with the church towards the project with at least 3 million naira. They were to indicate by coming to the front.

 

I remember seeing so many people come out and thinking how those who had below 3 million to partner with would not even have been able to come to the front because there’d have been no space—some of them even had to stand in the crowd wherever they were.

 

That moment was the straw that broke the camel’s back because even though I’d had prior experiences, this was the confirmation that reassured me that there was indeed money in this world, and that God could provide for His own, be it a person, a group of people or a project.

2. Obedience to His Promptings Over Time

Faith and finance function on the crossroad of giving and receiving, but this must be understood correctly to avoid a skewed sense of entitlement/ownership where one believes the world owes them a return for their good deeds. True obedience to God’s promptings—especially when it involves significant sacrifices like emptying your account or dedicating immense effort—serves primarily to break this entitlement mentality and build a mentality of stewardship, shifting your focus from ownership and a demand for human help to a reliance on God. By going “all in” for others, you dismantle the belief that you own your resources and that people are obligated to assist you and instead align yourself with the understanding that God is the ultimate source who directs resources where they are needed, including yours.

 

This act of obedience essentially validates the possibility of divine provision; when you witness God using you as a vessel to meet another’s need, it serves as tangible proof that He can equally raise vessels to meet yours. This experience builds a foundational confidence that if God can move your heart to care for others, He is infinitely capable of raising others to care for you, allowing you to rest in the assurance of Matthew 6 that your Father will not leave your needs unattended. You stop looking at your own limitations or bank account as the final verdict and start trusting in God’s proven capacity to provide through His people. The emphasis then becomes trusting in God and being a good steward of His resources.

 

This leads me to the next point—growing in the understanding of Matt 6.

 

3. Growing in the understanding of Matt 6:26

This scripture contains the foundational principle of divine provision, and it says:

 

‭‭”Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” 

 

In this passage, we see the three ways to create wealth—sowing, reaping, and storing/gathering, yet the passage tells us that we don’t need to lean on these to be taken care of, because of the Fatherhood of God. This passage brought me to the understanding that God will surely cater for our needs—food, clothes, shelter, just name it. And the beauty about this is that the faith of some believers have even made them add to these needs, sort of like a blank cheque within the confines of God’s will.

 

Now, this in no way invalidates the principles of working hard, saving and investing—especially if you’re someone who understands the responsibility of wealth building and you realise that God wants to be able to trust you with the economy of nations—but the knowledge that Jesus said this helps you breathe easier because you now understand that your Father plans to meet your needs even before you ask.

 

So for me, when I became the President of the student arm of CMDA UBTH, I had no worries of where money would come from, because I knew Him to be a God that takes care of His own. We, CMDA Nigeria, are His own, and so all I had to do was to key into that covenant.

 

At the end though, you still need to remember that Apostle Paul said those who don’t work should not eat, and this highlights the place of being a responsible believer. So, try not to be the Christian that looks for the bad extremes to stay in, or you’d end up making a mockery of our faith, which in this case would be knowing God loves you enough to provide and so you work because of this realisation (“I laboured more than them all because of the grace at work in me”).

 

Comment by the Interviewer: Wow! Wow! Wow! This just makes things clearer. Because I remember that while I was serving as the Financial Secretary of the Organizing committee of CEC, 2025 you kept saying one thing, “Don’t worry, money will come”. I now see where all that confidence stemmed from — He always takes care of His own.

Q3: This is just a bonus question recommended by a friend of mine, and I believe it will be of value to our audience starting out 2026. You are one who has a lot mentors and mentees, so how do you:

1. Stay accountable to your mentors and how do you manage to sustain that relationship?

2. Keep up with your mentees and ensure you carry each one along.

 

Lol!

With regards to my mentors. It is indeed a fact that I have many (six to be precise), alongside other fathers and mothers of the Faith who are not necessarily my mentors—Dr. Eghe for example—that I still have to consult and keep in touch with.

 

Firstly, on the question about sustaining relationships with mentors, I would say give yourself room for grace. There are times that life can get so busy and disorienting and you might not be at your best, and that is fine and understandable. But it becomes a problem when you feel too guilty to approach them again. There were seasons, like during this Housejob for instance, when I was quite occupied and sometimes all I could do was react to my mentor’s status, tell them how something they posted had a positive impact on me, and wish them well on their special days like birthdays, or an anniversary. And many times, that’s all it takes to keep the relationship going in those seasons.

 

Secondly, I endeavour to create time to be available for their programs and projects as much as I can. I mean, why would I be scrolling through social media when a mentor is having a webinar? Or see a flyer of theirs and not repost? It doesn’t mean I have to stay through the entire program per se, but I believe that you should be able to stay long enough to be able to grasp something that struck you enough to serve as a building block for your next conversation with them. Something like, “Oh, Sir. I attended your webinar yesterday, and this part really stood out for me”. Sometimes, it doesn’t take that much effort—just your name popping up as part of the audience can do the job of sustaining that relationship. Even better when you now actively engage the comment section in the virtual meetings.

 

Thirdly, it’s important to learn to appreciate your mentors. There are certain relationships where you don’t have what it takes to really offer value back, to the degree those pouring into you do, and that’s where appreciation comes in. Being particular about how much their entrance into your life has changed you in specific areas makes them know that their value in your life is acknowledged and leaves them inclined to want to pour into you more.

 

Lastly, I would say understand your mentors and the dynamics of the relationship you have with them. There are some of my mentors that all it takes to keep that mentor-mentee relationship going is a lengthy conversation once a while—say 2-4 times a year, while there are others that are characterized by more regular communication. 

 

Basically, these are the ways I have been able to sustain my relationship with my mentors over the years.

 

Then for the aspect of carrying my mentees along and fulfilling my duties to them.
I will summarize how I have been able to do that in two ways, “Strategy” and “Understanding the needs of your mentee”. 

 

The nature of the season you are in will call for different strategies. To expand on this I will give you an example of the one I’m currently using for 16 of my female mentees. With the rigor of housemanship, I had to pray about it and got the impression that it would be best if we all engaged ourselves in a group chat, and so far, it has worked wonders. This doesn’t mean there aren’t times when I had to get on a one-on-one call with them, but that’s where understanding the needs of your mentee(s) per time truly comes into play.

Conclusion

If there is one thing to take away from Dr. Ofure it is the challenge to stop seeing our bank accounts or our busy schedules as limitations, and begin to embrace exposure that expands our faith and the grace that sustains our relationships. 

 

Whether you are leading a chapter or just trying to survive through school, the lesson remains the same: You don’t have to be perfect or have it all figured out, you just have to be present, obedient, and willing to trust the Father who takes care of His own.

 

The legacy of Dr. Ofure isn’t just about a bus or raising millions, it is a monument to what is possible when a young believer decides to stop looking at their own limitations and starts looking at God’s capacity. Be that vessel today.

 

These conversations are my little way of being a vessel that lets you interface with greatness.

 

 

 

 

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