In a recent interview with PUNCH, Gospel Film producer, Mike
Bamiloye of Mount Zion Film Productions and his wife, Gloria, happily
talked about their 25-year-old marriage.
How they met: We met in 1983 after I graduated from the
College of Education in Ilesha. I saw her during one of my visits to the
campus Christian fellowship drama group. The Lord is the attraction. I
knew it was the will of God. We didn’t just start talking because of
marriage. We were already working together in the Christian fellowship. I
was the drama director and she was a member of the fellowship.
How he wooed her:
It is a normal thing for any Christian that has
the spirit of God in her to pray first in a situation like that. She
said she had to seek God’s face and I agreed because that was the normal
thing. After some time she knew it was God’s will and told me. We were
working together in the ministry till we got married in 1988. We started
the ministry in 1985 with a few brethren. We had been working before
then in the Christian fellowship.
Challenges they encountered:
Mike: Yes there were. The oppositions were based on the fact
that I was involved only in the drama ministry, although I taught in a
school briefly. My parents were opposed to the fact that I wanted to
marry even though I was not working. Her parents saw that we didn’t
have tangible jobs. But we believed that we were working. We were doing
the work of God. But the opposition didn’t last for long. They all
reasoned with us, when we were about to get married.
How he proposed to her:
Mike: I just told her that the Lord led me to speak to her. I
prayed about it first. She said she would pray about it. There was no
kneeling down or giving of flowers.
Gloria: He asked me to marry him, I told him I didn’t know whether to say yes or no. I said I had to pray about it. He agreed.
Their Honeymoon:
Mike: No there was no honey moon. We did not even have money to go for any honey moon.
How would you describe each other?
Mike: She is a woman of faith and prayer, with great
understanding. She is hardworking and relates with people better than I
do. She is sociable.
Gloria: He is a man of God. He likes to do the right things,
and he loves God. He is always ready to say sorry. He doesn’t like to
hurt people’s feelings. He has his ego as a man, but he is very humble.
How would you describe your marriage so far?
Mike: Our marriage has produced great ministers. Our
children also are in the ministry, my first son is a drama producer and
director of Christian movies also, my second son is into music and our
third child is studying English in the university. She is a
scriptwriter. The marriage has been fantastic. It has been very good. It
has been highly productive and successful, and has given birth to many
fruits.
Gloria: It has been very wonderful and beautiful, because we
got it right from the initial stage. I thank God because I have been
enjoying the benefits. That is why I advice singles to seek God’s face
and pray for the right person.
How do you settle differences?
Mike: Once in a while there has been disagreement in
principles, but we always come together to agree. When there is a
disagreement, one party approaches the other, depending on whoever see
reasons first. There is always an agreement when there is a
disagreement. We work together and sometimes we disagree during film
productions but at the end of the day, we still have to reach an
agreement.
Gloria: We are children of God, and we cannot sleep without
forgiving each other. I do not want to miss rapture. We are able to cope
because we fear God. The fear of God has sustained our marriage.
Do you pay your wife to appear in your movies?
Mike: I do not pay people. In drama ministry, we don’t pay.
We give honorarium to the cast as the Lord provides. We only pay the
crew and hired hands. We work together, so I don’t pay her.
Do you operate a joint account?
Mike: We use the same back account and we are both
signatories to it. It is the major family account. But we still have
separate bank accounts.
How do you spend time together as a couple?
Mike: The ministry takes us around, so we travel together,
spend time together and we go out together. We also spend time together
with the children
Gloria: We travel together, and we always have time for each other.
What pet names do you call each other?
Mike: She calls me Brother Mike. She calls me that because
that was what she used to call me when we were in the fellowship before
we got married. Even the children call me Brother Mike sometimes. Other
ministers get surprised when she calls me Brother Mike. I call her Mummy
Daniel.
Gloria: I have tried sometimes to stop calling him Brother Mike, but I couldn’t.
