Reverend Akin Gabriel Adedayo is the president and senior pastor of Glorious King Christian Centre, Alapere, Lagos. An executive member of the Lagos State Chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, he shares some remarkable events that have shaped his journey so far in this interview with Eric Dumo
What has the journey been like at 60?
So far so good, the life journey has been good. I was actually born on March 2, 1955. I lived in my hometown in Ondo State where I did my primary education. After my secondary school education was truncated, I left home for a long time. I went to Warri in Delta State and other places in the South-South before coming down to Lagos.
And what were you doing in those places?
I did so many things along the line. I went into trading, photography and painting at a time. Later I went into car selling and also transportation business as well. I did so many things just to get going because I was left to fend for myself after I left home when I was 15. I had to take care of myself having come from a polygamous home. I was just doing whatever my hands could find and also trying to see if I could further my education.
How easy was it?
Life was tough for me as a young man but then I had no choice than to face it squarely. In 1975, I found the Lord and sweetness came into my life. My life changed. I was in Church of God Mission in 1976 but I found Christ while I was in Warri. All the while, I had been going to church but never experienced Christ. But in 1975; that wonderful experience came for me and my life has never remained the same. Reverend Ayo Oritsejafor was also in that church at the time. He had just come to Warri and I was also there, serving the Lord with all my heart.
Didn’t you think of furthering your education?
I wanted to travel abroad for studies so that I could have some business knowledge before returning to the country to serve the Lord fully. I wanted to acquire this knowledge so that I could live without having to rely on offerings. But that was not the will of God. So many things happened that changed the course of my life. Finally, I went to Bible School and in 1984, God told me it was time to get into the ministry fully. Reverend Oritsejafor travelled at the time and so when he came back, I told him I was going to see him for a discussion but he also said the same thing to me. When we met, he asked me to say what I had in mind and I told him that God told me it was time for me to be fully involved in the ministry. It was then he revealed to me that while he and his wife were away abroad, God had already told him that He wanted me to be fully involved in the ministry. As a result of that, Pastor Ayo brought me into the ministry and from that point, I knew God was at work in my life already.
About a year later, I was transferred to assist the pastor at the church’s second largest branch in Warri. In 1986, I was ordained by Arch Bishop Benson Idahosa at the recommendation of Reverend Oritsejafor. From there, I pastored several branches before moving with Pastor Ayo when he left to establish his ministry in 1987.
However, in 1992, God told me to come to Lagos. At first I didn’t know how it was going to happen because I had nobody in Lagos and I had no money to survive in the city. I said to myself that I would obey God’s call even if it cost me my life. Though, I was running a small business, I had no money to live or even establish a ministry in Lagos. I came just to obey the Lord. It has been very tough but God has been so good over these years.
As a child, what were your ambitions? Did you ever wish to be a man of God?
My father was a farmer in Ondo. I really loved to be a lawyer, doctor and journalist as a child because I saw the three professions as avenues to help people. But as the years rolled by, those dreams were washed away by the storms that came by. I lost my father along the line.
How was life when your father died?
As a young boy growing up under a farmer’s roof, life was just modest. While he was alive, things were better but by the time he died, things took a different turn for me. Many of my father’s property went into the hands of individuals who never cared about the happiness and the unity of the family. I don’t like talking about this because I am very emotional. It is not as if I have not forgiven people, it pains me a lot whenever I remember these things.
I went through terrible experiences at the hands of family members after the death of my father. But for God who was by my side, I wouldn’t have been alive today. I ran to Lagos to look for a job. I did not contact anybody back home in Ondo. From there, I went to Aba in Abia State, Ikot-Ekpene in Akwa-Ibom State before going to Warri to begin a new life. I was away from home for over 10 years without contacting anybody in the family.
But I thank God for how far He has brought me today. I am happy to be His servant and leading his people under my watch. It is the best thing to have happened to me and I give Him praise for that.
As a boy, did you do the things that boys of your age did at the time like playing football and chasing after girls?
I did play football. I enjoyed the sport. I remember breaking my toes on many occasions because of how often I played football. Football was a huge part of my life.
But I didn’t have the time visiting the cinemas or chasing after girls like the other boys did. Even though everybody around me was doing those things, God delivered me from them one way or the other. By the time I would have been chasing girls, I ran away from home in Ondo to find a new life in places that I hardly knew anybody.
When I was in Lagos, some people tried to lure me into smoking. The first time they gave me a cigarette and I took a puff, I coughed endlessly and vowed never to try it again. After that moment, I never went close to those people again. I realised it wasn’t going to add any value to my life, so I never tried it again.
When you found Christ, what was the reaction like from your family members?
I had cut off every member of my family completely by the time I found Christ. Nobody knew where I was. My siblings loved me but it was not genuine love.
Were you the only child of your mother?
No, we were about five. The last child of my step-mother is far older than I am. She is my senior with over 13 years. I had a senior brother who is late now. But I am the first for my mother and father.
If you hadn’t cut off from your family, do you think that they would have stopped you from going into the ministry full time?
I don’t think so. I discovered that I had to fight for my life and that was what kept me going. When I wanted to get married, I went home to inform them and let them know I am still alive.
What was the reaction like from family members and relatives after you suddenly showed up after so many years?
It was like a carnival. A lot of people had collected all sorts of money from my mother promising to find and bring me back home. My mother had just finished mourning my death by the time I came back home. When I suddenly appeared at our family house in Ondo, it was like a dead man coming back to life.
My elder brothers who had taken control of my father’s property and business refused to fund my education, forcing me to run away from home to search for a new life. So, having been away for more than 10 years without any information of my whereabouts, it was assumed that I was dead. My mother, after being duped by several persons who pretended to have the power to bring me back home, actually went into mourning. She was convinced I was dead. I arrived Ondo on the day they were removing the mourning clothes from her body. It was a remarkable and memorable day for me and all who witnessed the scene. It was just God at work.
At what point did you meet your wife and how did it happen?
We met in Church of God Mission around the late 1970s. I was in the choir, doing so many things before she later joined in 1977. One day, we met at a sister’s house and the lady asked if I could help take another sister who today is my wife home on my motorcycle. I agreed and took her home. After that, we became friends. One day, I was riding my motorcycle and I had a voice speak to me that the lady was my wife. Immediately I rebuked the devil thinking he was the one who was saying that to me because those days, we were very spiritual.
The next day, I was praying at a friend’s house for a wife, asking God to lead me to the right woman and that same voice spoke to me again that, that woman was my wife. But I didn’t tell her anything after hearing that voice. After many years, I talked to her about it and God made it come to pass.
But before we got married, she had to go to school and there was stiff resistance from her family. They never wanted us to get married. Her family resisted us for six years. Her parents said it was over their dead bodies that I would marry their daughter. But later, they gave their consent after she completed her National Youth Service Corp.
Apart from hearing a voice from God, what were those things that you saw in your wife that truly endeared her to you?
There was nothing really. Those days, you were not looking at beauty or any physical attributes, we were just serving God and letting Him choose what was best for us. I wanted somebody who could serve God together with me and I saw that in her.
When God eventually spoke to me about her, I didn’t even take a moment to look at the way she was. Of course she was not as beautiful as she is today. I am the one, through God’s grace, that transformed her like this. Today, my wife is a very beautiful and elegant woman brimming with the grace of God. I am so happy for her life and how far God has brought us together. She is a complete woman with great qualities. There was never a time I had to show her that I am the man in the house. The devil had shown up on several occasions through different challenges but the grace of God has always been sufficient for us to deal with them. We apply a lot of the word of God in our marriage, mix it up with plenty of patience and understanding. It has worked wonders for us and we can only praise God for that. There has been no regret so far.
Being a good-looking man, how have you been able to handle advances from women even within your congregation?
I am a very friendly person by nature and virtue of God’s calling upon my life. But when I relate with people, before long they would have found out what I stand for and represent. I don’t have to say it verbally that I am not into certain things. Even when you are blinking your eyes or licking your lips, I would interpret it to be something else so that it doesn’t even get to me. So, deliberately, I don’t take notice when women try to entice and seduce me.
I am into deliverance ministry and on one occasion, I spotted a voice and said there was a witch in the place. I asked the person to come out for deliverance and a lady did. When I was praying for her and asked her what her mission was, she said she was sent to entice me sexually and she told them that it was impossible. I don’t know why she said so but that was what she said. I drew the line long time ago and maybe that is what they see in the realm of the spirit that made them conclude that it is impossible to seduce me sexually. I pray it never happens because there could be very dangerous situations.
Some critics have accused the church of being one of the biggest problems of Nigeria, do you agree with this?
When we say the church, we must be very careful because it is not everybody that goes to church that is actually part of the church. It is not even every Christian that is a part of the church of God. The church is not the problem of Nigeria. If the church was not there, we could have been witnessing even greater problems in this country today. We know there are one or two people who have issues but that is not enough to generalise and label the church a bad name. The church is the saviour of this country not because I am a man of God but because I know. God has great plans for Nigeria and it is the church He is using to bring these plans to pass.
You said you got the calling but over the years we have seen people who established ministries for pecuniary gains. How do you think this trend can be curbed?
Honestly, I don’t know how. When I gave my life to God, I allowed him to lead me all the way. During the time I was ordained, some of the pastors whom we were ordained together said they were going to establish their own churches right away. But I stayed back under Pastor Oritsejafor because I hadn’t got a call yet from God. It was when He spoke to me and gave instructions that I went ahead to start my ministry.
Those who establish churches without God’s calling risk His wrath. Life is not all about trying to copy what others do without having the destiny to operate on that path. That is not how life is. It is not everybody that has the understanding, God must guide you in everything.
The Rivers State Governor made an allegation before the general elections that President Goodluck Jonathan released about N6bn to the Christian Association of Nigeria for the church to support him, how correct do you think this is?
I think having university education does not guarantee common sense. We all have common sense but on many occasions, we suppress that common sense.
Amaechi said it was N6bn while another Pastor in Bauchi said it was in fact N7bn. I am a member of the Lagos State Chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria and so I know what happens at that level. So, if you say N5m was given to each state across the federation, does it mean that the CAN president would pocket over N6bn. Does it mean that the others would watch one man do this?
It is a shame that some people just like to feed the public with all sorts of lies all in the name of politics. The Nigerian people are no fools to believe such a wild allegation. There was never any truth in that allegation. It is all about common sense. You don’t need university education to know that is a lie.
What has been the most challenging part for you leading God’s people?
Humans are very difficult creatures. When you show love and humility, people can spit at your face in return. When some church members do certain things and you try to correct them, they take it in bad faith and even leave the church sometimes.
Even as a man of God, people want to take advantage of you especially when you are the friendly type. It has been a very tough experience managing humans even in the house of God.
Some people have blamed the level of moral decadence in the society today especially sexual immorality, as part of the failure of the church. As a ministry, what is your position on sex education?
People would always want to blame the church for everything that goes wrong in this country. But that shouldn’t be so. As a ministry, we hammer on the importance of keeping the body which is the temple of God, holy. We do not shy away from the fact that sex was created by God and it is one of the essential needs of man. But we make it clear that sex is not just for anybody. It is comfort and pleasure created for the marriage institution. We talk about this from the Biblical perspective all the time as a church and it has gone a long way in helping our teenagers, youths and adults to stay away from sexual sin.
But apart from the church, it is also the responsibility of every parent to educate their children on sex and make them realise why they should always stay chaste and wait for the right time for such. It is a collective effort by everyone of us as individuals and parents to address moral decadence in our society.
Looking back at the journey so far, any regrets?
Even though I experienced a lot of pains as a young man especially after circumstances forced me to leave the house at 15, I am grateful to God for the man I have grown to be. Today I have a wonderful family and congregation that give me joy. There are no regrets of any kind because Jesus has made everything sweet for me.
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