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From Pulpit To Throne: What Pastor Adeboye Told Me — Soun Of Ogbomoso

Published

2 years ago

September 23, 2023

The historical city of Ogbomoso was on Thursday, September 14, 2023, agog as the newly installed Soun of Ogbomosoland, Oba Afolabi Ghandi Laoye Orumogege III, moved to the main palace to receive members of the community and dignitaries who converged to rejoice with him on his coronation. His coronation as the 28th Soun of Ogbomosoland, followed the approval of Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State.

On the day of his installation, prayers were said by the Bishop of Ogbomoso Diocese of Methodist Church Nigeria, Right Rev’d Ademola Moradeyo; the Chief Imam of Ogbomoso, Sheikh Talihat Oluwashina Ayilara; and the Araba Oluawo of Ogbomosoland, Chief Opeyemi Ifamakinde.

Before his installation, a serious controversy had trailed his selection from his own Laoye Royal Family.

In a short interview, the new monarch of Ogbomoso spoke on why he chose to become Soun after being a pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) for 30 years in Washington, United States of America. He spoke to his congregation in March 2022 in Washington revealing that he received a divine call to become the Soun of Ogbomoso Kingdom which was why he left the pulpit for the palace.

Oba Laoye said: “I was born into the royal family. But one way or the other, the Lord took me on a completely different path. He made me a pastor. In December 2021, I was on vacation in Nigeria, like I normally do every August and December. If I was not in Nigeria, I would be in other parts of the world.

“So, I was in Nigeria when the king of our town joined his ancestors. We have five royal families in Ogbomoso. After the Ajagungbades, we know that it is my royal family – Olaoye, that is the next to produce the king. Everybody in Ogbomoso who knows about the tradition knows that. Of course, I knew about it but I was not interested in it at all because I believe that I have gone on a completely different path. My father never sat me down to say, Ghandi, if you want to become Soun of Ogbomoso, you can be. He never told me and I never bothered. My dad tried to be Soun of Ogbomoso in 1940 but it was not what God wanted for him as the people rejected him.

“But in December 2021, people started calling me, saying: ‘Ghandi, why can’t you do this? -especially people who were close to me and knew that the Laoye Royal Family would produce the Soun after the Ajagungbades. I insisted I did not have interest because I believed I had a different path. Sometime in 2021, I said in the church that I was going to retire. I said that at the age of 60, I was going to retire. People asked me what I would retire into and I said I have done 30 years as a pastor, I felt there are other expressions of ministry.

“I planned that I was still going to do other things in the ministry. It was that time that I appointed Pastor Chinyere as the Executive Pastor and Pastor Olumide as the Lead Pastor of the Church. When I was doing all that, I did not have a plan of what I was going to do. All I knew was that I have had 30 years of pastoring, and Pastor Olumide has been my assistant pastor for 21 years; that is a long time to be somebody’s assistant. Twenty one years! That is nearly a generation, since a generation is about 25 years.

“When I was being told to come and be Soun of Ogbomoso, I told them the life I wanted to live after 60 years is very simple. I wanted to travel the world because I like travelling. I tell people that I was born in a car, and maybe that is why I am just restless as a person; that is my nature. It has been a little difficult to change that. Today, I am just restless, I just want things to happen, I just want to be on the move. I know that is the way God created me. So, that was my plan for 60.

“Then, people started calling me a lot. I insisted I was not interested. Of course, as a pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God, I didn’t want Daddy G.O (Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the General Overseer of the church) to hear. Of course, he is my spiritual father. So, I called him and told him what was going on. I said: ‘I don’t want you to hear. My people wanted me to come and become Soun of Ogbomoso. But I just want you to hear what people are saying. It is not because I am interested, but I don’t want you to hear it from other people.

“Then, he stopped me, saying: ‘Don’t say you are not interested.’ I asked why and he continued: ‘No, this kind of thing, you brought it from heaven.’ I asked what he meant by that and he said ‘You were born into a royal family, you brought it from heaven. Don’t ever say you are not interested’. He told me to go and pray and fast about it. But I didn’t pray and I didn’t fast because it’s not what I was interested in.

“The next I asked him was if he knew of any pastor, who left pastoring and went to become an oba. He said of course, he could tell me four. He told me two among them. He then said: ‘You can go ahead, that is all I have to say.’ He also told me that he never wanted to become General Overseer and I can see what General Overseer is today. He told me: ‘Go ahead and do whatever you have to do.’

“To cut the long story short, I had planned that on January 2nd, 2022, which was first Sunday of 2022, I would tell the people calling me to become Soun of my final stance. I was going to tell them to stop bothering me.

“So, I woke up around 6:30am to pee. When I finished peeing, I laid down on the bed, thinking about how the service was going to be. Then, I prayed: ‘Lord, I am at a crossroads of life. These people are saying I should come and become Soun of Ogbomoso. Today is the day I am going to give them the final answer that I am not interested. To me, how would Jesus say leave Washington and go and live in Ogbomoso? The next thing I heard was: ‘You are born for this. This is the reason for your birth’.

“Of course, that was not what I was expecting. But let me tell you this; when I hear, it is 10/10. So, I got ready for church. I came to the church, I called Pastor Olumide, Pastor Chinyere, and Pastor Tunde. I called the three of them to my office on January 2nd, 2022, and I said to them what the Lord told me, and I told them I am 10/10. I never miss it.

“There is time when I don’t know, I’ll say let’s go ahead and do it. When I say God told me, it has never changed in 30 years of ministry. People that are close to me know exactly what I am saying. When God spoke to me, what I said was very simple: ‘If it is not you, stop it.’ The next thing I did was, I got into the process because I am following God.

“There is nothing in this world that anybody has to offer me than what I have committed half of my adult life to do; absolutely nothing. If you know me very well, I am not doing this because I have nothing else to do.”

My name as ‘Ghandi’

“Itumo oruko mi re…Genesis 30:11 ‘Lea si wipe, Ire de, O si so oruko rè ni Gadi. That means “This is the meaning of my name. Genesis 30:11, which says: ‘Leah said, I have been lucky’ and she named him Gad.”

At his coronation, the monarch urged the aggrieved people to unite with him for the development of the town adding that it was God that sent him to rebuild the city and to work for its progress.

His words: “Ogbomoso will be different. In terms of development, Ogbomoso will be different. In terms of peace, Ogbomoso will be different. I want you to know it is a new thing in Ogbomosoland. Imole tuntun lo de yi ( A new light has come). Ire tuntun lo de yi (A new goodness has come). Many knew what has been happening, what we have passed through but we will leave that behind us. Those who are aggrieved, let us unite for the development of Ogbomosoland. Let us unite so we can move Ogbomoso forward. Let us eschew violence, if we love this city we will rebuild this city together. It is God that sent me to rebuild this city, to work for the progress of this city.

“We have not come to the throne to make wealth, God has given us wealth; we have not come to make a name, God has given us that. To put Ogbomoso in its rightful place is our goal. I assure you we will make Ogbomoso greater. What we have come to do in Ogbomoso has started today, the development of Ogbomoso has started today, new glory has started. Things will change. Good things such as industries will spring up, not one but many. God will give us many. I don’t talk much, it is action you will see, that is what you will see in the name of the Lord.”

His choice as new Soun by Araba Oluawo of Ogbomosoland
The Araba Oluawo of Ogbomosoland, Chief Opeyemi Ifamakinde, stated that whenever a king joined his ancestors, another person would succeed him from the next royal family. The next royal family, he said, would present a candidate or candidates.

“The candidate can be one or 20, 30 to 200 candidates. Then, the family will invite the kingmakers and present their candidate or candidates to them. If you are a pastor or a preacher, and you become Soun, we are not against you. But you must not be against other religions.

“There has never been any Soun that did not allow Isese to practise in Ogbomoso. The immediate past Soun was a Muslim. When he became the Soun, he allowed Muslims, Christians as well as traditional worshippers to practise.

“This is how it should be. The new Soun has said he would allow other religions to be practised in the town.

“It is on record that the crown of Soun is not from Jerusalem and it is not from Mecca. It is a traditional crown,” he said.

Recall that Oba Laoye succeeded the immediate-past Soun, late Oba Jimoh Oyewumi Ajagungbade III, barely 21 months after his demise, after spending 48 years on the throne.

There are five royal families in Ogbomoso that have been producing monarchs for the town on rotational basis. Each of the five royal families has a Mogaji as the traditional head.

The Mogaji is always installed by the reigning Soun of Ogbomoso. In the case of Laoye Royal Family, Chief Amos Olawale Olaoye, is the current Mogaji. The new king is from Laoye Royal Family but the selection for the new king from the family was greeted with intrigues that divided the family into two, with each member of the family queuing behind different princes.
VANGUARD

News

Why We Expanded Presidential Amnesty Scholarship Scheme — Otuaro

Published

8 hours ago

October 26, 2025

Editor

Otuaro (middle) in a group photograph with the PAP foreign scholarship students in the United Kingdom after an interactive session in London on Saturday, 25 October, 2025.

The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Dr Dennis Otuaro, has expressed his unwavering commitment to ensuring that more indigent students and communities of the Niger Delta benefit from the PAP scholarship scheme.

He stated this while explaining what informed his decision to expand the scheme and increase formal education opportunities for poor students, and to build a huge manpower base in the region.

A statement issued by Mr Igoniko Oduma, Special Assistant on Media to the PAP boss said Otuaro spoke during an interactive session in London on Saturday with the beneficiaries of the scholarship initiative deployed for undergraduate and post-graduate programmes in universities across the United Kingdom.

The engagement, which was at the instance of the PAP boss, provided an opportunity for the Office and the scholarship students to discuss issues pertaining to their welfare and challenges with a view to addressing them.

Otuaro said that while in-country scholarship deployment was 3800 in the 2024/2025 academic year, the figure increased to 3900 in the 2025/2026 and foreign scholarships were about 200.

He attributed the increase in deployment to the massive support of President Bola Tinubu and the Office of the National Security Adviser.

Otuaro stressed that he was greatly encouraged by the President and the NSA, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and that he knows how impressed both of them are concerning the PAP initiatives, which align with the Renewed Hope Agenda.

He reiterated his call on the students to justify the huge investment in their education by the Federal Government by studying hard to make good grades.

He also urged them to conduct themselves and be responsible ambassadors of Nigeria while in the U.K, stressing that “you will be adding value to your families and communities when you complete your programmes successfully.”

The PAP helmsman said, “We want the scholarship programme to impact more students and communities in the Niger Delta. That’s why we have expanded it and increased formal education opportunities.

“We want you to take this opportunity very seriously so that the government, too, will be encouraged. I know how much support His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu GCFR, gives to the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

“Mr President and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, are very impressed with what we are doing. On your behalf I would like to, once again , thank His Excellency and the NSA for giving you this life-changing opportunity. We are confident that Mr President and the NSA will continue to support us.

“The knowledge you are receiving in your institutions today is to enable you plan yourself and prepare for the future. Whatever knowledge you gain cannot be taken from you.

“So as PAP scholarship students, we expect responsible and good behaviour from you. Government is investing heavily in you and you have the obligation to justify the investment. Be agents of change and avoid acts of mischief while in the U.K.”

News

OPINION: A ‘Crazy’ African Nation, Where Citizens Eat And Drink Football

Published

10 hours ago

October 26, 2025

Editor

By Tony Erha

It was in October, a semi-summer-month and twilight of the year that ushers in the chilling and extreme winter. A nonagenarian woman gave me a friendly smile that revealed cheeky dimples. As I bowed respectfully to her ripened age, she offered a leathery hand for a handshake, which I received warmly, returning her infectious smile. For a youth who prays for longevity shouldn’t deprive the elderly of the walking stick. I had helped her, carrying a furred handbag to our seats on a night-long intercity bus, from Istanbul to Ankara, in Turkey, the Balkan nation, where we stopped over, in year 2004.

She spoke Turkish rapidly, whilst I retorted in a passable and incoherent Turkish language that ‘I don’t speak the official language of the only country of the world that is located on two continents; Europe and Asia. “You American?” She asked in English. It was obvious that my jeans, necklace and a fez cap that I upturned, in the manner of the Yankees, might have portrayed me as one. “No. I am a Nigerian”, I said, dragging the words. “You Nee-jay-rian!” she exclaimed, whilst I nodded confidently. Then she was elated; “Okocha Jay-Jay!” She spoke to others in the bus that clapped and hailed. I wondered why a 91 years-old-woman, was so passionate about football and one of its heroes, as if she was a youth.

At her request, an old video of a football match showed the mesmerising display of Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha, viewed on a television set affixed to the bus. There were instantaneous excitement and catcalls each time Okocha, the great football ‘talisman’ from Nigeria, did his ball flips and dribble-runs that displaced his opponents, earning him one of the few (if not the greatest) football entertainers in football’s history. It was as if the video tape, recorded in his notable plays in Besiktas, a Turkish club side, was a live match. So great was Okocha’s global fame that the old woman relived again; “Jay Jay Okocha is a dangerous footballer, who’s full of tricks on the field of play. The only trick he didn’t do with the ball from his bag of football artistry was to play on top the swimming pool”. In Mustafa Ataturk’s nation, footballers of Nigeria’s decent had and still make their soccer very eventful.

Victor Osimhen, the leggy playmaker and striker with a dye-hair like the white mushroom head, who recently renewed his contract with Galatasaray, a Turkish top team, is also a Nigerian, who has received the applause in the peninsula country and across the globe like Jay Jay Okocha. Candidly, Oshimen, the goal mechine, who is a tonic to the Turks and football fans across the world, also does the unimaginative with the round leather, but certainly not with the same fascinating skills of Jay Jay! But the Turkish fans are readily tilted to football fanaticism.

Victor Osimhen

If it’s ‘fanatic-fans’ in Turkish football, it’s certainly ‘supporters hooliganism’ in the United Kingdom (UK), where association soccer (football) was founded in 1863, with similar kicking games played in Greece, China and Rome since 2,000 years. In UK, football is played with fanfares, pool betting and media vuvuzela. English soccer is a gainful entertainment industry raking in huge gate fees from plays, promotions, television and media razzmatazz, which is often imitated in Nigeria, with passions and ‘occult’ following. So worrisome was the ‘social hype and lawlessness’ youths and others attach to English soccer that security operatives have constant migraine fighting soccer addiction and frequent street brawls.

Jay Jay Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, Dan Amokachi, Taribo West and other Nigerian stars, that once dominated and currently rule other foreign clubs, opened the floodlight of extremist football following into the country. Once upon a time, the then Prince Charles (now the king of England), was spotted (with young boys) playing the game, inside the Buckingham Palace, all wearing jersey number ’10’ with Jay Jay Okocha’s name inscribed). That the number-one-global-royalty adored soccer by wearing the jersey of a footballer from a third-world African nation, somewhat illustrates that which is often said about soccer being more than a mere sport. ‘Football Tripper’, a British online news porter, describes soccer as “oxygen” to numerous men and women. In Brazil, the South American nation, there is a deity called “Soccer”, as well as it’s a vivacious Reggae, a unique music genre in Jamaica.

Still, it is food and sups in Nigeria. In this Africa’s most populous nation, with plentiful viewing centres and liquor spots, there are live television football tournaments and soccer video games, with consumable food, alcoholics, carbonated drinks and some ‘unlawful substances’ that are at the behest of business owners and ‘intoxicated’ fans.

In what soccer dramatics came to know as ‘the Dammam Miracle’, viewing centres, beer parlours and restaurants were instantly sold out in the country, in 1989, after ‘footbocrazy’ Nigerians, stormed the streets in prolonged wild celebrations. For the Nigerian U-20 football team, at the FIFA World Youth Championship, held in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, came back from a four-goal deficit to level up and defeat the Russian counterpart, making the Nigerian team the first to come back from a semi-final to win a FIFA tournament. Soccer, indeed, is a crazy sport in Nigeria. Once upon a time, a man had shattered the screen of his expensive television, because Austin Jay Jay Okocha, his favourite star, had lost a penalty in a continental match!

It’s said that football, especially when the Nigerian national teams of men and woman play, tends to unite Nigerians than other national blights that turn them apart. Now, the current national fanaticism is for the Victor Osimhen-inspired Super Eagles, to qualify for the 2026 World Cup gala, even though it has to go the extra obstacles of playing more legs, whereas the team had frittered the early opportunities to qualify.

And sensing that most Nigerians care less of the economic woes that plagued them, but for the football fad, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the nation’s President, would cash-in to feed their ago awarding huge cash to high profile football tournaments and wins, like he recently accorded the Super Falcons, the female national team, for achieving a similitude of the Dammam miracle, to bring home a coveted African Cup of Nations (AFCON) trophy!

News

Ex-soldiers Fume Over Lifetime Benefits For Sacked Service Chiefs

Published

15 hours ago

October 26, 2025

Editor

The sacked Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, and two other service chiefs, Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, and Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, are set to receive generous retirement benefits.

The benefits include bulletproof vehicles, domestic aides, and lifetime medical care.

Their exit follows President Bola Tinubu’s appointment of new service chiefs on Friday.

General Olufemi Oluyede has been named the new Chief of Defence Staff, while Major-General W. Shaibu takes over as Chief of Army Staff.

Air Vice Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke becomes the new Chief of Air Staff, and Rear Admiral I. Abbas the Chief of Naval Staff. The Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major-General E.A.P. Undiendeye, retains his position.

The President’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, said in a statement on Friday that the removal of the service chiefs was in furtherance of the Federal Government’s ongoing efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s national security architecture.

According to the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service for Officers and Enlisted Personnel in the Nigerian Armed Forces, signed by President Tinubu on December 14, 2024, the service chiefs are entitled to substantial retirement packages upon disengagement.

The document stipulates that each retiring service chief will receive a bulletproof SUV or an equivalent vehicle, to be maintained and replaced every four years by the military.

They are also entitled to a Peugeot 508 or an equivalent backup vehicle.

Beyond the vehicles, the package includes five domestic aides — two service cooks, two stewards, and one civilian gardener — along with an aide-de-camp or security officer, and a personal assistant or special assistant.

They will also retain three service drivers, a service orderly, and a standard guard unit comprising nine soldiers.

The benefits extend to free medical treatment both in Nigeria and abroad, as well as the retention of personal firearms to be retrieved upon their demise.

However, while officers of lieutenant-general rank and equivalents are entitled to international and local medical care worth up to $20,000 annually, the benefits for the service chiefs, though not stated in the document, are believed to be considerably higher.

The HTCOS reads, “Retirement benefits for CDS and Service Chiefs: The following benefits shall be applicable: one bulletproof SUV or equivalent vehicle to be maintained by the Service and to be replaced every four years. One Peugeot 508 or equivalent backup vehicle.

‘’Retention of all military uniforms and accoutrement to be worn for appropriate ceremonies; five domestic aides (two service cooks, two stewards, and one civilian gardener); one Aide-de-Camp/security officer; one Special Assistant (Lt/Capt or equivalents) or one Personal Assistant (Warrant Officer or equivalents); standard guard (nine soldiers).

“Three service drivers; one service orderly; escorts (to be provided by appropriate military units/formation as the need arises); retention of personal firearms (on his demise, the personal firearm(s) shall be retrieved by the relevant service); and free medical cover in Nigeria and abroad.”

However, the policy specifies that such entitlements apply only if the retired officers have not accepted any other appointment funded from public resources — except when such an appointment is made by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

In such cases, the officers, according to the document, will only receive allowances commensurate with the new role rather than a full salary.

Retired soldiers protest lavish perks

Reacting, some retired soldiers decried what they described as the luxurious benefits and entitlements reserved for service chiefs and senior military officers.

They lamented that junior personnel continued to suffer neglect and unpaid entitlements despite years of service to the nation.

The retired officers expressed frustration over the disparity in welfare and treatment between senior and junior ranks within the military.

One of the leaders of the discharged soldiers demanding their owed entitlements, Sgt. Zaki Williams, expressed frustration over the entitlements reserved for the service chiefs.

Speaking in an emotional tone, Williams, who claimed to be speaking for more than 700 soldiers in his group, said many retired non-commissioned officers had been abandoned despite dedicating their lives to defending the country.

He said, “I don’t really understand how our people in Nigeria do things. The people at the top always do things to favour only themselves. They don’t care about the poor or the junior ones who sacrificed everything.”

The retired sergeant recalled that government officials had made several promises to improve their welfare, but none had been fulfilled.

“Since the day they made those promises to us, we went back home and didn’t hear anything again. Everything just ended there. We’ve been waiting till now, but nothing has happened,” he added.

Williams said the situation had left many of his colleagues demoralised and divided over whether to continue pressing for their entitlements.

“Some of us said we should protest again, but others refused. We told them that day that we were not going for another protest. If the government wants to help us, they should help us. If not, we’re done,” he said.

He also accused senior military officers of frustrating efforts by the defence ministry to address the concerns of retired personnel.

According to Williams, life after service has been extremely difficult for most of them who retired voluntarily or were discharged without compensation.

“How can someone retire after years of service and still not get their entitlement? Many of us can’t even build a house. The senior officers have houses, cars, and everything good, but the rest of us have nothing,” he said.

He added that the little compensation given to some was not enough to rebuild their lives.

“If they give you N2m today, what can you really start with it in this country? You have children, family, and responsibilities, yet you can’t even afford a plot of land,” he said.

Expressing disappointment, he said most junior officers had lost faith in the system.

“We’ve handed everything over to God,” he said quietly. “We’ve cried and done our best. They promised us, but in the end, it’s still zero. We haven’t seen anything. That’s why many of us are now silent.”

Another retired soldier, Abdul Isiak, lamented that promises made to retired personnel had remained unfulfilled, leaving many struggling to survive.

He said, “All you said they would give to them would be done promptly, and they are more than what we need to sustain our lives. This is very unfair. We have suffered a lot, and they’re yet to give us our entitlements after leaving the service. What is our offence? Is it because we are junior officers?”

The former sergeant said the senior officers continued to enjoy generous retirement packages while lower ranks were denied their due benefits.

“We are preparing for another protest for them to pay us. This is very bad,” he said.

(PUNCH)