My Life My Dream: Adventures of an African

By Gideon A. Oladepo

This book is a personal account of how a young boy from the rural southwest Nigeria struggled his way through the socioeconomic challenges in Nigeria in the past six decades, to becoming a successful chartered accountant and a preacher. Its a lesson in perseverance, hard work, determination to move up the socioeconomic ladder and absolute commitment to do Gods will in everything. Its also a testimony of Gods goodness and faithfulness to those who put their trust in him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Africa
• Release date: Mar 3, 2016
• ISBN: 9781482860818

Gideon A. Oladepo

Gideon A. Oladepo combines gospel ministry with a professional accountancy practice in Nigeria. He is the president of the Gideon Army for Missions and Evangelism (GAME), based in Lagos, Nigeria. An international development consultant and auditor, he was pastor with the Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria between 1986 and 1990. He is a Bible teacher, conference speaker and has authored several other books.

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Copyright © 2016 Gideon A. Oladepo. All rights reserved.

ISBN

978-1-4828-6082-5 (sc)

978-1-4828-6081-8 (e)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Cover artwork by: Adesola Lasisi/Illustration by Adesola/2016

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

www.partridgepublishing.com/africa

03/03/2016

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CONTENTS

1. Acknowledgement

2. Foreword

3. Major Characters in this Story

4. Childhood Challenges

5. Rough Road to Adulthood

6. Encounter with Christ

7. Road Less Traveled By

8. Midlife crises

9. Miraculous New Beginning

10. Epilogue

DEDICATION

Dedicated to the loving memory of my parents:

John Ajetunmobi Oladepo

(1904(c) – 1979)

&

Rachael Oredola Oladepo

(1913(c) – 2000)

For their untiring efforts through my challenging childhood and my rough road to adulthood

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My life adventures in this volume have been made available to you through the support and encouragement of a good number of people in my life and ministry. Beginning with my darling wife, Grace Adeseun, who has remained steadfastly with me in all my undertakings since we said ‘I do’ to each other almost thirty-three years ago. And our daughter, Temilola Oluwatomi who, in spite the challenges on her way as a result of the choices we had made when she could not have given her consent, endured the ensuing hardships to successfully pursue her goals in life. She also took the pain to proofread the manuscript of this work and offered valuable suggestions.

I cannot fail to remember the contributions of the fellow soldiers of the cross in The Gideon Army for Missions and Evangelism (GAME) who have stood by me through thick and thin to successfully deliver on the mandate we had received from God. Evangelist Damola Adesina, my sister-in-law, started with us together in this ministry as a missionary evangelist before her commissioning into the Praise of Jesus International Ministry. She has remained steadfast in all our struggles even while on her international assignments. Pastor Tuwa Victor Gbalubi was a faithful and loyal member of this ministry till he answered the call to be with the Lord in December 2014. Others like Evangelist Sunday Ojo, the late Brother Sola Ayankunbi, Sisters Funke Odukoya, Odunola Adesina (now Mrs. Adewale) and Nkem; Brothers Wale Ipaye, Tunji Odebiyi and Folorunso Olowogoke, who had each played one part or the other at one time or another, in the life of this ministry. I also acknowledge the support and encouragement of our partners and friends, especially our mentors: The Reverends Johnson Adeniyi and Felix Oke, and the late Pa Olu Oshunkeye.

I should also acknowledge the contribution of Mrs. Beatrice Omogolor and her prayer group who, unknown to me for many years, led by revelation, accepted the mission to intercede on my behalf towards the vision of my ministry and purpose in life.

Above all, my thanks go to the Almighty God who has remained ever faithful in making ways for us wherever there seemed there was no way.

FOREWORD

We often make the mistake of wishing and praying that God makes us wade through life without facing challenges - problems that demand the best from us to see us through - this is like asking that we should not have been born in the first place. Reason: we were born to face challenges, to confront problems and obstacles head-on, and make headway within the confines of time and space allowed by God for human existence. And do so with conscience free of offence towards God and the good of others.

My Life My Dream is the chronicle of my life and times, as a typical rural African child from the southwest Nigeria whose dream was to fulfill my mission for God in life and to bring honour to my family: it encapsulates the progression of three generations of my family from rural village life to becoming active players in the national and global communities.

It is also about Christian faith, living by faith in God and serving Him with all diligence and absolute trust that He’s able to save to the end, those who put their trust in Him. It’s about the limit of reposing confidence in man and the challenge of putting absolute confidence in the invisible God: a testimony of God’s ability to meet all our needs within space and time beyond our wildest imaginations.

My prayer is that God will use my testimony in this book to make you see life’s challenges as hurdles you can cross, with God on your side, no matter how seemingly daunting, in your race to fulfilling your destiny here on earth.

Gideon Oladepo

January 2016

MAJOR CHARACTERS IN THIS STORY

CHILDHOOD CHALLENGES

John Oladepo had been ill. His sickness had defied all known cure. Though a staunched Baptist Christian, he could not resist the temptation to try some unorthodox faith healers. He had visited many herbalists, and now he had no choice but to heed a neighbour’s counsel to also try a Muslim cleric of renown: Alfa Monmoh was well known for his clairvoyance. Monmoh lived in Iseyin, some thirty kilometers from Okaka, John’s hometown.

Your sickness is of spiritual origin, declared Alfa Monmoh. And you must leave your home in Okaka for some distant place if you want to live. Otherwise, the sickness is meant to take your life the Alfa counseled with finality.

My father’s family migration

John, in his late forties, married to Rebecca and Rachael, could not therefore return home to bid his wives farewell or ask them to join him on his trip. Straight to Yekere in the ancient city of Ibadan he went, clutching the small bag he had taken with him to Iseyin. He however sent word to Rebecca and Rachael to join him in Ibadan as he had made up his mind not to return to Okaka until he regained his health, heeding the Alfa’s counsel.

Come with us to Ogudu a friend John met in Yekere had offered. There in Ibadan, the family of four: John, Rebecca, Rachael and her little toddler, Enock, perfected their plan to permanently relocate to a place called Ogudu near Ile Ife. John later found to his amazement that his kinsmen from Okaka had actually founded a village of theirs, which they named after their town back home: Okaka village. There, most of them lived in huts with thatched roofs and the wealthier ones had theirs with zinc roofs. John and his wives with the assistance of friends also hurriedly built a hut to settle in; which they later converted to a mud house with zinc roof, having made some money from their cocoa farms.

The family faced serious challenges: Rachael was not only nursing young Enock, she was also expecting Foluke whose birth would be due in a couple of months. The family then depended on handouts from friends to complement the little money John had brought from home. He had virtually exhausted his savings in his several attempts to find a cure for his ailments before traveling down to Ife. He also had to use part of the money to buy farmlands for his cocoa plantation – the pre-occupation of everyone in the village. Meanwhile, much of his capital in his former business of textile trade was tied down in credits he had had to extend to his customers back home.

Rachael then decided to travel to Ile Ife (the City of Ife) from the village, with the little Foluke tied to her back, to find some menial jobs to support herself and her two kids. She ended up working for a palm wine seller, and had had to carry palm wine on her head for months to make ends meet. Rachael could not totally abandon the village either, as her husband had not fully recovered his health and the new cocoa plantations would need the attention of every adult member of the family to see through. She would later tell the story of this exceptionally difficult period in the life of her family many times to her children.

My birth and early childhood

It was towards the end of this travail that she took-in and I was born. This brought so much joy to my parents. Even though our father had had Joshua and Abigail by a previous marriage, Enock, according to our mother, was the twelfth pregnancy she had had since her marriage to our father. All the children she had before him had died at infancy. As if to cap the tragedy that had been befalling the family, Joshua a twenty-five year old gangling young man, suddenly took ill and died.

It was a few months after his death that I was born. Our father was greatly consoled by my birth – especially as I also turned out to be a male child. He philosophically took me as God’s replacement to him for the loss of Joshua. He named me Joshua. But this generated some controversy among the family members. My father would however not budge. Mother therefore felt concerned enough to make her protest to her father, Pa Adedeji, back home in Okaka. It was at my maternal grandfather’s request that my father succumbed to finding me an alternative name: Gideon. Our mother and Auntie Abigail, who led the protest, despite her protestation, enjoyed a good relationship while I was growing up. Our mother even had to stand up to our father on her behalf several times, whenever she had issues with our father, as was often the case; just as she would do on behalf of any of her own children.

The family at this time had started worshipping with the Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Aladura, in Balogun Village, some ten kilometers from our village. This was before my father established a branch of the Ona Iwa Mimo Cherubim and Seraphim Church in Agelu, Aba Okaka, in Ife. The headquarters of the church, founded and headed by the late Prophet J.O. Adeola, is in Igboho in the present Oorelope Local Government Area of Oyo State. The family’s new faith was ostensibly to ensure victory over the family’s travails, and to insure the family against future dangers. Prophecies before my birth had ensured no razor was going to touch my hair – I remained a Nazarite for the first nine years of my life and I had to always complement my school uniform of green shirt on khaki short with a hand-woven cap to cover my long hairs.

By this time, the family had relocated to the new settlement not far