“Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, during his lifetime, was graceful, gentle, and a practical teacher of the Word.”
Bo ti wu k’orun le mu to
Sanmo dudu die yoo wa
Bo ti wu k’aye wa layo o
Yoo l’akoko ekun re.
Few days ago, I was on the phone discussing with my parent and trying to find answers to baffling questions.
I asked her why bad things happen to good people and she reminded me of the sovereignty of God.
She reminded me that, as Christians, we are not promised a trouble-free life, but that we must bear our burdens with faith.
And that we must constantly ask for grace and mercy as we journey through life.
There are questions we will never find answers to on this side of the divide.
Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, during his lifetime, was graceful, gentle, and a practical teacher of the Word.
He kept his teachings simple and practical and the love of God showed in his gait, dance, engagements and teachings with his congregants and people he met.
We know together with his first wife Pastor Bimbo, they were a Christian power couple, impacting lives. But that union broke with her sudden death in 2005.
Years after, he remarried, to Pastor Nomthi. They became another power couple, still impacting till his second wife, also succumbed to death in 2021
How much can a man take?
The loss of one woman would weaken the strongest of men, not saying two.
Then he lost his twin sister again.
Even the strongest of soldiers fall!!!
I am in awe of how he continued in his call despite his personal struggles.
The outpouring of eulogies and tributes have said all there is to say about this man of faith.
When I concluded my call with my parent, I remembered this hymn back in the days, written by the late John Bunyan:
He who would valiant be
‘Gainst all disaster
Let him in constancy
Follow the Master
There’s no discouragement
Shall make him once relent
His first avowed intent
To be a pilgrim.
Journey well, Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, the God’s General.
May the Almighty comfort your children, the church and people you impacted. Amen.
•Okunniga, a legal practitioner, writes from Ibadan.
