A tribal king’s Christian conversion
ON February 14th, Valentine’s Day, three Nigerian Christian pastors shared the Word of God with Bicol pastors and Christian leaders at a worship session-conference at the Village at San Bernardino, an agri-tourism farm-resort located in Calabanga, Camarines Sur. This is the first time that three Nigerian pastors shared in Bicol the Word of God for one whole day thru preaching, prayers, and worship music. No wonder, the participants of the conference, 712 Bicolanos in all, were immensely blessed.
*** Let me share some background information about the three Nigerian pastors:Raji Kemi–Rich is a missionary pastor and Bible teacher for more than 30 years now. He is also the author of the book “Breaking Free from Curses.” Pastor Raji, a Muslim in his early youth, became a Bible-believing Christian at the age of 17. At the conference, Pastor Raji preached about curses – the causes, the origin, its coverage, the reasons people experience curses, the effects of curses in a person’s life, and how one can be free from the bondage of curses. (I will discuss about curses as described in his book in a subsequent article).
Taiwo Adeyinka Raji is a pastor, speaker, marriage counselor, and a prayer leader and intercessor for more than 30 years now. She is the devoted wife of Pastor Raji. A holder of a degree in Economics, Pastor Taiwo is well-known for her passion for intercessory prayers.
Moses Akoh is a worship pastor, meaning he shares the Word of God through music. When I listened to him sing worship songs together with the other members of the choir last February 14th at the conference, I had a strong desire to know more about him. And so I interviewed him – not realizing until the interview that Moses who was singing worship songs to the Lord was not just an ordinary singer. Moses is the son of a Nigerian princess. Moses’ mother is the daughter of a Nigerian tribal king. Thus, Moses is the grandson of a tribal king in Nigeria.
*** Let me share some background information about Nigeria before I proceed with Moses’ story of the conversion of Moses’ grandfather–tribal king to Christianity:Modern-day Nigeria has numerous kingdoms and tribal states. This was the set-up since the British colonial rule years ago. Nigeria, which is known as the Federal (Presidential) Republic of Nigeria, is Africa’s most populous country with a population of about 167. It is the seventh most populous country in the world. While Nigeria is headed by a President, the country is inhabited by over 500 ethnic/tribal groups having a wide variety of cultures as well as speaking over 500 different languages. English is, however, the official language. The southern part of the country is inhabited by Christians while Muslims live in the northern part of Nigeria. There is also a minority group that practices religions indigenous to Nigeria. In 2014, Nigeria overtook South Africa to become Africa’s largest economy. In 2015, Nigeria boosted of an economy with more than US$500 billion. (Reference: Wikipedia and other internet reports)
*** Going back to the story of the grandfather of Moses Akoh named D.E. Evenche, the local chief-king of one ethnic group, Moses said: “My grandfather has 30 wives and 70 children. My grandfather (father of my mother, a princess) was converted to Christianity (and acknowledged Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior) by his sons who had become pastors. His children were in college when they shared the Word of God with their father-tribal king whose followers number about a million.” Moses continued: “In Nigeria, it is not hard to share Jesus. Only a small percentage of Nigerians practice idolatry. Christians and Muslims dominate the Nigerian population with a small percentage practicing indigenous religions. The exposure to British culture for many years has greatly influence the proliferation of Christians in Nigeria. Today, Nigerian pastors and missionaries are all over the world sharing the Word of God. By the way, after my grandfather, the tribal king, accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior, he took only one of the 30 wives. Gone are the 29 other wives.”
*** Moses was raised as a Christian since birth but he accepted Jesus truly and seriously as his Lord and Savior when he was 13 years old while in primary school. Moses attended a three-day teenage camp when he was 17 years old. He still remembers telling Jesus during the bonfire on the last day: “Please bless me Jesus with a gift.” The Lord did bless Moses with a gift by giving Moses a voice suited for singing worship songs. Today, Moses is serving the Lord with his rich voice as a worship singer. Moses is already well-known in the Philippine Music industry having appeared in television shows and participating in singing competitions. Moses has been in the Philippines for the past four years. He also loves to sing Tagalog songs like “Ikaw ang Aking Pangarap” by Martin Nievera. Since 2012, Moses has been enrolled in Trinity University of Asia in Quezon City taking a Human Research Management course. While here in the Philippines, Moses attends a Christian church and participates as a worship singer.
Moses’ final comment during the interview: “Filipinos are always smiling. They are friendly.”
*** This column continues to give out copies of the Holy Bible for free to those who cannot afford to buy their own copies. If interested, please send your letter-request to Ms. Nelly Favis Villafuerte, 5233 Fahrenheit St., Palanan, Makati City. Kindly mention if it is the Tagalog, English, Cebuano, or Ilocano Bible that is preferred.