Benmagradio met with the National co-ordinator of Campus Outreach Mission Nigeria and convener of the Annual Campus fellowship Tagged Bethsaida2016 Evangelist Niyi Adebayo at the two day power packed program which was held at Ogbomoso.
The Ogbomoso born preacher lamented on how Nigeria youths are suffering despite the intelligence they have got, plus the fact that he might have become a politician and many other issues in an interview session which was conducted by Ben-Peletu and MC Malaga.
Excerpts!
Q: Can we meet you?
Evang: I’m Evangelist Niyi Adebayo, I am from ogbomoso I oyo state, Nigeria born in 1972 into the family of a peasant farmer in a rural settlement, I had my primary education in oyo state and secondary education in ogbomoso grammar school, after that I started with the Institution of Chartered Accountant of Nigeria ICAN, I also had a degree programme from Olabisi Onabanjo University and later went to seminary traning.
Q: What inspired you to start this awesome programme?
Evang: The lord spoke to me a couple of years ago, That he will be raising a mighty army from our own viliant youth and among Nigeria student when I was thinking about the revelation, I red a prophesy given by Siddy Jacob in Mount Orab, in 1998 Oct in Jerusalem about how God can raise valiant youth among Nigeria student to bring the word into the crack lyon of this nation, not just about spiritual area or in ministry but in the area of Politics, I was thinking how i could we make this happen, and i realize the only way to do this is to work upon the youth and the student and prepare them for what is about to use them for.
We desire to win them for God and to make them prosper in what ever they do was the primary things that brought forth the vision in my heart.
Q: Since when you started how has it been?
Evang: Expectedly, It was rough in the beginning, because these students don’t have any income, so they plan big monthly on this programme and to the glory of God we don’t spend any kobo below a million naira to put the meeting together.
So financially it was challenging in the beginning and the logistic of bringing them together, to house them, but as time went on God began to raise a team to help us in the logistics an i can say so far so good its been God.
Q: To what level are you aiming to take this programme to?
Evang: Its taking an international dimension, for instance this year about two weeks ago, we were at University of Ghana and we were talking to the Management of the school about this program, we ll start seeing student from other country attending this meeting.
And this is the largest hall we have around and as you can see that, it can no longer contain us anymore, so by the grace of God we will move to the stadium and set a very big tent with international class, lightning,sound etc.
The program is going to become better next year by God’s grace.
Q: How have you being able to finance this program taking into consideration big Gospel artiste you do invite from far and near?
Evang: Financially, it has been God because we do not raise fund for this project, we don’t have any financial partner from any where either from Nigeria or abroad but we have agreed that we may not have good cars, big properties, we may not have good house but we are going to invest all our life and resources on this work, so by the grace of God that is what we do.
Q: With what is happening around you now on this program do you have any plan about setting up an NGO?
Evang: We see that coming, we don’t know actually when is going to happen.
When we first started we began to see cases of some ladies who gave their life to Jesus but who could not financially sustain themselves, for instance some of them went into campus prostitution before they come to christ, trading by their bodies, men will sleep with them and give them money, some of them have to do this because they are not born again.
Secondly they need money, so we determine that those ones must not go back to their vomit, so there is a need for rehabilitation to have the host of them there , that mean we have to be responsible for their accomondation and for whatever they do.
Some of them are in the Secondary school, University, just like that, so soon enough we are trusting God to have an NGO to take care of these girls.
Q: As a person dedicated in running a youth ministry, How can you describe Nigeria youth?
Evang: Nigerian youth are set of people with brilliant futures but who are growing up in an unfortunate and unfavourable environment.
The environment are not thinking about them, our leaders are not thinking about them, they do not exist in their thinking, they think about their flaunting, they think about a new business they want to do, they think about their children who want to school abroad, they think about their woman friend, we don’t exist in their thinking, they don’t believe we exist, fortunately Nigerians have come to find themselves in this environment, Nigerians youth are energetic, partrotic, but the truth is that the environment is not friendly, no job for them when they leave school, of about one hundred and seventy million population we have Fifty percent 50% who are youth.
Two years ago, the CBN governor came out with a document that there where about fifty six million unemployed youth in Nigeria, among them we have over twenty million graduate.
What we have today is retrenchment under employment, i pray the Lord will come to our rescue.
Q; With what you postulated, Is there still any hope for the Nigerian youth?
Evang.: One of the thing about Nigerian youth is they are dynamic, I have traveled to a few places around the world, Europe, South Africa and Dubai I met them there working, labouring, secondly to make prospect they are dynamic, they all went to school and start looking for white collar’s job but now the world is speaking entrepreneurship.
Nigerian youth are creative, they are enterprenuer , they have that sense of drive to develop their potential even in the environment that is not encouraging them, they are energetic, determined to do whatever they want to do.
Q; I can see you have zeal and passion for Nigerian youth to succeed, Assuming you are a politician, what would you have done that the previous government or government of the day have not done?
Evang; In the first place I am going to create functional directorate of youth and am going to put there people who have vision.
I won’t provide jobs but i will train them and empower them, I will give them soft loan to develop their idea instead of looking around for job, because if I did not create a good strong directorate of youth I will not know what they are going through.
Now one of the thing am going to do, I will be very close to them, listen to them, knowing what they are going through, to see to their feelings and listen to their agitation and when am able to do that and am able to provide their needs be of help, I will be push them to Agriculture! they can do it.
I will discourage them from travelling abroad, I will create an enabling environment for them to work in, once they have money, for instance, a young graduate who know how to make shoe and learn how to be an hair stylist will be given Two hundred and Fifity Thousand Naira for a start, they will pay tax to my government and I won’t be stranded because it will be a revolving cycle, i will help out with loan for them to succeed and they will pay me tax, its a win-win situation.
I will empower them but not by giving them job, I will give them opportunity to be trained and I will give them resources to work.
Q; Do you have any medium you have used or using to pass a message to your audience or people that do not have opportunity to come into this programme.
Evang; Yes, I have not done enough in that, last year I started a business school where we teach enterprenureship, and I brought astute enterprenurer around from Lagos, Abuja, Osogbo and Ibadan to teach.
I believe that am sending a message across, I took them to an excursion to Accra in Ghana and few other places to see how things are done, in that am trying to send them out and send a message out there that we can do something.
Q; How can you describe yourself?
Evang; Am a very simple person, I like to live a very quiet life but I work by passion, I don’t care about what I drive but I care about what drives me, what drives me is the passion, my vision I am a christian I have a passion to see people making progress.
Q; Can we get to know your family?
Evang; I am married to Grace she is a Nurse and she works with Lautech Health centre, I have three kids, Precious, Blessing and Peace two guys and one girl.
Q; How do you balance your ministry with family?
Evang; In the first place when God called me and I understood nature of the calling, I made up my mind that I will not rub Peter to pay Paul, I will not run ministry and left my family stranded, so what I do is I have a time when am on the field and i have a time when am with my family and when am with my family, wife, children, we go out together, we hang out together, we talk and play together, we play football, table tennis, eat and do so many things together.
Q; If pastor Adebayo that everybody know to be a man of God have opportunity to going into politics and contest for a very vital position, would you?
Evang; I would have but I don’t think I can do that anymore because if you ask me, if am not in ministry what would I have be doing? It’s politics, that’s why in my city(Ogbomoso) I get deeply involve in the political settings, all the honourable in this land know me, I have their number and they have mine.
I gathered past Governors, senator and honourable every 22nd December for Christmas carol, Love feast and word ministration.
I started that in 2008 it’s a very big meeting, the least attendance we have ever had is Two thousand.
Q: So you are a pastor and a politician?
Evang; No, am a pastor to everybody including the politicians (general laugh)
Q; We heard you are more or less like a brother to the former governor of Oyo State His Excellency Otunba Adebayo Alao Akala, is that true?
Evang; We are not related by blood it was the ministry that brought us together when he was the governor we never met but I used to see him on television, he sent for me one Sunday afternoon he said he had been hearing about me and said he will like to know me better, we are prayer partner and i share the word of God with him and am like a chaplain to his family.
Q; What’s the significance of Easter celebration?
Evang; The most important celebration is the resucrection of Jesus been born and died, if he died and he did not ressucrect that is the end of our faith and since i came to know the Lord among all the celebration I take it with respect, it helps me to understand its supreme sacrifice He paid, so He teaches us forgiveness.
Q; Looking at the ministry going far and wide and as God is enlarging it coast, don’t you think you should have a church?
Evang; Chruch? In the past I used to avoid this question because I would not have a church left to me, but God gave me this ministry, He is the one who will tell me what next to do, one more thing I have to say revelation is progrssing, if God say I should go into church tomorrow I will gladly go and let me break this news to you, soon after this Bethsaida our church ministry will start.
BenMagRadio: Thank you for your time with BenMagRadio
Evang : You are welcome.