I sought Adeboye’s advice before contesting presidential election —Obasanjo

IT was a harvest of testimonies and encomiums on Tuesday for the General Overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, at the Redemption Camp, on Lagos-Ibadan highway, with former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, narrating how his encounter with the cleric influenced his decision to contest for the Presidency, in 1999.

Obasanjo, who gave the testimony at the lauch of a book entitled: ”Pastor E.A.Adeboye: His Life and Calling,” to commemorate his 75th birthday anniversary, stated that pressures from different quarters to contest the 1999 presidential elections after his release from detention led him to seek counsel from Adeboye before accepting the offer.

Read also: How Abdusalami, others made me president in 1999 —Obasanjo

The former president stated that before seeking Pastor Adeboye’s counsel, he had gone to South Africa to seek the view of Dr Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu out on the issue, with none of the duo giving him a satisfactory response.

“I was under severe pressure to contest after my release from detention in 1999. My initial response was that of reluctance. I went to prison for the first one I did. Accepting this one would then mean ‘double prison’. I fasted and prayed, but still was not clear on how to handle this.

“I later went to South Africa where I met Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. While Mandela’s response to me was to follow my instinct, Desmond Tutu’s reply was even more confusing. He said ‘you have served God, you have served your people, are you now saying you are tired of serving God and your people?

“I wasn’t satisfied. So, I went to see Pastor Adeboye. He told me after we had prayed about it that he would convey God’s decision on the matter to me later. I was shocked because the others that I had gone to see gave their responses immediately.”

“A few week later, I was sent for and he told me God said you should go. For me, I believe there is no one in modern Africa that has touched people’s lives more that Pastor Adeboye,” the former president, who also doubled as the chairman of the event, said.