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Why ONALA Parish Is Popular
The name Kolawole Olakanmi may not ring a bell to many but at the mention of Onala Parish people already know who you are talking about in Ibadan. Prophet (Dr) Mathew Kolawole Olakanmi is the evangelist in charge of Celestial Church of Christ, Onala Parish in the capital city of Oyo State.
Passing through Mokola/Sango Road, immediately after Premier Hotel junction, where the church is located, be it normal Sunday service or special programs, you won’t but notice the large crowd, both vehicular and human, that always besiege the church. The place is always like a mecca of sorts.
Not to talk of the branded luxurious buses and smaller ones that always convey worshipers from different locations within the city. Another interesting about this church is the fact that youths carry a great percentage of the people who throng the church almost on a daily basis. Seeking divine miracles in one or the other area of their lives. The reason why many people rush to this church, we gathered, is as result of Olakanmi’s strong spiritual powers. Which those who have experienced divine encounters thought his ministry described to be highly potent. Those seeking traveling visas or job opportunities or young ladies looking for divine connections always go to Onala Parish.
Infact, so popular is Onala Parish that every major artist that worth his or her salt in Ibadan, in Gospel, Juju or Fuji, had at one time or the other performed at the church. Yinka Ayefele, Evangelist Funmi Aragbaye, Taye Currency, Femi Zolar just to mention but a few have all performed at either harvest, praise night, thanksgiving, anniversary and several other programs of the church. Ere Asalatu, Esther Igbekele, MC Remote and many other entertainers have also headlined one or two programs of the church.
Prophet Kolawole Olakanmi started Onala Parish many years ago at its present location, which according to him, was a deep forest back then. He revealed this and many other shocking things about his ministry in an interview with City People some years back. his, he said, was after he had severally ignored God’s calling as revealed to him through revelations from different means. According to him, he finally embraced God’s evangelism after all the businesses he ventured into had crumbled.
Today, Baba Onala, as the 66-year-old Prophet Olakanmi is popularly known, has built the church into a mega ministry. He has nurtured and mentored several other prophets who are today not only running their own ministries but have also become somebody within the celestial circle.
-Dare Adeniran
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