Oba Afolabi Ghandi Laoye Orumogege III, the new Soun of Ogbomosoland, has revealed that he personally didn’t want to become a king and even tried to resist the idea when people started pushing it upon him.
The newly-installed king stated that because he was already a pastor, he felt he couldn’t become a king again because the two callings were distinct. He was sworn in as king on Thursday, September 14, 2023.
The new monarch revealed that his appointment as the Soun of Ogbomoso, after serving as a pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in Washington, United States of America for 30 years, was the result of a divine call in a brief interview published by Vanguard.
He admitted that when the pressure to assume the throne increased, he had to personally call Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the General Overseer of the RCCG, and inform him of the developments and that he had no interest in the throne.
The monarch did admit, though, that Pastor Adeboye had warned him not to say he was not interested because, by being born into a royal family, he had increased his chances of becoming a king. He continued by saying that Pastor Adeboye had advised him to fast and pray about it.
He claims that Pastor Adeboye also informed him of some people who quit their jobs as pastors to become kings.
“When I was being told to come and be Soun of Ogbomoso, I told them the life I wanted to live after 60 years is very simple. I wanted to travel the world because I like travelling. I tell people that I was born in a car, and maybe that is why I am just restless as a person; that is my nature. It has been a little difficult to change that. Today, I am just restless, I just want things to happen, I just want to be on the move. I know that is the way God created me. So, that was my plan for 60.
“Then, people started calling me a lot. I insisted I was not interested. Of course, as a pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God, I didn’t want Daddy G.O (Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the General Overseer of the church) to hear. Of course, he is my spiritual father. So, I called him and told him what was going on. I said: ‘I don’t want you to hear. My people wanted me to come and become Soun of Ogbomoso. But I just want you to hear what people are saying. It is not because I am interested, but I don’t want you to hear it from other people.
“Then, he stopped me, saying: ‘Don’t say you are not interested.’ I asked why and he continued: ‘No, this kind of thing, you brought it from heaven.’ I asked what he meant by that and he said ‘You were born into a royal family, you brought it from heaven. Don’t ever say you are not interested’. He told me to go and pray and fast about it. But I didn’t pray and I didn’t fast because it’s not what I was interested in.
“The next I asked him was if he knew of any pastor, who left pastoring and went to become an oba. He said of course, he could tell me four. He told me two among them. He then said: ‘You can go ahead, that is all I have to say.’ He also told me that he never wanted to become General Overseer and I can see what General Overseer is today. He told me: ‘Go ahead and do whatever you have to do.’
