By Isaac Ngumah
Richard Adekunle was born after 12 months, two weeks, and two days in his mother’s womb. His mother was allegedly poisoned during pregnancy. She faced so many challenges. But eventually, she put Adekunle to bed.
Now the founder of Power On The Rock International Ministry also known as Rock Chapel, Adekunle told Church Times, “The fact that I did not die in the womb is a miracle. And it was a clear indication that God was going to use me for His glory.”
But the idea of working in God’s vineyard was not on the table when he set out to pursue a career. He had trained as an accountant and was already practicing his profession when Christ called him.
Today, he has put in 20 years serving the Lord. But his ministry was set up in 2006. His focus is to propel people so they could attain their potential in Christ
Adekunle said he has experienced so much of God’s presence in his life. “Jesus Christ once appeared to me and manifested in my life. God has done diverse miracles that I witnessed. The dead have been raised on several occasions. Several barren women have conceived and have given birth to children in our ministry” he said.
Pastor Richard Adekunle
Politics and faith are intertwined
Despite being a church leader, he is passionate about Nigeria and believes every Christian should be concerned about their country.
For him, politics and faith are intertwined “If you read the scriptures very well you will discover that in the Bible days, there were priests that always gave instructions to Kings on what to do. So you cannot separate politics from the church. There are those who are in politics that are also Christians. It is God that gives people positions. I am talking of those who have been ordained into leadership positions.
Recalling his experience in the last elections in Nigeria, he said, “I went to vote in Lekki. You can’t believe what I saw. It was like Nigeria was being taken back to the stone age. There were incidences of ballot box snatching, violence, and attack on innocent people which was very unfortunate. But all I know is that the will of God must prevail in the coming days, weeks, and years.”
No matter how lies run fast, Adekunle says, “Truth will always prevail. My fear is that the judiciary will not be compromised. The book of Psalms says Many seek ruler’s favour but God is the judge of all. In other words, every man’s judgment comes from God.”
Church has done so much
Adekunle is of the view that the church has done so much for Nigeria adding that without the church Nigeria would have collapsed. “What is sustaining the nation is the prayer of the saints and the entrepreneurial disposition of some denominations in the country. There is hardly any major church that does not have a university. Some have as many as three. The number of people working in those universities is a testimony to the impact of the church. Beyond the universities, there are many other business institutions that are being run by many churches. The church has also been involved in impacting lives and pulling people out of poverty through various social intervention programmes. Yet, all that many people see is the negative.
He decried an unwholesome prosperity message saying, “Prosperity is not about money. Prosperity is about peace of mind. Prosperity is about spiritual growth. Money is different from prosperity and wealth is different from money. Money is just a fraction of wealth, it is a fraction of prosperity. When you prosper spiritually it means you can command a demon to bow. It also means that you should live a life of holiness. But many have a wrong understanding of prosperity which was the emphasis of John the Beloved in the book of 3 John.”
He believes poverty and material prosperity are consequences of how people carry themselves and take advantage of available opportunities. “Jesus said to Judas you will always have the poor with you. There is a certain set of people that don’t really want to be rich, they want to remain at the same point. Have you ever seen a family that doesn’t have a poor person? It’s because many of them don’t have a skill and don’t have the willingness to pursue an enterprise. There are people whose aim is to be going to church for people to be giving them handouts. So in such a situation, there is little you can do to help them.”
Rural evangelism
Adekunle said he had to leave his church in Lekki for another person to pastor it while he moved to Ibadan to start another work for the Lord. “If the Lord asks me to go to Benin or to any village I will go there. I am talking about myself. But the truth of the matter is many preachers are not ready to go to rural areas. Everybody wants to be in the city. Everybody wants to be in the town. That’s just the truth.” he said.
He lamented that the church is no longer thirsty for the power of God recalling that “in those days; just in worship, you see people shedding tears because of the move of the holy ghost. Today we see pastors inviting comedians to come and mount the holy pulpit of God. When has the gospel become a comedy? You can go and rent an event centre and begin to do that. But not in the church of God where Jesus Christ resides. What we see these days is unfortunate”
What Tinubu should focus on
The security situation in the country according to Adekunle is also worrisome. He believes poor remuneration and lack of equipment are the cause of the insecurity in the country. He said the new government should make the security of lives and property a priority. The security officers should be well paid, with a take-home pay that can actually take them home.
“They should be able to take Nigeria from a consumer nation to a productive nation, to make the country practically productive nation. They should make our agriculture sector very productive because every human being eat every day. No one can survive without food. They should divest power to states. The power that is given to the centre is too much. They should share the power. And they should make the local government stronger if you cannot make the local government stronger then there won’t be government.
He reasoned that government should give young people attention and ensure they are empowered. “The youths must also be given a place. We have experienced too much capital flight to foreign countries. The most dangerous thing is to lose your potential and the youths are the potentials of this country.”
He argued that if we want the unity of this nation to be sustained no region should be cheated. Everyone must be treated equally. If there is no justice there can never be unity. What gives peace and unity is justice.”
The last government according to Adekunle was a total failure. “We had a government where the attorney general will give instructions, the vice president would give, the Secretary to the federal government will give another counter instruction, another minister will give his own. All of them in that cabinet were against themselves. It was not a good one.
“But this time government should look for people with capacity. There must be capacity and also there must be good conscience because there are people with capacity who will still go there and practice corruption. We should stay away from people like that”
He believes the Tinubu government may not have the capacity to end corruption. “ I may be proved wrong. But I don’t think this government has the capacity to end corruption. He that comes to equity must come with clean hands. I don’t think they can address corruption. I pray I am proved wrong.”
