72-year-old Ismail Badmus whose video, Lori Iro has gone viral has disclosed that his siblings abandoned him when he converted from Islam to Christ.
Badmus in an interview with BBC said he came from a largely Muslim background saying most of his siblings ran away from him and were always making jest of him when he went about preaching the gospel in his usual characteristic way of singing and thumping the bell
He added however that since the video went viral his family members now have a different perspective.
He said Lori iro is not about Christians alone but for every human being irrespective of their faith.
On how he came about the video, he said he was not aware of how the video was put together and how it went viral; pointing out that he was initially embarrassed when the video was being circulated.
Badmus said however that many are now coming to know Jesus through the video recalling that he was inspired to preach and discourage people from the habit of telling lies when he observed what was happening in the society.
He said, “What motivated me about lori iro is my personal experience in life and many things I saw in the Bible that are not being practiced. As I grow up, I discovered that liars are too many in our social-political life and even our religious life”
Badmus said preaching is what is keeping him alive saying all he wants is for people to have a changed life. “I am now very happy that the video is getting to many homes and people are now believing in the reality of Jesus.”
Incidentally, some people have taken advantage of the viral video to impersonate him and raise money on his behalf.
He decried the attitude of these syndicate agents who have gone to impersonate him asking for money from people saying he is not aware of the people.
“I want people to appreciate the message I preach. But I was embarrassed to see the video where some people say they are Baba Iro Po 1 and Baba Iro Po 2 and that people should pay money to some account. That is the lie, lie, we are talking about,” he said.
Lori iro is a Yoruba slang that captures promises based on deception.