In 2018, Saint Solomon Akomolede made news when he abandoned his medical studies at the University of Ibadan despite being a part five student. He left the university abruptly to go into missions saying he had a deep conviction to preach the gospel rather than continue with his medical studies. He did not yield to all entreaties to finish his course before pursuing his missionary calling.
Four years after dumping his medical studies, Akomolede has continued to thrive in ministry. In this interview with Gbenga Osinaike and Tomisola Adesanya, he shares his recent missionary experience among the Maasai people of Kenya. The Maasai people are believed to be one of the lost tribes of Israel. Below are excerpts from the 40 minutes chat:
You have been going to East Africa for a while now for healing crusades. What informed your sojourn to that part of Africa?.
Several years ago. God told me that I’d be having healing crusades, missions, and meetings in nations. That was in 2013. A year after in 2014, I got a prophecy on my birthday that God would be sending me to Tanzania, although I didn’t know how that was going to come to pass. But I was expectant nevertheless. Then in 2017, I started doing online teaching which attracted people from different parts of the world. Some of the people that were blessed by those teachings were Tanzanians. So in 2018 a group of churches came together and invited me to come to hold revival meetings in Tanzania.
That was shortly after you abandoned your medical programme at the University of Ibadan to focus on evangelism?
Yes, it was shortly after I decided to abandon my medical studies. I started healing and teaching meetings in Tanzania after saying bye to my medical studies. That was how my mission actually started. From Tanzania, I was invited to Kenya. The first time I was in Kenya was in July 2018 and I came back to Tanzania again to continue my meetings.
What has been your experience of East Africa before your last trip to Kenya?
I can only talk about the countries I have been to in East Africa which are Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. What I discovered is that East Africans are not as passionate as Nigerians when it comes to the gospel. But they are very open to learning about the supernatural. Once they see that God is working with you they are moved to support you.
So what has been your own experience with them in this regard?
Most of the doors that have opened to me in East Africa were opened because of what they see God do in my life. They also love the insight and understanding they get when I teach and preach about God’s love. They see that I don’t do manipulations. I just get there, preach about the love of God and demonstrate his healing power and that’s all. I don’t collect offerings. They found that very touching.
I am sure you probably heard stories of some men of God going there to do all kinds of shady things. What stories do you get to hear in this regard?
That is true. Many of them were usually skeptical when they realise that a Nigerian is coming to preach. It was one of the challenges I had initially. From their experience, some Nigerian pastors come there to manipulate people to get money from them. So they are usually taken aback when they see I don’t manipulate them.
From what you have said so far they are also prone to being manipulated because they are looking for signs, don’t you think so?
Yes. But God has trained us differently. In fact, there was someone from Europe I was ministering to. That was in 2017. After ministering to him he asked if I was not going to ask for money. I had to tell him that God did not train me that way. I just believe if you are blessed and you feel led you can give and I have never lacked. God has always been touching people to give
Let’s talk about this last trip, what informed the last trip?
After I got married in 2020 God spoke to me that I should start marathon prayers. The maximum number of hours I had ever prayed was between 12 hours to 18 hours. But God told me to stretch it and start 24 hours of prayers. So I started that in December 2020 and the next month we increased it to 48 hours and then 72 hours. Finally, we were able to pray for 96 hours. That was for four days. It was during the 72-hour prayer the Lord spoke to me to restart my missionary journey. I just got married and my finances were down. There was no way I could financially fund the missionary trips.
But I have learned that when God speaks just trust God. So I just trusted him and provisions started coming and it led to the missionary trip to Kenya last year. That was my first meeting with the Maasai people. I ministered in Nairobi. I held healing crusades in Massai Mara and Mombasa. The meeting last year with the Massai people in Massai Mara was what led to my recent visit to the place.
Before we talk about the Maasai people, you talked about 24 hours, 48hours of prayer non-stop. How does that work out? Some people will hear that and they’d keep wondering how you do that?
Well, the rule is no sleeping for that period of time and you are not going to stop praying. It is a marathon prayer.
Is it practicable to pray for that length of time? Do you pause to meditate? Was it just you? How does it work?
Well, I am not the only one doing the prayer. A couple of people joined me. But we pray throughout as I said. My wife and I are involved, some joined virtually and we had a system or should I say an alarm that alerted us every hour to prevent some people from falling asleep
You don’t pause to eat, or drink? And there are no health implications?
Of course, we eat. But we take light meals in the cause of the prayers. There are no health implications. What I discovered is that my urge to sleep is reduced and I am able to pray for longer hours
So are you saying there are no health implications for not sleeping that length of time?
No, not at all. You know when you pray in the holy ghost it is not your body praying but your spirit releasing the utterances and once you are praying like that you are fortifying your physical body so it is not like you are physically exerting yourself. The way we pray is not as if we are jumping up and down we just stay in a spot and pray
Do you speak for yourself when you say there are no health implications? Are you sure there were no implications for those that prayed with you?
Of course, it might not be general because not everybody has the wisdom of balance. But for some people that have also done something like that and there have been no issues. I heard the story of Pastor Enoch Adeboye who also did something like that. There is the wisdom of balance when it comes to spiritual things. You must know how to take care of your body. You must know when you are going beyond the limit. When I know I am going beyond the limit, I eat fruits, take care of myself, rest, and continue again.
Are you saying in essence that the body can be stretched to whatever length you want?
Yes with training. It is not something achieved drastically. You build gradually and the body adjusts to it.
Let’s talk about the Massai people can you tell us about them?
The Massai settlements are more like a village kind of environment. But there are tourist attraction centers in their villages. They are nomads. But they also have a particular settlement. The Massai people extend beyond Kenya and Tanzania. They are so much into livestock rearing majorly cattle and sheep. They are surrounded by wildlife. Literally getting there you’d see Zebras and a host of other animals like Giraffe. Around the time I went was the mass migration of wild beasts from the Serengeti to the Maasai Mara. The dangerous animals are in the interior of the forests. This is why the Maasai Mara men arm themselves. You’d never see a Maasai man without a sword in case they are attacked by a wild animal.
Are they trained to handle attacks from these dangerous animals?
Yes, they are trained to manage that kind of situation from a very young age. They are trained to kill wild animals right from their youth.
How did you blend and manage to feel safe there knowing that you are in a danger zone?
I don’t know where I got the boldness from. Maybe because of the passion I have for missions and the Holy Spirit in me. I am just very bold. I think God has made me like that. I don’t get scared. We even got close to the lions although we were in land cruisers while at the tourist centres in Kenya.
From your experience with the Maasai, were there cases of innocent people who have fallen victim to these animals in the course of sightseeing
Well, none that I know of or experienced but possibly, yes there might have been
So the Maasai people kill lions?
Yes, they do. But the government has intervened to prevent the lions from going to extinction. The government discourages them from killing wild animals generally.
Tell us about the spiritual disposition of the Maasai people?
When we talk about the Maasai people they are believed to be one of the lost tribes of Israel that is why their culture is very similar to that of the Israelites and they are so connected with nature that they know the purpose of every leaf in the forest. They don’t use orthodox medicine, they use herbs and they are generally very strong. Because of their long connection with Israel, they have a long history of loving God.
Do they practice Judaism?
It is kind of similar and that’s why they are so open to God. If you go to them and they see you are genuine they would welcome you. They are so open to hearing about God and the gospel. They are so hungry for the word.
What is the history of their Christian faith from what you gathered?
They have a long history of interactions with missionaries who come to give them aid and other forms of spiritual support.
What is their cultural disposition?
They are cultural people. They have not allowed much western influence. They live in mud houses. They prepare their meals like in the ancient days. They extract milk from cows and take it like that. It is not processed. There are no schools there so they learn in a very crude way. Most of them do not understand English. The ones that do learn it orally from the missionaries. They have refused to embrace civilization and have stuck with the old ways of living. I find this quite impressive.
Do they have deities or idols they worship?
Well, there have been very diligent missionary efforts there so right now from my experience I did not see them worship any strange god. The only thing I observed is that some of them can be prone to marrying many wives.
What is the church like? Are there different denominations coming there to evangelise or do they belong to one body?
I saw there is a really great sense of unity among the Maasai people. The Christians there are very united. For example, If you hold a crusade, everyone comes out to join in the organization and execution.
Is Islam practiced there?
Nothing like Islam there and that was surprising for me
You have been interacting with them for about a year now, what have you learned from them that has helped you personally?
Their connection with nature has inspired me. This is very important because they live among mountains, rivers, and wildlife. I felt different while there compared to when I was in cities. I felt stronger spiritually. I felt more alert. So I think it is something I’d really love to imbibe in my daily life. The serenity there is absolute.
So what is your plan? How often do you intend to go there?
The plan is to be going there yearly. We also have missionary plans of seeing how we can develop the land if provision comes
What is the population of the Maasai People and how did you stay with them during your last trip?
I heard they are about a million; they are spread across East Africa. Kenya has 47 counties just like we have states in Nigeria. So one of the counties where the Maasai people are is called Narok and in that Narok, we have the Maasai and the Calengene * settlements. I was there for just three weeks when I went there last. Their weather is quite warm but it gets cold in the evening.
It has been about five years since you abandoned Medical school to pursue evangelism, what has the road been like?
It has been a great journey for me; I think if I had not done this I would have regretted it big time. It has been such an adventurous experience. I think God really honored my faith and it has opened a lot of doors a lot of favours. There are a lot of things I never thought I would have done. I have written over 60 books and I am yet to be 30. This is not an easy feat. I have been to seven countries of the world for ministrations and still counting.
Do you hope to start a church?
It is very possible but for now, my ministry remains a missionary organization until God says it is time for a church.