She is a gospel artist. But beyond her music, she seems consumed in humanitarian services. For Shola Adedeji its difficult to divorce her music career from her passion for the less privileged.
That is how she has been rolling in the last few years. Though based in the US, she travels to South Africa and Nigeria about five to six times a year spreading the love with her music and resources.
She says, “there’s a purpose God has destined us for. I believe there is a calling in my life. It’s not something I just woke up to. When God wants to instil something into your life, you just see that all things you do are things of God. You want to be in His presence. You want to help other people, especially with the music ministry.
“God keeps giving me songs, ideas keep coming. So, I now went before God in prayer and received my confirmation or conviction that God really wants me to go here and propagate his word around the world. These are what motivated me that gave me that boldness and strength I’m using today.”
Women of Virtue International
Adedeji is also the founder of Women of Virtue International with headquarters in New Jersey. The organisation according to her “empowers women, motivates them and do programmes that will transform their lives. We also teach them how to discover their destinies.”
She discloses that widows and old people have been the greatest beneficiaries of her humanitarian gestures. From her US base, she reaches out to people with food supplies and clothing items.
“In Nigeria, we empower both the old and young. We have had to introduced various skills to people. There was a time we had many teachers at our empowerment programmes. What we did was to empower them to do other things like events decoration, bake making etc so they could make some more income for themselves outside their profession. We have also had to support some people to do transport business by paying part of the money they needed to purchase vehicles for the business.”
Adedeji: Grace my greatest Asset
Adedeji does not believe pastors have a right to live in affluence in the midst of poverty. She says, “To me, if God blesses me the first thing I want to do instead of buying a jet is to make sure that the people that God has placed under me are comfortable. So, it’s not about a jet as long as I can get to where I’m going comfortably with other means. We need to help other people. A well-known preacher once said he was able to acquire three jets or whatever during the COVID and was boastful about it. I don’t think that’s good.”
Adedeji’s greatest asset according to her is the grace of God. “it is not been easy to do many things at the same time. But God has been my strength. I just continue to ask God for wisdom and for direction. I also make sure my family is okay before taking any step. My family is my primary responsibility before going out to take care of other people’s problems. I try as much as I can to work things around my family schedule to make sure that we are all in good terms and conditions before embarking on any project.”
Commenting on her music she says, “When I’m ministering in songs, the atmosphere changes, the presence of God comes down. It is not about the songs, but it is about the power that backs the songs. It is about the power of God that is behind that ministration, That is what makes my music to be unique and different. The grace of God is always sufficient for me. The Bible makes us to understand that that the gift of a man makes room for him. That is what I am enjoying.”
She has just concluded work on an album titled, Dawn of New Glory. She attributes the progress so far on the album to Evang. Tope Alabi. “When we composed the song, it was New Glory but by the inspiration of God when we came into the studio, Evang Tope Alabi advised us on how to retouch it. God used her to change some of the lyrics and that was how we came up with it. So it’s Dawn of New Glory.”
She believes secular music and gospel songs are poles apart. A gospel artiste according to her has to continue to ask “God for the grace to unique. So, when you are unique, your song comes from God. So, it is the inspiration you receive from God that will help you to be able to touch the lives of your fans. It is not just about the song.”
The US-based artist insists further that the anointing for impact comes only from God. “When the backing of God is with you, God will begin to move because the most important thing is when your fans listen to your song, and their lives are transformed. Unfortunately, things have gone bad generally. But I believe that when we continue to ask God for divine inspiration, for Rhema, I believe the lives of our fans’ will continue to change to the glory of God.”