He was named Adeola Adeleye at birth, but after surviving 13 different accidents people began calling him Adeola Testimony.
That is not all. He seemed to have had a deal with challenges right from birth. “I was born with a disability. My feet are not like other people’s feet. The two feet face each other rather than standing straight, so I walk in a very awkward way.” he said in a chat with Church Times.
That however did not deter him from making progress in life. Though very brilliant from his primary school, his father, a farmer and his mother a petty trader could not do much to support his education. He had to stop after his school certificate and took up a trade, in graphic art, a profession that has come to be his main source of livelihood.
Beyond graphic arts, however, Testimony as he is now being called by those who know him have built a carrier in singing.
In Ondo State where he is well known, he had carved a niche for himself singing gospel songs and dancing to the glory of God. “In fact, people used to wonder how I am able to dance when I sing despite the way my feet are. I dance by inspiration. The stunts I display while dancing take people by surprise,” he said, adding that “it was when I became born again that God gave me the music ministry”
His music, dance and his profession as a graphic artist are however just there. What seems to have brought him more exposure is the miraculous hand of God upon his life and how God saved him through 13 different accidents targeted at his deformed feet.
“I have had 13 different accidents and each of the accidents were targeted at my legs. The legs are naturally bad but I still walk with them, but the devil just wanted to deny me the use of the legs. But God has not allowed the plan to work. And it won’t work. He saved me all through and my bones did not break in all the accidents.”
The most incredulous of the accidents was the one he had in 2017 when an okada (motorcycle) man drove him straight underneath a trailer. One of his legs was trapped inside the front tyre of the trailer that it became difficult for it to be removed.
After so much trouble, the medical doctor who was present at the scene of the accident advised they remove the tyre along with him to the hospital. Because the doctor did not want the affected leg amputated, he took him close to three days to carefully severe the legs from the tyre.
As this was being done, Testimony was in coma. He was not aware of what was going on. He said, “As a matter of fact by the third-day news had gone round Idanre that I was dead. All hope was lost. But as God would have it, I became conscious again and the legs were successfully separated from the tyre. But I could not use the legs for close to one year. My mother practically had to take me to bath and to the toilet for the period.”
What however came as a shock was that his bones were still intact just like previous accidents. “Nothing happened to my bones to the amazement of the medical doctors and nurses who took care of me. By the time God was through with healing the leg, I could walk better and I felt stronger”
Adeola Testimony: How I got the song modupe mori aanu gba
The story of the song: Modupe Mori aanu agba however is another interesting one. Though he received the song divinely in 2015 when God reminded him how he saw him through all the accidents he has had before then, he said the song made more meaning and became more popular after the 2017 incident.
But the song actually came as a result of frustration. “I was really frustrated and actually wanted to take my life because no lady wanted to marry me. I felt I was getting mature for marriage and did approach some ladies one after the other and they all turned me down because of my bad feet.
“There was one who had agreed but by the time I went to visit her at home, I could see through the countenance of her mother that I was not welcomed in the house. A few days later the lady said she was no longer interested in the relationship. That was what affected me psychologically that I ran home and cried. I expressed my frustration to my mother.”
He didn’t stop at that, he actually tried to commit suicide. He had bought a poisonous substance called snipper. But the Holy Spirit waded in and warned him that if he committed suicide, he would go to hell straight. “I heard the voice. The Holy Spirit spoke to me that I would go to hell if I committed suicide. That was how I buried the idea of killing myself.”
But the Holy Spirit did not leave him comfortless. It was in the midst of the confusion that the Lord reminded him how he was saved from previous accidents and how he has been sustaining him. God reminded him that not many people had the kind of privilege he had.
“That was how I came to a realisation that God really loved me. I came back to myself. It was at that moment that the song was ministered to me by the Holy Spirit. I was singing the song in the whole of Ondo State then and was known for song. But by the time I had the 2017 accident, the song became more relevant and took a life of its own.”
Since he came out of the hospital, he has been making waves and getting sundry invitations to minister. “I have put in about eight years in the music ministry. The early years were tough. I used to beg to get invitations and sometimes would travel to far places at my expense just to minister until the Holy Spirit warned me to stop seeking the approval of men. God told me at the appropriate time he would expose me.”
Adeola Testimony: Making more impact
Today, Testimony is making a great impact. His fame is gradually rising. Women are now dying to have him as their husband. “Let me confess that about ten ladies have indicated interest. They have actually come to tell me they are interested in me. But I was not carried away by their proposal.”
He however disclosed that God had led him to a lady who is not part of those who sold themselves to him and they have agreed to settle down in marriage before the end of the year.
The song, modupe mo ri aanu gba, meaning, I am grateful I received God’s mercy is practically on the lips of many worshippers especially in the South West Nigeria. The song has been a blessing to many. “I get testimonies from far and near of how the song has blessed lives. But there are people who contend that it’s not a new testament song. A brother actually called me and said it’s not a new testament song.
“I was able to show him from scripture that God has said he would show mercy unto whom he would show mercy. I told him that God gave me the song not that I composed it. The Lord also told me that anywhere the song is rendered that he would show his mercy to all the people there. It is true that Jesus has died for everybody, but not all will receive the salvation he offered. We are all saved by grace.”
Adeola Testimony could be reached on +234 706 119 3028
Story by Gbenga Osinaike