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Founder of Harvest Point Ministry in Houston Texas, America, who preaches in Yoruba, Apostle Abayomi Oduneye, talks to FAITH AJAYI about his childhood and passion for promoting indigenous language and culture
What was growing up like for you?
I was born in Jos on July 4, 1953. My father worked in tin mining but after some time, we moved to Ghana with my father’s boss. There, he worked at the gold mine in a place called Takua in Ghana. I started my elementary school in a middle school in Ghana and later came back to Nigeria for my secondary school. Growing up was good because I had the opportunity of moving around.
Where are you from?
I am originally from Ijebu because my father came from Ijebu while my mother came from Ijesha, but after I was ‘born again,’ my nationality changed. I became the son of the king, the Lion of Judah.
How did you become a pastor?
In secondary school at age 16, I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour and I was a member of the Scripture Union. Scripture Union was where we ‘ate’ the Bible raw and practised it raw and that was the foundation that helped me. Also, my mother was born in The Apostolic Church and I would say the foundation of becoming a pastor started from there. When I was a brother, I went out for evangelism then I was made an elder. I then got a call to do full-time ministry. In The Apostolic Church, any accomplishment you have, as long as you are not an ordained pastor, you can’t be called a pastor. When the call came, God told me it wasn’t for Nigeria but outside Nigeria and my ministry would use Yoruba language to minister. I moved to the United States of America and I was officially ordained as a minister in The Apostolic Church.
Did you get any other form of formal education beyond primary and secondary?
I had my school certification at ULA Grammar School, Oshodi, in Lagos after which my parents sat me and my siblings down and told us they didn’t have the finances to sponsor us from here. I refused to accept that and enlisted at the Institute of Marketing, England. After the course, I got a job as a sales clerk and met BGW Harris who saw what I was doing and decided to sponsor me. Right now, I have a diploma in Marketing from the Institute of Marketing, England, and that was how far I went. I became a sales manager but later became the general manager of the same company before I left to start my own.
Have you always been keen on speaking Yoruba as a preacher?
The call was unique because initially, my Yoruba wasn’t fluent but The Apostolic Church made it mandatory that whoever wanted to be an elder must be able to preach in Yoruba because the majority of the congregants were Yoruba. So, I was forced to learn the language. My wife was kind enough to put me through and I began reading the Bible in Yoruba. I didn’t know God was preparing me for the United States of America but I mastered the Yoruba language and I was able to preach fluently in it.
When I got to the USA, I saw the yearnings of Nigerians who wanted to pray in their native language and that was when we started the Dagoduro Prayer Family. It attracted people from different denominations. We started with a revival but later metamorphosed into a Sunday service (Yoruba Christian Fellowship). The way we fixed the service gave room for people to still attend their local assembly while attending the fellowship.
What inspired you to become an advocate for Yoruba culture abroad?
The interest started from the call of God but in the course of carrying out the assignment, we discovered other things we could use Yoruba to do. One was the culture, including dressing. In America, before you become a citizen, you take a citizenship test and it is in the English language but we initially didn’t know one could take the test in their native language as long as you are a 65-year old and above. The Chinese did it, likewise the Spanish. One of the things God used the ministry to do in the US was to translate the test to Yoruba and we have had over 27 candidates pass the test in Yoruba language. That allowed me to be recognised for my effort in promoting the Yoruba language by the American government and I got an award for it.
Can you share some of the challenges you’ve faced while promoting the Yoruba language in a foreign country?
The challenges I faced, ironically, didn’t come from outside but rather from within. Those who were not Yoruba saw it as discriminatory. Another challenge came from within the close Yoruba community. There are some Yoruba idioms we use in praying but some who don’t know the full meaning of it don’t know its incantation but eventually, they got to know. The Bible says we should write the vision and make it plain that those who read it may run with it. If it’s not plain, you are on your own. But when they get to see it for what it is and understand it, they will then come. The good thing about Nigeria is that English is our official language. If Nigeria presents three languages to America, it will recognise it. At the end of the day, we are better off.
What strategies have you employed to overcome these challenges?
Resilience! The Bible says that the vision shall speak but no vision speaks at the beginning because, at the beginning, you are the only one that sees the vision. By the time you take out time to disseminate, break down the vision and make it plain, you get the attention of the people. So, the strategy was bringing it down to the level, taking time to explain it to people, and making it plain. The moment they grasp it, they will follow you.
Given the current economic reality in Nigeria, how do you think the diaspora community can contribute and positively transform it?
I want to commend the head of the diaspora commission, Abike Dabiri. That woman is doing a fantastic job. I don’t know her and I’m not saying this to promote her but she is doing a fantastic job. I’m a member of Nigerians in the Diaspora Association. It organises seminars to bring Nigerians in the diaspora to meet those at home (in Nigeria) through partnership and that has worked a lot. I have sat down to examine situations. For instance, the auto industry, whether we like it or not, because of the emission issue, the whole world is getting out of the use of the type of (petrol and diesel) vehicles we use in this country. Europeans and Americans have voted a lot of money to encourage third-world countries to get out of that situation. So, I would suggest that the Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers and the association of Nigerian mechanical engineers come together because the vehicle technicians of today who are experts in the maintenance of diesel-driven vehicles would be out of business in the next 10 years, whether we like it or not. Let the association and the NURTW form a cooperative and partner with Nigerians in the diaspora. I know a company in California that is not more than the size of my living room and it converts vehicles from regular petrol vehicles to electric vehicles.
The federal and state governments have been criticised for not meeting the expectations of Nigerians. Do you share that opinion?
Let us, while shouting that a governor is not doing anything, look for what we can contribute. There was a time in this country when we boarded a plane like we were running after molue. While others were complaining, others sat down to proffer solutions and that was when a cargo airline started. So, stop criticising the government, rather pray for them and look inwards to discover what you can contribute to the economy.
I went into the business of extracting oil from palm kernels and I made a lot of money then, in fact, the federal government encouraged me. Let the populace criticise the government minimally and look for what can be done to contribute our quota to the economy. There are opportunities.
What specific initiatives have you been involved in to promote economic development in Nigeria?
We have modern grasscutter, snail rearing and catfish businesses. I call it modern because there was a time when I was involved in promoting a pre-retirement business. We organised seminars for people retiring so that they could transition easily from civil service to small-scale industry after retirement. It also involves helping young graduates to do small-scale businesses. That was what I was doing before I travelled. This is my contribution towards Nigeria’s economic development.
How do you balance your role as a pastor with your advocacy work for Yoruba language and culture?
My major focus is evangelism which is to win souls for Christ. By doing so, I have the mastery of the use of my culture and language. Before I travelled, I realised that many people had a zeal for the work of God. They speak the Yoruba language and read the Yoruba Bible very well. They are later sent to a seminary where English is used to teach them and that is a barrier for them. This made me sign an agreement with the National School of Ministry in California. What they did was to collect theological instructions made by giants in the ministry in video and audio which are in the local language of the pastors. Then, we got the licence to use their materials and we have a complete school of ministry in Yoruba language. What we did was to package a ministry school with Yoruba language and we also have in Swahili, Twi, Portuguese and French. We ensure that the pastors at the school learn in their local languages and they go back to speak to their congregation in their respective local languages.  This gives them a deeper knowledge of the Bible. It is that knowledge they lack, that we have come to fill the gap.
What impact do you hope to make in Nigeria’s bilateral relationship with the US through your ministry?
The first thing is to bring cooperation between Nigeria and America on the platform of Christianity and to introduce our culture. For instance, African Americans have had the opportunity to give names to 37 African American children who voluntarily requested that giving them Yoruba names had meanings. I have a book that contains a list of Yoruba names for males and females and their meanings. I always hand this book to the parents to go through it and choose a name that is appropriate to the circumstances of the birth of the child. I am Abayomi (Otaobayomi oluwa ni koje). My mother laboured for 36 hours before giving birth to me and this circumstance of my birth gave me this name.
What kind of recognition did you receive from the US government for your work?
I will begin with the mayoral honour; it was not a thing I worked for. I was only doing my work diligently. I was only translating any public information the government was disseminating to Yoruba for the Yoruba community. In America, there are some things you do and you do not know the government is watching you. While we were doing that, it was watching and it saw the impact of what we were doing. It declared December 6 Yoruba Day. For the congressional recognition, it was because we translated the American 100 citizen’s test to Yoruba language and we encouraged the use of Yoruba language for the citizenship test. That was why I was given the congressional award. I am expecting that from the Nigerian government as well because if the Americans can recognise me, I am sure my country too will do the same.
How did you feel when December 6 was declared Dagunduro Yoruba Day in Houston, Texas?
I felt encouraged to do more. Then, I asked myself what we could do with this declaration to move the ministry and our effort to promote the Yoruba culture which was what birthed the programme we want to introduce this year. This will be a confluence of Yoruba culture and Christianity. There will also be a seminar that will educate Nigerian Christians on the significance of the use of our local languages and show the differences between our culture and language. This is because we have to be careful with the use of the local languages. For instance, some gospel singers in Nigeria while praising God use incantations that belong to Sango, Ifa and others. God is so big that nobody can describe Him. In describing Him, they (some gospel singers) look at a deity’s eulogy and use it to praise God. This will be discussed during the programme to enlighten the congregation. Also, the dowry issue controversy in Yoruba and Christianity will be broken down too. Importantly, there has been a rumour that missionaries backed colonial masters to exploit us; this will be explained too.
What advice do you have for individuals who are interested in promoting their cultural heritage abroad?
I encourage them to go ahead and do it since they have a vision towards it. The environment is enabling. My promotion is through the platform of the Lord Jesus Christ.
How do you see the future of Yoruba language in Nigeria and internationally?
Before the advent of the colonial masters, we had a structure of government that was very efficient and we did not have any coup. Everything went well at that time. This shows that before the coming of the colonial masters, we had a structure. I want to encourage going back to the foundation and not what it was. Bishop Oyedepo said that those who know their root, and identify with their root will not miss their fruit. Let us go back to our roots. There are a lot of things about Yoruba ingenuity and there are several things we can explore within us.
What role do you believe the media and opinion leaders can play in supporting initiatives for cultural preservation and economic development?
We need them that is why I am having this interview. When it comes to the dissemination of information, nothing gets out there without the media. I appeal to the media as a sector of the economy to help in the propagation of this area of focus.
I want to say that for any country that is out to colonise another country, the first step is to take their culture, language, mode of dressing and food from them. The moment they take these and replace them with their own, the people at the receiving end will have a mental concept that their own culture is inferior. In this case, I implore us to promote our culture. Incidentally, many people speak Yoruba in America. Even Americans teach Yoruba which means they see value in the language. I want us to promote our culture as there is nothing bad in it.

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