AN OPEN LETTER TO PASTOR OLUFEMI SOLOMON

Dear Pastor, I still remember how I met you very vividly. 2013, I was led into a building in Ibadan, Nigeria where I saw "library resource" as one of the services they offer. I walked into that building and I met a group of people holding a meeting. I briefly spoke with you and you went back to coordinating that meeting. I didn't know that that was a meeting with destiny. I wasn't even praying in tongues.

I remember how I would come to the former secretariat and I would hear you speak about faith all the time. One day, you showed me an old book about Smith Wigglesworth. You didn't know that that was a seed.You asked me to read a portion that talked about the presence of God that Smith carried! Few weeks later, you laid hands on me in a prayer meeting. That radicalized me and led to a whole lot of things in my final year in OAU.

I started working closely with you towards the end of 2014 and a major lesson you always reiterate is FEED ACCORDING TO YOUR NEED. I cannot forget how i etched those words in my journal and heart. I followed you as we went about looking for the rise of God's Generals in Wakajaye. We held a series of meetings that was aimed at stirring hunger up in the people. I don't think I ever told you that those meetings were primarily for me. I didn't just attend as a worker in CYA,

I had to go for NYSC in 2015 and returned in 2016 and Pastor, you were different when I returned. You have switched from the faith teacher I have always known you to be to a prophetic voice that cannot be silenced despite oppositions and challenges. The gospel of the kingdom became your focus and you were teaching it with all your heart.

It was a change I could not calculate. At the end of that year, you hungered for a dimension of God that is unprecedented in Nigeria. We held a meeting around welcoming the Holy Spirit to Nigeria. I remember that night. Epignosis 2016. I saw your eyes. You were not satisfied with the meeting. You wanted more. 2017 came and it was a boom! We launched into very new dimensions in God.

Dreams, visions and encounters were abundant. In the midst of this all, your hunger would not quench. I stood right by you and watched all along. I didn't take my eyes off. There was a day you came to work limping. What happened? You told me to gather guys and pray for you to be able to handle the anointing. I watched in amazement. Pastor, I did not forget that day. You prayed for me, Timi Owoeye and Tobi Babatunde. Those deposits are still here. I went back to create a wineskin to sustain the wine.

I remember how you knelt and prayed for the Passing The Torch Crusade of Reinhard Bonnke and the Prophetic Conference of Sadhu Selvaraj. You took me to that conference. The night Prophet Babs Adewumi ministered was strange. The conference hit a massive peak that night. Pastor, you held my hands all through that period. I was in the middle of the heat;it was a double dose for me that night. We returned to Ibadan and we started preparing for ALIGNMENT- the 2017 version of the meeting we held in 2016 where we hungered for the Holy Spirit in Nigeria.

Then, you started bringing out different teachings for us to grab what the end times truly requires of a Christian. They were different. You didn't allow me to rest. You sent me on many errands. I started visiting school principals. Things I thought I could not handle. I became radical! Many people felt my own is too much, but I could not rest because my leader is still running.

2018, you entrenched us in teachings that finally cemented us in the gospel of the kingdom. You kept on hammering on the Joel Army! I remember that day you asked me to share about Joel Army. I wondered what I would be saying when you are on seat. I struggled that day and you came to my aid secretly. You noticed the struggle and called your brother to give sounds.

I couldn't see darkness around me and feel comfortable again. I was baked into a territorial warrior. By 2019, we were set to hijack territories for Jesus. Ilorin, Kwara state was the first hit. The trip to the place was heavily contested; I was turning back home already, but you insisted that I show up. When I got to the car, I heard you praying. You won that battle! We smashed everything in the way of the gospel. It was sweet.

I acquired the militant mindset of a christian from you. The things you hunger for rubbed off on my hunger. I could remember how you encouraged me to write about my findings on Usman Dan Fodio even though I was scared. You even told people to read and share it!

Pastor, you pushed me on many fronts- FBN, Joel Troop. You gave me a very wide playing ground and helped me grow into many things I never knew existed in me. I made mistakes, but you didn't pull me out of the playing field, instead you pushed me deeper.

Happy Birthday, Pastor Femi. I celebrate you immensely. Your labour over me will not be in vain sir.

Pastor, it was very hard to leave Ibadan. I wanted to stay around. I didn't tell you, but I cried. I miss you sir. Writing this has made me to forget that I have not eaten dinner and it's 21:41 already. I will have to sleep without food today. I'm looking forward to seeing you.

God bless you sir.