Prophet Israel Oladele Ogundipe (Genesis)
Prophet Israel Oladele Ogundipe is popular as Genesis. In this interview with our REPORTER, he dwells on the controversies surrounding his person, the rough roads he travelled to where he is presently and more.
Among Celestial faithful, the name, Genesis, is a popular one can you tell us how it came to be?
There is no way I will tell the story of my life without giving it all to God, the author and finisher of my faith. My key word in life is grace and this is because you cannot do anything without the grace of God. Grace is the currency you never bargained for which God has given you free of charge. When we talk about grace we have grace to start, grace to continue and grace to finish. I never believed I could operate as a Celestial Prophet until God took me there. As I was praying, I saw in my revelation the big name Genesis and there is no way you will want to talk about manifestation that you won’t talk about creation, there is no way that you want to talk about revelation that you won’t talk about Genesis. So, I linked it together that maybe God was trying to tell me something by giving me the word Genesis. I also linked the word Genesis to myself being the first child of my family. I thought God wanted to use me to lighten up my family and that was why he made me the first child of the family. You also have to remember that everything about the world came from Genesis.
You were once a Muslim before turning a Christian, what motivated the change?
I came from a Muslim family, my name then was Wasiu, but my parents gave their life to Christ and became members of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC).
How is it that your parents went to CAC and you ended up in a Celestial Church?
When I decided I was going to Celestial Church my father and mother concluded that the fact that I had gone there meant I had been directed to. If not for them, I would have been distracted. I never liked the church, but one thing about me is that I am not in the habit of bringing people down.
For one who didn’t really go to school, you sound very eloquent tell us how you came to be this fluent?
I was born without a silver spoon in my mouth. My father and mother brought me up telling me that the most dangerous man on earth is the one who knows where he is going. And that was why I said to myself that my background would not affect where I am going. We were born without a silver spoon in our mouth, when we did not have food to eat we didn’t have to go begging, we didn’t have to let people know. As a first child, my father needed money to send me to school, but when he did not have he thought me what I called personal development and how to maximize opportunity. I have always had the mindset from the beginning that nothing is impossible. If you can do it, I can also do it; it is only a matter of time. I made up my mind a long time ago that my parents might be poor but I was going to make them laugh.
You also have a huge taste for books too, tell us about this?
It is because of the mentality I have about success. Success is not given to age, but a determined mind. I also believe that getting started is getting ahead. That you are there before me doesn’t matter, what matters is the fact that if you can do it, I can. If it is possible for you to pray and get what you need then it is possible for me too.
Coming from a poor family your spirit must have been dampened occasionally, what kept you going?
My mother used to tell me that there is nobody bearing Wasiu who won’t be successful because of the meaning of the name. The name means he who God has given enlargement. So, that mentality remained in my brain that I must be enlarged, I must grow, I must enlarge my coast.
So you never went near the gates of a higher institution all your life?
I gained admission into the University of Ife, but I couldn’t go because as at that time, I gained admission to Universal College of Technology, so I did my National Diploma there, but there was no money to further my education. I graduated with a National Diploma in Accountancy from the College of Technology.
There have also been talks about the friends you keep, especially entertainers
I am not in the habit of running people down. If you smoke or drink I will want to be around you or be your friend because I know God will soon pass a message to me through you. If I am not a friend of a smoker or drinker how will it be easy for you to tell me how to stop it? Since I am not a drunkard, if I want to preach to people who drink and tell them not to do it again what am I going to say? And that is why if I preach I believe in thus says the experience and not thus says the book or the Bible. I can preach with what has happened to me for two hours and I am not going to stop because I am preaching from the source. If you preach from what you have read you are only preaching heresy, but if you are preaching from experience you can say it happened to me. For instance, in my father’s house when there was no money we ate house rat.
I am sorry, but I have to bring you back, did you really eat house rats?
I am telling you the fact of what I have experienced in life. More and people are going to read it in my book titled “Being Unstoppable”.
There have been several negative speculations about you too.
In my 13 years in the ministry a lot has been said about me. So many evil have been done to me, but God has always been faithful. I don’t have any secret. The keys to my office is not with me neither is that to my drawer or my house. You also have to remember that leadership has to do with service and when you want to serve you have to expect distraction, confrontation, persecution, accusation because that is the only way you can get promotion to get to the land of manifestation. This is because there is no leader without a story, are we talking about Jesus or Mohammed.
Jesus wasn’t a magician, but they accused him of using power of darkness to heal the sick, he ate with the sinners and they said he was a glutton. If I hadn’t gone through that experience what will I have to say today.
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