Interview: Christians have no business in politics- Pastor Sola Rotimi

Pastor (Dr.) Sola Rotimi

Pastor (Dr.) Sola Rotimi has been a gospel singer after he got born again in the early 70s while working with Nigeria Paper Mills at Jebba. He spoke with THE NATION on why he relocated to USA, amongst other issues. Excerpts:

Why did you relocate to the USA?

As children of God, we are saved to serve. When Jesus ordered his disciples to preach the gospel to all nations, He was not asking us to stay in a certain geographical area. After I got born again at Jebba many years ago, I embarked on evangelism going from one village/town to another.

It got to a stage that I embarked on train evangelism. At that time train evangelism was very effective in Nigeria. I loved waking up around 4:30 am daily for morning cry through songs of repentance and salvation accompanied by playing of accordion.

So one particular morning at Ibadan, as I was going on evangelism, I met a man who I later found out his name to be Dr Oluwo. He had a friend who had a big church in London. He gave me his complementary card and asked me to see him in the house.

So three days later, I decided to trace the address on the card. On getting there he told me how my songs inspired and changed him and so he invited me to his church for songs ministration and I agreed to go. That’s how we became friends even though he was an elderly person.

One day he sent for me and when I got there, to my surprise he offered to take me to London, that he wanted to prove to the Europeans that there are talents too in Africa. In a nutshell, that’s how I travelled to London in 1980 and that was the first time I left Nigeria shores for evangelism in foreign land.

So how did you then find yourself in the USA?

First I got invited. I’ve been travelling to London and other countries like Israel and Switzerland before I got invitation to US and later relocated to the country. I got invited to Israel during the feast of Tabernacle in Jerusalem organised by International Christians Embassy (ICE) in Jerusalem.

I went there on a visit for at least three times and one of those times I was there for over three months so I had to leave because they wanted to hire me into a Ghanaian church over there. They loved my ministration but I told them that I can’t stay. And coming back I got another invitation to Switzerland before I finally moved to USA in 2004.

What kind of a church you run over there?

My mission is Christ Apostolic Church (CAC). So, I belong to Christ Apostolic Church and that’s where I am.

What brought you home at this time?

The Christ Apostolic Church clocked 100 years in 2018 and I am one of the representatives that came for the grand finale of the centenary celebration of the church in November. And more so, I am one of the centenary award recipients alongside Lady Evang. Bola Are, Ayewa and Mama Fasoyin of Good Women Choir. Each time I’m home in Nigeria, I always like to release an album. So, after the centenary programme I decided to stay back and work on an album before I go back. And now I’ve completed the album (Eternity) which had also been launched on the 19th of January 2019.

You’re also using songs to propagate gospel; what inspires you to sing and do you consider the commercial aspect of it?

After I got born again, I fell in love with the words of God and each time I’m reading the scriptures, inspiration do come on certain verses and before I knew it I will start singing. So I get inspired mainly from the scripture to come up with a particular song.

At times it could be while listening to a powerful sermon, sometimes it could be from an incident that happened and touches me. Sometimes in the dream but most of the time, the inscription comes through reading of the scriptures.

My focus is not to make money through songs but to use it as a medium to spread the gospel of Christ and to win souls because I have a burning passion to bring lost souls to the vineyard of God. Besides, Christ admonished us to go into the world and propagate his gospel because we are saved to serve. So my mission is not to amass wealth to myself through songs but to reach souls through songs.

What do you make of the present day’s gospel artistes?

Well, I discovered that the peril of an end time has overtaken many. And it’s not strange because what we are seeing now corroborates what Christ had said about end time in the scripture. At the end time, the love of many will wax cold and they will be lovers of money and of their stomach.

And this is the time; we are in that era, and he who that ignorant of it will easily fall prey of the fake prophets running after money and fame. At times as a minister of songs I discover that many sing to praise men against the wish of God. Although some are genuinely called to the ministry but many sing simply because of earthly popularity and money.

I always advise my comrades to always give themselves to the reading of scriptures as well as fasting and prayer, which are the only ways to receive strength and get rooted in God.

Worldly wisdom is vanity. Sometimes when you listen to the songs of some who are not Christians their songs sounds very good, the wisdom might be there but the inspiration for salvation of souls is missing.

That’s why it’s necessary to seek godly wisdom before we come up with a particular song. There are some gospel songs today that one will not be able to differentiate between them and secular songs. So like I said, it’s a peril of an end time.

It’s a political season in Nigeria, do subscribe to churches and some men of God endorsing candidates for elective positions?

Well, to me a Christian is not a politician. That’s why I talked about worldly wisdom. Worldly wisdom is calling on Christians to go into politics because they believe if Christians are there they would do the right thing.

But they forgot that it’s only God that appoints leaders. If God doesn’t permit that there is nothing anybody can do. Christians are not politicians, our primary assignment is to evangelise and we are to advise, warn and correct the politicians.

If God wants any Christian to be in politics, God himself will order such person’s step and if such happens it means God want to manifest His glory through that individual. For instance Daniel, Shedrach, Meshach and Abednego in the bible, never contested for any political seat in Babylon but because God wanted it, Daniel became governor and Shedrach, Meshach and Abednego were appointed into positions in government.

Looking at their lives they didn’t govern like regular politicians, they regarded them as men of God. The people of Babylon consulted them when things were going wrong and solution always come. We also read about Joseph, to fulfill God’s purpose Joseph became prime minister in Egypt. He never struggled to be in power. So it can happen that way.

I am not ruling it totally though, that God cannot ask someone to go into politics but that would be by divine intervention. Those who are Christians in politics in our country in the time past, what was their impact as Christians while their tenure lasts in government?

So what’s your reading of the state of the nation at the moment?

When a nation is against God, a lot of things like what we are seeing now happen. Wickedness has taken over the landscape of Nigeria. Why should a person choose to bathe with blood simply because he is seeking for a political seat? All these things are bound to happen because they have failed to put God in their schedule.

Nigeria is a country of both of Christianity and Islam, yet the happenings in the nation do not portray us in the righteous light. Shedding innocent blood has become a regular in the land and when such happen, punishment follows.

We need to move close to God in repentance with total surrender and ask for the wisdom of God. Only then we will begin to see changes. It would have become worse than this if not for the prayers of the saints, so we shouldn’t stop praying.