The Spiritual Side Of Gov. ADELEKE  Revealed

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• How God Told Him He Would Win OSUN Elections

Not many people know that Gov. Ademola Adeleke of Osun State is a deeply spiritual person. We can tell you that authoritatively. Forget the fact that he loves to Sing and dance. That is just one side of him. The other is his deeply spiritual angle. He usually likes to describe himself as a special child of God who he says he ordered his steps.

What many don’t know is the fact that God had told him months back, that he would win the Osun elections, but that it would be very challenging. Months back, Gov. Adeleke had prayed to God for his blessings and the response was that he will get a 2nd term, though many battles will come his way. That is what actually happened. Many also don’t know that each time Gov. Adeleke prays for something to happen, God usually blesses it and it usually comes to pass. That is why he supports church activities. And those of the Muslims too.

A few years back, at a function held at a popular social club at Maryland, Lagos, Adeleke in his brief speech, requested that the members should please continue to pray for the success of his tenure in Osun State. Adeleke told the gathering that usually people like to underate him a lot and he doesnt mind because unknown to them, that is infact his strength. He was the Special Guest of Honour at that event and he was made a Patron of the club.

He shocked everyone present when he said as far as he can remember, there is nothing he has asked God to do for him that has not come to pass. He said there has been nothing he has prayed for in his adult life that has not happened. He said all he needs to do is to put his request before God. He gave examples. He said he never planned to go into Politics, but circumstances made him go for it. He added that he never dreamt of becoming a Senator, but for the passing of his elder brother, Serubawon. He also said he never believed he would one day become a Governor. He explained that it was the Lord’s doing. He said it was God who led him to vie for each role. City People can authoritatively reveal that he inherited his spirituality from his mum who was also deeply spiritual.

City People has found our that behind the colourful personality, political battles, dancing steps and dramatic election campaigns of the Osun Governor, lies another side of the governor that is not often discussed as frequently as his Politics. That is his deep spiritual life. Adeleke has never hidden his belief that God has played a central role in his journey. For him, Politics may be fought by men, but Victory ultimately comes from God.

And this conviction did not begin when he became governor. It goes back to his childhood. Adeleke attends a White garment church. His connection is particularly strong with the Cherubim and Seraphim (C&S) Church, one of Nigeria’s prominent indigenous Christian white-garment denominations. The governor has publicly spoken about his childhood association with the Gideon House of Prayer Church of the Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim, Joseph Lambo Area, Ebute-Metta, Lagos.

In September 2023, Adeleke attended the church’s 70th anniversary Thanksgiving service and recalled the values he learnt there as a child. He said he could never become too busy to praise God, despite occupying the office of governor. He also declared that the fear of God and the God-driven values he learnt at Joseph Lambo continued to influence his approach to governance. This is significant because it shows that his relationship with the white-garment church is not a political relationship created after he became governor. It is rooted in his formative years.

The governor has therefore carried a spiritual identity into public life that predates his political career. The connection between the Adeleke family and the C&S Church also runs deep. Adeleke’s late mother, Esther Adeleke, was a Senior Mother-in-Israel of the church. His sister, Yeyeluwa Modupe Adeleke-Sanni, has also held the same title.

In August 2024, the family held a Thanksgiving service in memory of the late Mrs Esther Adeleke at the Cherubim and Seraphim headquarters in Lagos, with Adeleke using the occasion to celebrate what he described as God’s blessings in his life and the divine grace behind his political journey. One of the most revealing aspects of Adeleke’s spirituality is his extraordinary confidence in answered prayers.

His philosophy can be summed up in a powerful personal conviction: since he was born, there is nothing he has genuinely asked God for that God has not done for him. This belief helps explain the remarkable confidence with which Adeleke has approached some of the most difficult moments of his political career. He lost the 2018 Osun governorship battle after the controversial rerun.

He faced legal battles. He encountered internal opposition within his own political camp. He survived intense political attacks.Yet he returned in 2022 and defeated an incumbent governor. Then, in the latest political battle, he again faced a formidable opposition structure and emerged victorious. For a man who believes strongly in divine intervention, these experiences can easily reinforce the conviction that his political journey is part of a larger spiritual narrative.

Adeleke’s political history contains several moments that his supporters regard as evidence of God’s intervention. His first major breakthrough came in 2017 when he entered Politics following the death of his elder brother, Senator Isiaka Adeleke. He contested the Osun West senatorial by-election and won. Then came 2018. Adeleke contested for the governorship and lost the eventual battle to Gboyega Oyetola after a fiercely contested election and rerun. But the defeat did not end his political career. Four years later, he returned. In 2022, he defeated Oyetola and became governor of Osun State.

For Adeleke and many of his supporters, the sequence of events has reinforced the idea that his political destiny is being guided by something beyond ordinary political calculations. While it would be difficult — and journalistically unsafe — to state as a proven fact that Adeleke won an election because of Prayers, it is equally difficult to ignore the psychological and motivational power of faith in Adeleke’s political life. He believes in Divine Timing. This is another feature of Adeleke’s political personality that fits strongly into his religious worldview: Patience.

After losing the 2018 election, he did not disappear from politics. Instead, he remained politically active. When the opportunity came again in 2022, he seized it. The lesson that his supporters draw from this is simple: What God has ordained may be delayed, but it cannot be permanently denied. That philosophy has become part of the political mythology surrounding Adeleke. The governor himself has consistently placed God at the centre of his story.

Adeleke has also linked his religious upbringing directly to his approach to governance. At the 2023 thanksgiving service at Joseph Lambo, he said the values of a God-driven life were learnt from childhood and pledged to govern with the fear of God and focus on meeting the needs of the people. This is an important distinction. His spirituality is not presented merely as a personal matter. He has sought to connect it with public service. In other words, Adeleke’s argument is that the same values that guide him before God should also guide him as governor. One recurring feature of Adeleke’s relationship with the C&S Church is Thanksgiving.

His political victories have repeatedly been followed by thanksgiving activities. The 2024 thanksgiving service in honour of his late mother was particularly significant because it became an occasion for the governor to celebrate what his family regarded as God’s grace in his political journey. Thanksgiving is central to the spirituality of many white-garment churches. The emphasis is not merely on asking God for favours but also on returning to give thanks after receiving what believers consider divine intervention. The Cherubim and Seraphim tradition is also known for its strong emphasis on Prayer, spiritual warfare, fasting, visions and divine intervention.

Adeleke has publicly declared that he governs with the fear of God. At the 2023 C&S thanksgiving service, he said: “As a Governor, I govern with fear of God.” The statement clearly establishes that Adeleke regards faith as an important part of his identity as a public servant. Interestingly, senior figures within the C&S Church have publicly praised Adeleke’s faith. At the 2023 thanksgiving service, the Deputy Baba Aladura of the church, Elder Dr Olusegun Demuren, praised Adeleke’s love for humanity and fear of God, describing these qualities as connected to his achievements in office. Perhaps, no part of Adeleke’s spiritual story is more emotional than his connection to his late mother. Mrs Esther Adeleke’s position as a Senior Mother-in-Israel gave the family a deep connection to the church.

Her death therefore did not sever the relationship. Instead, her memory has become intertwined with family thanksgiving and Adeleke’s expression of gratitude to God. But Adeleke’s victory cannot responsibly be attributed exclusively to Spirituality. His supporters will tell you that his political victories are not simply the result of political mathematics alone.

They will point to his faith. They will point to his childhood. They will point to the church. They will point to his mother. They will point to the prayers. And they will point to his repeated survival in circumstances where many expected him to fail. Adeleke himself appears to have little difficulty giving God the credit.