In my previous post, I shared the biography of the Soun of Ogbomoso designate— Prince Afolabi Ghandi Olaoye, from his birth to his educational background, work experience and family life.
As expected, the post went viral and generated a lot of reactions from readers, especially on social media. Facebook, to be exact.
Not forgetting that the position of the Ogbomoso Kingmakers on the chosen designate is being challenged by some aggrieved co-aspirants of Ghandi, Naija Banquet revisited some Facebook Groups and Pages to see people’s opinions on Prince Ghandi’s aspiration and here is what they had to say.
Here are the Comments of Ogbomoso Indigenes about the Nomination of Prince Ghandi as the Next Soun of Ogbomoso
1. Ghandi, a round peg in a round hole—Adeleye Adekunle Samson
On Ogbomoso Meet, a Facebook group whose members are largely indigenes of Ogbomoso, we found Adeleye Adekunle Samson. In his own words, Primce Ghandi is a man of timbre and calibre. He has the heart of gold. Therefore, his nomination as the next Soun of Ogbomoso is well deserved.
2. Being a Pastor should not Deny Ghandi the Right to Contest the Throne of Soun— Raji Stephen
For Raji Stephen, Princes, by natural arrangement are born to eye the throne of their forefathers, regardless of the other office(s) they hold.
In Ghandi’s case, the reverse should not be the situation, that he is a pastor does not mean automatic disqualification from participating in the process.
3. For Samuel Adeleke, Combining the Offices of Soun of Ogbomoso and RCCG Parish Pastor is Possible but it’s a NO for Olayemi Oriloye
In his own argument, Samuel Adeleke posits that the office of Soun of Ogbomoso will in no way disturb his (Ghandi’s) functions as a minister of the gospel of Christ.
He gave an example of one Baba Masifa Ile who kept his office as Zonal Pastor in RCCG when he was the paramount ruler of Masifa. He also alluded to some Biblical characters such as David, who was very much involved in God’s ministry despite being a king.
Another Facebook User, Olayemi Oriloye shared a different opinion. In her words, “the seat of Soun of Soun is not a joke, it is full time traditional culture and calling. Can you (Ghandi) be like the Ooni Adeyeye?”
4. Popular Christian and Critic, Deji Yesufu also reacted to the Expression of Interest and Nomination of Prince Ghandi as the Next Soun
Contrary to popular opinion, Deji Yesufu in his article titled Why Pastors Should not Become Kings questions the personality and faith of the Soun of Ogbomoso Designate.
According to him, Pastors should not jettison their office as ministers of the gospel because there is no “nobler vocation” than harvesting souls for God.
“there is no higher calling than the call to serve Jesus Christ in Christian ministry. There is no nobler vocation than those of looking after the souls of human beings and preparing them for the life to come. Those who relinquish the office of a pastor to serve in political office or as traditional rulers have not been genuinely called by God. If they have been, I am convinced that the weight of the call on them will constrain them in the path of ministry, and there will be very little allowance to serve anywhere else.”
Furthering in his argument, Deji says:
“The trouble is that traditional seats in the country are known for their meddling with diabolical means. Most times, Christians have sought to pay their way through these traditional rites but they forget that whether they are directly involved in the rites or they are paying for it, they are still very much part of it. While pastors running for political offices do not engage in diabolical rites, the same case can be made against them: anyone called into the Christian ministry should never leave it for the kingly stool.”
5. Both Pastors and Kings are Ministers of God—Leke Alder
Refuting the stand of Deji Yesufu on the nomination of Prince Ghandi, a pastor with the Redeemed Church, he said, Jesus Christ himself belongs to the Melchizedek lineage of King-prist combo.
Could the traditional swearing in process be as diabolical as Deji Yesufu claims? Here is Leke’s reply.
“As per submitting oneself to traditional rites everything depends on leverage. There are many traditional kings who were sworn in on the Bible and did not participate in pagan rites. That said, it’s important to separate symbolic rites like the breaking of Kolanut from satanic rites involving sacrifices to demons.”
And the conversation continues…