God trained me to feel what the poor feel, and suffer what they suffer – Missionary Folorunsho

Cleric and Missionary, Pastor Solomon Folorunsho is a missionary who found favour with governors, politicians and celebrities among others to execute the works after God’s heart. The Founder of the International Christian Church for the missions, whose Church accommodates some victims of the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast, in this interview with The Daily Times, disclosed his works at the Internally Displaced People’s camp, and shared his vision, burdens and his link with past and present governors, politicians among others. Excerpts:
 
What were your early days like as a missionary?

It was obedience to God. When God calls you, first, you must know what He has called you to do and know where He wants you to go. I knew I was called to take the gospel to villages, hamlets, camps, tribes and tongues that have never heard the gospel of salvation and those that call themselves Christians by name or in words, but not in deeds.
Also to bring people from darkness to light; to bring healing to the sick; to disciple them and to build them to be Christ-like.

The genesis

I came to Benin City where God wanted me to be and from there we started in one small room. The members I had then were only two girls and two little children. That was how the whole thing started. We didn’t have food to eat in those days; if we had a cup of gari (cassava flakes) to drink in three days, we had to praise God.

But I recognised that those challenges were for my training and testing, equipping and preparing me to get to know people, feel what others are feeling, suffer what the poor suffer and gradually with time, we started to grow; that’s why I am able to do what I am doing today.

Outreach

The church we established in Benin City is still there. Also our outreach to different places started to take shape and within a short time, we have over 300 churches in Nigeria and abroad.

Not much was heard about you and your ministry until some three years ago…

The truth is that I have never craved for publicity. I am somebody that does my thing quietly. I like my work to speak for me. I just have a belief that if I do what God wants me to do and He is pleased, then I am fine. My joy is that I obeyed the Lord.

What led you to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)?

Some people we had interaction with knew what we were doing though our activities were not reported in the media. It was when the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) came into one arm of our ministry which is caring for the needy, that the media got to know about us. Even at the initial stage I was not too keen on relating with journalists but I later realised that there is a time for everything. If God hadn’t used the media to our advantage we couldn’t have accomplished most things that we did. I found out that while some people have needs, there are others who have the means and are seeking for where to sow their seeds.

What are the facilities that you have here in the IDPs camp?

God gave us a health centre within the camp; now we are constructing our first main church building. The one we have been using is a mini hall because we just relocated here from Benin City. When we construct another church hall, we will put this one we are now to other use. We have school buildings for children and there are halls that serve as residence for the people here, among other facilities.

You appear to have something going with top celebrities in the country, even governors of this state….

I don’t know if I should be talking about that, but I have a robust relationship with some of them. Former governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and his wife, Iara, have been very supportive of this project. They have always made the people here feel at home. Even after he left office, Comrade Oshiomole and his wife has stretched out their hand of support to us. Notlong ago, they spent almost a whole day with us here going round to get firsthand knowledge of our challenges, offering words of encouragement to everyone and donating cash and gift items to us.
Godwin Obaseki, the incumbent governor is continuing from where his predecessor (Comrade Oshiomhole) left. The first time he was here was before he became governor. He was here to fellowship with us on a Sunday morning and also fed everyone with a delicious meal each. Although for a while now we’ve not heard from him. The last time he was here was during the last Christmas when he did some things that really touched our lives. He did what can be best described as a marvellous deed. He and his deputy, Hon. Philip Shaibu and their family members came in Father Christmas regalia to feed us and give us gifts in the spirit of the season.

We have had different non-governmental organisations (NGOs) coming here to support us. Some of the groups include the Red Cross, the UNICEF and others who come here once in a while.

How do you relate with your host community?

Oh, we have cordial relationship with the people of the community. We offer their children free education just like the IDPs inside the camp.

It had been muted that you’re also involved with widows, the aged, indigent people and orphans. How do you combine all that?

It’s not in my position to be blowing my own trumpet. For me, being there for those in need is what we should all be practicing as a lifestyle. The Bible says what your right hand does should not be made known to the left hand. What I look out for is the impact of what I do in the lives of the people. If you want God to reward you, you have to do things in a way that pleases Him. Whatever is my deed I want it to speak for itself. I am not the only one involved; there are many others in the body of Christ doing the same.

People commend the level of discipline here. How do you achieve that?

We have a very good programme of administration here and I thank all the staff for that success even though some of them do break down sometimes.
We have different departments – health, school, technical, catering, security, housing, farm and many others headed by people that I oversee. This is the reason you see that things are running smoothly here. One of our watchwords is transparency whereby we ensure that whatever we get from offering, thanksgiving and donations gets to whoever they are meant for. That makes everyone happy.

Challenges

Our challenges are largely finance; there can never really be enough. For instance, we have to buy fuel and diesel every day. We have to pay all the security men and staff. We have two medical doctors, two pharmacists and nurses. We have to pay all of them and we all have to eat daily.
Though we now have a farm that supports us, but it’s not in any way sufficient. We have to buy food all the time. We have to wait for people to give us food. We have to build more houses to provide proper accommodation. The list is endless, but God is faithful.

On the average, how much does it cost to run this place per day?

You’ll be amazed. Think of giving quality health services to the people. As I talk with you now, we have two of the children on admission at the emergency ward of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH); that’s money. Transporting people from one place to the other, including students to and from examination centres etc, all these cost large sums of money.
Recently, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara supported us with some money to help us offset some of our large bills. It costs us millions of naira to run the kitchen alone. We spend no less than N6 million monthly on the average.

With this kind of pressure, how do you relax?

I unwind during my quiet time when I have intimate time with God. There’s nothing more fulfilling and refreshing. Secondly, when I am with the children, it gives me all the comfort and relaxation I need.

What’s your favourite food?

I eat anything that my body needs at a particular time. I eat what my people eat, but sometimes, I am so busy with activities that I don’t think of eating.

You don’t appear to talk about your family…

(He waved his hand around the camp) The people here – the children, orphans, indigent people, widows, workers and all that I relate with on a daily basis is such a big family. I am always happy when I know that God has used me to minister to their needs. My calling is fulfilled by His grace.