Osun Conference

Osun is one of the 37 states of Federal Republic of Nigeria. Osun state was created on August 27, 1991, from part of the old Oyo state.¹ The state’s name is derived from the River Osun, and it is populated mainly by Yorubas and thus unified by the language, Yoruba. The major migrants in the state include Hausa, Urhobos, Fulanis, Tivs, and Nupes, amongst others. The three principal religions in the state are Islam, Christianity, and African Traditional Religions. The population as of the 2011 census was 4,009,800.²

Seventh-day Adventist Church in Osun

Seventh-day Adventist Church work began in Nigeria when the North American missionary David Caldwell Babcock and his team arrived in Nigeria from Freetown on March 7, 1914.³ According to history, Jacob Faleye Alao, an indigene of Inisa in Osun state was his interpreter.⁴ In 1916, Jacob Faleye Alao took the Adventist message to his hometown, and by 1917 a church company was established there.⁵ The message also came to Oke-Ila, a town in Osun, via Ipoti Ekiti in 1922 when a delegation from the community led by Pa Adaramola Osundina and Aina Odedun went to meet with Pastor McClement.⁶

Inauguration of Osun Administrative Unit

Osun Conference came into being on May 15, 2011, when the West Nigeria Conference executive committee at a meeting held at Oke-Bola, the conference headquarters, voted to adopt the resolution of the North-Western Nigeria Union Mission constituency to restructure the conference (Action 15-05-33).⁷

Based on the adoption of the union resolution, a mini constituency session was held on May 29, 2011, where it was overwhelmingly voted to reorganize the West Nigeria Conference (WNC) on the basis of states; namely, Kogi (attached field), Kwara, Lagos (Atlantic) Osun, and Oyo (Action 29-5-34).

On November 12, 2011, during the annual camp meeting of Osun state zone of WNC, held November 10-13, 2011, Osun became the first administrative unit in the history of the North-Western Nigeria Union Mission. It was inaugurated by the president and officers of the North-Western Union Mission. These three people were given the responsibility to prepare the newly inaugurated administrative unit for conference status. The three were: Pastor Olufemi O. Oyedele (director), Pastor Ola David Adewuyi (secretary), and Elder Amos O. Ibhiedu (treasurer).

Road to Conference Status

On August 17, 2012, the West-Central Africa Division sent a team of three men, Pastor Onaolapo Ajibade (division executive secretary), Pastor Boateng (ministerial secretary), and Elder Emmanuel Manu (treasurer), to inspect the readiness of the administrative unit for conference status. The team was accompanied by the three union officers: Pastor ’leke Alabi, Pastor Okei Okwonkwo, and Elder Musa Dagana, president, executive secretary, and treasurer, respectively. The team was satisfied with their findings and reported to the division executive committee. Approval was given for conference status and November 10, 2012, was set as the date for the inauguration.

Inauguration as Conference

On November 10, 2012, the conference was inaugurated at the first constituency session of Osun as a conference. The theme of the session was Revival and His Word.

The membership of the Osun Administrative Unit at the time of its inauguration as a conference was 3,512 and Sabbath School membership was 5,671. The elected officers and directors for the new conference were: Pastor Olufemi O. Oyedele (president); Pastor Ola David Adewuyi (executive secretary); Elder Amos Omon Ibhiedu (treasurer); Pastor Abraham Aremu (ministerial secretary/family life); Pastor Joshua Akanbi (youth director); Pastor Joseph Adebomi (Sabbath School/personal ministries/evangelism); Pastor Augustine Ojomah (publishing/Spirit of Prophecy); Elder Toyin Makinde (men’s organization); Hannah Ojo (women’s ministries); Elder Festus Osundina (stewardship); Elder Akinola Owolabi (communication); Elder Leye Fakayode (children’s ministries); Elder Jacob Jekayinoluwa (strategic planning/development); Barrister Henry Kolawole (legal adviser).⁸

Growth of Church Membership Since the Inception of the Conference

Contributions of Osun Indigenes to Seventh-day Adventist Church

Osun is blessed with people who have made indelible contributions to the growth and development of Adventism in Nigeria and beyond. They include:

Pastor J. A. Adeogun - The first indigenous president of West Nigeria Mission.¹⁰
Pastor Caleb O. Adeogun - The first indigenous president for Nigeria Union Mission and executive secretary for Africa Indian-Ocean Division (AID).¹¹
Pastor Onaolapo Ajibade - President of West Nigeria Conference¹² and West-Central Africa Division executive secretary.¹³
Pastor Oyeleke A. Owolabi - Current WNUC president and the last president of North-Western Nigeria Union Mission.¹⁴

Osun Conference institutions

SDA Hospital, Ile-Ife (established 1940)
SDA Medical Center, Inisa (established 1956)
SDA Medical Center, Oke-Ila (established 2019)
School of Nursing, Ile-Ife (established 1943)
Adventist Secondary School, Ile-Ife (established 1997)
Adventist High School, Osogbo (established 2002)
Adventist College, Modakeke, Ile-Ife (established 2002)
Adventist High School, Igboya (established 2005)
Ten nursery and primary schools around the state.¹⁵

Leadership of the Conference from 2011-2019

Presidents: Olufemi O. Oyedele (2011-2016), Joseph A. Adebomi (2011-present)
Secretary: Ola David Adewuyi (2011-present)
Treasurers: Amos O. Ibhiedu (2011-2014), Gbenga Anisere (2014-2016) Sunday Aremu (January-June 2017), Michael Awoniyi (June 2017-present).¹⁶

Sources

Afolabi, Matthew. The History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Inisa. Unpublished manuscript, 2017, Osun Conference archives.

“Osun.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed February 13, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/place/Osun.

Osun Conference, Inaugural and First Constituency Session, Program Pamphlet, 2012. Osun Conference archives. Ede, Osun State, Nigeria.

Osun Conference Secretariat Records, Osun Conference archives. Ede, Osun State, Nigeria.

Osundina, David O. Faith of Our Fathers: A History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Oke-Ila Orangun 1922-2002. Somolu, Lagos: Emaphine Reprographics Ltd, 2002.

Seventh-day Adventist Online Yearbook. Various years. https://www.adventistyearbook.org/.

Notes

1. “Osun,” Encyclopedia Britannica, accessed February 13, 2020, https://www.britannica.com/place/Osun.↩

2. www.population.city>nigeria>adm.os.↩

3. David T. Agboola, The Seventh-day Adventists in Yoruba Land 1914-1964 (Ibadan, Nigeria: Daystar Press, 1987), 1-2.↩

4. Mathew Afolabi, The History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Inisa, unpublished manuscript, 2017, Osun Conference archives.↩

5. Ibid.↩

6. David O. Osundina, Faith of Our Fathers: A History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Oke-Ila Orangun 1922-2002 (Somolu, Lagos: Emaphine Reprographics Ltd, 2002) 10.↩

7. Osun Conference, Inaugural and First Constituency Session, Program Pamphlet, 2012, 11, Osun Conference archives.↩

8. Osun Conference Secretariat Records, Osun Conference archives.↩

9. Ibid.↩

10. Seventh-day Adventist Online Yearbook, “West Nigeria Mission,” accessed February 14, 2020, documents.adventistarchives.org/Yearbooks/YB1968.pdf.↩

11. Seventh-day Adventist Online Yearbook, “Nigeria Union Mission,” accessed February 14, 2020, douments.adventistarchives.org/Yearbook/YB1972.pdf.↩

12. Seventh-day Adventist Online Yearbook, “West Nigeria Conference,” accessed February 14, 2020, douments.adventistarchives.org/Yearbook/YB1997.pdf.↩

13. Seventh-day Adventist Online Yearbook, “West-Central Africa Division,” accessed February 14, 2020, douments.adventistarchives.org/Yearbook/YB1997.pdf.documents.adventistarchives.org/Yearbooks/YB2010.pdf.↩

14. Seventh-day Adventist Online Yearbook, “Western-Nigeria Union Conference,” accessed February 14, 2020, douments.adventistarchives.org/Yearbook/YB2016.pdf.↩

15. Osun Conference Secretariat Records.↩

16. Ibid.↩