The Senior Pastor, Fountain of Life Church. Jimmy Odukoya, has said he has a scriptural backing to his mode of dressing and should not be judged based on that.
On Wednesday, Odukoya, who has a strong build and dreadlocks, spoke with BBC News Pidgin.
He mentioned that God had summoned him and said it was a tremendous responsibility.
He said that three years after receiving his ordination as a pastor in 2009, he was appointed as the church’s pastor.
The senior pastor provided numerous examples to support various fashion choices, including in particular the biblical account of Samson, in which God forbade him from cutting his hair, as support for maintaining dreadlocks.
He said, “God has called me into this new season of my life. This new position is a big responsibility. All of my focus is here (on the church). As for my dreads, most people don’t know I can back up everything I do with scripture.
If you say I’m wrong to keep my hair as a pastor, I can tell you that God told Samson not to cut his hair in the Bible. That means long hair is not a bad thing. Also, if you say the pastor is keeping a beard, I can tell you that the Bible says that when Jesus was tortured, they pulled hair from his face.
If you say this pastor is putting on earrings, I can tell you that in the book of Exodus, when the children of Israel got out of Egypt and wanted to do golden calf, they collected jewelry, rings, and earrings from their sons and daughters.
“Anybody can do what they want. A personal opinion is different from saying something is sinful. You should not use your own personal opinion to judge me.”
