He was arrested and taken to the district officer at Ilorin for allegedly disturbing the peace.
He told the inhabitants of Odo-Owa about an impending danger if they did not repent. Babalola immediately started preaching and prophesying. In October, he entered the town in the manner described and was taken for a mad man. He was to arrive in the town on a market day, cover his body with palm fronds and disfigure himself with charcoal paints. He was directed to go first to Odo-Owa and start preaching. He further revealed that God had granted unto him the power to deliver those who were possessed of evil spirits in the world. The angel told him that the yam was the tuber with which God fed the whole world. The Itinerary of Prophet Babalola During one of his prayer sessions an angel appeared to him and gave him a big yam which he ordered him to eat. An angel appeared in one of his prayers and forbade him to wear caps. Elder Abraham Owoyemi of Odo-Owa, said that the prophet regularly saw angels who delivered divine messages to him. Enabled by the power of the Holy Spirit he could spend several weeks in prayer. Thus, Babalola became a prophet and a man with extraordinary powers. Consequently, wherever and whenever he prayed into water for therapeutic purposes, effective healing was procured for those who drank the water. He was told that the sound of the bell would always drive away evil spirits. A hand prayer bell was given to Babalola as a symbol. The man in a dazzling robe spoke at length about the mission he was to embark upon. He obeyed and at the end of the period he saw a great figure of a man who, according to Pastor Alokan, resembled Jesus. The same voice came to Joseph a second time asking him to fast for seven days. To go on the mission, he had to resign his appointment with the Public Works Department. So, Babalola gave in only after he had received the assurance of divine guidance. Men like Moses and Jeremiah submitted to God only when it became inevitable. The voice was loud and clear and it told him that he would die if he refused to heed the divine call to go into the world and preach.īabalola did not want to listen to this voice and he responded like many of the Biblical prophets, who, when they were called out by Yahweh as prophets, did not normally yield to the first call. There was no visible mechanical problem, and Joseph became confused and perplexed. The climax came one day when he was, as usual, working on the Ilesa-Igbara-Oke road. This went on for a week and he had no inkling of the causes of such a strange experience. He was among the road workers who constructed the road from Igbara-Oke to Ilesa, working as a steam roller driver. However, he quit school when he decided to learn a trade and became a motor mechanic apprentice. Rotimi, a Sunday school teacher in the C. On January 18,, young Babalola was taken by his brother M. On that day, it was believed that a strange and mighty object exploded and shook the clouds. The story of Apostle Joseph Ayodele Babalola, his life and work can be thus classified. It nevertheless serves to illuminate that history and unravel the course of human events. The history of their lives does not of itself amount to the totality of the history of man. Saburi Biobaku who said, Great men appear now and again to help shape the course of human history.