As a masquerader, young Gabriel Ojediran had unknowingly jumped into the mercy land of a parish while trying to avoid soldiers who were beating up masqueraders for abusing a woman. In an interview with The Nation, Ojediran said his love for the worship of masquerades knew no bound as he loves
entertaining people by wearing the masquerade costume during masquerade festivals.


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While narrating the event which led him to become a member of the Church, Ojediran who is now a Venerable Most Senior Evangelist Gabriel Ojediran (JP) revealed; “As long as masquerade is concerned I have to be there. Something happened between Pencinema Agege and Dopemu area, which changed everything for me. There was a great slaughter in which soldiers killed thousands of people and demolished properties.

“According to what I heard, some masqueraders had approached a woman in her shop for money, and she probably refused. These masqueraders beat her up. Unfortunately, she was wife of a soldier. She immediately called her husband who happened to be on duty in Army Entombment.






“On that fateful day, I ran for my life immediately I noticed the situation was getting messier. I took cover at a popular school, Saka Tinubu in Orile Agege. At that time, the school was uncompleted, so I hid in a classroom, yet I wasn’t relaxed. I was looking for an escape route to the shrine where I could change my costume.

The Patron of Celestial Church of Christ, Oko-Oba Parish III, continued by saying that; My next move from the school was to jump a particular fence to link the main road but where I jumped into was Celestial Church of Christ, Orile Agege parish. I was still in my Masquerade costume, and people from the church quickly gathered to see me where I was sitting in the mercy land. They went to call their shepherd and some prophets and prophetesses gathered to quiz my intention for jumping into the church.


“As God would have it, I was given a listening ear to explain my situation and what led me into the church premises. They removed my masquerade custom and gave me the church’s white garment to wear. I was also told that God had destined me to become a member of the Celestial Church of Christ. At first, I refused but for God to prove Himself to me, the prophetess started exposing everything I had done in secret and I was told to go and destroy everything. That was how I met Christ and became a Celestial member from Orile Agege.”

Ojediran mentioned that while in masquerade attire, he often beat up members of white garment churches because he see them as evil. “I used to beat white garment church members whenever I wore my masquerade costume. I see them as evil spirits because they always see us the same way. I cannot count the number of white garment church members I gave serious beating, especially when they mistakenly came close to my father’s house drumming and praying. All I did was get my father’s permission to wear my costume and my cane to beat these people away in front of our house. . . . . . But today I have been able to understand that Christ supersedes all other gods,” he revealed when asked, while worshiping Masquerade, have you ever had an encounter with religious people before?

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