Welcome to the maiden edition of my daddy diaries on this platform. It’s been a journey of over 21 years for me as a father and my journey is no doubt filled with all kinds of twists and turns. I will be using this diary to welcome you into my journey and hope it helps you succeed in your own journey. Every individual remembers major milestone events in their life because they are memorable and evergreen. From the day you graduate from school to the day you get your first job and earn your first salary. From the day you get married to the day you get the news that your wife is pregnant. From the day your child is born to the day your child resumes school for the first time. From the day your child gains admission into university to the day your child graduates from school. From the day your child gets a job to the day the child comes home with a possible spouse. From the day your child gets married to the day you become a grandfather etc. The list of phases and stages that can become memorable milestones are endless, and we all look forward to achieving some in the future while also relishing the memories of the ones already achieved. Becoming a father for me was one of the greatest joys of my existence. I remember vividly how speechless I was in February of 1998 when I found out I was going to be a father. My being speechless was short lived because it turned into a “rebobobo masakallaaa” tongues session as I gave glory to God and sealed it up with a prayer of dedication and commitment for God to help perfect the process so that the pregnancy will not end up just being a pregnancy but end up becoming a child. As a pastor over hundreds of members as at then, I have had to share in the diverse experiences of some of my members who got pregnant and later lost the pregnancy or some who ended up having still birth so you can understand why that was a foundational prayer for me when I got the news that I am about to become a father. There are diverse possibilities and realities that diverse couples have had to battle and continue to battle with. These include:
Thankfully on the 31st of October 1998 my first fruit child and precious daughter was born to the glory of God, and I officially became a father and a daddy. On the 27th of June 2000, my second child and first son were born and that was another day of joy with its own unique story. Thirteen years after supposedly “hanging the boot” on the 1st of April 2013 my baby boy was born, and it was another season of joy unspeakable with its own peculiarity that I now wake up to enjoy daily. Growing and learning through observations, television, etc. one unconsciously forms specific stereotypes about pregnancy and the journey of pregnancy. For those of us in my part of the world the major image of pregnant women we have is that of someone always vomiting or having diverse cravings etc. and that is a deception because truth be told, all pregnancies have their own unique peculiarity and women have their own unique experiences during this period. Since this is a daddy diary and I have never had to experience the vomiting wife issue, let me share two unique experiences with you: one from my first experience and the other from my last experience.
No father ever wants to be in a position where they will not be able to meet the needs of their family or take care of their responsibilities and obligations. So expecting a child for me was a thing of joy but as the pregnancy progressed and the reality of the expected expenses and financial obligations that was imminent became real, I fell into a period of deep depression because as a young 28 year old Pastor of a 3-year old young congregation with no monthly salary or regular source of income, I needed my story to change. The only source of income I had then was from sales of my books, income from speaking engagements and periodic cash gifts that were far and in between. I knew that bringing a child into the world without being able to take adequate care of the child was not what I have dreamt of so I cried out to God in my frustration and after days of crying out for a turnaround, heaven opened and God took me on an 8 month journey of transformation to reveal to me the way out of poverty and lack and the way into wealth creation and financial freedom. I came out of that 8-month journey knowing exactly what to do to create wealth and have since then fully committed to becoming a testimony to that encounter while also doing all I can to help everyone that so desires to experience the same. The birth of my first child also became the birth of a new version of Olumide Emmanuel and it’s a season I will remember for the rest of my life.
As the father of 3 children, I will be using this series to share diverse experiences with you about my journey and hope you will learn some things that will be helpful to you. Join me in the next edition as we continue my daddy diaries. Keep Your Dream Alive Olumide Emmanuel