Olubunmi Adeyinka Akinlade
was born on July 16, 1967, in Ibadan as the fourth and last child of the Rev.
Canon Emmanuel Adeleke and Mrs. Elizabeth Adunola Akinlade, both of blessed
memories. He hails from Osogbo town in Olorunda Local Government area of Osun
State. His great grandfather released a portion of his land to the missionaries
to settle in when they arrived Osogbo in 1900. The church established on the
land is today the Cathedral of Osun Diocese (Anglican Communion).
Education
He started his primary
education at the Staff School University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State. He
relocated with his Father to Lagos in 1973 and continued his education at Ireti
Primary School, Ikoyi Lagos from 1973 to 1977. In 1977, he gained admission to
Government College, Ibadan, where he obtained his WAEC in 1983. He was admitted
to the University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos, in 1984 to study computer science, and
in 1988 he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Sciences.
Working
Career
He
had his NYSC in Lagos while working with ICON Merchant Bank between 1988 and
1989. After his service year, he joined Management Assistance Services Limited
in 1989 as a Systems Analyst and rose to the position of General Manager before
leaving in 1995 to start his own private consulting firm, POS Shop Ltd.
Family
Life
On the sixth day of August
1994, he married Nkechi Valentina Jibunoh, an English graduate who also holds a
Master’s in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos and she
is also a Chartered Secretary ACIS. The union is blessed with three children.
Ministry
Life
His journey in ministry began
in 1997 when Ven. S.B. Akinola informed his home bishop, Bishop Fagbemi, that
he has discovered a member of his congregation whom he is confident has a call
over his life. Baba Fagbemi sent him to the Immanuel College in Ibadan from
1997 to 2001 for the TMM Course where he obtained a Diploma in Theology.
He was made a Deacon in
December 1999 by Baba Adetiloye just before Baba retired that same month. He
was posted to Church of the Resurrection, 1004 Estate as a curate and also
served as the Youth chaplain. Sunday was a full day in church. Despite being a
Non-Stipendiary (NS) clergyman, he spent most of the evenings of the week and
the whole of Wednesday at church.
Seven months later in the
year 2000, he was posted to Our Saviour’s Church, TBS, where he served for two
years under the now-retired Bishop Odejide. He was in charge of the
Businessmen’s Fellowship, the Hospital and Visitation Ministry, and the Prison
Ministry at Our Saviour’s Church.
In December 2002, he was posted to the Anglican Church VGC
as pioneer vicar, beginning on January 1, 2003. This was a non-existent church
(there was no place of worship, no money, no congregation), and he was not
affiliated with any church. It was difficult at first, but God paved the way.
On that faithful day, the
church began in his living room with him and his wife as congregation. He began
evensong and mid-week communion in the morning on Wednesday.
After three months, the
evensong was converted to morning worship at a location outside the estate. The
parish continues to grow and enjoy favour from God. A few years later, the
church acquired a land within VGC but opposite VGC gate on which a
multi-purpose complex was erected. The Anglican Church VGC now called Anglican
Church of the Peninsula (ANCOPEN) was made an Archdeaconry seat eight years
later, while he was transferred to Church of Resurrection 1004 as Curate. He
served in this capacity from 2012 to November 2015, when he was elected Bishop
of Ife. At this moment, he resigned from circular work by handing over control
of his firm to his partner.
In January 2016, he was
consecrated Bishop of Ife at Ughelli and enthroned in March 2016.
Rt. Rev. Olubunmi A.
Akinlade’s major focus has been on rural evangelism since out of the 150
churches in the diocese over a hundred are in rural areas. He is focused on
strengthening existing churches. With help from friends outside the diocese,
over 10 dilapidated churches have been rebuilt. Boreholes are also drilled in
various communities that were in dire need of them. The Diocesan Camp has also been
given a major facelift with new hostels constructed to provide additional
accommodation.
Service within the Church of Nigeria (CON)
Rt. Rev. Olubunmi A.
Akinlade became actively involved with CON activities barely 4 years into his
ministry when the church was to host the All African Bishops Conference at
Archbishop Vining Memorial Cathedral Lagos. He was nominated into the
secretariat Committee and charged with providing ICT support for the
conference. He advocated for the provision of internet facility (Cyber Cafe)
for delegates who require internet access. Considering the number of delegates
(over 300) and the hassle of manual registration, he personally commissioned a
colleague to develop an application to be deployed for the registration of
delegates. The program gathered all relevant information about a delegate and
generated registration tags. Needless to say, this application has been
extensively utilized during synods in the diocese of Lagos over the years and
continues to be used now. The application was also used for the Standing
Committee Meetings that took place in the Diocese of Ife. It has also been
utilized for the All Clergy Conference.
Rt. Rev. Olubunmi A.
Akinlade has been a member of the DIVCCON planning committee since its
inception, assisting Bishop Odubogun. He was initially in charge of
registration and provided oversight for the entire secretariat committee. He
now participates on the steering committee as a bishop and works closely with
Archbishop Adeleye (Baba DIVCCON).
Rt. Rev. Olubunmi A.
Akinlade can best be described as an ‘ICT Guru.’ He is responsible for training
priests on ICT at the annual Senior Clergy Training Course in Agbara-Otor,
since its inception. In 2020, he was invited by the Primate to oversee the
computerization of the accounts of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion).
Based on his expertise as a parish priest and bishop using church
administration software, he vetted the proposal of the company that had already
been shortlisted by the then treasurer and provided them with further insight
into what they needed to do to customize their application to meet the demands
of CON. The application has been operating for over a year, and he continues to
provide consulting services for this.
The
work continues.
