I had a pretty normal childhood. Everything was great until I got into secondary school. I started to wet the bed. Up until now, I don’t know what caused it, but I do know that that period of my life was really shameful. As the first child, my parents would be upset. They would talk to and scold me, but I just couldn’t control it. I remember one time, I had to go for Girls Brigade camp meeting, and I wet the bed there too. I would quickly wake up to change my sheets, but the stench would make it obvious. I became scared about visiting cousins during holidays. I preferred to stay home than face the embarrassment.
There was nothing my mum didn’t do to try to help me. I remember a time I was told to pee on charcoal. I tried so many strange things just to stop the bed wetting. The whole room would smell because I bed wetted at least thrice a week. It wasn’t that I couldn’t get up to go pee in the middle of the night, but by the time I wanted to, I’d have already wet the bed. And sometimes I would dream that I was in the toilet, but by the time I woke up I realised it was a dream. I went through this struggle for almost 2 years until I stopped. My friends couldn’t come into my room, no one could. Every time I had to spread my mattress outside, I would cry. I was always crying, asking God to help me.
When I finally stopped, it was like a miracle. I would check the bed, feel it and even smell it to be sure it didn’t just dry while I was sleeping. *Laughs*. I couldn’t believe it and after weeks had passed without me bed wetting, I knew I was free. It was a strange time of my life.
November 14, 2015 is a day I’ll never forget; a day I fought for my life. I took a bike from my school, University of Ibadan to the University College Hospital (UCH) for a quick visit not knowing that was soon going to be my home. Within 5 minutes of leaving the school gate, a car ran into my bike from the side. Witness said he ran his tyres over us, dragged us on the road because the bike got hooked to the car and then drove off at top speed. I had to drag myself away from the busy road, tasting blood in my mouth, with my whole body in so much pain. All I could hear were voices of concerned passers-by helping me up, asking, “Who should we call?” All I could mutter was, “Jesus help me” as I was trying hard to hold on to dear life. I kept hearing, “Rebecca, please don’t sleep. Just keep looking at the light (someone’s Nokia torch light).” It all happened fast.
I was in hospital and the last thing I heard was, “We have to run a CT scan and X-rays to check her brain and her spinal cord.” Darkness surrounded me. I couldn’t see anymore and I couldn’t form coherent sentences. I spent the next few days in the neuro ward. The doctor said, "The nurses will clean your wounds daily but you are not to move or turn your head. You’ll have to eat, urinate, poo and bathe on this bed. We need to be sure your spinal cord is not affected.” I was always sad at night. I was a final year student, my project was outstanding, and I had exams in 2weeks. I cried every night. Was I going to have an extra year? I kept asking God so many questions. I depended on the nurses for everything!
When I left the hospital, reality dawned on me. My project! Exams! I insisted on going back to school because I didn’t want bed rest. I studied hard but it was difficult because I had to wear the neck collar. I did everything with my neck collar. I could not bend, lift heavy things or sleep on a bed. The pain was excruciating and I was always crying, but I had to be strong. I read, wrote my exams, defended my project and graduated with a 5.0 CGPA. It could have only been God. I pulled through with the help of my family, friends, lecturers, course mates and doctors.
(Part 2/2) I got an opportunity to work for a TV station. I was there for a year and nine months and I knew it was time to move on again. I left the TV station because I had grown, learnt a lot, and didn't feel challenged anymore. And I needed to focus more on my acting and personal projects and conquer new territory. I didn’t know where I was leaving to, but I had such an assurance that if God did it before, He would do it again. And even if it wasn’t God behind me leaving, He would not let me fail or fall. He’s too faithful!
I got another job for a month to be a producer for an organisation and it was perfect. In Dec 2015, I started my Vlog. People said it wouldn’t work and I wouldn’t get viewers, but the opposite was the case. Before I knew it, "Akah Bants" my first video got featured on BBC and I started having good followership and viewing. Someone said “Akah’s videos defy everything I know about social media.” I just felt like this was God. More doors started opening.
I might not be the biggest celebrity out there, but I am being noticed and getting recognition. I'm on newspapers I don’t know. My acting gigs are getting better and better and I’m happy. I’m pushing and doing what I love to do. I feel that people just need to take a leap of faith and step out! Conquer your fear! Mine was self-doubt.
(Part 1/2) When I left school in 2009, I honestly didn't know what I was going to do with my life. I returned to Lagos after NYSC and started working. At some point, God put this heavy burden on me and I knew it was time for me to move on. I had been afraid to do this cos I used to feel I wasn’t good enough. I prayed and God told me, Akah, you are the business; you are the product, the brand that I need to sell. I resigned and went away for a while to another country. I returned to Lagos broke! I went to my parents and my guardians and told them I had resigned. They asked me what I wanted to do. I told them entertainment. No one was comfortable with it. I said I wanted to try. Let it be that I tried and failed, but I needed to fight for something.
God gave me a scripture, 1 Tim 4:14-15: “Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given you through the prophecy spoken over you at the laying on of the hands of the elders. Be diligent in these matters and absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all.” I told myself the gifting that had been passed on by Bishop Oyedepo back at Covenant University, Donnie McClurkin and Kim Burrell who had all prayed with me personally, and even other spiritual leaders, can’t all be a waste. Then God also reminded me about Abraham who left the land of Ur and all that he owned and knew for a land he knew nothing about just because God had told him to move. I knew I had to place all my trust in God. I knew I had to hear well. And I did.
I was at home for six months without a job. It was grueling. Then, Glo brought XFactor to Nigeria. I did not want to do it because I had sworn I would never participate in a competition. God said go; he even spoke through Chef Fregz. I got to the final nine, but didn’t make it to the final rounds. I later heard God say He was teaching me something. I realised God’s purpose for me going to XFactor was to work on my self-doubt and break that fear of not being good enough. That was it! I realised then that I was on a personal journey with God. He wanted to write my story by himself. He was working on me by himself.
(Part 4/4) Three years after I accepted Jesus, I wrote my first book which was a surprise to many people because they knew that I didn’t go to school. When I told people and even some religious pastors that I was going to write a book, they were like, “No. You should be talking about going back to school. What do you want to write?” I wrote my 2nd book after the first one titled, “How to Succeed Beyond School and Work” because at that time, I had started a company and in less than 6 months had attracted over 80 clients. I wasn’t only saved by grace, but was also empowered by grace. I started the company because I had knowledge of graphic design. The Holy Spirit taught me how to use graphic software. I'd never read anything about graphic design or the use of the application. So I started designing. It later grew to be a publishing house not only in Lagos but Nigeria as a whole.
I've had the privilege of doing a few courses abroad but still don’t have a degree. The highest I have in education apart from professional training is a higher diploma from a college in the United Kingdom and I finished with distinctions. But today to the glory of God, I have had the privilege of training top executives including CEOs, Professors and Chancellors. I don’t only have a company in the UK, I also co-founded one in the US. I recently started recording my TV show and have written several other books. There’s just this dimension of grace. I'm a consultant, for both faith and non-faith based organisations. I also travel the world as a minister of the gospel and oversee several churches, with one in the UK. I am married to the most amazing woman - Busola Adun - both inside and out.
(Part 3/4) I met my wife in church. When I met her, the only thing I could lay claim to was the fact that I was born again and passionately serving in church as an usher. That was the only thing I had confidence in to make me want to have a relationship with her. She was just graduating from university and was from a very good, intellectual & educated home. When we agreed to get married, the issue was how we were going to tell her parents.
When I eventually met her mum, she asked me every question a soon to be mother-in-law would ask like, "What do you do for a living?" and from nowhere I said, “Mum I’m a dropout.” I honestly had no idea where that came from. And her answer shocked me. She said, “It doesn’t matter. We're all not going to succeed in life through the same path way. The most important thing in life is that we know we have God and I see clearly that you have Him.” That's how God gave me favour in her eyes.
At this time, I was living in my grandfather’s house and everything I tried to express as a believer was being truncated and frustrated. So God needed to take me out of that environment and surprisingly God used the family of my fiancée. I moved into my fiancée’s house. We were not married but I was living in her parents’ house. There was so much trust; her parents trusted us. When we were going to get married, I didn’t have a job, I didn’t have any earnings but I was praying and the Lord said to me I want you to get married now.
We got married in a very small setting, just the family in my pastor’s office. After we got married, we still lived together in her parents’ house, and some months after, she relocated to the UK then came home about twice a year. I relocated to the UK, 2 years after to meet my wife. Because of a promise I made to my wife, 2 years after, we came back to Nigeria and did the normal traditional wedding and church wedding in the form of a renewal of vows but it was done as a proper wedding and it was a blast.
(Part 2/4) There were a lot of young people in Daystar when I started attending the church -graduates, young achievers, young business owners etc. It made me feel out of place because prior to that time, all my friends were also wayward like I was. It was very difficult for me to speak publicly because all I could converse in was broken English. I felt I wasn’t intelligent enough to have a decent conversation with the kind of people in church. So I dealt with insecurity for a while and this really distorted my self-view and self-image.
I had a defining moment when I read a scripture in Acts 4:13. The scripture was about when people heard and saw what Peter and the others disciples of Jesus had done, they were amazed at their wisdom because they were uneducated, and so the conclusion was they had been with Jesus Christ. The Lord said to me that it didn’t matter how many schools I dropped out from, it didn’t matter if I had a degree or not, it didn’t matter whatever disqualification I thought I had. As long as I walked with him and put my trust in him, he would make a story out of me and make people marvel at the things that I would do. God stayed true to His word. I began informal education. I read everything I could lay my hands on - the Bible, leadership books, management books…every book that was recommended. My mind began to change.
