Gbola Adesogan

From Despair to Life and Joy as ‘God’s donkey’ My life before Christ I was raised in a Christian home in Nigeria. At the age of 8, I invited Jesus into my life. In high school I drifted away from God as I got more active in sports. In my late teens in college, I wondered about the purpose of life as I saw a lot of pain and suffering in the world and could not find an answer. Over time, I became increasingly withdrawn, antisocial, even vindictive and somewhat sadistic. I earned a nickname that reflected my high alcohol consumption and antisocial nature. I often wished I would die as I rode my ex-police motorcycle in a drunken state after all night parties. Despite this wild side, I still went to church occasionally, sometimes reeking of alcohol from the night before. How I came to Christ At a Christian student meeting I reluctantly attended in 1986, I heard about the donkey Jesus chose to ride on for His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. As prophesied by Jesus, the disciples found it tied down or restrained - implying it was yielded as it waited quietly for the Master’s use. I felt challenged that I needed to surrender my life to the Lord and be fully available to Him like the donkey was. I knew I could no longer live with partial commitment to the Lord; I had to be fully set apart for Him. This led me to surrender control of my life to Jesus Christ. My life after Christ Once I accepted Christ, He put in me a hunger for reading the Bible and praying. To my surprise (and everyone else’s), I lost my craving for alcohol and my sense of despair. Instead of my death wish, I wanted to live because I understood the purpose of my life: It is to live in a way that honors the Lord and to help others come to know Him. I realized then and still believe that I had made the most important and consequential decision of my life on that day in 1986 and I have not looked back. I look forward to spending eternity with Christ in heaven and until then, I want to live for Him every day.

My Life

Favorite Quote

Only one life, twill soon be past, only what is done for Christ will last. C.T. Studd

Friends describe me

Gentle

My hobbies

Riding motorcycles, swimming, travelling

Best advice I ever received

Take one day at a time

My undergrad alma mater

University of Ibadan

In college I drove

Suzuki GT550 motorcycle

If I weren't a professor, I would

Entrepreneur

Favorite books

The Bible

Favorite movies

The worlds fastest indian

Favorite coffee

Capuccino

Current Research

Improving the nutrition, livelihoods and health of the poor in developing countries using animal-source foods