RCCG  Deacon dies in autocrash in USA 

…. .I will surely miss my son who brought me to America -Aged mother 

CITIZENS COMPASS —The  auto crash that  recently  claimed the life of a 48 -year-old  Redeemed Christian Church of God , Deacon  Olusola Joshua Sowole  who was also a staff at United Parcel Service (UPS ) in Atlanta Georgia , United States of America, has devastated the family  . Taiwo Abiodun  who visited  the mother of the deceased in Colorado ,  Denver, America writes… 

The sad news of Deacon Olusola Joshua Sowole  who died  in an auto crash recently in Atlanta Georgia   was shocking not only to the immediate  family members, church members ,co- workers  but also to his aged mother   who  is presently in America , preparing for  her birthday when the tragedy struck . One could  read  the agony of a mother from her face .

 As this reporter met the old woman  whose hair is as white as snow  reading some marked  Bible passages  from her Apple iPad , She  once in a while gave a heavy sigh , shook her head and soliloquized .She  paused  reading the Bible verses aloud , then  removed her reading glasses and gazed at the wall.   ” Do you mean I would not see my son again?. Is this how life is supposed to treat me ? It’s unfair . At my old age to have this type of bitter experience?. I am in pain. I am in total sorrow. Why did death not take me away instead of my son? ”, she sobbed.. Her questions  could not be answered by the wall while this Reporter could only console her to take heart and  that God knows the best.  Once in a while her daughter , Abosede and her husband , Dayo whom she stayed with   would come in to check on her and console the distraught septuagenarian   in her room .  

The deceased’s wife,  Rachel Bolade’s  voice was laden with emotion as her  voice was cracking   while   talking to this reporter. She was devastated. She  said everything  is still like a dream  to her.

Narrating what happened , Rachael  said ”I still can not  believe this tragedy.. I was shocked  beyond  words..  I cried and cried but my  tears  could not  wake him up” . She continued ” He  worked as Safety and Compliance Specialist  at UPS  and  went to work around 2:30 am . On that fateful morning  I could recall that I received a call at 5am  from Grady Memorial Hospital that my husband was involved in a car accident .On getting to the hospital  they broke the bad news to me ”.  She continued ”  I saw his lifeless  body lying as if he was asleep . His identity card was on him . Even when the accident happened his watch called 911, his watch also sent me  a text  message  which he saved as Emergency Contact .His phone texted me that he was involved in an accident . I didn’t see the text until morning   because I was sleeping when he left for work. Asked whether she had any premonition of his death but the woman replied ”No, I never had any ”

According to Rachael , ”it was reported that the other driver was said to have wrongly  driven one way on the highway  , facing my late  husband  who was rightly in his lane and this  led to head -on- collision .  It happened between 3;00am and 3:30 am.The remains of my late husband were interred in Resthaven of Memory, Decatur, Georgia ”. When asked why they did not bring his remains back to Nigeria, she said ” there is no sense in taking his remains  home ”.

Asked to comment on the driver who caused the accident , Rachael  said ” I cannot comment for now because the police are still investigating”.

Asked whether it is true that the young man who caused the accident  was under the influence of drugs or alcohol , the woman insisted that the case is with the Police and would not say more than that..

Pressed further whether her husband used to take alcohol, she again said ” My husband had never smoked or taken alcohol since I knew him. He was  a Deacon in  the Redeemed Christian  Church of God , FamilyPraise Chapel  Decacur , Atlanta Georgia here. He was a mentor to many especially the Young  Excited  Soldiers(Y.E.S youth) ‘ and the young adults(Hydration team John 7;37) 

Abosede ,  the older sister to the late deceased said ” the news was shocking . I  called my Pastor to break the news to my mother who is living with me here in Colorado.  I don’t want an outsider to break the news to her so I called my pastor  and  some elders  to come and talk to her .I even called those  who know our movement” .

The mother of the late Deacon said” I called my  late son  on the 15th  August,  We exchanged greetings  and I asked after his welfare. We spoke till 10 oclock  in the evening until my daughter came to me . There were some of the congregation in his church who always sent me gifts. I asked after all his church members’.

” I reminded him  that they should not do anything elaborate for my birthday but to give me money to send to the needy in Nigeria . I even called his wife and told her not to send anything to me in December , the Christmas period but to send money to me to give to some Nigerians who are in need. I don’t know why the death did not take me away in place of my son    while the ugly incident happened  the following day ,the 16th..  On the 16th  of August my daughter did not call me ….. but my son inlaw, Dayo came to me ,  he asked what I would eat .When it was 9pm my son inlaw asked me to go in, later they systematically seized my phone. Suddenly I    saw our church pastor  who came unannounced , then many people were coming in, one after  the other  I asked what was the matter , they then broke the ugly news to me,I am very very sad’

Born on December 11, 1974 into the family of  Johnson Adeoye Sowole  and Cecelia Sowole in Ijebu -Isara. , Ogun State. The late  Deacon was a graduate of LASU  with a Bachelor of Arts degree  in  Theatre Arts. He later relocated to  Atlanta Georgia where he bagged his Masters in Business  and Health care administration  in South University,   in June 2018. At the time of his passing away he was a Safety and Compliance Specialist at UPS   in Atlanta Georgia.. He was married to his heartthrob, Rachael who had two boys for him. 

A church member, Temiloluwa (who does not want her surname in print ) wrote” Pastor Joshua’s smile reached his eyes . There was something about him that quickly put people at ease. He got along so well  with all age groups at church:the children, the teenagers and  the young  adults especially.Most people would tell you about his warm hugs that gave comfort and encouragement .He was God’s planting at RCCG Family Praise Chapel, the father , mentor and role model that God used to inspire us all to good works”. 

Another Church member wrote in the tribute that ”Pastor Joshua was many  things – he was  our youth pastor , which is why many of us call him” Pastor Joshua , a dedicated worker , an organizer , and a servant leader who impacted every area of this church .But  we the Drama Ministry  had the honor and privilege  of knowing him as a creative. Pastor Joshua was anointed  by God with many talents : he was an Actor , Director, Writer , Host/Emcee. Comedian , Dancer, Singer, Producer , and Cinematographer” ,Omenka Nwachukwu a member of Hydration Department  wrote . 

One of his co-workers at UPS ,Michelle ( surname withheld )  wrote ”I am honoured to have met  and worked with you at UPS  and I am saddened to hear of your passing . I will never forget how rewarding our conversations about Africa , God , work and society were and I thank you for being both my brother and friend .I will most definitely say your name when I journey to Africa . Rest on my brother”,   

His older sister , Abosede described his brother as a special human being  who is caring and loved everybody. She said ” I will miss him, my family will miss him, the church will miss him .He was our family pillar. Our mother cries everyday here in Colorado and we always console her . But what can we do?.We cannot query God. He knows the best”.

Roland Ifedayo Kayode (JOKS)  who is an inlaw to the deceased described the late Deacon as a man of impeccable character, in his words, he said ” My late brother  inlaw was a Deacon in RCCG, he used to come here  to see her mother  in Colorado. He  called his mother on phone almost everyday while my wife , his sister called him everyday too .I am completely down and confused as I ask myself  why do good people die early?”

In her tribute , Rachael his wife  wrote  ” Hmmmmmmm.Olusola  mi I do not know how to write this but  I will do my best .My dear husband you left  us unexpectedly on August 16th after a ghastly car accident by a wrong-way driver . You were the only man I have ever known   because when I met  you in 1999…… I knew  I need not to look any further. Thank you for  the brief time we spent together as a family.You showed me what true love  meant.You will never say no, whenever  I asked you for anything . Thank you  for embedding some such Godly principles  into our boys….I remembered my 40th birthday, how you celebrated my birthday for  five days with different activities and unforgettable surprises. Last week you asked me what I wanted for our wedding anniversary on September 1…Sweetheart if tears could bring you back  you would have been back. I love you more than words could express.You  were the true definition of a complete man.You made marrying you a blliss.Life can never be the same  without my loving husband,However, i take solace in knowing that you are  in the bosom  of the Lord ”