Samson Olasupo Adeniyi Ayokunle, CON (born January 25, 1957) commonly known as Supo Ayokunle is a Nigerian pastor and administrator. He was the 7th president of the

Christian Association of Nigeria The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is an umbrella organisation containing numerous Christian denominations in Nigeria. History The Christian Association of Nigeria was founded in 1976, and originally only contained the Catholic Church an ...

. He was also the 6th President of the

Nigerian Baptist Convention Nigerian Baptist Convention is a Baptist Christian denomination, affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance, in Nigeria. The office headquarters is in Ibadan, Nigeria. Rev. Dr. Israel Adélaní Àkànjí MFA is the president. History The Nige ...

. He was born in

Oyo State Oyo State is an inland state in southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa. Oyo State is bordered to the north by Kwara State, to the east by Osun ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

and married Deborah Ayokunle (nee Adesipo). Until becoming a pastor, Ayokunle worked as a teacher and public administrator.

Early life

Olasupo Ayokunle was born into the family of Amos Ogunkunle and Theresa Bibilari Ogunkunle of Jagun Alawusa House, Isheke, Oyo Town in Oyo State.

Education

He attended Oniyanrin Baptist Central Day School, Iware Road,

, graduated in 1971, earning his West African School Leaving Certificate Ordinary Level in 1977. He received his Bachelor of Science in Sociology from the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public research university in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1948 as University College Ibadan, one of many colleges within the University of London. It became an independent university in 196 ...

in 1983. He enrolled for a Post Graduate Diploma in Education in 1986. Ayokunle holds master's of divinity degree in Theology in 1992 at the

Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

, Ogbomoso, master's degree in Guidance and Counselling from University of Ibadan, Master's degree in

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and Religious studies,

Liverpool Hope University , mottoeng=Hope to all who need it , established=1844 – Saint Katharine's College (as Warrington Training College)1856 – Notre Dame College (as Our Lady's Training College)1964 – Christ's College1979 – Liverpool Institute of Higher Edu ...

, Liverpool in 2000 and 2003 respectively and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) degree in Theology in 2008.

Nigerian Baptist Convention

Ayokunle was elected the 6th Nigerian General Secretary (now President/CEO) of the Nigerian Baptist Convention.

Christian Association of Nigeria

In 2016 he was made President of the

(CAN], the largest Christian ecumenical body in Africa, after Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor left office. He was re-elected in 2019 for another term.

Publications

Books

* Major Keys to a Successful Christian marriage and the Family. Day Star Press, 1997 * Weapons for Winning your Battles. Ibadan: Baptist Press, 1998 * Fighting to Win. Glad Tidings Publishers, Ibadan: Glad Tidings Publishers, 1999 * ‘The Role of the Preacher in Minimizing the use of Religion for Violence’ in Ecclesiastes: The Preacher, the Church and the Contemporary Society ed. by Ademola Ishola and Deji Ayegboyin. Ibadan: Baptist Press, 2006 * Effective Christian Leadership in the 21st Century, ed. Ibadan: Baptist Press, 2010 * Building a Witnessing Family. Lagos: Dunamis Windows Resource, 2012 * ‘The Minister’s Family: A Glorious Example’ in The Minister and his Family (A Resource Book for The Life Builders’ Conference, 2009 * Church Communication and Conflict Management for Strategic Church Leaders, 2014 * Integrity: Key to Success in Leadership,2015

Articles

Ayokunle has written several articles for the ''Nigerian Baptist Magazine'', the monthly publication of the

. * ‘The Secret Life of a Vessel that Liberates’ in Kingdom Leaders: Vessels of Liberation. (A resource book for the Nigerian Baptist Convention’s General Workers’ Conference held at

Bowen University Bowen University is a private Baptist Christian Nigerian university located at Iwo in Osun State, Nigeria, and is housed in the old 1,300-acre (6 km²) campus of the Baptist College, a teacher-training institution on a hill just outside ...

, Iwo from February 1–3, 2010), pp. 1–14 * ‘The Minister and the Spiritual Mandate’ in The Minister and Spiritual Gifts. (Resource Book for the Ministers’ Conference, 2010, Baptist College of Theology, Oyo), pp. 25–31 * ‘Leadership Pitfalls: Preventing the Killer Diseases’ in Effective Christian Leadership in the 21st Century’ ed. by Rev. Dr. Supo Ayokunle. Ibadan: Baptist Press, 2010, pp. 37–50

Award

In October 2022, a Nigerian national honour of

Commander of the Order of the Niger Nigeria became an independent country on 1 October 1960 and in 1963 became the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The republic instituted two orders of merit: the Order of the Niger and the Order of the Federal Republic. Award The two highest honour ...

(CON) was conferred on him by President

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015. Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 Au ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayokunle, Supo 1957 births Nigerian religious leaders 21st-century Nigerian writers 21st-century Nigerian educators Living people