Akintola Sunday Olaniyan was born in Osogbo, Osun state, Nigeria. In his fifties, he converted from the Anglican Church to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, attracted by the LDS concept of priesthood and the direct relationship to God that the Church emphasized. His wife and three children also converted.
Akintola was a journalist in Nigeria for several years, but he left the profession after being pressured to bend the truth in his stories. More recently, he has worked as a Yoruba translator for the Church. He finds the state of his country troubling and wishes that political leaders had invested the country’s wealth differently. He also wishes that Nigeria had more of a meritocracy, instead of a patronage system which privileges those with connections.
He has found Mormonism to be a very positive force in his life, though he does sense that North American Church leaders may not always understand what people in countries like Nigeria struggle with.
Read or listen to Akintola Olaniyan’s full oral history.
