PANYA BABA / REV. DR. ELIJAH IPOLE
Iknew Rev. (Dr.) Panya Baba since 1981 when I was working at the ECWA headquarters as an assistant to the then administrator, Rev. Simon Ibrahim, who is now an ECWA trustee. At that time, Baba was the EMS director. He took over from Rev. Musa Jibo. My father served as an EMS Missionary under Rev. Panya Baba and Rev. Musa Jibo. I knew who Baba was and what he was doing. You could not separate Panya Baba and Simon Ibrahim. They were highly motivated and committed. Baba was very passionate about Missions. I remember, when Baba went to Israel for the first time and saw all the evidences and the places that Jesus went, he came back and shared this experience saying: 'Yesu da na ba da gaskiya, amma inna kara ba da gaskiya' (meaning, 'Lord Jesus, I believed and I am believing again and again'). Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men (Prov 22:29 KJV) This work is heavily tilted towards the love of Baba’s life i.e., Missions. In this biography, bringing out the Missions in Baba’s life takes the upper hand in preference to the many other aspects of his life in which he also excelled. This is deliberate. Baba’s yearning is for the legacy which Jesus bequeathed him and others of his time, to be preserved and passed on from one generation to the other. Baba longs for the undiluted Gospel of Jesus Christ to be preached to the uttermost parts of the world before the end comes. He clearly sees the end of the world nearer than you think. Baba desires that this work remains one of the powerful tools to use in preserving and promoting the legacy of Jesus Christ which He dearly paid with His blood on the cross of Calvary.
