Banky W Says Election Loss Deepened Faith Journey
Nigerian-American singer, and entrepreneur Olubankole Wellington, popularly known as Banky W, has said his defeat in the 2023 general elections became a turning point that drew him closer to God.
The 45-year-old music executive disclosed this in an Instagram post to mark his first anniversary as an associate pastor at Union Church.
Banky W recounted that losing the Eti-Osa Federal Constituency election left him heartbroken, but it also created the space for reflection and spiritual redirection.
“The election didn’t go the way I hoped. But God’s plans for my life are bigger than the plans I had for myself. And the beautiful thing is, He’s still writing,” he stated.
The singer said he was initially uncertain about his next move, torn between politics, entertainment, business and ministry.
He noted that he later realised he did not have to choose one path at the expense of others.
“It wasn’t either/or. It was all of the above. Turns out, God wasn’t trying to put me in a box. He was expanding my assignment,” he added.
Banky W currently serves as an associate pastor at Union Church and as a teacher and leader at Union College. He admitted that shuttling between Lagos and the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia area for his responsibilities has been demanding but fulfilling.
In 2024, he relocated to the United States with his family to pursue further studies in Public Administration, citing family, faith and purpose as his motivations.
Banky W contested the Eti-Osa seat in 2023 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but lost to Thaddeus Attah of the Labour Party (LP).
He co-founded Empire Mates Entertainment (E.M.E) in 2002 alongside Tunde Demuren, a label that nurtured artistes such as Wizkid, Niyola, Shaydee and Skales.
He married actress Adesua Etomi in November 2017. The couple welcomed their first child, Hazaiah, in 2021 and their second, Hezekiah, in 2024.
BY ABDULBAQI JIBREEL AJAO
