“God Told Me Not to Cut My Hair” — Pastor Odukoya Explains Dreadlocks

Senior Pastor of The Fountain of Life Church, Jimmy Odukoya, says his decision to keep his dreadlocks was not a style choice but a direct instruction from God.

Addressing his congregation during a recent sermon, Odukoya recalled how he sought divine clarity about his appearance before stepping into pastoral leadership after the death of his father, Pastor Taiwo Odukoya.

“Before I came back, one of the things I asked the Lord was whether or not I should cut my hair,” he said. “And the Lord told me not to cut my hair.”

According to him, even family members raised concerns about how his look might be perceived. His sister, in particular, was worried about public opinion.

But he urged her to seek spiritual guidance for herself. She later returned with a confirmation that matched his conviction.

“She told me, ‘You’re not supposed to cut your hair,’ and I replied, ‘I know, because God already told me,’” he said.

The sermon also took a deeply personal turn when Odukoya recounted an extraordinary encounter with a woman who travelled from Zimbabwe to attend his church in Nigeria.

The woman, he said, had a powerful vision years earlier—of a man with dreadlocks who resembled him—long before she knew of his existence.

“In 2016, during Thanksgiving in New York, she had a vision that felt real,” Odukoya shared. “She saw a man with long hair speaking to her while she carried a dog on her shoulder, which symbolized the burdens in her life.

The man, wielding a sword, burned the dog into ashes and began to declare words over her.”

Years later, after enduring a painful divorce, losing her home, and watching her mother die in her arms, the woman began searching for spiritual answers.

That journey eventually led her to a sermon on YouTube—by none other than Pastor Odukoya.

“When she saw me preaching, she screamed,” he said. “She had no idea I existed. The man in her vision was real—and he had long hair.”

The most remarkable part, Odukoya noted, was that in 2016—when she had the vision—he didn’t have dreadlocks yet.

“The God who sees, hears, and knows, knew that in 2025, one of His children would need to recognize someone,” he said. “If I had cut my hair, she would have missed it. God made me keep my hair to save a life.”