Taribo West, a former Nigerian international footballer and one-time Super Eagles defender, has opened up about the divine encounter that changed the course of his life and led him to abandon his football career to become a full-time pastor.
The ex-football star, famous for his eccentric and colorful hairstyles during his playing days in clubs like Inter Milan and AC Milan, narrated his extraordinary spiritual experience in a recent interview with the BBC.
According to Taribo West, his transition from being a footballer to embracing the pulpit was triggered by a personal and direct encounter with God, which he described as a life-altering moment that he could not ignore.
He recounted how, during a celebration event, a woman approached him and asked for his name and where he lived, to which he jokingly replied with evasive and dismissive answers. According to him, shortly after the woman left, he heard a clear and audible voice, which he believed to be from God, instructing him to go after the woman and apologize to her for his behavior.
“I was celebrating with people when this woman walked up to me and asked: ‘Sir, please may I know your name?’ I jokingly replied, ‘I am Mr No name.’ She asked again, ‘Where do you live?’ I said, ‘I live nowhere.’ The woman got annoyed and left,” Taribo narrated.
“Almost immediately, I heard a voice so clear and loud, it felt like a slap. The voice said, ‘Switch, turn.’ When I turned, it said again, ‘Look for that woman now and apologize to her. I said that to you.’ It was a moment I would never forget. It could only have been the voice of God.”
The ex-footballer explained that he acted immediately, searching around for the woman like a man on a mission. He eventually found her, apologized, and struck a conversation that turned into a divine appointment. The woman, who he revealed was a sister visiting from America, began to prophesy about his life, sharing revelations that would soon unfold.
“She told me a lot of prophecies. She said in the next one or two years, I would open a church and start preaching the gospel. And one after the other, all the prophecies she gave me came to pass. That was how my transition began — from the football pitch to the pulpit.”
Taribo West, now a pastor, runs his ministry where he shares the word of God and continues to inspire people with his testimony of how faith transformed his life.