Nigerian singer, filmmaker and politician Bankole Wellington, popularly known as Banky W, has reflected on how his defeat in the 2023 general election prompted him to seek God’s direction and reconsider his purpose.
The entertainer shared his experience in a post on Instagram on Thursday as he marked the first anniversary of his pastoral ministry in the United States.
Banky W said the election defeat left him heartbroken but eventually encouraged him to reconsider how his interests in politics, entertainment, business and ministry could coexist.
“In 2023 I lost an election. And while the experience inspired me in many ways, it also broke my heart into a million little pieces,” he wrote.
According to him, after the election, he turned to God for direction and surrendered his plans, seeking clarity on what to pursue next.
“When the dust settled, I took those pieces back to God. And I surrendered,” he said.
The singer recalled questioning whether his future lay in leadership or ministry, entertainment or business, and the marketplace or the church.
He said he later realised that he had been treating these aspects of his life as mutually exclusive, even though he believed God had not asked him to choose between them.
“And somewhere along the way, I realized that I was asking God to choose between things He had never asked me to separate,” he wrote.
“It wasn’t either/or. It was all of the above.”
Banky W said the experience helped him understand that his responsibilities were expanding rather than narrowing, allowing him to pursue his professional interests alongside his spiritual calling.
“Turns out, God wasn’t trying to put me in a box. He was expanding my assignment,” he added.
The entertainer said he continues to work as a filmmaker, musician and entrepreneur while also serving as a pastor and professor.
Reflecting on his journey, he recalled joking that the letter “P” in his name, P. Banks, stood for professor rather than pastor.
“I used to joke that the ‘P’ in P.Banks stood for Professor, not Pastor. I guess God heard and said, ‘Why not both?’” he wrote.
He also acknowledged the demands of travelling regularly between Lagos and the Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia area, commonly known as the DMV, to fulfil his various responsibilities.
“Constantly traveling back and forth between Lagos and the DMV isn’t always easy. But has it been worth it? Absolutely,” he said.
Banky W expressed gratitude for the opportunities he said had emerged from his experiences, noting that although the election outcome did not go as he had hoped, his plans had since taken a different direction.
