Bayray McNwizu Disarmed Me By Saying She Has A Crush On Me!!!

One Saturday morning, I was due to have a Nollywood Star called BayRay McNwizu as my Artiste of the week.  I had no idea who this was and I Google to check her out.  She had quite a few stunning images online and I thought, phew, she is beautiful.  

I went on to do my usual research on her bio and stuffs she has done, while also reading up on what the tabloids said about her positive and negative.  It was interesting that there were scanty negative and they were not serious dirt, so she seems like a clean act, unusual as that may be.

BayRay McNwizu sauntered into the studio with a shy smile that lit up her face and dimmed her eyes a bit, but she just looked more like a really sweet and beautiful young lady in her body-hugging trouser dress, one-piece outfit and its yellow. 

 I had to compliment her outfit, her very nice figure and her beautiful smile then, she dropped the infinitely disarming bomb, "Hello Sir, I have always had a crush on you, but you have to promise me  you will not say that on air"  

Awwww... she got me there and guess there are few men that will hear that from a beautiful woman, and would not have their heart melted a wee-bit, guess I am not one of them.

The interview was like having a chat with a long lost friend that one loves a lot and know that the feeling is mutual. It was an interesting interview in getting to know BayRay McNwizu and her ambition.  She was seemingly honest with her response, sometimes coy, mostly oozing with charm.  

 

Let me digress a little by telling you this story, and I will link it all up at the end.  A few months ago, I was in Yenagoa for the AMAA Award ceremony and it was the very first time ever that I will attend the event.  I had watched reports on the ceremony several times on Channels TV for a couple of years now, but I had no business attending, especially as I was not even invited anyway.

But this year, I was invited by the Bayelsa State Government to come and witness one of the events that they are delighted to showcase as a way of encouraging the arts and investing in Nollywood.  Channels TV was official broadcaster for this event as it was live on the station.

There were Starlets (Kokolets in D'Banj speak), Stars, Super Stars and Mega-Stars present at the event.  Since I was a guest of the State Government, I had nothing to do with the event itself other than to come in and watch, while my Outside Broadcast Crew "do the needful" in putting it on air live.

I had an eyeful of absolutely stunning outfits like the one put on by my very good friend of many years, South African Radio Star, Kgopedi Namane, there were also amazingly gorgeous ladies and some truly charming guys, presenting and receiving awards.  I had my little toy, the Canon 600D camera with lens as long as my arm (just kidding, its not that long), but it allows me to take very clean and crystal clear shots from over 100m away.

I love having my little toy on auto, so that it just clicks away and the sound makes me feel like a proper papparazo. As I fiddled with the focus and checking out the people on stage, a lady in orange one piece dress with a pantalon bottom that is free-flowing stepped on stage.   I did not hear her name, actually it did not matter as she waltzed in elegantly to announce the category and eventual winner.  

I still did not hear anything she said, I just kept clicking away, trying to get excellent close up shots and different angles.  This is made more difficult considering I am seating in the crowd and not anywhere near the stage.  I had to get ingenious with camera angles and virtually contorting my neck and body in weird ways to get clean shots without having folks around me shouting at me to sit down and stop blocking their views.

I never got to meet this lady in the picture and did not even know who she was, but she caught my eye.

This is one interview I will not forget for a long time, because at the end of it, I realized that this lady, I had seen on stage once and actually met and was introduced to her on the second occasion before she was on my show.  

I pride myself in not forgetting faces easily but on this occasion someone did something to my memory, such that the person on the AMAA Awards stage that was introduced to me by Seun Oloketuyi on a set shooting at a hospital in Opebi and finally live in the flesh in the studio, I still did not link all the images together, that I must say is by my standard unprecedented.

But its all good and unusually interesting as BayRay McNwizu has, in her very unassuming, sweet smiling way has melted into oblivion where she came from.  I have not heard from her since and can only hope to see her again in a major Nollywood film in the coming months and years.

She did put a smile that will come on my face fleetingly each time I remember the coy and nice way she said "I have always had a crush on you, but you can not say this on television... "

Well now, I did not say it on TV :-)

Pounding The Streets Of Lagos - Raising Funds For Save The Children

I have always wanted to be a soldier, believing that when you join the Army they will give you the training that turns you into a very disciplined, strong, tough and truly dynamic being. An officer and a gentleman idea is always in my head, so that when I put on that uniform, every living being will respect and salute both my courage to put my life on the line for humanity and fellow citizens of my great nation, Nigeria.


Unfortunately, I never got the chance, mind you, not for want of trying, but I was deprived the great opportunity because of the absolutely ridiculous policy called "Quota System".  I see myself as a citizen of the world, but because my late father is from Ondo State, "Quota System" made it such that a couple of my friends from the good old Federal Government College, Kano, who were from Northern Nigeria could get admission, despite scoring less points in the Nigeria Defence Academy exam than me.

Anyway, I have grown out of that and I guess I can look back now and say, may be, just may be, all things on this one turns out for good because I love the Lord and His plan for my life is different.  I am tempted to see this as a cop out when I hear people use same line.

It is this passion for discipline and fitness that has informed my decision to continue to run regularly to keep fit.  It is this fitness regime that has informed my decision to now take pare in the Great North Run marathon to raise money for a good cause.  One of those that is consistently on my heart is the Save The Children and the amazing work I see them do supporting and helping children around the world.  The wonderful work they are doing in Nigeria is also commendable, especially in Northern Nigeria where I still have loads of friends and I travel to from time to time as a result of having school out there.

I have been pounding the streets of Lagos, jogging virtually every day and on some days doing over 20KM in the morning between 5am and 7am before getting ready for work.  This will usually be a job from Opebi, through Mobolaji Bank-Anthony way to Maryland, then down Ikorodu Road to Yaba and back through the same route.




All of these because I want to prepare to raise funds for Save the Children and support their work as I strongly subscribe to one of their regular sayings "No Child Born To Die".

This year, I will do a bit more promotion than usual, and I am starting some of that through this blog and you will see some of it in the newspapers and on television as well. 


Fortunately for me, my employer, Channels Television has agreed to sponsor/support me in this adventure.  I have reasonable amount of time to talk about Great North Run, Newcastle on my Saturday morning magazine show, Sunrise and I will also talk about it on our Sports programmes like Sports Tonight with Toyin Ibitoye and Sport This Morning.

I am also fortunate to have the backing of the largest airline in Nigeria and possibly in West Africa, Arik Air.  They have donated tickets to ensure I can be part of the Great North Run Marathon in Newcastle.  They are supporting me and they did same the last couple of years, which shows that the people at Arik Air have a heart and will support a good cause.

I spoke with the Group C.E.O. of Forte Oil PLC last week and I have a bit of commitment from the Oil Company to expect some amount of support for my fundraising.  I am not sure how much is small, but I know something will be done to support the great work being done by Save The Children.

I have a story to tell shortly about my experience at Verdant Zeal, check out their website and you will now why they are the way they are.  I went there for a quick meeting about "Native and Vogue" coming up soon. Just before we finished the meeting, I mentioned my run to the C.O.O. and here team of two staff working on the Native & Vogue project with her. The three of them agreed that they will ask their colleague to support me and I gave them the form immediately.  I was shocked at the end of the day when I got about N25,000 cash which was contribution from all the members of staff with the smallest donation being N500 and largest N5,000.

Watch this space for more stories and pictures and possibly videos in the coming days and weeks....

Bishop Idahosa Saw The Anointing On My Life First - WAJE

It is not often that an awesomely talented musical artiste gets discovered and actively supported by a Bishop.  

This is the story of Aituaje Iruobe aka WAJE.  Her musical talent was discovered and supported by Bishop Benson Idahosa from an early age.  Once the good Bishop saw the anointing on WAJE's life, he sponsored her education.


Waje was my guest on Sunrise this Saturday here at Channels TV and she was such a wonderful and interesting Artiste of The Week on my show.


 
Waje came on the show just a week after her close friend and industry colleague, Omawumi was on the same programme.  She talked about her passion for music and how she has always known that singing is a God-given gift that has shaped her life.

 Waje has on a cute smile when I asked about the man in her life.  She wanted the details to remain private, but she is happy to share the fact that she is happy in her relationship and was almost waxing lyrical on how much she prays that it continues on the current trajectory.

 

Waje was a bit coy about wedding bells, stating that when its time, the world will know, so as it is not in the public domain yet, it means its not happening yet :-)


To Be Continued....

I Am In Happy Place, Marriage Might Happen Next Year - OMAWUMI

I have a small number of Nigerian celebrities I can call my friends.  There are few others I can't call friends because we are not close, but I sincerely like them, as well as enjoy their company whenever we get to catch up. I often find myself in some unusual and wonderful places because of the travels my job require.



Omawumi is one of those I will not drop her name and say we are great friends, but she is one of those Nigerian Celebrities that I honestly enjoy her company and love because of her candid, honest and straight to the point nature.  She does not pretend to suffer fool gladly at all, but she can easily use euphemism like "slow people" for those that others will describe as "fools".


If you have never met a warri girl or don't know what one is like, find time to watch Omawumi in conversation.  She is a delight to interview and a joy to watch, whether while on stage singing or dancing.

Omawumi was my guest on Sunrise this Saturday morning at Channels TV and I had so much laughter, I could have been interview Julius Agwu and Alibaba on the home stretch today.

I asked her about the father of her gorgeous little girl and what their relationship is like now.  Omawumi said she is in a happy place and having a very happy family life.  She even hinted at marriage next year being a possibility.


 I take that as not just a mere hint, she is not the kind of person that would make loose statements about marriage unless it has been considered and already being worked on.

Omawumi is one young Nigerian musician that makes me proud each time I watched her on stage either in Nigeria or the few times I saw her perform outside the shores of this country.

 

I am wishing Omawumi the very best of luck with here new song #Megbele and of course whenever the wedding bell tolls, we will be here to congratulate and pray they "be together ever after".

 Here is the Video of the interview where Omawumi seemingly dropped the hint about the forthcoming wedding and when a lady starts talking about wedding location and all, its no longer hint... its for real... :-)

 

#OsunDecides2014 - The Debate

On Saturday, I had such amazing time asking questions and allowing the representatives of the PDP Candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore and that of the incumbent Governor of State of Osun, APC's Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola trade words and have a bit of a #ShoutMatch.  Each time it seems to be getting out of hand I play the puppeteer and stopped them. When they go on for a bit longer, I threatened to put an end to the conversation because its becoming a #ShoutMatch.

I asked the DG of Omisore Campaign Organization what his principal has on his manifesto, offering the good people of Osun.  He have a 5-point agenda that has Education, Agriculture and Infrastructure Development on it.  The unfortunate part of this kind of conversation is that you never get the details of how these 5-point agenda will be achieved, especially details of where the money will come from, considering there is limit to what the state generates (IGR) and what it gets from Federation Account (FAAC).

But it was interesting to see how excited each of the representatives were when it was time for them to shoot down the achievements of the incumbent or the track record of the other candidates.

At the end of the segment, Alero, my co-presenter said we didn't want a fight in the studio, and all of them in unison said, "no way", we are all friends, all that argument is just politics and argument for television.

The one word that seemed to have gained a life of its own since the Ekiti Election is #StomachInfrastructure and it was mentioned in the same breath with bags of rice, which made me wonder if this has now become the norm.  Is it a case of how big your bag of rice is that determines your number of votes now or how you cater for #StomachInfrastructure.

We will have to wait and see how things pan out come the August Election in the State of Osun.  One's prayer and hope will continue to be that there will be a huge turn out, the people will vote, not for popularity or #StomachInfrastructure, but rather for manifesto that make sense and can deliver gains of democracy for the good people of Osun.

Finally, I can not shout this out loud enough, we have to create a groundswell of voters enlightenment, so that there is a clear link and understanding of the fact that a good choice will determine quality of education, job opportunities, improvement of infrastructure, quality health service and more, while bad choice based on bags of rice and #StomachInfrastructure will lead to poorly equipped hospitals, regular problems of unpaid salaries, corruption that pays back those who delivered the bags of rice and of course impunity.

The Queue For Kerosene

 Its a bright and sunny morning, I had to be up early to join the Sunrise Daily crew of Channels TV, so we can hit the ground running with the show being broadcast live from Yenagoa in Bayelsa State. As we drive past the very first ever flyover in Bayelsa State, I was so busy admiring the beautiful landscape and corner of my eye saw what looked like sea of heads and close by, bright and colourful jerry cans.

I had to ask the driver to stop quickly, because, just the day before, the Governor of Bayelsa State, Hon. Seriake Dickson was very happy to brag to about a thousand people in the hall at the Bayelsa State Investment & Economic Forum, that Oloibiri is just under 10minutes drive away and that is the first place Nigeria hit oil. See the picture that caught my attention:

 I got off the vehicle, took my camera, Canon EOS600D, which my friend in the US likes to refer to as "The Beast" and walked into the midst of tired beings, some said they had been on the queue for Kerosene from about 5am, while other said they had to leave their Jerry cans in that location on queue and beg for someone to look after it for them.

Its not an extremely unusual sight in Yenagoa, I was informed by one of them, and another one chipped in quickly, "you no dey see this kain queue for Lagos? Na everywhere ooo. Welcome to Nigeria."  All I could do was shake my head just for one reason only.

It beggars belief that crude oil is abundant in the Niger Delta, the President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan is from Bayelsa State and  The Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Allison-Madueke is from Yenagoa Local Govt, also in Bayelsa State, yet, the people queue for a by-product of substance that come in abundant quantity from their community.  It is almost as ridiculous as asking a nomad in the sahara to queue endlessly just to buy sand.

 

Nigeria never cease to amaze me as a nation with virtually every thing that is needed to make life a grand pleasure for all citizens and create a nation that is the envy of the rest of the African Continent, if not the world, yet the basic thinks fail and often are seemingly non-existent.

Nigeria has experienced scarcity of Kerosene for many years as some blame the marketers, others say its those importing the product, while NNPC absolves itself of any complicity in this embarrassing situation.  In the midst of it all, there have been stories of monumental corruption in the petroleum sector and till tomorrow, its unlikely anyone will be investigated or convicted not to dare think of being jailed.

This is one more proof that Nigerians need to demand better government, but when they are opting to not rock the boat or allow politics of region and or religion rule the day, the result will be infrastructure deficiency, reign of "stomach infrastructure" as reason(s) for political decisions, especially in the area of voting and other unspeakable and outrightly disturbing actions/decisions that do not bode well for the nation.

Come 2015, the nation will go to the polls again to elect new leaders, if manifestos are not published and scrutinized, with explanations being demanded for blanket statements like 7point agenda that means nothing, then #Queue4Kerosene will continue to be hashtag for a long while, but it will still mean nothing because twitter hashtags in Nigeria do not in themselves stir the conscience of the nation or that of national leaders.

Some of the things & people I found interesting in Sokoto

Irresistible Faces of Sokoto

More Interesting Faces on Sokoto Road

Not sure what he is was looking for

Wheel Barrow in the boot - Sokoto

Seemed ordinary but with light, beautiful - Sokoto

This looked so awesome - Sokoto

Sunset in Sokoto

Camel at work in Sokoto

Wammako is working, Sokoto is Working

Parading Criminals In Nigeria by Security Agencies

I have watched television and read newspapers in Nigeria in the last couple of years that I have been back in the country and each time the DSS, Nigeria Police, and other security agencies including Nigeria Army, Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC) and the Nigeria Navy parade "Criminals", I am simply saddened by this unparalleled anomaly.

Here is a link to a parade of "terrorists" by the Department of State Security (DSS) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4blMRpI6ek0 I watched this and the thought going through my mind was "here we go again".  

The individuals paraded were not spoken of as being alleged "spiritual head of Boko Haram" or "terrorists", the spokesperson for DSS simply stated, that is who these men were and warned the public about them.  This gives the impression that they have been tried and convicted, but this is not the case.  These men were investigated and arrested by DSS, they are yet to be presented before a court of competent jurisdiction, they have not been given their rights to speak with a lawyers who can defend them in court.

As much as I abhor and find absolutely despicable the activities of Boko Haram, Kidnappers and other criminal, I find it difficult to stomach the decision of the state security agencies to parade these men and in some cases women before the media without having a chance to speak to a lawyer or having their day in court first.

I remember a friend who worked in government in Nigeria and closely with an ex-President telling me a story that he heard from the ex-President. Here is a summarised version of the story:

The Nigeria Police, the DSS and Nigeria Army were asked to investigate and find a violent criminal that escaped.  The thought was that the criminal will be in one of three neighboring communities, hence each agency was tasked to take one community, go through with a fine tooth comb and bring back the criminal if found there.

The officers of the agencies left and when they returned, their findings and report were as follows:

The Nigeria Army reported back to the Presidency and said that they have gone through the community assigned to them with a fine tooth comb. They experienced what they assumed might turn out to be resistance hence they razed down the entire community. "We did not find the criminal, but we can assure the President that if the criminal was there he will be among the dead as there is no life left in that village your excellency".

The DSS came back to inform the President that they have completed their assignment successfully. They have used their intelligence sources and every man in the community has been interrogated.  All of them remain suspects, so they are in SSS custody till confession is obtained on the where about of the criminal. "It has been a very successful exercise your excellency"

The Nigeria Police came back to the President shooting in the air celebrating their success of having found the criminal. The President came out with a view to sight this violent criminal and was shocked to see a talking, weeping, bleeding and brutalized Chimpanzee. The Chimpanzee was crying out a confession, "I am the man, I killed many police men during most of my armed robbery escapade, I stole cars and sold them in Togo, I am the owner of all the 55 AK47 guns that the police have at the back of their vehicle".

As ridiculous as this may sound to many, it is actually not too farfetched because we have security agencies that more often than not do not follow best practice standards, they have been reported to carry out extra-judicial killing, assaults and torture of criminals before they are presented to judge and jury.

I have watched operations of Metropolitan Police in London, read reports on MI5, FBI, CIA and other international security agencies around the world, but I have no recollection of any of them parading criminals and or terrorists immediately they are caught and celebrating their success in front of the media before the alleged criminal or terrorist has had his or her day in court.

It is heartbreaking when one hear of instances where alleged criminals were said to have put up some resistance and the police killed the entire gang or the living ones were said to have escaped.  It is even more painful that sizable number of the arrested criminals are hardly ever convicted and sentenced, at least we don't get to hear of their conviction and sentence. I strongly believe there is greater impact when we celebrate conviction and long sentences for criminals than when what we have is questionable arrests and parade that some have consistently said leads to nowhere.

Finally, I can not but mention the concern that is often raised when one see the Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC), the Nigeria Army and Navy and other agencies take on the role of the Nigeria Police and one wonders why they will not just share the information with the Police or hand over the alleged criminals to the Police that has constitutional responsibility for internal security.

Let me test waters here and find out how many Nigerians will comment and stand up to be counted as being against what can be described as unjustifiable and by all international standards, illegal parade of individuals as "criminals and terrorists" before they have been through any form of court process.

God Bless Nigeria - Part One

I have heard leaders of the United States of America say this phrase ever so often, "God Bless America", it’s not often that I hear leaders of our nation, Nigeria say the same.  In America, it’s almost a cliche, but not the same with us here in Nigeria.  

A very good friend, Kemi called me the other day and insisted she had to come see me to discuss something important. It happened to be one of those busy times in the life of a #NewsMan, and saying yes immediately was really not an option, but her persistence was such that my hands were forced and I obliged.

We had a breakfast meeting and the story of Kemi's eating habit would be told one day *big smile*, but I am thrilled we had this meeting and the information shared truly delighted my heart, or should I say, was amazingly heartwarming!

Kemi weaved a short tale about a group of people who come together on Sundays to ask God to Bless Nigeria.  They do not do this by just praying and repeating a pointless mantra but they practically become the blessing to Nigeria that a lot of our leaders have failed to be.

This group of people gets to the meeting point as early as 6.30am and some from about 7am on Sunday mornings.  There are Medical Doctors, Nurses, Caterers, Cooks, Drivers, Psychologists, Barbers, Hairdressers, Cleaners, who come in bright and early, artisans and professionals dressed in casual outfits and ready to be the blessing to Nigeria that some of us only dream about and sometimes pray God will send to this nation.

Kemi warned me to be dressed casually, so I put on my blue trainers, my Jeans and a polo shirt, short-sleeve and ready to blend in.  She was kind enough to drive all the way from Victoria Island to Opebi, just to pick me up at home, and then drive down to the meeting point just on the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, where I am meant to join the people who have chosen to dedicate their Sunday morning to answer the prayer, "God Bless Nigeria".

We arrived at the meeting point at about 8am, I felt like we were late because of my morning coffee, it takes almost 5 minutes to warm my semi-skimmed milk without cooking it, so I can enjoy a coffee latte that has a drop of honey and it’s the heavenly taste that makes my morning exciting. Ignore me on this one, I am silly like that... *laughing*. It’s one of those pleasures of life formed out of habit.

I was introduced to a lady called Ehi, she coordinates the multi-media side of things here, Ehi welcomed me with a big, bright smiles and a warm handshake. Ehi asked me to wait a minute and she called a "well-rounded" gentleman, his name is Nonso, to join us. Nonso was introduced as one of those who go out on the field.

OK, these people who have opted to be blessing to Nigeria, by the grace of God, go out on Sunday morning looking for Nigerians that need a blessing, that need a helping hand, that need support, that want their lives changed, but do not have a clue of where to start from. 

I left the premises with Nonso and we headed for Oke-Afa.  Nonso told me tales of prostitutes that have been invited and taken care of, counseled, supported, given opportunity to change their life choices and in essence, change their lives.  

Nonso talked about drug addicts who have lost hope and are just resigned to beg or steal to feed their bad habits, but God, in blessing Nigeria through these professionals and artisans who are trusting God to make them the blessing Nigeria needs, these addicts have been washed, cleaned, fed, then taken into a place of refuge and treated by doctors that have weaned them off their addictions.  These people have come off drugs and are now gainfully employed or been given a chance to be one of the few people now enjoying grants provided to start small businesses.

I listened and was there wondering where all these Nigerians who choose to be a blessing to the nation came from. Anyway, it did not take long, we were at Oke-Afa, and Nonso parked his car.  Once out of the car, I looked up and it looked like a shanty town built on a refuse dump. It simply reminded me of BBC's documentary series "Welcome To Lagos" which I watched and recorded in London a while ago.

The stench was overwhelming when you are not used to it. Nonso warned me to keep my eyes glued to where I was heading to avoid stepping on waste, both human's and dog's.  A couple of hundred yards and we were in the thick of it, as in the smell of human waste, refuse dump fused together with cigarette and marijuana.

There were smelly young and middle-aged men who looked like they have not seen water for ages because the only liquid they had around happened to be Gin, Stout, Gulder, Ogogoro, Schnapps and other alcoholic beverages, emphasis on the very cheap and strong ones. Virtually everyone of them had marijuana in their hands, as they say, how do you like it, thin, slim and cheap or thick, fat and "orobo", almost the size of "igbo" you will see in the hand of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti of blessed memory.

A small number were hiding their "igbo" (marijuana) from Nonso, saying, "good morning pastor, how now, I go come church today ooo, I jus wan finish sumtin wey I dey do now now".  Nonso moved close to each one, shook hands and asked them why they were still smoking hemp? "You know you have given your life to Christ and you are now Gideon's Army, you should be here winning souls and encouraging others to come to church" Nonso chided.

Almost all the time, he got a wry smile and a mumbled response that sounded like an apology of some sort.  Nonso told me these people needed help, they need re-housing, as long as they are left with no choice but to come back to this same environment, they will be just like pigs, washed, groomed and dressed up, then thrown back into the dirty sty and mud, it will roll in it again and again.

I sat with quite a few of them until I was getting a bit heady from inhaling the strong smell of marijuana being blown in my face. I listened to their stories and encouraged them to be open and tell me all.  While some are desperate to kick the habit, some have given up hope and just believe they will live the rest of their lives like this.

"Sebi, you too be pastor, abi, look all dis God tin no dey sell again, if you wan helep me, give me money make I start business or give me job wey dey pay well well." One of them shouted at me. There were stories that could easily become epic films and will sell out on the bookshelves worldwide.  I cannot sum it up in one go.

After about 2hours of walking around, talking, listening watching Nonso persuade, encourage, negotiate and reason with even some that were unreasonable, we had to leave. A 16 Seater bus was waiting, next to Nonso's car and it was packed full with a few men, but more of women and young children.  Obviously the young men don't mind their partners and wives going to God Bless Nigeria, but they were way too busy smoking hemp and drinking themselves into a stupor.

I have intentionally opted to keep the Church part out of the God Bless Nigeria Church.  It is a church and place of worship that is an initiative of Pastor Tony Rapu's ministry. When Nonso and I got back to the church the place was buzzing, there were children, women, including pregnant ones, there were men, young and old all milling around, some seated in the various classes, some in the clinic to receive treatment or run tests, other that were having a haircut and women having their hair washed and set for them without paying a kobo.

I saw and listened to a man who said he has just come out of prison and he did not want to do anymore what he did that led him to prison. So, all he wants is God, and he has been told God is here at God Bless Nigeria, so he came to meet God and see his life changed for good.  A member of the Gideon's Army took him around to get him washed, fed, given fresh clothes and they were looking into finding a home for him.

The stories are incredible and compelling, I waited to be part of the service after a short chat with the Pastor in Charge for this Sunday.  She was a pretty and soft-spoken lady called Ronke Akinnola.  The worship session was almost like watching a concert with Obesere, Ayuba, Wasiu and throw in Iyanya, P-Square and Tuface all worshipping God. It was an awesome praise and worship experience.  

Watching some of these people dance reminded me of what King David of Israel must have looked like in 2 Samuel 6:14-23.  They danced with "reckless abandon" and unlike some other churches, there were no "forming" or pretentions.

I can write a book about God Bless Nigeria, from just one experience, and I probably will do just that in due course.  But today Part One in the God Bless Nigeria series has just been completed.

I will end this with what a wise man of God told me during our last conversation in my office, Bishop Matthew Kukah, told me about his experience in America.  He was offered a very juicy position with very fantastic financial package and perks, but he turned it down.  His reason was that he will spend his entire strength, might and abilities in America to have minimum impact, but just a sizable amount of his strength, might and abilities spent on something positive in Nigeria will generate impact that will surely warm the hearts of men and God in Nigeria.  That just reminded me my reason for being back home in Nigeria and my reason for being "raison d'etre'.

If you have doubts about the work of God Bless Nigeria Church as I explained above, watch what they recorded in the story of Fatima, whose life was transformed - 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHrqQnV2v88&feature=player_embedded