Posted by By EMEKA ENYINNAYA (emekusnl@yahoo.co.uk) on
Those who know Lagos in and out are unlikely to envy you, if you happen to live around Empire, a residential neighbourhood between Yaba and Surulere.
Those who know Lagos in and out are unlikely to envy you, if you happen to live around Empire, a residential neighbourhood between Yaba and Surulere.
Reason: It is a notorious den of prostitutes, where psychotropic substances are recklessly abused, even in the public glare.
But that is where Isaac Abi Abiodun, Pastor of the Nationbuilder International Church, chose to pitch his tent, to worship and win souls for Christ.
Indeed when the church arrived the area, many observers welcomed what they thought was an opportunity to rescue these lost souls from the kingdom of darkness and redirect their lives.
But curiously, Abidun's primary aim was not convert the largely misguided residents of the area. In other words, he did not set out to convert the sinners when he cited his church in the midst of the social deviants. That is his least of worries.
Accordingly to him, 'I neither go to them, nor do they come to me. Personally, I won't go to them go to preach even though my Church is here; because you can only help people to the extent they want you to. You can only help if the person in question is willing to be helped."
Understandably, the scarlet girls prefer to worship elsewhere, incognito, than at the Nationbuilder International Church, where perhaps they'd be recognized as sex hawkers. That much the cleric confirmed to Sunday Sun. Said he: 'These girls do not worship here because they know that we know them, and what they do for a living. They also know that we won't tolerate them as long as they remain in darkness. However, if they are willing to give up the business and accept the gospel of Christ, good for them. But the point is, they still want to continue the trade. Some of them come to worship here on Sunday mornings, and immediately after service, they return to their street life."
Every man to himself
According to Abiodun, the fact that some people are going about town with questions does not mean they are in dire need of answer. 'It is not everybody that goes about with problems actually needs solution. Most people go about with their problems because they are only looking for sympathy, not solutions. So there is no need for me to lose sleep over some people who are with their sense, and who know the right thing to do but simply refuse to do it. Some of these ladies, and even the men, are not hearing the gospel for the first time.
As a matter of fact, a lot of them are from good Christian background. I was made to understand that some of their fathers' are even pastors. So, whether one preaches to them or not, is not the issue. The issue is, what other story can you tell them? Except you want to call Jesus another name."
Empire and Fela
Empire was popularized by the late Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. In the 1970, Fela's Club, Kalakuta Republic, existed there until it was razed by 'Unknown soldiers".
True of false, people easily attribute the moral decadence of the youths of the area to the lingering influence of the singer who sang mostly protest songs.