INTRODUCTION
Like a dream, I
saw myself speaking at the Redeemed Christian Church, Mount Zion Parish on
Saturday, 18th of February 2017. I was expecting it to be a success
but it turned out to be a HUGE SUCCESS,
a success I never was expecting. The article you are about to read is a long
one but it is worth the journey. DRIVE IN AND READ THE WHOLE STORY OF HOW I
SPOKE IN THIS BIG CHURCH AND THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON THAT KEEPS ECHOING IN MY
MIND.
THE CALL
On the 5th of February 2017, I received a call from my
friend, Joseph Maxwell—I like calling him Jomax .” John, it seems you will be
speaking in our church headquarters next week” he said. These words got me
excited as I screamed with all the strength I got on my inside. “What topic
will I be talking about” I asked, and his reply reduced my joy, it brought my
excited joy to near ground state. ”love” he said. From my voice, he noticed
something was wrong and then he said in Pidgin English, “Guy no fall my hand
ooo, no go there they wake up and down ooo “. He could say that because he saw
me two years ago speaking at a programme I organized at Petroleum Training
Institute (PTI)—even though the program was a success, the audience spotted
lots of flaws in my speaking skills and one of the flaws was what he just
mentioned, ”Jomax I will get back to
you” I said just before I hung up.
I
thought deeply on the topic but I just couldn’t come up with what to say. I was
expecting a topic that was ‘familiar’ to me but this wasn’t the case. I picked up
my pen and a piece of paper to write down some thoughts but after writing about
three lines, I went blank and that got me uneasy. The uneasiness increased when
I read what I wrote & it still didn’t make tangible sense.
OUR MEETING
During
the week, precisely on Tuesday, I went to meet Jomax at his hostel and he
explained how it all happened. “There was a need for a speaker and I quickly
suggested you and told them of your great speaking skills, so please you have
to do all to keep up to the standard I have built ”Jomax said “ You need to be at
our church on the Sunday to meet with our provisional president.”
As
he spoke, I just looked at him like a man who doesn’t understand the vocabulary
that escaped from his mouth. Just before we parted ways, he said “guy no fall
my hand o”. That word echoed in my mind till I got home and all I could do was
to pray.
MEETING WITH MR PRESIDENT
On
Sunday 12th February, I finally met with the Teens President, Mr.
Paul Agidi and he explained to me what was expected from my speaking and that I
appreciated. As I walked with Jomax back to the hostel, I received a flash of
light: you could create a thin line between love and purpose. This triggered me into an intensive research and
three days later, the article was ready which I sent to Mr. Paul via whatsapp.
THE PROGRAMME’S EVE.
By God’s grace, I was ready and set to deliver but yet there were some
atoms of fear in me because this was the first time I would be speaking in a
‘foreign church’—all of my speaking has always being in my church.
Suddenly,
a thought forcefully emerged “why not go with Collins (a recordist) and Akpevwe
(a combophonist)”. I quickly placed a call to both of them and they gave their
words that they will be there.
THE DAY
And
the day finally came, I woke up early and rehearsed properly before I left and
soon I arrived at the church and just the sight of the church brought a sense
of worth and droplets of fear. Few minutes later Collins and Akpevwe stormed
the arena.
The
programme finally began and after the various teens’ ministration, Collins and
Akpevwe got on stage as they sang one of Nathan Bassey’s songs. As the
ministration started, the audience were stunned as they saw these two teenagers
showcasing rare talents. Akpevwe caught the attention of all as he used his
musical instrument –a comb and cellophane to praise his maker.
Finally,
the hour came and I did what I knew how to do best. The thirty minutes I spoke
was a success and my objectives were achieved but the truth was that the first
five minutes was really a thorough battle, I noticed my hands were shaking and
I was almost blank but thank God I got my confidence and nobody noticed my
fear.
MOST LESSONS LEARNT
“Life is about what you know, how
you express what you know, who you know and who knows you.”— Niyi Adesanya
I was able to speak here because God used
Jomax, whom I know, to create the opportunity to step into the palace just as
the cup-bearer did for Joseph. Learn to build relationship with people because you don't know who God will use to promote you.
SPECIAL THANKS
My
thanks goes to God who is the giver of life and my mother, MSEJO.
I want to thank Onni Joseph, Kenneth, Prince
Salem, Oyibo Lucky who gave their huge contribution to the success of the the programme.
THE ARTICLE
You could read the article I wrote on Love: ARTICLE ON LOVE
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