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padding-right: 5px;"">The church choir

Dada ALADELOKUN, Kunle AKINRINADE and Boniface ALANWOKO

Not a few men would yell, ‘over my dead body’, if invited to such a church, where talking is forbidden, so to say. Indeed, such men will hurry out of the auditorium if perchance they find themselves there. The church, which is located at 106, Apata Street, Somolu, Lagos State, is not the typical place of worship spread around the Lagos metropolis.

No, it is not the kind of place where blazing public address system (PAS) inundates residents’ saturated eardrums with service proceedings. There, occupants of the front pew do so with no special order. Therefore, the congregation are not under the seeming hypnotic influence of any pastor, let alone importune their "Papa" with miracle requests.

There was no servile deference or trembling aides. What’s more; no one talks; it’s a church specially established for the deaf and dumb. It is named, The Christian Mission for the Deaf.

These reporters were there last Sunday to witness and also have a taste of their devotional service. It turned an interesting moment with the men and women, young and old, who heartily worshipped their creator without regard for their physical incapacitation. The glee was perceptible as well as pleasantly infectious.

The street that hosts the uncommon sanctuary is like every other busy route in the metropolis. The ubiquitous commercial motorbike riders and roadside artisans had their own share of the hustle and bustle of the street like the adjoining ones.

Strategically located, a sign post welcomes the guest into the modest premises of the church, a bungalow. Attached to it on the right is an apartment with a chalk board reserved obviously for Sunday school programmes. And like in such typical set-ups, at the back of the main structure are administrative offices among others..

That members of the church were imbued with ample social etiquette was obvious as, with toothy smiles and frantic gesticulations, some of them who either stood or sat in groups for snappy discussions in front of the church, welcomed the reporters and other guests into the premises.

The reporters were immediately ushered into the church auditorium by some elders of the church at about 10 a.m. when the service had barely started. A handful of members were already seated. By 10.30 a.m. the number had increased such that the congregation were jostling for seats.

In the words of a leading female member of the church, Sister Bunmi James, the situation arose because the day’s service was a special one. Hear her through an interpreter: "We normally have between 150 to 200 worshippers on a normal service day and 400 to 500 on special service like the one holding today." Soon, it was time for choir ministration and as the choristers stepped out in their black robes to render special numbers, the reporters’ curiousity was aroused as to how the songs would be let out.

But a cow without tail takes solace in God who wards gluttonous flies off its body. The group, comprising four men and a female member, dazzled the audience and the agitated newsmen with popular hymns such as "Abraham’s blessings are mine"; "Something more than gold" and "The spirit of God is in the heart of men." But it was with their peculiar sign language.

Next was the sermon by Pastor Abiodun Folaji, a visiting evangelist from the Ilaro branch of the church. He was a spectacle of sorts as he mounted the pulpit to deliver a sermon on the reason for the birth of the church. As interpreted to the reporters by Mr. Toyin Joseph Ameho whose parents are also leading members of the church, Folaji said, drawing home his lecture in sign language and gesture: "The church is not about how magnificent the building is, but the people who worship in it. Therefore, we must not for any reason leave the church because of the current harsh economic situation. Look at the elders of this church; they are not rich too but the Lord has always been sustaining them."

The pastor was a sight to behold as his restive legs hopped from one spot to the other on the pulpit while his hands did the talking. Only God knows how many kilometres he must have covered on the altar while the sermon lasted. His roving eyeballs maintained constant romance with pages of his Bible from where he quoted copiously for members of the congregation who hanged on his lips with occasional nods and sighs. Spell-bound, one of the reporters heaved a deep sigh and declared in a hushed tone: "Ah, God is great!"

As soon as the sermon was over, the offering collectors took turns to perform their role for the day. With joy, members made their offerings while the service was brought to an end after an announcement made by the purse keeper of the church, Brother Samuel Ebinom, who brought the good news to the congregation that a female member of the church had just been delivered of a healthy baby girl. As would be expected, the heartening news triggered off spontaneous wild jubilation by the corgregation.

It was time for chat with some members of the church and the heart-rending stories of many of them would sure make not a few able-bodied men around splutter words of exaltation to their creator for the opportunity to be what they are. Pa Amos Akeju, a 65-year-old from Imota, a Lagos suburb, who incidentally is the chairman of the church council, shared his story through Toyin: "I was not born deaf. It all happened that while I was in school, my parents could not afford to pay my school fees and I thought that I should help myself out by working on the farm in order to raise some money. Unfortunately, while working on the farm with some of my mates, an argument ensued and I was slapped by one of them; that was how I became a deaf."

But how did Akeju overcome the daunting challenges of educating himself? Hear him further: "I lost my parents at a young age but when I met the late founder of this church, Dr. Andrew Foster, he advised me to study in order to become a better person in life. Therefore, I took some correspondence courses and at Foster’s instance, I left for Gallaudet University, Washington, United States of America (USA) - the only university for the deaf in the world - in 1980. There, I studied for a degree course in Elementary/Special Education and back home, I taught for over three decades in various public schools before I retired as a vice principal of the State Grammar School, Surulere, Lagos some years ago."

For the Amehos, whose 25-year-old son, Toyin, served as an interpreter during the chat, the story of their 52-year-old matriarch, Victoria, was riveting. The reporters’ jaws dropped in pity when she recalled how a drug she took led to her loss of hearing. "I became deaf when I was about eight years old. I was given a particular drug at the clinic, which subsequently impaired my hearing. When my teachers spoke to me, I could no longer hear well anymore. Someone later advised my parents to send me to Wesley School for the Deaf and I also attended Victory College, Ikeja, Lagos State for my secondary education," she said.

Her husband, Oliver, however, explained that he was born a deaf: "I was born deaf and as a child, I wasn’t worried about anything. I attended Wesley School and after my secondary education, I went to a technical school. I worked at the Federal Ministry of Works where I retired in 2007. I met my wife in this church and we are happy as a couple," he said, smiling.

The 62-year-old beautiful secretary of the church council, Sister James, also shared her experience with the reporters: "I’m the only one with hearing challenges among my siblings but my parents took care of me very well. They ensured that I received the best of education. I worked for several years with the defunct Nigeria Airways before I retired some years ago and I am blessed with a daughter who, by God’s grace, is not suffering from any hearing problem."

Akeju went down memory lane on when and why the church was established by its late missionary founder about 50 years ago: "The church was established in 1960 in Ibadan by the late Dr. Andrew Foster, a deaf missionary who came to Nigeria from the United States where he had already established its headquarters, but the Lagos branch was established in 1970. The church came into existence in order to impart knowledge to the deaf in the language they understand - the sign language-rather than their native tongue which could not help them to read and learn very well.

He also seized the opportunity to explain the stubborn headache troubling the church which he said, required the assistance of members of the public. Exuding sobriety, he said: "We want assistance from public-spirited individuals so that we can take this place to greater heights. Our urgent need now is how to improve on the facilities here. What we are getting from members as contributions and special levies are not enough to carry out the task because our members are barely surviving on their meagre income that is not enough to take care of their immediate needs, let alone give substantial offering in the church.

"We want to renovate our building and we have already done the building plan. The total budget according to our builders is N100million, apart from the equipment needed for the rehabilitation of this building. The new building will have a school, a new church auditorium and a vocational centre."

Their condition apart, members of the church are due to file out to celebrate the 50

th anniversary of the church and yards of Aso-ebi are already exchanging hands in preparation for the event billed to take place on June 25.

As the reporters made their way out of the church at about 2.20 p.m. after flowing words of appreciation from their hosts, it was time to ponder on how it feels to be in the shoes of their hosts who, despite their ill fate, still find time to congregate every Sunday for supplications to God. It was clearly a sweet moment with the special ones who appeared to have swallowed hook, line and sinker, the biblical injunction that says: In any situation, give thanks to God!