By Kunle Awosiyan
If there is something I love about the Celestial Church of Church in Nigeria, it is its musical rendition, the beautiful choristers and its absolute culture of neatness.
Celestial churches are masters of strings, drums and other musical instruments. Singing goes beyond talents in Celestial church where the church trains and adds value to members of its choirs.
Song is the weapon of evangelism in Celestial church, which it has used over the years to lure such figures like the legendary country guitarist, Akeeb Kareem, Juju singer, Sir Shina Peters and late Raggae star Majek Fashek to the church.
Most adults still have vivid memory of Kareem’s evergreen “Baba mi lo Loko” from the Celestial’s pulpit. Kareem was a Muslim who became a member of the Celestial assembly and now a born-again Christian.
And the fact that such great singers like Fashek and Peters also grew out of the Celestial fold are enough testaments to describe the musical prowess of the church.
If it is about songs, only a few churches can rival Celestial, perhaps the Cherubim and Seraphim Church. Although there are many gospel singers across the Pentecostal churches too.
However, the Celestial church, like other churches do not only create songs, it lives the spirit behind it and in sincerity it allows the gathering of some youths whose works might be considered ‘unclean’.
Unless we don’t want to be sincere with ourselves, some of the youths in a few white garment churches are not real members but internet fraudsters aka, Yahoo Yahooo who have come to seek solace under an ‘Oluso” (a spiritual sheperd).
Many of them are latent fans of the popular singer, Habeeb Okikiola aka Portable who prefers street language to the sound of guitars and piano.
That they are bold enough now to show their true colour shouldn’t have surprised the Celestial families.
A typical “Harvest” festival in some Celestial churches are now, sadly, gathering of yahoo boys. Apology to the true worshippers across Celestial.
I live a stone’s throw to a Celestial church where the road is always littered with sachets and plastics of hard drinks, “Alomo, Paraga, Wafeku and many other alcoholic concoction aftermath of every harvest activity.
Portable’s recent performance at a white garment church only saturates the meeting point of the Terrestrial and the Celestial but with more “Pangolo” lyrics instead of the heavenly rhythm that the church was known for.
He took his “Wahala’s” voice to the pulpit in his own “Sutana” to sing the streets for the church boys and girls. “Wahala Wahala, awon Omo ijo Cele ti n sha owo mi oo,” he screamed when the guys began to pick his Naira notes.
How did Portable sound in the ears of the “Celestians” who had stayed all their church life listening to the angelic voices of the beautiful choirs and the danceable beats of the Harps and strings? It is a mixture of the Terrestrial with the Celestial.
**Awosiyan is a journalist and public affairs analyst
