With these constraints, he did the next best thing: he joined the import/export business. Through a dint of hard-work and commitment, he went through the tutelage and developed his own pharmaceutical lines which he imported from India. Using a combination of the Nigeria business methods of under-invoicing, over-invoicing, sometimes fake and expired drugs mixed with real drugs etc, his business prospered. He moved from his 2-bedroom flat to a duplex in Surulere, he had 2 cars, one of which was a Toyota Four runner (known as “Ochorouzo”). He was really doing well.

All the while, Bro. Chuks has been a good Christian by his own standards, going for masses regularly including some early morning ones and partaking in the holy communion every Sunday. He had earlier on done his “Confirmation” in the Church. He had even promised himself that his 40th Birthday present will be his enrolment as a “Knight” of St. Christopher or St. John.

He had several times been irritated by the “born-again syndrome” that had become a fad for everybody to hide under according to him. In his family for example, his younger sister that he had sacrificed and sent to the University had even caught the “bug”. She even had the temerity to have invited him a couple of times to their University Pentecostal programmes, especially whenever they had overseas visiting Ministers. Even though he is a man of moderate education, he had read somewhere that most of these Pastors were out to cheat the people of their money.

However, just to stop the pestering of his sister, he against his wish followed her to one of the programmes at her University. To cut the long story short, he was so touched and stricken that day that he gave his life to Christ at the programme and that is when his problems began.

Because he had to do his business now according to “God’s standards”, his business started suffering. He could no longer sell fake drugs, expired drugs, smuggle and such like. Suddenly the money started drying up and every where he turned; his head will hit a wall “Gbim”. He began to think this born again thing does not work. It was in the middle of this quagmire that a friend invited him to the Soup Kitchen.

As you are already aware, the ACCMAD programme started in April 2001. Currently, there are 150 Service locations spread all over Lagos. Whereas each location has its attributes, one of the most unique ones falls under the Kirikiri Prison Ministry. There are 3 components of the Kirikiri Prison namely:

· Medium Prison: For the Awaiting Trial Mates (ATM) usually a lot of hardened criminals

· Maximum Prison: For already decided cases, political cases, EFCC etc. Cases where sentencing have been decided.

· Women Prison: Of course for the women.

Before the decongestion of the prison which is actually due to answered prayers, we sent 2500 packs of food every Sunday to the prison. Currently, we serve about 2,000 packs. In addition, the Church spends N50,000 monthly on supply of drugs to the prison.

But the high point of the Sunday activities in the prison is the Pentecostal Sunday worship. Initially the service was done at Prison Conference room but with the completion of the church donated by one of the “big” prisoners, the worship is now done at this new church. You just need to be at the service to experience the praise and worship.

Is it the keyboard? Is it the drums? Is it the Conga? Is it the clapping? Is it the dancing? Is it the jumping? Is it the Choreography? The intensity of the praise and worship is awesome! The beatings and sounds of the instruments is unbeatable! The clappings are spectacular!

The joy on the faces of the prisoners as they praise God and the intensity of the worship is so much that the GO once commented that, “watching them you will think that they were informed that they have been released from the jail just before the service began”. Yet some of them have been there awaiting trials for up to 5 years! Yet some of them are serving life sentences in maximum prison! Yet some of them have not been visited by any relations for the last 3 years! Yet most of them after the service will go back to the cramped cells where they sleep on the floor!

On this particular Sunday, Bro. Chuks followed the ACCMAD food distribution team to the Kirikiri Prison. He joined in the service and was so taken in by the intensity of the praise and worship that he could not participate. Surely “these people cannot be prisoners” he said. They radiated so much joy in their praise and danced and clapped with so much passion. He felt so embarrassed as he looked around the room at concentration of each person that he felt the odd person out. He had come to the prison with the sadness in his heart as a result of the current situation of his business taking a turn for the worse, since he jumped into the “born again” train.

Surely, his condition cannot be worse than life imprisonment or even five years imprisonment or even Awaiting Trial Mate. Yet these prisoners are full of joy and praising God!

To make matters worse for Bro. Chuks, one of the prisoners brimming with joy all over came up to him after the service and introduced himself to Bro. Chuks. He told Bro Chuks he was in for 7 years for assault and theft and he has just completed 2 years of his sentence. Each statement he made to Bro Chuks was with full appreciation and thanksgiving to God for forgiving him his sins and giving him another chance to make things right.

When Bro Chuks informed him that he came with the ACCMAD “Food People”, the prisoner was full of thanks for their labour of love and said, “this is the only Decent food that we prisoners eat”.

Of course, Bro Chuks left the prison that day to his duplex in Surulere that God has blessed him with where he is free as air, while the prisoner went back to his rat hole cell where there is no freedom.

As he was driving home, the word of God prayed on his Spirit:
“………… .. I was in Prison and ye came Unto me”
Mt. 25:36c.

Happy CAN Sunday and May God bless You as You Give.

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