’Isioma Williams ANNUAL TRADITIONAL DRUMS CLINIC’’

‘’Isioma Williams ANNUAL TRADITIONAL DRUMS CLINIC’’

This is a humanitarian project; an Artistic yearly teaching conference in which experts in the field of the art of traditional drums and drumming are invited, to give both theory and practical lectures to amateur and professional drummers.

The clinic is aimed at strengthening and sustaining originality and quality through the generations of drummers.

Majority of the drummers in this era just want to hit the membrane for the sake of it. Although, this may be blamed on the nation’s negligence on issues concerning our Art and Culture, but on the other hand, the blame goes too to the artist and also the elders in the art, because, if the artist had diligently searched for the real thing and have learnt original rhythm and technique, it would have given him/her a “Pedestal of survival”. Though, it would only have required lots of sacrifice which the new generation of drum artistes is not willing to make. And likewise, the blame goes to the experts, elders who have gone before this present generation of drum artistes because they failed to pass on the originality, quality and experience they had.

There is a few or no training centre or an avenue for drum artistes to be really trained the actual things, rather they assume a counterfeit of the original thereby loosing authenticity. Furthermore, drummers are now forming theatre groups, teaching and grooming younger ones in their groups and most of our public/private schools. So they keep passing on the false that they know and if these acts should continue to the subsequent generation, originality and quality would have gone down the drain or filtered off as generations pass by. 

In order to avoid the inferior act of drumming languages to be passed down to the pupils and as well loosing the authenticity of our Culture, it is necessary to empower, educate and support the current generation of drummers through workshops and seminars of this nature.

In a way to restore originality, quality and the real and total essence of the drum and drum language, this edition of “Isioma Williams Annual Traditional Drums Clinic” tagged ‘’CORRECTIONS’’ which holds on the 29^th and 30^th of March at the House of Dance studios, Artiste Village (N.C.A.C.) National Theatre Iganmu Lagos Nigeria from 12pm prompt will feature Competent and experienced personnel who have extensive knowledge of the act of drumming;

1.      Chief Yemi adeyemi, the BEMBA of Zambia, aka ‘baba Suara’ of the super story fame (Story series: Oh Father Oh Daughter!). He is an acclaimed musicologist, who is always particular about the diction and accent of the traditional drum language.

2.      Mr. Eliel Otote popularly known in Nollywood as an Actor, Director and Writer. He is an ethnomusicologist and dance anthropologist. He is a scholar of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and the Royal Schools of Music, London. Editor of ARTS & CULTURE Magazine. He is the Director of Studies, ARTS WORKSHOP-a training facility for Nollywood practitioners.

RESOURCE PERSON: Isioma Williams

TITLE: Initiator/Visionary

MOBILE: 08023535184, 08062677191

MAIL: isiomawilliams@hotmail.com

ADDRESS: Gongbeat studio, (artiste’ village) National Council for Arts and Culture, National Theatre Annex, Iganmu Lagos, Nigeria.

ISIOMA WILLIAMS is a total theatre artist who can be consulted on all aspects of the art. He is the Nigerian Consultant for Badejoarts based in United Kingdom, Coordinator of Gongbeat Productions, former Chairman of the Dance Guild of Nigeria Lagos Chapter (EkoGOND) and Founder/Director of Drumsview Concept.

ISIOMA Williams is into artistic productions and believes in the philosophical theory of humanitarianism which he tends to achieve through the company he founded.

                                       

                                 

(instructor) Chief Yemi Adeyemi                         (instructor) Eliel Otote

 

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FIRST HIV CURE IN THE WORLD

Scientists believe a little girl born with HIV has been cured of the infection.
She's the first child and only the second person in the world known to have been cured since the virus touched off a global pandemic nearly 32 years ago.
Doctors aren't releasing the child's name, but we know she was born in Mississippi and is now 2 1/2 years old — and healthy. Scientists presented details of the case Sunday at a scientific conference in Atlanta.
The case has big implications. While fewer than 130 such children are born each year in the U.S., an estimated 330,000 children around the world get infected with HIV at or around birth every year, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa.
And while many countries are striving to prevent these mother-to-child infections, many thousands of children will certainly get infected in coming years.
Until now, such children have been considered permanently infected. Specialists thought they needed lifelong antiviral drugs to prevent HIV from destroying their immune system and killing them via AIDS.
The Mississippi child's surprising cure came about from happenstance — and the quick thinking of a University of Mississippi pediatric infectious disease specialist, Hannah Gay.
"The child came to our attention as a high-risk exposure to maternal HIV," Gay tells Shots. Her mother hadn't had any prenatal care, she says, so didn't get antiviral drugs during pregnancy.
The fact that the newborn tested positive for HIV within 30 hours of birth is a sign she was probably infected in utero, HIV specialists say.
Gay decided to begin treating the child immediately, with the first dose of antivirals given within 31 hours of birth. That's faster than most infants born with HIV get treated, and specialists think it's one important factor in the child's cure.
In addition, Gay gave higher-than-usual, "therapeutic" doses of three powerful HIV drugs rather than the "prophylactic" doses usually given in these circumstances.
Over the months, the baby thrived, and standard tests could detect no virus in her blood, which is the normal result from antiviral treatment.

Enlarge image

HIV particles, yellow, infect an immune cell, blue.

NIAID_Flickr

Then, her mother stopped bringing the child in for checkups.
"The baby's mom was having some life changes, that's about all I can say," Gay reports. "I saw her at 18 months, and then after that did not see her for several months. And we were unable to locate her for a while."
Gay enlisted the help of Mississippi state health authorities to track down the child. When they found her, the mother said she had stopped giving the child antiviral drugs six or seven months earlier.
At that point, Gay expected to find that the child's blood was teeming with HIV. But to her astonishment, tests couldn't find any virus.
"My first thought was, 'Oh, my goodness, I've been treating a child who's not actually infected,' " Gay says. But a look at the earlier blood work confirmed the child had been infected with HIV at birth. So Gay then thought the lab must have made a mistake with the new blood samples. So she ran those tests again.
"When all those came back negative, I knew something odd was afoot," Gay says. She contacted an old friend, Dr. Katherine Luzuriaga at the University of Massachusetts, who has been studying pediatric HIV/AIDS for two decades.
That was last August. Since then, Luzuriaga's lab and labs in San Diego, Baltimore and Bethesda, Md., have run ultra-sensitive tests on the baby's blood.
A couple of tests have intermittently found pieces of HIV DNA and RNA, but no evidence that the virus is actively replicating in the child's cells.
Luzuriaga tells Shots this amounts to what's called a "functional cure."
She says that "means control of viral replication and lack of rebound once they come off antiretroviral medications."
The only other such case known to AIDS researchers is the so-called Berlin patient — Timothy Brown of San Francisco. But his treatment involved a bone marrow transplant in Germany — essentially, he was given the immune system of a donor who's genetically resistant to HIV. That's not something that can be easily duplicated.
By contrast, the Mississippi child's cure involved readily available medications.
Luzuriaga says researchers believe they have ruled out other possible reasons for the unexpected cure. For instance, the mother did not have a less virulent strain of HIV. And the child does not have known mutations in her immunity genes that confer protection against HIV.
"We think it was that very early and aggressive treatment," she says, "that curtailed the formation of viral reservoirs" — that is, hideouts for the virus within the child's immune cells.
Previous research indicates that once these hideouts are established, it can take 70 years or more of steady, three-drug antiviral treatment to eliminate them.
Luzuriaga says the toddler's cure has electrified researchers searching for an HIV cure.
"It's exciting to us," she says. "Because if we were able to replicate this, I think it would be very good news."
Dr. Deborah Persaud of Johns Hopkins University Medical School, who presented the case at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, calls the Mississippi cure "definitely a game-changer."
"This case is sort of the inspiration and provides the rationale to really move forward," Persaud tells Shots.
Kevin Robert Frost of the Foundation for AIDS Research, or amfAR, agrees that the finding will stimulate a lot of further work. The group helped fund studies to determine if the Mississippi toddler is really cured.
"If this approach is proven effective, we could dramatically change the way children born with HIV are treated," he tells Shots.
Plans are under way to mount studies to see if early, aggressive treatment can cure other children of HIV. But Persaud says it will be awhile before researchers can figure out when it might be safe to stop antiviral drugs deliberately.
This research will undboubtedly be high-priority, given the birth of nearly 1,000 HIV-infected newborns a day in the developing world.
AIDS researchers foresee a day when the same treatment could give many of these children a lifetime free of toxic and costly antiviral drugs.

CHATING WITH BILL GATES

Bill Gates interview: I have no use for money. This is God’s work

Having already given away $28bn, Bill Gates intends to eradicate polio, with the same drive he brought to Microsoft . He speaks to Neil Tweedie.

 

Gates

 

 

William Henry “Bill” Gates is a rich man. His estimated wealth, some 65  billion measured in US dollars, equals the annual GDP of Ecuador, and maybe a bit more than that of Croatia. By this rather crude criterion, the founder of Microsoft is worth two Kenyas, three Trinidads and a dozen or so Montenegros. Not bad for a university dropout.

Gates is also mortal, although some of his admirers may find that hard to believe, and as they say, there are no pockets in shrouds. So he is now engaged in the process of ridding himself of all that money in the hope of extending the lives of others less fortunate than himself.

“I’m certainly well taken care of in terms of food and clothes,” he says, redundantly. “Money has no utility to me beyond a certain point. Its utility is entirely in building an organisation and getting the resources out to the poorest in the world.”

That “certain point” is set a little higher than for the rest of us – Gates owns a lakeside estate in Washington State worth about $150 million (£94  million) and boasting a swimming pool equipped with an underwater music system – but one gets the point. Being rich, even on the cosmic scale attained by Bill Gates, is no guarantee of an enduring place in history. The projection of the personal computer into daily life should do the trick for him, but even at the age of 57 he is a restless man and wants something more. The “more” is the eradication of a disease that has blighted untold numbers of lives: polio.

Later this month, Gates will deliver the BBC’s Dimbleby Lecture, taking as his theme the value of the young human being. Every child, he will say, has the right to a healthy and productive life, and he will explain how technology and innovation can help towards the attainment of that still-distant goal. Gates has put his money where his mouth is. He and his wife Melinda have so far given away $28 billion via their charitable foundation, more than $8  billion of it to improve global health.

“My wife and I had a long dialogue about how we were going to take the wealth that we’re lucky enough to have and give it back in a way that’s most impactful to the world,” he says. “Both of us worked at Microsoft and saw that if you take innovation and smart people, the ability to measure what’s working, that you can pull together some pretty dramatic things.
“We’re focused on the help of the poorest in the world, which really drives you into vaccination. You can actually take a disease and get rid of it altogether, like we are doing with polio.”
This has been done only once before in humans, with the eradication of smallpox in the 1970s.
“Polio’s pretty special because once you get an eradication you no longer have to spend money on it; it’s just there as a gift for the rest of time.”
One can see why that appeals to Gates. He has always sought neat, definitive solutions to things, but as he knows from Microsoft, bugs are resilient things. The disease is still endemic in Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and killing it off altogether has been likened to squeezing jelly to death. There is another, sinister obstacle: the propagation by Islamist groups of the belief that polio vaccination is a front for covert sterilisation and other western evils. Health workers in Pakistan have paid with their lives for involvement in the programme.
“It’s not going to stop us succeeding,” says Gates. “It does force us to sit down with the Pakistan government to renew their commitments, see what they’re going to do in security and make changes to protect the women who are doing God’s work and getting out to these children and delivering the vaccine.”
Gates does not usually speak in religious terms, and has traditionally danced around the issue of God. His wife, a Roman Catholic, is less defensive on that topic but ploughs her own furrow, encouraging contraception when necessary, in contradiction to teaching from Rome.
“Melinda and I had been talking about this even before we were married,” he says. “When I was in my 40s Microsoft was my primary activity. The big switch for me was when I decided to make the foundation my primary purpose. It was a big change, although there are more in common with the two things than you might think – meeting with scientists, taking on tough challenges, people being sceptical that you can get things done.”
Gates is still chairman of Microsoft but without his day-to-day attention it has taken on the appearance of a weary giant, trailing Apple and Google in innovation. Some have called for Gates’s return to the company full-time to inject some verve but he isn’t coming back.
“My full-time work for the rest of my life will be at the foundation,” he says. “I still work part-time for Microsoft. I’ve had two careers and I’m lucky that both of them have been quite amazing.
“I loved my Microsoft: it prepared me for what I’m doing now. In the same way that I got to see the PC and internet revolutions, now I see child death rates coming down. I work very long hours and try to learn as much as I can about these things, but that’s because I enjoy it.”
He emphasises that the foundation’s effort is part of a global campaign in which governments must play the lead role.
“The scale of the (foundation’s) wealth compared to government budgets is actually not that large, and compared to the scale of some of these problems. But I do feel lucky that substantial resources are going back to make the world a more habitable place.”
In 1990 some 12 million children under the age of five died. The figure today is about seven million, or 19,000 per day. According to the United Nations, the leading causes of death are pneumonia (18 per cent), pre-birth complications (14 per cent), diarrhoea (11 per cent), complications during birth (nine per cent) and malaria (seven per cent). For Gates, though, polio is a totem. The abolition of the disease will be a headline-grabber, spurring countries on to greater efforts. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will spend $1.8 billion in the next six years to accomplish that goal, almost a third of the global effort.
“All you need is over 90 per cent of children to have the vaccine drop three times and the disease stops spreading. The number of cases eventually goes to zero. When we started, we had over 400,000 children a year being paralysed and we are now down to under 1,000 cases a year. The great thing about finishing polio is that we’ll have resources to get going on malaria and measles.”
Gates is no saint. He could be an intimidating boss at Microsoft and his company became notorious for using its clout to reinforce its dominance in the market place, at the expense of smaller rivals. Still, he and his wife are showing generosity on a staggering scale, a counterblast to the endemic greed of the Nineties and early Noughties, and they have convinced others that mega-philanthropy is the way of the future. That wily investor, Warren Buffett, has so far given away $17.5 billion via the Gates Foundation.
The children of Bill and Melinda Gates will never know poverty. They may not become multibillionaires but even the loss to charity of the vast bulk of their parents’ fortune should leave them with a billion or so each.
Gates explains: “The vast majority of the wealth, over 95 per cent, goes to the foundation, which will spend all that money within 20 years after neither of us are around any more.”
So, is it about some new-found faith, all this giving?
“It doesn’t relate to any particular religion; it’s about human dignity and equality,” he says. “The golden rule that all lives have equal value and we should treat people as we would like to be treated.”

Interview with Pastor Adeboye

CNN’s African Voices meets Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the General Overseer of one of Nigeria’s biggest evangelical churches – The Redeemed Christian Church of God. Pastor Adeboye was voted by Newsweek as one of the world’s 50 most influential people in 2008. Pastor Adeboye was interviewed by CNN’s Christian Purefoy, the show airs this weekend – Saturday 12th February, Sunday 13th February and Monday 14th February 2011.

Video will be updated after the show airs this weekend
Read the transcripts from the interview
Transcripts – Courtesy CNN International

Q. “How did you find God?”
A. “I came to know God in a fairly dramatic way. I was born into a christian home and always gone to church because my parents said we had to go. But after I grew up and left home – I drifted away from church until I had a little problem that defied all solutions and then someone invited me to the Redeemed Christian Church of God – I came expecting the pastor would just pray and my problems would just go, but instead he said I would have to give my life to Jesus Christ first – that if my sins are gone, my problems would disappear. So of course I resisted for a while but eventually I surrendered and as he said gave my life to Jesus Christ and my problems disappeared.”

Q. “When was that?”
A. “1973 – I was just over 31.”

Q. “If you don’t mind – what was the problem?”
A. “If you don’t mind (laughs) – as the problem is gone now, we may as well leave it there.”

Q. “You’re originally a student of mathematics how was that change to become a pastor?”
A. “Well, it didn’t quite change – once a mathematician – always a mathematician. But at that time I was a lecturer at the University of Lagos – that’s when I met the Lord. And after the founder of the church saw my zeal – he ordained me as a pastor, and when I became a pastor – I began to travel – going to universities, colleges and other institutions to share with them – my testimony, my experience. And when the founder died – we read in his will that I was to succeed him. To take over the leadership of the church – now, there was no way I could command the two, I couldn’t continue as a lecturer and still do my duties as the general overseer – that’s where mathematics had to stand aside for Christ to take full control.”

Q. “Must have been heady days – beginning of evangelical movement in Nigeria – how did you feel at the time, travelling the country?”
A. “Well, evangelical moves had been on before I became born again but yes it was quite exciting in those days – travelling across the country – meeting young people, lecturers, sharing with them – realising that many of us had been living in ignorance and then seeing the joy.”

Redeemed Church
The Redeemed Christian Church of God was founded in 1952 by Josiah Akindayomi – but when he died he left only forty churches to his chosen successor – Enoch Adeboye.
It is a choice that has proven extremely successful.
The Redeemed church claims to have over five million members across 20,000 branches in 140 countries worldwide.
And there are at least 540 branches in the UK and Ireland alone
Pentecostalism has swept through Nigeria and Africa in the last two decades – offering the promise – not just of entry into heaven in the after-life but of jobs, marriage, children, health and money in this life.

NAT SOUND – Pastor Adeboye
Quote – Pastor Enoch Adeboye

Q. “In 1981 you were made the general overseer – how did you feel?”
A. “That was quite an experience. Of course I didn’t want to have anything to do with working fulltime for Christ – I preferred the way I was doing it – teaching at the university, preaching the gospel – because that allowed me more or less to be my own master. The university was paying me – in those days lecturers were well paid – and church was very poor. But then when the time came – I discovered, I might lack some things but I have a joy that money can’t buy. So it was quite fulfilling – challenging, but fulfilling.”

Q. “How do you feel when you’re at the altar, preaching?”
A. “Of course you feel excited. You feel fulfilled- you are being used by God to meet the needs of so many people at a time which is probably one of the greatest joys of being a pastor. In the university, yes you are influencing lives, teaching them – moulding them – but they are very few in number – I think the largest number of students I had in one class must be less than 100- now to see you could influence 1million people at a time can be very exciting.”

Q. “What is the Nigerian way of worship?”
A. “Our freedom of worship – the way we dance, shout, enjoy the almighty God – so I think that bit of us, bubbling enthusiasm – all is a good influence.”

Q. “Your style is not as loud, people describe you as being very humble, no expensive suits – why is that? Is there a reason behind it?”
A. “I believe the gospel is for all people. But I believe it is even more for the masses and majority of the masses – if you are going to reach for them you have to be at their level. If they see in you someone they can relate to – it’ll be easier for them to listen, to hear from you. One thing I’ve discovered about the masses – even though they might be poor and not high up there – there’s still something in them that doesn’t like being looked down upon. So they relate to someone who will talk to them at their level. But not just that – the so called high and mighty – if you get close to them, you will know that underneath the beautiful dresses – they’re human – presidents, heads of states, CEOs – they all still go to the toilet – they all still get tired, all feel pain – so if you go to the basics you will reach everyone. Because in every man there is that basic need.”

Q. “What do you think explains the explosion of evangelical churches?”
A. “Maybe we’ll say the economic situation, social problems that we face have been a very good catalyst in bringing people to Christ. I must add that some people exploited that – setting up fake churches – knowing that people will come to wherever they hear God is healing. But , like I keep telling people – any time you see a counterfeit – it means the original must be somewhere. You won’t see a counterfeit N2000 note – cause there’s no original.”

Q. “What happens if you find con-artists?”
A. “If we discover such a fellow – we dismiss him – we don’t compromise at all. And our people know that. If you find a pastor twisting the word of the bible to his own advantage – all you have to do is let me know.”

Coming up after the break – Religion and Politics
Quote – Pastor Enoch Adeboye
“Who is it who said man is a political animal. Everybody should decide who is going to rule over him and you should not complain about anything you permit.”

PART TWO
General shots of Nigeria / people
Nigeria is a country of 150 million people divided roughly between a Christian south and a Muslim north.
It is a fault-line along which there are often deadly clashes. Both sides stand accused of encouraging such violence.
Quote – Pastor Enoch Adeboye

Q. “Do you think Nigeria is on a religious frontline?”
A. “There’s no doubt about that.”

Q. “That can become violent. Is that part of the course?”
A. “I believe – anytime light begins to shine – there’s bound to be a little resistance from darkness. So that’s a settled matter. Unfortunate as it may seem – some politicians go in the guise of religion to perpetrate evil. I do not think genuine Christians and genuine Muslims will fight. If you kill a Muslim – you are killing a potential convert – someone who is dead cannot be converted and of course a Muslim killing a Christian – you are also killing a potential convert. But I think most of the crisis are not really religion – it’s politics. Some politicians choose to use religion as a tool for their own ulterior motives.”

Q. “Do you think the church can play a role in politics?”
A. “Of course – who was it that said man is a political animal. Everybody should decide who is going to rule over him and you should not complain about anything you permit. If you fail to vote, fail to participate in the political situation and someone gets to become your ruler and you say you don’t like the way he’s ruling you – who’s fault? Where were you when he was being voted into power? And if someone gets into power and he’s not doing what you expect him to do – then vote him out.”

Q. “Does the church play enough role?”
A. “Maybe they should do more. Because I believe in the past – the people have been so focused on making it to heaven that they don’t want anything to do with politics – politics has gizzards, which is another way of saying politics can be dirty. Christians are the light of the world – should be shining a light not being the salt of the earth which is only of use if its applied – so I think we should be doing more than we are doing now.”

Pastor Adeboye and President Goodluck Jonathan during church service
But noone is quite sure how much Pastor Adeboye is doing
Tonight’s service is attended by Nigeria’s President – Goodluck Jonathan, as well as various other state governors and politicians.
All seeking guidance.
But, particularly with controversial national elections in April – the degree to which his support and advice is listened to is unclear, also unclear.

Quote – Pastor Enoch Adeboye

Q. “You have the ear of presidents – do you support, talk and support certain candidates?”
A. “When I am consulted I do talk. But then all you can do is advise – you can’t command – you can say this is the way I think this thing should be done then they’re free to decide whether they will take your advice or ignore it. You are free once in a while to make a move that will show the man on top the feelings of the masses because we are very close to the masses. I’m into saying presidents and governors are not close to the masses – but you know fully well, that if there’s total black out in the nation – lights will still be on in state house. But as we live with the people on a daily basis – we can feel their pulses better. So when things become a little too uncomfortable for the masses – we take some actions.”

Q. “Try to make them sway for a particular way to vote?”
A. “No. I mean – when you have this kind of congregation – you have members of every party in the congregation and if you want to retain their respect for you – you must be neutral. My suggestion would always be – make sure you vote for the person of your choice – if the choice you make turns out to be right – glory be to God, if your choice turns out wrong then maybe another time.”

NAT SOUND – Congregation praying
Congregation Praying
Services last throughout the night with numerous prayer sessions
And each sermon is simultaneously read aloud in English and the local language Yoruba
there are choirs, music, as well as donations and more controversially – healing.
Despite the Redeemed Church’s promise of an improved standard of living for the average Nigerian – the UN estimates 80% of people in the country still live on less than $2 a day.

Quote – Pastor Enoch Adeboye

Q. “People want better life – not just in the afterlife but today – would it not be better to protest outside government house?”
A. “Prayers can move mountains. Protesting outside government house – how much has it achieved? You go there – you carry placards, if you’re fortunate – you will return home alive, if you are not fortunate – some overzealous police officer might accidentally discharge some bullets. And you protest day after day after day and after some time you get tired.”

Q. Do you think church has brought people out of the widespread poverty?”
A. “Sure – we are trying our best – the problem is huge – we might not see results to soon but we are doing our best we have programmes that are talking about how to start little business, we have seminars on small scale farming, seminars on almost everything – in other words we’re saying don’t look onto government for everything – be creative.”

Coming up – apart from religion, what else is important in Pastor Adeboye’s life?

Q. “What else do you like doing apart from the Redeemed, religion?”
A. “I love fishing. I used to be a boxer – unfortunately I can’t box anymore, except box the devil maybe.”

PART THREE
Adeboye on Newsweek front cover
In 2008 – Pastor Adeboye was featured in Newsweek magazine, as one of the world’s top fifty most influential people.

Quote – Pastor Enoch Adeboye

Q. “How did you feel about Newsweek?”
A. ‘I felt humbled. Because – how could they possibly leave all the archbishops and big, big names and chose a small pastor in one little jungle. I was surprised and humbled and drove me closer to God.”

Q. “Is it a responsibility – the influence you have on people?”
A. “Of course it is- if I had my way, I would not want influence over anyone but my little family. Particularly as the bible says on the day of judgement – judgment is going to be based on this influence – how have you used this influence – for good or evil. One man was complaining to a great preacher – the preacher said what is your problem, the man said – my congregation is only fifty people in number. And the preacher said – you have a lot of people to answer for when you get to heaven – you should thank God there are only fifty.”

The Redeemed Church dominates Adeboye’s public life and what little of a private life remains – he keeps mostly to himself.

Quote – Pastor Enoch Adeboye

Q. “What else do you like doing apart from the Redeemed, religion?”

A. “I love fishing. I used to be a boxer – unfortunately I can’t box anymore, except box the devil maybe. And I go for walks, long walks. Unfortunately I don’t have time for any other thing. It’s difficult for me to now even walk in the streets – everybody wants to come and ask me to pray for them. Occasionally I want to go to market – to buy things for myself – but last time I went to the supermarket I had to run back into the car because the people who were around the shop left the shop and wanted to turn the place into a crusade ground. So I can only walk in the night when they’re supposed to be sleeping and they can’t disturb me – and once in a while I go to fish in a place that is excluded – just for the fun of it.”

Q. “Would you like to retire? Will you keep going until the end?”
A. “I would have loved to retire – I had plans of what I could do in retirement – when you are retired – you are more or less your own master – wake up whenever you like, go where you want, when you want. If I’m retired I don’t have to be in charge of the congress – I can just come and enjoy.”

Q. “Where would you like to see Redeemed go from here?”
A. “Still a long way from our goal. We want to reach the whole world – want to have churches in every nation and have members in every family in the whole world and that’s where we believe God will take us before I leave this world.”

Pastor Enoch Adeboye
That time, his congregation hope – is still a long time to come.

Christian Purefoy. CNN. Redeemed Church, Lagos, Nigeria.