By Lawrence Enyoghasu
Some religious hardliners call whatever goes on in hotels, bars and nightclubs works of darkness. Some others would tag such works of the flesh. So when two Christian ministries deliberately chose to have themselves sandwiched in the midst of a bar and nightclub located in two close buildings on Akowonjo Road, Egbeda, Lagos, you wonder whether the owners of the churches are not bothered with being so labelled.
One of the religious bodies, Christchurch International Ministry is practically submerged amid ‘countless’ business offices that surround it. It is such that colourful adverts and other signboards around it hide the small entrance and signboard of the church. For instance, the church, located at 62 Akowonjo Road Egbeda, Lagos State, is flanked by a travelling agency, a boutique and a busy spa shop. Above it are a photo studio, a fashion designer shop and a club called Rubis Lounge. Interestingly, House Number 60 also shares similar features. Though the majority of the open spaces in the building are rented as gaming centres, hotels, a lounge and a bar, two rooms on the upper part of the building is being used as a church: Redeemed Christian Church of God, Cornerstone Assembly.
But there seems to be no cause for alarm. Investigation by Saturday Sun has revealed that owners and pastors of the churches, as well as the operators of the lounges, bars, hotels and clubs are far from being bothered by what many moralists would ordinarily be worried about. Instead, they see their relationship as symbiotic
The church in the midst of nightclub and bar
The first building has five shops on the ground floor that deal in clothing materials and a travel agency. Located somewhere in the building is a lounge. When looked at from the outside, you might be tempted to think it is in a different building. But it shares the same address with the shops and church. During the day, the spaces are used as business centres where buying and selling take place. But during the night, the scene suddenly changes to something else, as patrons troop to the nightclub and bar to relax. Commercial sex workers could be seen milling around the place in seductive outfits, from the beginning of the first block to the second. Many times, the entrance of the church is turned into a negotiating spot for their fleshly offers. In fact sources say that sometimes some of them do the act right there, at the often-locked entrance of the church and simply walk away after it might have been over without feeling guilty. That way, what was supposed to be a ‘holy’ entrance is desecrated with frolicking acts, cigarettes, used condoms and the smell of alcohol.
But the manager of the lounge known as Ijoba Zion and who has been doing the business for the past 10 years or more insists that there is nothing wrong with the location of the church and club. He shrugged his shoulders and said: “Life is a mix. Please yourself.” That was after he had discovered that he was unable to convince you to drop the idea of doing a story on what you saw as some sort of weird, bizarre, incongruous relationship. The music pulsating in the background while he spoke seemed to amplify what he was saying. The moderately dressed waitresses went about their duties.
In a chat, Olakunle Apara, one of the customers who came there to hang out with friends opined that for anyone seeking to enjoy the night life especially at weekends, that area was the place to be. Adenike Ojo, a chubby lady you met at the place said. “It is the ambiance and the food that attract me most. Most people don’t know the difference between lounge, bar and club.” The lounge reportedly became popular when it started hosting music stars like 9ice. The bar also became popular for the same reason. But most of the people were not willing to comment on the contradiction in a church choosing to operate in the midst of all that goes on at night within the buildings.
Christchurch International Ministry’s membership demography shows that it is a mixture of youths and adults. But the majority of the church attendance is youths. They help to bring life to the place by the kind of fast-tempo music they play and dance to. When asked, the Head Pastor of the church, Adeyemi Omoniyi, pointed out to you that he saw nothing alarming in having the same space occupied by a lounge, a bar and a church.
He said: “Having a church close to a club or lounge is even to our advantage. Sometimes we have vigils and some of them stroll in. Our church is not for saints but for those seeking salvation. There is nothing wrong with being close to a bar or lounge. They are the reason we open churches. They are the main reason we have pastors. Some of them get drunk and lay at our doorsteps and then we take care of them. We have seen a worse situation where condoms would litter everywhere and we would clean them up. It is a way they unwind for now. When the time comes, they would find their way back to God.”
The man of God explained further: “In our church, we have helped and converted no fewer than 10 hoodlums. Right now, three of them have returned to school. The same way, and with the same method, we have converted no fewer than seven prostitutes. Sometimes when I leave the church late, I see some of them accosting me for patronage. Some of these people on the street are better than the saints in the church. In the church, we have witches but it is the work of the pastor to make sure that the witch does not harm members and him. It is in that sense that these guys and girls who patronise these clubs are saints.”
Neither is he also bothered by what other ministers of God may see as distractions, going by the number of business offices that surround his church. He noted that the businesses do not constitute any distraction because he is also a businessman with investments in various ventures, including movies and a bakery. He noted that though most of their activities are held within the daytime, even for those that are held at night such as vigils and crossover nights, they have no problem with whatever goes on in the nightclub and bar as their callings are different.
A church and nightclub can co-exist –Owners
Like Christchurch, Cornerstone Assembly of Redeemed Christian Church of God is also a youth church located amid a hotel, a gaming centre and a bar. It was gathered that the church most times programmes most of its events and activities to avoid clashes with the activities going on at the bar. Hence, it limits its programmes and activities to two days in a week: Sunday and Wednesday. Checks show that the Wednesday programme is attended by about 15 young persons and the pastor. The empty chairs indicate that attendance is nothing to write home about.
The church has two entrances. There is one from the outside of the building, which consists of a narrow road from the fence of the building. The other is from the staircase leading from the rear of the building. The staircase is arranged in such a way that it makes the main entrance somewhat hidden. But if you are standing on the veranda of the church, which the ushers hardly allow, you could see the bar clearly. The pastor of the church, Adeola Ajayi, said the church and its members would continue to make serious attempts to convert members that have kept patronising the bar
His words: “The church is about 11 years now. It has always operated from a hotel. First, it was established in a hotel, La Ville before other pastors brought it down here. I was transferred to meet it here. The idea behind the church set up is to assure people that we are available. Everybody needs Jesus. Some people might summon the courage to come to church. We are here for them. By the grace of God, we have attended to many people. The concept is to assure them that Jesus loves them. That way, if you are sitting in the bar drinking your beer and you are hearing the word of God, it is a seed being sown in your heart which nobody can predict how and when it will germinate. Imagine someone giving up on life. And he comes here to drink and he hears the word of God. Most times, some people have mistakenly walked into the church to sit, thinking it is one of the rooms in the lounge or bar, only to discover that it is not. The same thing happens during the crossover night. They walk in before 12 and dance till New Year then continue with their drinking.”
Like others, the manager of the bar, Harold Links, does not see anything wrong in a bar and church existing side by side. He informed the reporter that some of the congregants also patronise the bar whenever they want.
He said: “When you see a well-dressed couple with Bibles or pamphlets in their hands here, you know what they are here for. When you see a group of six or more young or middle-aged people having fish pepper soup and bottles of water in front of them, you know what they are here for. It is just a hangout spot. There is nothing against Christianity that is practised here.”
He insisted that there is nothing wrong in some churches sharing space with lounger, bars and nightclubs. In his words, the relationship that these particular outfits share has been very smooth and mutually beneficial, with no one hindering the order’s progress.