MY EXPERIENCE AT THE EXPERIENCE 2014...




ARRIVING TBS

If not for my pigheaded will to attend the ninth edition of the Experience I definitely would have jettisoned the idea owing to the realities of traffic, Boko Haram and the frenzy cum hysteria of the upcoming general election.

I arrived TBS at about 6:15, and it took me almost 30 minutes to locate a space to park as the venue was already flooded with cars, people and wares. As expected, again it was a sold out concert for Christ; my soul was ready for elevation, and mind you it was experience 2014.


Getting into the main bowl of the TBS wasn't a big deal; the organizers proved they haven't been sleeping for months in a bid to ensure the night is totally secured and The Experience, hitch free.

Thumbs up to the absolute counter terrorism measures and crowd control mechanism of The Experience 9 team.




MY HIGH MOMENTS

Soon after I got in.... The MC in his ultra-concert-style baritone introduced the Lagos Metropolitan Gospel Choir, later Sammy Okposo made way with the crowd alongside this angelic choir... no doubt his performance was mind blowing… hearing the rickety and ratcheting buzz from the crowd momentarily gave the total summation that God was in this space.


The Lagos Metropolitan Gospel Choir is not your regular hymn singing choir, they proved this in their ecclesiastic rendition of the Song Yahweh. At this point heaven was in the voice of a few and indeed everyone marveled. Just when I thought the Lagos Metro Gospel Choir was about to bring to a halt then I was left startled and bewildered when the hymn "Oh Lord Our Help in Ages Past" was beautifully sung in a traditional Mozart or Vatican Catholic Hymn style… And this is just the beginning of plenty of Gods ministration to come. 



From house on the rock came the Nigerian Gospel Award winner Onos, after which it was time for comedy and trust Mc Abbey on the stand. Mid Night Crew and Angela Christie all the way from St Catherine, Jamaica gave very good account of their bill.



At exactly 11:15, Pastor Paul Adefarasin mounted the podium to deliver a subtle message of hope and upholding the Christendom in Nigeria. Bishop Mike Owonkwo ministered briefly afterwards and a retinue of others artist billed for the night including comedy from Apkororo and Yaw took the mega stage.



A goodwill speech was delivered by the US consular in Lagos and this was a precursor to Israel Houston’s wild and soul elevating performance. Though he spent one good glorious hour, it was totally worth it as he made everyone revved up for what is left of the night…


The biggest high-point for me was when Frank Edward mounted the stage; I’d specifically wanted to see him perform… He stormed the stage in an angelic demeanor… he was calm, suave and heavenly; he almost evoked an omnipotence aura amidst the crowd. Trust Frank, he moved every soul; every mouth sang along and his performance was blissful. Starting with his orchestra whilst he sat behind the keyboard, he almost played god… this dude is truly God sent, I can never forget how his performance, presence, music and command touched me. Thumbs Frank, Thumbs God-son!



THE PEOPLE

One can’t talk about an event as explosive as Experience without considering its participants. Believe it or not, people came from all the nook-and-cranny of Lagos irrespective of denomination, I also share the exaggerated bias that a chunk would have travelled in from neighboring states; the euphoria and burst of energy amidst this atmosphere of happiness was testament that people where indeed in an arena where God dwelled… momentarily, the large outdoor screens showed even the Caucasians dancing, singing along and totally strewn in this gospel fervor and explosion.

All that had to do with politics, sports, money, relationships that almost appear to be the daily offing of an average Nigerian youth seemed totally absent as the frenzy usurped the usually fancied.

Some people literarily ate all through the duration of the night, you could just see them chewing and munching almost every hour till it was dawn, some were only bothered about making deafening noise with the aid of their Vuvuzela, whistle or plainly with their voice, some slept just as soon as they got into the arena while others slept off later on. Some were busy, busy trying to catch up with old friends they stumbled on or rather just plainly trying to recruit new friends (Male and Female).



 THE CONVINIENCE

Now, I shouldn’t be writing about how convenient the convenience plan was if not for the reality of proficiency. Talking about the gents and ladies room, need not exaggerate it, it was near perfect at any moment you chose to visit this rooms. Thinking of how convenient and well structured a service most event people in Nigeria don’t give too much attention to makes me just cast this perfectionist illusion on Pastor Paul Adefarasin and his entire crew for Experience 9.

My most critical motivation for this column tagged CONVENIENCE is really not the toilet service and it’s exceptional cleanliness but for the strategic convenience plan and service of the most esteemed GTBank… trust me I was not paid for this or rather am I on the pay roll of Guaranty Trust Bank in whatever capacity but for the fact that I was relieved when I found out that I was stranded and cash trapped, I was famished and in drought but with only N200 in my wallet. I called up a young male trader to purchase a bottle of Pepsi of what’s left with me. Just as he handed me my change and with the reality of hunger staring at me I asked him where I could get the closest bank around; Lo, he pointed at a truck just inside the main-bowl of TBS and said… “That’s GTBank’s ATM there” you won’t imagine my sudden burst of happiness… Thumbs up to GTBank for being a valuable asset to Nigeria and for always leading the way and being involved in whatever is new and good.

Believe me; Nigeria has all it takes to make it grow in affluence and excellence, but for a few bad ones who have clogged up the corridors of power with themselves and their cronies. If excellence can be displayed in this kind of event, then I’m totally presuming that our bread have been laid in the mouth of a Shrew, and all the Shrew can do is stink.

This was my experience at the experience…
Thanks for reading!




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