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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