By Okoh Aihe
There is something exciting happening at the Dunamis Glory Dome on Airport Road, Abuja. Beyond the magnificent edifice that is rated as one of the biggest ecumenical centres in the world. Beyond the word. Beyond the souls that troop in to seek their place in God. Even beyond the awe-struck visitors who see the Dome as a tourism resort of sorts with anticipated religious implications.
It is a total package. And the Dome welcomes all to its inner sanctum that is more than a home and offers the kind of hope that is difficult to explain.
It is a total package; beyond words, beyond expression. Twice a year, the church puts together a huge programme called Nations Worship in His Presence. Carefully nurtured and expanded over the years, the programme which is the brainchild of Head Pastor, Dr Paul Enenche, attracts gospel artists from different parts of the world with the larger number drawn from Nigeria, a country with an incredibly rich pool of global gospel musicians, and even much more, those aspiring to hit the limelight.
The first edition for this year with the theme, Lift up your heads o ye gates, held last weekend featuring over twenty-three acts, including those you may want to call the A-list gospel singers and performers. In this list are: Chioma Jesus, Nathaniel Bassey, Dunsin Oyekan, Sunmisola, Lillian Nneji, Nene Olajide, GUC, Jennifer Chambers from Canada, Debee, Kevin Downswell from Jamaica, Godwill Oyor, Bidemi Olaoba, Oche JonKings, KaeStrings, Moses Bliss, Prosper Oxhimana, Daniel Ekiko and Owie Abutu, among others, with the church choir, Dunamis Voice International, providing the backccup and supervening details.
Between some of these artists are some of the biggest industry hits – Iba, Yahweh Sabaoth, Worthy of my Praise, Yah, Obinigwe, All that Matters, Iron Breaker, Na God I Dey Praise, Out of my Belly, You are Jehovah, Yeshua, Komi Na Naka Ne, Favour, Time for Shifts, My Daddy My Daddy, You are my Life, Rahama, Let it Show, and Ogayolo, among others.
Some of the above tracks form the iconic defining significant signposts of the country’s gospel music industry, some kind of anthems that always hang in the air to provide some redeeming spiritual nirvana for even that soul at the edge of losing it but needs a redemptive way back to life.
Interestingly, the evening was set rolling by Dr Daniella Enenche who presented an energetic rap version of Elee and I belong to you. It was pure energy, something to excite the young-at-heart and tune them up for what would follow the rest of the night. Her presentation was audaciously gusty and exhilarating.
Watching these guys perform last weekend was satiating and well beyond belief. Almost too surreal to accommodate the reality that was fully afoot at the Glory Dome. It is one thing to see them on television, it is another thing to watch them and be encased in the humility which seems to define all of them.
I am aware that Dunsin and Oyor performed at different occasions in New York last year and a couple of guys in the ministrations cannot stop regaling this writer with how very proud they feel being Nigerians and watching their very own take over the global stage. Bassey featured on a side event during the President Donald Trump Inaugural. That doesn’t happen everyday and such occasions ignite a defining memory that shines through history and ages.
But the energy, where was this coming from? The Glory Dome is over a hundred thousand capacity and could well exceed a hundred and twenty thousand with programmes like Nations Worship in His Presence and the Monthly Word and Wonders Night. Â Â Â The energy and expectations are always on edge and nearly combustive. Both Lillian Nneji and Bidemi Olaoba and their teams would seem to set the place on fire literally with their pulsating, energetic and well-choreographed dance steps which of course got handsome rewards from the congregation which equally responded in equal measure. Some of them could really just gyrate on their own without needing structured choreography, style or execution but possessing the same pomp, power and athleticism that was coming from the stage. They responded with equal intensity and excitement.
Through Nations Worship in His Presence, Pastor Enenche has been able to build a community of relationships among these artists to the extent that they virtually see themselves as one, homogenized by their belief in one God and the ability to attract and convert people with their art. Between them, there doesn’t seem to be any issue of copyright infringement. I am seated there and just watching how they borrow lines or lyrics from each other to enrich presentations and watching how owners respond. For instance, Bidemi and Nneji taking portions of either Bassey, Chioma Jesus, Oyor or Pastor Enenche’s Ogayolo, to present unbelievable dance packages that would form a hit anywhere in the world. Just one belief, one mind, and under one roof, The Glory Dome.
Let me make this observation. Dr Enenche is a preacher, evangelist and a televangelist who has organized huge crusades in different parts of the world, including the most difficult and dangerous terrains like Pakistan. But he is also multi-hyphenate; writes songs, produces and performs music and can lay claim to some of the most profound and electric dance steps in the industry. He is young at heart and wears humility like any of his well-made suits, except that unlike a suit, his humility doesn’t go off at all. It is his humility that agglomerates these super stars who work on their tight schedules to accommodate every programme requiring their presence at the Dome.
He has offered a platform for the young and the old gospel musicians, the established and those looking for meaning and status, to launch their career on one of the biggest platforms in the world, and the result is creating more opportunities, more successful gospel personalities and history being rewritten before our very eyes.
But it is much more than gospel music – the preparation, packaging, the training and the technical details and outcomes. It is easy to package a programme for five thousand people which really pales into insignificance when you have to put a programme together for over a hundred thousand people and also accommodate those in the overflows, to ensure they are covered by sound and cameras. You coordinate the cameras, including drones and ensure you pick the right shots for the screens in a package that is uplinked live for local and international consumption. I have been most impressed by the young men and women involved in this process and I can say that the TV world will hear of them in not too distant a time.
As the programme was going on from Friday into Saturday morning, a collabo effort, between Dr Enenche and Kevin Downswell, Take the Lead, was released on digital platforms, including Audiomack. It is pure Jamaican Reggae funkification of a song that has enjoyed good reception and airplay in recent years.
Throughout last year, Iba by Bassey and Ogayolo by Dr Enenche were my most reliable snackable content wherever I go. I can tell you straightaway that Take the Lead has been added to the list.
One other thing. In the midst of the groove, the congregation, including the very young ones, were led in prayers for the nation; meaning that very early in life they can begin to appreciate the importance of praying for the country irrespective of how they feel.
Nations Worship in His Presence is an experience worth having. It is a Nigerian programme with international flavour and global standards. It is gospel music performances that are good for the body and nourish the soul. I am of the well-considered opinion that it will be difficult to tell the story of the gospel music sector without inserting the positive intervention of Nations Worship in His Presence by Dunamis.
