At All Saints’ Church, Yaba's 80th Founder's Day

IT’S MY FATHER'S HOUSE…

(A review of “The Journey So Far at 80” – the History of All Saints’ Church, Yaba presented by Femi Akintunde-Johnson on June 19, 2012 at the church auditorium)

How beautiful upon the mountains

Are the feet of him who brings good news,

Who proclaims peace,

Who brings glad tidings of good things,

Who proclaims salvation,

Who says to Zion, your God reigns!

– Isaiah 52:7

First a confession: until few weeks ago, I knew very little about the Anglican Church; and nothing more than the colourful and ambitious name of All Saints’ Church, Yaba. However, after a careful and deliberate reading of the “Journey So Far at 80: The history of All Saints’ Church, Yaba”, I feel like an old parishioner of this great citadel of worship to a glorious, all-conquering God.

On the score of lucid illustration, painstaking details of actions and decisions, sterling examples of selflessness, a keen sense of commonwealth and undisguised passion to serve and understand the Word and the Way of the Lord, this book performs excellently well.

The “Journey So Far at 80” (the book) is a diligent and deliberate capsule of the origins, pioneers, practices, shepherds, societies, administrators, parishioners and sundry pegs and tacks that hold this church together in lieu of the expectant coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This capsule, I recommend, if properly digested will provide rejuvenation in the older parishioners; re-consecration in the middle aged and boundless optimism in the upcoming generations. It is that staggering in its depth and inspirational in its faithful rendition of self sacrifices and the sense of purpose of the pioneers.

With twelve chapters, obviously influenced by the administrative style of Jesus Christ, the book spreads into the early 20^th century; taking us carefully into the workings of the Holy Spirit as He stirred the hearts of men and women – across several decades - to produce what we all now identify as a foremost worship centre in Nigeria, at the very least. The chapters range between three pages (Harvests, in Retrospect) and 89 pages (Societies and Organizations).

The first seven pages of written matter include the Foreword written by someone I thought was making effort to remain anonymous with a quaint “+ Adebayo, Lagos Mainland”. Only to find out in the P reface that the 2-page Foreword is actually supplied by His Lordship, The Rt. Revd. Prof. Adebayo D. Akinde. The third arm of the introductory pages is the Introduction which runs across three pages.

Curiously, the Preface by J. Ade Mosanya and the Foreword are the ONLY two materials that have the names of their authors. All other chapters are silent on the author or teams of writers – even the book shares the same anonymity. We shall comment on that briefly at a later stage.

“The Early Beginnings” launches us into the book intelligently. Young people will find it profitable to read the book from this chapter and not risk the peculiar disdain for “Past Issues” or “Old School” and miss the raison d’être (the main spine) that made it possible for All Saints’ Church, Yaba to have such a successful ambience as an outreach of God’s Kingdom on earth.

You will see Lagos of early 1900’s, the Yaba of 1920’s and the fervency amongst residents of this colonial atmosphere to worship God in the 1930’s. How six men led by Late Jonathan Mesioye Okuyiga asked the same question that has provoked incredible innovations; sent men to heights never before attained, and even today still inspires every generation to outdo and unleash their potentials. They asked in 1931, “Why not?” It was a bold reaction to Chief Michael Adesanya Kuku’s wonder if indeed they could start a new Church in a new Yaba Estate that has today become a city.

Finally, 12 men answered that question on May 14, 1932 at the residence of Mr. M. A. G. King. And on this same day in 1932 (June 19), the God Almighty confirmed the answer, and so took off what we all now adoringly call "All Saints gidi" … from a small club house – very much like the days of the upper room experience at Pentecost. 

The second chapter has 13 pages and seeks to answer what I believe is a famous neutral question: “Why All Saints’ Church?” With dizzying captivation of incredible details – names, dates, motives, discussions, collections, etc – this chapter earnestly narrates the exponential growth of the Church “from a princely sum of 65 pounds” in its Building Account in March 13, 1934 unto the dedication of a new church on Dec. 21, 1935 (built at a then lofty sum of 450 pounds!) And then a new Chancel in 1955; the Northern annex was dedicated on April 28, 1958 at the cost of 52 pounds; the Southern wing annex in March, 1963 (at 310 pounds); and on November 19, 1977, led by the Bishop of Lagos, Rt. Revd. Festus Oluwole Segun, the building estimated to accommodate 3000 worshippers witnessed an unprecedented 3,594 souls who were part of the dedication. And so on and so forth.

Such punctilious attention to the minutest details (even the sums of different collections at services, fund-raising events, harvests and special occasions) runs across the length and breadth of the book. This, among other devices, recommends “Journey So Far at 80” as a near flawless repository of the faithful conduct and transparent practices of men and women whom God had led (and still leads, hopefully) to chart the historical course of All Saints’ Church.

“What’s in a Location?”, the third chapter, would easily have merged with the preceding chapter without disturbing the flow of narration. Its main assignment is to underscore the divine centrality of the current Church’s location such that 80 years after it was first chosen, civilization appears to flow around and towards it in such a way that the Church now sits in the heart of the Lagos mainland metropolis.

The fourth chapter (The Shepherds) has 37 pages and is perhaps the most emotional. And yet most statistical. Here we meet about 19 leading-lights of this Church, from Rev. M.A.O. Lahanmi up till the incumbent vicar, Venerable Feyi “Omowale” Ojelabi.

The stirring roles of many vicars of All Saints’ Church, Yaba in the spiritual and physical development of this Church and daughter churches intermittently provoke and inspire us into action and emulation. We note with special interest the golden age of All Saints’ Church spanning loosely across 40 years, between 1947 and 1987. This is the period of the popular “Three Super Canons” – Rev. Canon, Henry Newman Hunter (1947-1959), Rev. Canon Clement Agboola Akinbola, the first and only vicar to have completed three “missionary journeys” to All Saints between 1962 and 1982 and lastly, Rev. Canon Thomas Akinola Jaiyeola Oluwole (1980 – 1987). The intervening two years between 1980 of Oluwole and 1982 of Akinbola is not an error of historical sequence; the answer is rather simple - Oluwole was Akinbola’s Assistant within those years. No wonder, he joined the pantheon of the Super Canons – he learnt from a master.

Hunter, a Gambian who retired from the Nigerian Army as a Lt. Colonel, was a man of ideas; a perceptive initiator, willing to take quality risk on the youth of his time. He was a bold administrator, who abolished “pew ownership” or “pew rents”; he was an obdurate evangelist – scurrying the surrounding villages of Iwaya, Itire, Igbo-Igunnu, and Abule Oja to bring lost souls to Christ. The life and ministry of this unflappable yet affable man of God are stuff that epochal history is made of.

His successor in the adorable triumvirate, Rev. Akinbola had no less pedigree in the annals of the Church. His three tours of duty fondly dubbed "missionary journeys" (in obvious reference to Apostle Paul) are faithfully and vigorously detailed in the book. A powerful, spirit-filled preacher, Akinbola was a gifted communicator and an adroit expert in conflict resolution. One memorable quote from an elder parishioner, Pa Coker, clearly defines this man: “And when it comes to actual settlement, it was usually one word with one quotation from the Bible” (page 55). That underscores the erudition and wisdom of this Pauline priest.

The third of the Super Canons, Rev. Oluwole takes the largest space of all the shepherds – a hefty six pages are devoted to gloriously enunciating his tenure.  A man of intensity in prayers, counseling and administration, Oluwole’s ministry eloquently outlines the truth of Bible: “The effectual fervent prayer of the righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16 (b)). Little wonder, the well-travelled apostle of his time engineered great and glorious works for God and stirred the hearts of his generation towards the spiritual development of the saints.

...TO BE CONCLUDED