Acts of the Witness

Chapter 5

                                                                The First Steps

This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth His glory; and His disciples believed on Him (Jn.2:11).
They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; these see the works of the LORD, and His wonders in the deep (Psa.107:23-24).

Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycamore fruit: and the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto My people Israel (Amo.7:14-15).
At every point of our training, we had a desire to render more and more service to the Lord, but we could not at any point go beyond that which He revealed. Eventually, He began to send us out on a more regular basis.

Lending a Helping Hand

As Christian corps members, we were involved in the KNCCF (Kano State Christian Corpers’ Fellowship) popularly known as The Corpers’ Fellowship. In addition to participating in fellowship activities, we identified with some activity groups. Pius, for instance, was a house fellowship leader, as well as member of the drama and evangelism units. In addition, he made occasional contributions to the activities of the Editorial Board and the Prayer Band.

Daniel was a member of the Editorial Board. In addition, he had occasion to partake of Prayer Band activities. He also had opportunity to be involved in the fellowship’s decision making processes when, for a while (and in a representative capacity) he was a member of the Fellowship’s Executive Committee.
In addition, we joined hands with a friend, Emma Omon, to build the International Youth Christian Fellowship, a youth ministry then operating in Kano. Evangelist Emma, as he was then known, eventually left for Lagos to start another fellowship.

Visiting the Churches

Along the line, we received the “go-ahead” (or GA) to begin our work in the churches. We sought the face of the Lord and, armed with the needed guidance, commenced.
To start with, it was not our responsibility to decide which churches to visit. We usually waited for a prompting or ‘GA’ from the Lord, which was, on most occasions, accompanied by some general words of guidance. Then we proceeded according to His promptings, which were given on a step-by-step basis. We usually discussed the considerations we had, ruled out those that did not make a strong impression on the other person and arrived at a decision based on the principle of agreement.
For the avoidance of doubt, the steps we have outlined do not, on their own, guarantee accurate perception of the leading of the Spirit. We are presently doing a write-up on “How To Be Led By The Holy Spirit.” It focuses on the principles, attitudes and dispositions that can effectively position us for divine guidance.

At the time, much of our work in the churches was of a prophetic nature. We would visit a particular church, as led of the Lord, and join the congregation. We usually depended on the Lord to confirm to the leadership of the church that He sent us. Many times, during the course of praise and worship, the Lord gave us prophesies, words of knowledge or some other insights. In some “Pentecostal” churches, there are periods, during the course of worship, when opportunities are given to individuals who have messages from the Lord to deliver them. We usually took advantage of such opportunities. And when there were no such opportunities, we depended on the Lord to provide the needed platform for expression. The Lord usually confirmed that He sent us. Sometimes, we brought forth a message that confirmed an earlier message, given before our arrival. At other times, our message confirmed current dealings of the Lord or other experiences that we were not privy to. Then, there were times when we had words of knowledge for some individuals in the congregation, including (on some occasions) the pastor. Sometimes, the individuals were required to take a definite step (like raising of their hands, standing to their feet or going to the front of the congregation) so that they could be prayed for.

There was no defined pattern; we always trusted the Lord for wisdom. As we obeyed, the Lord brought salvation, restoration, healing and direction to many. Some pastors desired that we visit more frequently, but we resisted the temptation to ignore our operational guidelines. Some others did not welcome the potential disruption of their well planned meetings, as a result of which we did little or no work. In those circles where our work was appreciated, we began to enjoy the privilege of having our presence recognised and being called upon to minister. In some of those places, people began to call us “the prophets” or “the prophetic duo.”

The Faith Clinic

The commencement of The Faith Clinic was one of our earliest assignments. It was a unique training ground for us. As we ministered to the people, there were testimonies of healing and deliverance, of divine provision and protection. Most importantly, souls were being saved.

On Saturday the 18th of February, 1989, we had an outreach programme. In the run up to the programme, Daniel composed a new song titled “We’ve Come Before The Father.” In addition to preaching the day’s message he sang the song with a sister, Evelyn Osolase. Pius operated in what was then a new dimension of the prophetic ministry. In particular, he gave an unprecedented number of words of knowledge, and there was a massive response. There were testimonies of healing and personal revival.

The Gidan-Sule Experience

During the first quarter of 1989, we had a peculiar experience, which strengthened our faith in the dealings of God. Within a 30-hour period, (starting from about 12 noon on the 24th of February, 1989) we saw ourselves, as it were, being exercised in relation to some of the practical aspects of our training programme.
We were billed to travel with other members of the KNCCF for an outreach programme in Gidan-Sule, a village located in Kano State. Usually, the KNCCF held outreach meetings in villages during the course of each service year. This involved visiting an average of three villages a year, setting up camp among the inhabitants and preaching to them.

On the 24th of February, 1989, a contingent of Christian corps members travelled to Gidan-Sule, but without us. In trying to tie up some loose ends within town, we ended up going late to the fellowship centre, from where the contingent departed. In fact, we needed a ‘faith-walk’ to get to the fellowship centre, as we had no money on us. Our confidence was based on an emphatic “go!” spoken to us by the Spirit. He assured us of His guidance; but the significance of that assurance did not dawn on us until we got to the departure point and discovered that we had been left behind!

Once again, we sought the face of the Lord, and the Spirit told us to go, assuring us that He would lead us every step of the way. In addition, He gave us a sign, to the effect that the driver that would take us there knew the place (meaning the venue of the outreach programme). Without further delay, we did what we considered appropriate. We walked down to a centrally located bus stop.

As we walked, we began to consider the possible route to our destination. We knew that our destination was “Gidan-Sule,” but where could that be? We started making inquiries, but did not receive much help. Eventually, we met a traffic warden, who accompanied us to a nearby taxi park and paid our fares. After making further inquiries, we were directed to Gezawa, a nearby town, from where we were expected to board a commercial vehicle to Gidan-Sule. Again, the traffic warden paid our fares as we returned to the point at which we met him. Within a short while, we met an old acquaintance of Daniel’s, who exchanged pleasantries with us and, surprisingly, gave him N5.

As it turned out, that money was sufficient to take us to Gezawa. But when we got there, we discovered that we had been misdirected. How did that happen? The name “Gidan-Sule” means “House of Sule” (Sule being a man’s name). The man who gave us directions must have thought we were looking for the house of a prominent Mr. Sule. As a result, we found ourselves in a strange town, with limited funds and limited options. Right there in the dark, we asked the Lord for wisdom. He encouraged us, promised to lead us every step of the way and to take us to our destination.

Once again, we began to make inquiries. In the process, a few people gathered around us. Suddenly, we heard someone call out: “Mr. Pius!” On closer inspection, the owner of the voice turned out to be one of Pius’ students at the Kano State Polytechnic. He was on a visit from school to his father’s house, and happened to be passing by just when we were making inquiries!

Within a short while, we were on our way to the bus stop, having understood that we needed to return to Kano. The Polytechnic student paid our fares, and we boarded the bus. We were dropped some distance away from the heart of town, and walked down to Bata bus stop, a centrally located bus stop. Miraculously, we got a taxi to convey us to Gyadi-Gyadi, our own part of town, at that hour of the night. It was close to midnight, but we were also able to buy some food. After eating, we headed for the KNCCF secretariat, with N3 left in our pockets.
Going to the secretariat turned out to be a wise decision, as we eventually got a description of the way to Gidan-Sule from a former coordinator of the fellowship. We spent the night in the secretariat and resumed our journey the next morning. Initially, we went to the wrong park. Then, determined to remedy the error, we used our last N2 to get to the right one.

Interestingly, that was a Saturday morning, and it was an environmental sanitation day. During the military regime of General Muhammadu Buhari, the last Saturday of each month was reserved for “environmental sanitation.” Restrictions were placed on human and vehicular movement between the hours of 7 am and 10 am. As it turned out, 7 am met us at the right bus stop, but there were no buses. We made inquiries and located the nearest police station. On getting there, we discovered that the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) was an old acquaintance of Pius’ father. We told him our mission and requested (if possible) for an official vehicle to convey us to our destination. In those days, most people, including military and paramilitary men, were inclined to favour corps members. As was the practice with Christian corps members who joined in those outreaches, we were kitted in our Youth Service outfit.

After the “sanitation” period, the DPO gave us a ride to the appropriate taxi park, got us on a bus headed for Rano (which was our first stop) and paid our fares. When we arrived Rano, we again located the local police post, stated our mission and, once again, requested for an official car to convey us to our destination. But the Lord had other plans.
A Christian policeman took us to the park, bought us breakfast and got us on a bus headed for Cittti (which was expected to be our next stop). Not only did he pay our fares, he gave us enough money to pay our way to our final destination. Surprisingly, he urged us to stop at Burun-burun police post. That suggestion turned out to be a crucial element in the unfolding training exercise. We almost ignored it, but the Lord prompted us to do just that.

When we did, we met a policeman from Daniel’s tribal group, who had at least heard about Daniel’s father. It had become clear that our encounters with previous acquaintances and people linked with family members were not accidental. We learnt a vital lesson: So long as we are in His will, we can never be stranded. The policeman was highly hospitable.
After hosting us, he took us to the bus stop. While waiting for the bus, we saw the KNCCF bus heading towards us! It turned out that the driver and some brethren were coming from Gidan-Sule and were on their way to a nearby town, to pick up some other brethren. We flagged down the bus, and there was a joyous reunion. The policeman rushed to a nearby shop and bought drinks for everyone, to celebrate the reunion. We boarded the bus and, after picking up the brethren, headed for Gidan-Sule. When we got there, we did not need fresh directions to get to the outreach venue. The Lord had fulfilled His promise: “The driver that will take you there knows the place.”
We learnt several crucial lessons from that encounter, some of which we will highlight. As stated above, when a man is in God’s will, he cannot be stranded. In addition, the God we serve declares the end from the beginning. Again, He fulfils every word spoken by Him. Finally, He rules in the habitations of men.

The Ministers’ Meeting

On December 11, 1989, we convened a meeting of Kano-based ministers of the gospel. The meeting, which held in Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Sabon-Gari, was the culmination of a chain of events, initiated by the Lord. By the time the meeting held, the Lord had given us a series of prophetic messages for Nigeria, the Church and, in particular, ministers of the gospel. Again, we had addressed meetings of the Kano branch of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and the Kano branch of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). In both meetings, we read out portions of the prophetic messages we had. The fallout of these meetings was the convening of a Ministers’ meeting by the local leadership of CAN, with the support of the local leadership of PFN.
The meeting was held under the leadership of Rev. Victor Musa (then Chairman of the Kano Branch of CAN), with the active support of Rev. Prof. Isaacs-Sodeye (then Branch Secretary and National Assistant Secretary) and Rev. Victor Akujobi of the PFN. During the meeting, the congregation sang songs of praise and partook of the communion table, after which we read out the messages of the Lord. The Lord used some other vessels in the congregation to confirm His words. Afterwards, the messages were typed out at the CAN office, for distribution during the Universal Week of Prayer.

Fulfilment of Prophecy

Over the years, we have witnessed the fulfilment of some of those prophesies. Some of the ministers present in the meeting drew our attention to this fact. There was a particular minister who, at the time, was slow to believe. According to him, he was not familiar with the pattern of dealings we were talking about. Shortly after the aborted coup of April 22, 1990 (against the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida), he sought audience with us. He confessed that, up till that period, he had not taken us seriously but, quoting his own words, “I have come to believe that you’re in touch with Heaven.” He took note of the fact that we had both left Kano for Lagos and Makurdi, respectively, within the forty-eight hours preceding the coup announcement. Consequently, he asked us to give him advance warning whenever we felt led of the Lord to leave the city for a while, so he could secure himself.

The attempted overthrow of the Babangida-led government was particularly sensitive, because coup leader, Major Gideon Orkar, announced the severance of five states from the then nineteen-state structure of the federation. Kano State was one of them. The potential for violence and disruptions in the polity arising from that announcement can best be imagined. By instructing us to leave Kano before the crisis, the Holy Spirit saved our families the agony of contemplating the likely consequences of having their loved ones trapped in a territory that had just been forcibly excised from the federation.

Chapter 6