Confess

It was peer pressure that got him into prison
He wanted to do what the other boys did
He wanted to be accepted
He wanted to belong
He had nothing else with which he could compete
His father was an itinerant evangelist
One of those olden days types without much practical sense
All his father was good at was getting his mother pregnant
His mother was non-literate
In their culture children were regarded as a sign of prosperity
His parents bought into it full time
They had thirteen children
He was the very first!
Life was hell!
He was a fine artist
It was a gift
He discovered he could draw right from the age of four
The public primary school he went to had an art teacher who had an eye for talent
The art teacher took an interest in him and taught him many things
Apart from teaching, the art teacher gave him access to many paintings and drawings
He studied and read and practised until he became a star
He started making money from his artworks at the age of six
He started by designing cardboard crowns and insignias for
the various houses during the inter-house sport of his primary school
The little money he made went to the family
There were so many mouths to feed
His father had a cassava farm close to the house
There was also a marshy pond in the farm which they drain seasonally to harvest frogs
That was what constituted their main diets
Cassava meal, vegetable soup from their vegetable garden and well cooked frogs
They live in a dilapidated building
The house was a mansion, once inhabited by a wealthy family
A sudden disaster befell the family one day and they lost two of their children
Believing it had something to do with the house, the family moved out
They left the house untended to for years until it fell into disrepair
Some criminal elements invaded the house and carted away the valuable items
The owner gave his father the two bedroom and a sitting room boy's quarters behind the mansion to manage
He did this to put human presence in the compound to ward away the criminals
That was how they started living in an opulent estate
Without any form of opulence to their name
He had six immediate younger brothers
They all love to play football
For a family like theirs, the dream of producing a football superstar is common
Anyway out of poverty without the luxury of a good education is welcome
It was at the football field within the estate that he met the rich kids
Some of them are talented, some of them are jerks
But they all have the best football kits and owned the soccer balls they played with
They converge on the field on Saturday morning and Sunday evenings
Football attracts all sorts
There is no class on the field and they play "Golden goal"
The team to concede a goal leaves the pitch for another to play the winning team
Guys selling indian hemp and other drugs found their way to the field eventually
The rich kids have the money to show off and are always trying to impress one another
Some started smoking, some started doing the other drugs
One of them was cajoled by the drug sellers to steal stuff from home
He stole his mother's jewellery
His mother called the police
Police people came to the field and arrested the smokers and smoke sellers by 10am the next saturday
He was one of the smokers
Nine smokers and three marijuana peddlers were arrested
Before 6pm, eight of the smokers had been released
His parents had no name, no surname, no standing, no lawyer, no helper, nothing!
His case was eventually taken to court
His mother came to court and cried her eyes out
One of the marijuana sellers insisted he was one of them
He didn't know why the man lied so blatantly against him
He could have disproved it but nobody from the estate was willing to be his witness in court
His case dragged on and on and on
From 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013,2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
He had gotten used to life at Kirikiri Maximum prison
He had grown extremely lean and his body was being ravished by skin diseases
He had given up all hopes of being free from prison
Many people had come to the prison
It seemed his case was a no-go area for the NGOs
He had cried and prayed and pleaded
He was arrested at 22 and had spent 10 years distended between despair and hopelessness
When they were informed a church would be coming to pay the prisoners a visit
He didn't pay much attention to it
The mission had been to the prison several times
The mission brought the inmates hope, joy, peace, the gospel and eternal life
They also brought them material gifts and did a lot of CSR projects in the prison
But he didn't understand why he had to spend his entire life wasting away in prison
Couldn't God be merciful? Didn't God hear his cry for forgiveness for smoking marijuana?
There were worse people out there in the world enjoying freedom
The people he was arrested with has all gone to school and gotten married
He was stuck in one spot and would most likely die there!
God is so partial!
The mission people came in April 2018
They spoke and encouraged the inmates on a one-on-one basis
The person that came to him was the brother in Jeans and T-Shirt
He had told his story several times and it had practically faded
Every inmate has a sob story to tell
People have com to expect it and still themselves against it's emotional demands
He told his story anyway
The brother in Jeans and T-shirt took a sheet of paper and wrote something on it
Say this aloud everyday
"The Hand of the Lord is upon me
I am the blessed of the Lord
I dwell in the Father and the Father dwells in me
I am favour personified
Everybody favours me
My memory evokes favour in the heart of people
My life is no longer on a downward spiral
I mount the wings of the Holy Spirit
I am going forward and upward from today
I own my own art studio, I have my own family, I fulfil my destiny
My body is full of light, I am free by the power of the Holy Spirit"
Then he wrote his office address at the back of the paper and said
"I expect to see you in my office in the second week of February 2019"
The Brother in Jeans and T-shirt laid hands on him and prayed
Then he moved on to pray for other inmates!
He didn't know what happened exactly after that day
He bought into the confession and confessed it at least 100 times a day
He confessed it until he knew it off hand
He confessed it until he started adding some of his own confessions and words to it
His faith was kindled and hope came alive
He had become born again in prison and he had started praying in the Holy Ghost
He didn't know exactly how it happened
The marijuana peddler who insisted he was one of the team suddenly recanted
The other marijuana peddlers who had supported the claim tacitly also came out boldly to say he was not one of them
They had also accepted Jesus as their Lord and saviour and wanted to do the right thing
An NGO took up his case thereafter
On Fabruary 14 2019, he was released from prison
His parents and two of his younger brothers picked him up
Things had gotten a little better at home as some of his younger ones had started working
The NGO that helped him out of prison raised some money to set up his art studio
On the 19th of February, at 11:05 AM
As prophesied by the Brother in Jeans and T-Shirt
Accompanied by his parents and two of his younger brothers
He paid the Brother in Jeans and T-shirt in his office
They danced, and laughed and prayed
The Brother in Jeans and T-shirt told him "You created this day, by the words of your mouth!"

PS: Many believers don't know how powerful the words of their mouth is
If they do they wouldn't spend a minute talking idly
Gossip, backbiting, cursing, murmuring, complaining and such would be far from them
I have seen so called believers who would curse themselves so brazenly because they made a mistake
A man once called me for prayers
He said my wife is a witch and her mother is also a witch I want them to die
I didn't respond to his words
Weeks later his wife had fallen terribly sick
The sickness was draining his pocket terribly
He called me to pray for his wife
He begged and pleaded because the doctors can't diagnose the problem
I wanted to remind him of his desire to see his wife die because he was angry
I wanted to remind him of the words he uttered in that moment of weakness
But I didn't!
I prayed for his wife over the phone and she got healed instantly
She was discharged that same day!
Hold on to the words of your confession Hebrews 10:23
A tongue talking Christian who curses himself or herself is his or her own worst enemy
Your words are spirit and they are life!