Anybody who has followed the trajectory of the church in Nigeria should not be taken aback by the dust generated by the remix of the song, : I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back no turning back.’
But because we do not learn from history we are often compelled to repeat history and the consequence is sometimes not palatable.
When I first listened to the song, I was honestly awed. I had a genuine admiration for the duo of Gaise Baba and Lawrence Oyor.
And then I was inspired. The song went deep into my subconscious and made me begin to reflect on my Christian confession and the resolution to hold unto the Christian faith.
The song made me think of martyrs of faith. Incidentally I had just done a one-minute review of the book, ‘tortured for Christ on my tiktok handle when I heard the song.
For those who may not know, Tortured for Christ was written by Richard Wumbrand and it is a documentation of people who held to their confession in the face of death in the old communist enclave; the Soviet Union before the Berlin Wall collapsed.
So the more I listened to the song the more I commune with myself. Incidentally, this is a song that I had been used to right from my early days in the children church. But it never conveyed strong emotion until now .
History of the song
It’s now I got to know the history behind the song. It was birthed in matrydom. A whole family in a community in India was wiped away because they would not renounce their faith.
The chief in the Indian community ordered the execution of the family starting from the wife, the children and the head of the family. It was expected that after the killing of his wife and children the man would recant.
But he didn’t . That was when the man uttered the words , ‘I have decided to follow Jesus..No turning back, no turning back. The cross before me, the world behind me…’
He was eventually taken down. But not long after his execution the village chief came to his senses and wondered why a man would die because of a supposedly imported faith. The whole village were said to have surrendered to Christ including the village chief who ordered the killing of the family.
Years later, an American composed the song. And it has survived over the years.
Persecution of believers
So it’s an old song and it resonates well with many who came to know Jesus in the 80s when persecution of believers in Nigeria was rife.
Many perhaps don’t know that the faith we now brandish with relish was not so popular in the 80s.
I remember a sister years ago in Abeokuta, Ogun State was almost killed by her father because she became a Christian . Her father drove her away from home and was almost running over her with his car. The sister was a Moslem before her conversion. Her father disowned her and brethren had to rally round her to support her.
About three months ago I interviewed a medical doctor who is a missionary Pastor Tunde Oladoyinbo.. He told me his father refused to pay his school fees throughout his stay at the University of Ibadan where he studied medicine..
There are several other instances of people who have stories to tell about their resolve to remain faithful to Christ despite all odds.
Foxes Book of Martyrs has a detailed documentation of how Christians were killed for their faith right from the first century till date. The book is updated on a regular basis. You can’t read that book and remain the same because it will make you know that the Christian faith is not cheap.
The criticism
So when the remix of the song came, it was a welcome reminder of our commitment and our creed.
But not long after the song became a rave, I began to read comments and objections. Honestly those comments made me begin to ask if I was alright because the views were coming from people I have so much regard for.
First it was a professor of music that did a critic of the song and its rendition. He came off with the verdict that the duo of Oyor and Gaise have desecrated the hallowed chambers of God with their handling of the song which was birthed in matrydom.
So many other critic of the remix has surfaced. I have received messages from people asking what I think.. My initial reaction was to dismiss the critics that they were unduly being religious .
But I also think their criticisms have to be viewed in context. They have a right to feel pained that a sacred song that was a product of the blood of some people will become a sneer in certain quarters.
It has become a sneer because some bring in mundane things in the course of singing it. For instance, a young lady in the US sang the song to mean she would never return to Africa, that It was too late. There are cases of people who drink beer and say they will never go back on their drinking spree e.t.c
The critics slammed the duo of Gaise and Oyor for the additional lines of like ..we will.spend the billions saying what God wants is our life not our money.
They also take offence at their comportment. And the fact that the song found its way into the sinners groove. Their argument is that the song has been stripped of its spiritual motif.
The irony of the whole saga like Bishop Abraham Olaleye pointed out to me during an interview session is that this is not the first time people use Christian songs to catch cruise. He reminded me of what kegites do on campuses with Christian songs, how they change them and contextualise them to suit their vanity.
Should the church not jump for joy that its song is in the mouth of potential candidates of the kingdom? Or perhaps it should be worried that the message for a dying world is being watered down and denied of its potency.
Whichever way we look at it, we certainly have a dilemma to contend with.
When a new wave comes up we are quick to react and then gradually people start embracing it and it becomes a norm.
Pentecostalism and change
Nobody will ever believe the Pentecostal arm of the church will become what it is today going by how it was in the 70s and 80s.
The orthodox churches suffered a great deal in the hands of the Pentecostal in the 80s and 90s. If there was social media then, I am sure some .priests in the orthodox churches would perhaps have been wiped out of the.scene.
But today many of things that Pentecostals criticised in orthodox.churches are now being practiced with renewed vigour by them.
The criticism
The issue however is if the criticism of the song is tenable. The contention of many stems from the mannerism and the component of the folks that popularised the song.
The band on the head of Oyor and the coloured hair of Gaise. They scrutinised these two elements and conclude they could not be representing Christ. In trying to shield himself from the snides, Gaise has granted a series of interviews sharing some solid testimonies of a personal life of dedication and consecration.
But he took it too far when he began to sound off the key making a comparison between himself and some of the pastors that were on his neck. That was not necessary.
While I must commend him and thank God for his life, I think he has to restrain himself from putting up a frontal defence. He can explain. But I think there are certain things he does not have to justify. Let God be the one to justify him.
But I gleaned a lot of lessons from his interviews during which he gave a portraiture of what God is doing and the fact that God is not bound by convention
We can’t put God in a box
The truth is that we cant put God in a box. We can’t confine him to our little minds. When and how he does his things are sometimes beyond us. Did Jesus not say if we refuse to praise him he would raise stones to do it?
The implication is that some unlikely instruments are being used to do the work that we have long abandoned. But the religious folks will not feel comfortable because it does not align with their thought pattern.
This however does not make some of the observations they make wrong. What I see that is wrong is trying to throw away the baby with the bath water.
We can’t deny that we are in a new age with a new communication template. The earlier we have this understanding the better. Gaise Baba have this understanding and he Is engaging that template maximally.
He should be encouraged. That the song found its way into the club house is not enough to slam it. I just shared my experience ever before it became a subject of contention that the song for me is a reminder of the history of the faith I have embraced all my life.
What the naysayers ought to have done is to find a way of building on this wave to provide a balance. There are some things that may seem odd to us. The right thing to do is to seek to understand those things and give a better perspective. It’s simply not right when we tear ourselves down and make ourselves look better than others. It does not help the cause of Christ.
Culture shock and our bias
The truth is, we have not seen the end of this matter. The new generation is just unraveling. Many things will still shock us. We should simply go to pray.
My greatest concern is that when it comes to looking at issues of faith we bring in our bias. We judge depending on the camp we belong to. That is not too good for the church. If the criticisms that trail the song is the same way we dissect some of the gibberish on our pulpits like Jesus did not visit the poor and job suffered because he did not pay tithe, Perhaps there will be some sanity in the church.
We pay a lot attention to music because of the attendant phyric fire that it carries but we forget that subtle teachings and delivery of faulty gospel are more lethal than music. The wrong doctrine and poisonous messages on the pulpit indoctrinate while music only excites and sometimes never get deep.
Whether music or message, none should however be taken for granted.
It’s only that when it comes to music it’s difficult to judge because there are two sides to it: The lyrics and the presentation. Should it be loud or slow?
We are not aware of any music structure in the Bible. The choir department came quite later in the church. Every child of God is commanded to sing hymns and make melody in their hearts.
Over the years however the Church thought it wise to formalise music. It is a great development and it should be applauded.
The club house angle
One of the Criticisms against the song is that it’s being rendered in a club house. But then I think we will be playing God if we begin to determine where a song is rendered.
When the Psalmist say we can’t sing the Lord’s song in a strange land, it was purely because the gospel was not in view. The people then did not have a compelling need to evangelise the world. Christ had not died and resurrected to procure Salvation for man.
But today we are commanded to go into the world and preach the gospel. Reinhard Bonnke had his first major evangelical outreach in club house in South Africa.
And God used him to get many saved. That same God is still at work. The remix of No Turning Back may seem to have turned our theology upside down. The attitude should be to study this move and guide it rather than disparage it. It may backfire on the church if not prayerfully approached.
