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ANITA THE CHURCH GIRL BY ANIEBIET UDO CHAPTER ONE

Anita started developing interest in church activities when she was two years old. She was always excited whenever she was in the church hall with her parents. She watched and demonstrated everything her mother, Mrs. Helen Ibe did in the church. When prayers were going on, she usually closed her eyes and opened intermittently to observe her mother, put her hands together just the way her mother taught her, tried to be in the mood of prayer. During the times for music and dance, She danced excitedly to the music from the choir and clapped her hands along with others. People always admired her dexterity. Sometimes, they stopped dancing and watched her as she demonstrated her dancing steps. ‘Your daughter is always excited in the church’ Grace remarked. Grace was the usual sitting partner of Anita’s mother in the church. They were really very closed to each other and occasionally paid each other visits at home. She admired children a lot especially Anita who often made her laughed with her demonstrations and dance steps during church services. ‘My sister, if you see her excitement whenever she is aware we are coming to church, Helen replied. ‘You don’t mean it. I hope she will continue like this’, Grace said as she gently drew Anita’s cheek. At five, Anita was already singing some of the church’s songs from its hymn book. She greatly admired the ways the choir performed in the church during services and was always fascinated by the demonstration of the choir master, Uncle Alex.

CHAPTER TWO

Anita was really interested in joining the choir. At home, she usually stood before her mother’s standing mirror to demonstrate every action of the choir master. Her parents always watched her with keen interest. On Sunday during the church service, it was announced that interested members should come to register in the choir. Anita took particular note of that particular announcement. On their way home after the church service, she joked with some of the events that took place in the church. At a point, she stopped and listened to her parents who were discussing about some issues concerning some announcements. ‘Mummy, I want to join the choir’, Anita said. The mother smiled. She knew it was just a matter of time before such request would come. Anita’s father was a very cautious driver. He was always careful while driving and avoided long and unnecessary conversations. He bought his first and only car from the money he collected from his cooperative and had driven the car for ten years now without accident. ‘Daddy, did you hear what your daughter said?’ Helen asked. James Ibe who was at this point taking a bend pretended as if he did not hear her. Helen knew her husband talk less while driving, she however wanted him to respond to the question. ‘Daddy, I am talking to you’, Helen continued. ‘What did you say’, James retorted. ‘Your daughter said she want to join the choir’, she replied ‘That is a nice idea but not yet’ James said bluntly. ‘But why daddy?’ Anita asked solemnly. ‘You are still young my dear. You are just five years old. Besides, nobody would be chanced right now to be taking you to the church on week days for choir practice. You will join the choir when you are old enough. James concluded and focused on the road throughout the journey home. Anita tried to explain to her mother that her age mates were equally in the choir. She pleaded with her to tell her daddy that she would be taking her to church for rehearsals. The car was silent for the remaining part of the journey. Anita was moody with red eyes. She could not comprehend why her mother did not speak in favour of her request. She knew her mother could always create chance to take her to church for rehearsals

CHAPTER THREE

At home, Anita was unable to eat her lunch of fried rice and chicken. Her mum who noticed her countenance decided to please her with big chicken and a bottle of coke. Anita’s favorite food was rice and chicken but this was not the day to be carried away with chicken and coke. Her father was surprised that after thirty minutes on the dining table, Anita was just able to eat a fraction of her food and did not even touch her chicken. This was very unusual of her. ‘Anita, you are not eating? Is everything okay?’ James asked. She lifted up her face she buried on her plate and stare vacantly on the father without saying a word. As the only child of the house, the parents had promised to take good care of her and give her the things she wants even if it involved denying themselves of comfort. It was really challenging giving birth to Anita. Her mother Helen had series of miscarriages for the first five years of their marriage. When she was pregnant with Anita, she was in and out of hospital. Her delivery was really challenging that the doctor decided to deliver her through caesarean section. After her birth, she was unable to conceive again even though series of tests showed both of them were okay. ‘Is it because of your intention to join the choir? I will discuss with your mum and let you know the details later. That shouldn’t make you unhappy. You know we always want the best for you’. He concluded and walked away after giving her a peck on her left cheek. Her spirit was a little enlivened. She managed to finish her food and her chicken. After resting for some minutes, she went into her room for her siesta. ‘The next artiste to perform on stage is Ani J. Let all rise and cheer her up’, the announcer echoed. The ecstatic audience rose up and cheered her as she walked to the stage. Her performances were electrifying. Everybody danced excitedly to her music. They were really not disappointed at all. She was a great performer. Her music was the talk of the town. She later left the stage with a loud ovation. ‘I love you, I love you all! She shouted. Anita woke up suddenly from her sleep. She was sweating profusely as she tried to recollect the dream she had. ‘So it was a dream’ she said ‘Ani dear, who are you talking to?’ Her mum asked as she walked into her room. ‘Nobody mum’, she replied ‘Look at how you are sweating. Come to the living room, it’s a little bit cold there, she said as she held her hand up and took her to one of the chairs in the living room. It was already evening and mummy was already preparing dinner in the kitchen. Anita was still thinking of the dream. What really surprised her most was her stage name, Ani J, the crowd that that cheered her up and most importantly, when her mum called her by the same name immediately she woke up from sleep. This was the first time her mum would call her by that name. ‘What a coincidence!’ she remarked. When she regained her strength, she went to the kitchen to meet her mummy who was very busy in the kitchen. Still thinking of the name she heard in her dream and how famous she was. Though her mum addressed her as Ani dear, she actually mistook it for Ani J, the name she was called in her dream. ‘Mummy, what are you preparing for dinner?’ she asked. ‘Your daddy said I should prepare pounded yam and bitter leaf soup for him’, she replied ‘So what am I eating?’ Anita asked jocularly ‘Are you not going to eat with us’, she retorted.

CHAPTER FOUR

James Ibe was really bothered by his daughter’s mindset and interest in the choir. He was not really against Anita joining the choir but his concern was her age. As far as he was concerned, Anita was still too young to join the choir. Besides, both of them would not have the chance to be taking her for choir practice. At night, when Anita had gone to her room to sleep, the issue of Anita joining the choir was tabled for discussion by her parents. Helen knew how passionate Anita was about singing. She had observed her from age two and knew exactly what she wanted. Therefore this forum offered her the opportunity to speak in favour of Anita’s dream and desire. ‘If she want to join the choir at her age, all we need to do is to encourage and support her’, She said. ‘But who would be taking her for choir practice?’ James asked ‘I will’, Helen replied ‘But you are always complaining of lack of chance’, James said as he stared intuitively at his wife. ‘I will create chance for my daughter. After all, she is all I have for now’, she added. ‘Since you are sure you can do it, I don’t have any problem with it. I will give her the necessary support’, he concluded Anita was excited when she finally enrolled in the choir. Her joy knew no bound. Within a year, her progress was phenomenal. Her voice was excellent. The choir master, Mr. Alex did not take long to discover that Anita was a star in the making. Her performances were always electrifying. He was happy to have her in the choir even at her age. In singing and performances, she was really above her age. Alex was of the opinion that Anita can successfully make a career in music. He therefore arranged to see the parents in order to discuss with them about their daughter. Though skeptical of her parents mindset but to him, it was better to be turned down than not to mention it at all.

CHAPTER FIVE

After rehearsing over time what to table before the parents, Mr. Alex finally fixed a meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Ibe. He has been a choir master for over ten years he was yet to meet anybody with this kind of talents Anita possessed, especially at her age. The meeting essentially was to open the parents mind to this rare talent and how it can be harnessed. Her presence in the choir was really of immense benefit to the church. People, especially music lovers were always attending church services in order to watch her performances. Realizing this, the church always used her in most of its crusades. This made her very popular in both the church and her school. At the appointed day, Alex arrived at exactly 5 o’clock in the evening. It was Anita who opened the door for him and offered him a seat in the sitting room. ‘How are you Anita?’ he asked as he sat down on one of the cushion in the sitting room. They exchanged pleasantries briefly before Anita hurried into the room to inform her parents of the arrival of Mr. Alex. It was the mum who came out first to welcome him. She offered him a bottle of malt and groundnut. As he was about taking the groundnut, Mr James stepped into the sitting room. Alex quickly dropped the groundnut back into the saucer and stood up to shake hands with his host. After exchanging pleasantries, Mr. James took his seat beside his wife. There was initial silence in the room. They however did have premonition of why he intended to see them. ‘You are welcome. You said you wanted to see us’, James said attempting to break the silence ‘Yes sir, Alex said as he cleared his throat. It is about Anita. ‘Oh my God. I hope she has not done something silly’, James retorted staring vacantly at his daughter At this point, he told Anita to go inside the room. She has been advised severally to always remain in her room whenever the parents are discussing with visitors. This she often did without hesitation. ‘Not at all’ Alex said as he managed an exciting smile On his way here, he had itemized and arranged his presentation systematically in order to convince the Ibe’s. He did not want to be neither stiff nor too relax. However, he wanted to present his demand with all the seriousness it needed. He started by praising Mr. and Mrs. Ibe for giving Anita the necessary support and encouragement for her to excel in the choir. He thereafter praised Anita for giving her best in the choir. ‘At seven years of age and two years after joining the choir, your daughter has been phenomenal’, he said as he tried to think of the next word. After beating about the bush for minutes, he finally let the cat out of the bag. Mr. James and his wife were really happy to hear that their daughter Anita was making much progress in her singing career. They promised to give his request the needed consideration as soon as possible. At seven, Anita was already writing her songs. The parents were however not aware of this. They were mostly religious songs. She rehearsed and sang through them at her quiet time. Aside songs, she was also good at short stories and poems. She combined these effectively with her school work. She has been taking first position from her KG 1 except in primary two second term when she came third. Anita was really sad when she received her result. She fell sick few days to her second term examination. As a result of her ill health, she did not prepare very well for her examination. Her father had advised against her writing the examination until she fully recovered but she refused insisting that she was well enough to write. When the result was finally released, she was shocked that she was beaten to the third position. She wept bitterly staring speechlessly on the result booklet in her hands. ‘You should understand that you were not feeling fine during the examination period. You still did very well’ her mother said as she tried comforting her and wiping her tears.

CHAPTER SIX

At night before Anita slept, she knelt down beside her bed and prayed fervently to God. ‘God, you promised to always protect and guide me. Please God, don’t always allow me to fall sick during examination. She was not happy that she fell sick few days to her examination. Her prayer this day was different from the way she has been praying. Taking third position was not something she envisaged. To her something very unusual had happened to her. The prayer this time around was to stop it from reoccurring. Alex was happy when James approached him to get Anita ready for recording within two months. She was very happy when she was informed of her father’s decision to send her to the studio to record her music. It had been her dream to be a gospel artist, recognized globally especially after the dream she had two years earlier. She was always thinking of a day she would perform as a professional musician on a well decorated stage and massive audience. Alex was surprised when Anita attended her first private rehearsal with so many songs. When he went through them, he was amazed with what he saw. Anita sang excitedly through them all. Alex was forced to abandon the song he had initially planned for her single and decided to work with one of her best songs. The rehearsal was really tedious, more challenging than the choir rehearsals she was used to. Few choristers were drafted in as her backup singers. The entire crew members were excited about their first opportunity of going to the studio. The church was really very supportive financially, morally and prayerfully. They were sure everything will come out successfully especially with the commitment of everybody. When the song was eventually released, the acceptance was far below expectation. Anita’s parents were disappointed. Anita’s morale was really low as her efforts did not yield any result. Besides, as a result of too much time dedicated to this song, she dropped again from first position in her class to fourth. Her class teacher was really enthusiastic about her. Mr. Paul, popularly called Mr. Hard work. His popular slogan was ‘hard work does not kill’. He usually used it to admonish his pupils especially the lazy ones. He was fond of his pupils and always put in his best in his teaching. He was equally loved by his pupils. They admired his attributes especially his words of encouragement. One afternoon, Anita sat so lonely in class. Her classmates had gone out for break. Mr. Paul noticed that she was not happy, her countenance was down. ‘Why are you not going out for break?’ Mr. Paul asked. When she lifted up her face, tears were rolling down her cheek. ‘My performance lately has been disappointing’ she said as she tried to wipe her tears. ‘Who told you that?’ Mr. Paul asked. ‘Everything is all about hard work. Many people failed many times before they eventually succeeded. Have you heard of Abraham Lincoln?’ ‘No sir’, she replied. ‘He was a former president of America. He failed on several occasions – in business and series of elections before he eventually won the American presidential election and became one of the most successful presidents of America’ he explained. Anita’s spirit was now lifted up. She played back in her mind what she had done in the past and the successes she had recorded. ‘I have just failed once’, she thought ‘Hard work! Hard work! Hard work!’ Mr. Paul said as he walked away to his table. Anita who was now back on her feet, left the class to join her classmates outside for the remaining part of the break.

CHAPTER SEVEN

The head master of Great Brain Academy was busy in his office when two men walked in to deliver a letter to him. Mr. Ejiro was a lover of creativity and always encouraged the pupils to develop their God given talents. The letter was from the Talents Developer-an organization whose interest was on the development of musical talents in children especially school pupils. The next day, the head master read the letter on the assembly ground to all the pupils and teachers and advised interested pupils to collect and fill the few available forms. The star prize was One Million Naira with a recording contract in a reputable recording studio. Immediately Mr. Paul heard the announcement, what came to his mind was how to convince Anita to participate in the contest. He was sure, Anita with exceptional musical talents would make huge impact. When he told Anita about it, he was shocked and disappointed when she vehemently opposed the idea. Besides, she told him that there is no way the parents could allow her to go and spend two months in Lagos even if they scale through the zonal screening exercises. More so, her parents would not want to spend more money especially since her failed single. As days passed by, Mr. Paul became more convinced that Anita will scale through the zonal audition but her attitude was discouraging. Anita was busy making flimsy excuses because she did not want anything to disturb her academic work again. Her main focus and concern was how to take back her first position in class. As far as she was concerned, every other thing must wait. This being so, she refused to mention the music contest to her parents at home. On several occasions, Anita had failed to inform her father that his attention was needed in school by her class teacher. She knew the reasons why her father was sent for, therefore she lied to her class teacher that her parents were so busy and as such cannot make it to school. After all effort failed, Mr. Paul gave up. To him, they were not interested in her participation in the contest. Besides, the forms were expiring in three days. On his way home from school on Friday, he ran into Anita’s mother who was equally returning from her shop. She left her shop early in other to pick their clothes from the dry cleaner for a marriage ceremony the next day. ‘Mr Paul, how are you and your family?’, Helen asked as they stopped to exchange pleasantries. He was surprised when he heard from Mrs. James that Anita never informed them at home about the competition, let alone deliver the message to come to school. ‘The last day of the submission of the form is on Monday, the head master has been announcing it’, Mr. Paul said as they bade each other good bye. Helen was surprised by the attitude of her daughter, Anita. When the case was reported to the father, he was really enraged by his daughter behavioural pattern. He vowed to deal with her severely. ‘What exactly is wrong with you’, Mr. James thundered when the case was reported to him. ‘Opportunities wasted can never be recovered. Why choose to waste this kind of opportunity? Do you know what would become of this chance?’ He concluded and walked away angrily to his room. Anita sat down quietly as she watched her parents fuming. She didn’t understand why her parents were so angry with her over a competition that would take her away for more than two months, if she eventually qualify to the national level. Since she was born, she has never left her parents for a day. How will she cope staying with strangers? When she finally explained her fears to her mother, she quickly understood. ‘You should have explained this to me from the beginning’, Helen advised. Mr. James quickly realized how hard he was to his daughter. He quickly made the necessary arrangement for the form to be collected and submitted on Monday, which was the last day for the submission of form.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The talent exhibited at the zonal level at Benin was exceptional. Anita’s singing prowess was noticed immediately she arrived. After a keenly contested singing competition, she came top among the other contestants at the zone and was selected to represent the zone at the national level. Anita’s parents were really excited over their daughter’s performance. Being an only child who has spent her entire life with the parents, they were worried how she was going to spend over two months with total strangers in Lagos for her audition and training.

After the zonal competition, Anita met with her parents briefly. Their joy knew no bound. Helen her mother, in particular was shedding tears. They advised her to be of good behavior throughout the duration of the competition. ‘You have to be mindful of the company you keep’, Helen said. ‘Always remember that you are from a good Christian home and background. We will always be praying for your success’, Mr. James added. Talents Developer was a renowned talent hunt organization. Its interest was particularly in developing the musical talents of young schools children. This, they have done successfully in the past three editions with the winners doing well in the music industry. To add colours to this edition, renowned musicians were invited to train the contestants on the different aspects of music. Sound expert were also invited as judges to evaluate the performance of the contestants. At nine years, Anita was the youngest contestants. She met seventeen others from the different part of the country. The organizers ensured that three persons represented each geopolitical zones of the country. The contestants were given various tasks to carry out and trained to perform all kinds of songs. They were nominated for eviction weekly. Members of the public were given the opportunity to vote for the contestant of their choice. The game was simple; perform well and stay. The contestants struggled to perform to satisfy the different judges and meet the expectation of the viewing public. As a reality television show, the performances were usually done live on television. Anita’s parents had the opportunity to watch their little baby perform on TV. They were always excited to see the improvement of their child. When Anita was nominated for eviction, they wept bitterly praying for her to survive the eviction. Anita’s performances actually saved her from three evictions. The viewing public did not want to miss her performances and therefore always voted to save her whenever she was nominated for eviction. Anita’s performances kept improving at various stages of the competition. The contest was between her and Bunmi, the only surviving representative of the south-west zone of the country. Bunmi was the daughter of Akande, a popular gospel music artist. Like Anita, she started singing from her tender age. Her performances were electrifying, especially when performing Yoruba songs. She was really loved by her own people especially the yorubas, as the show was organized in Lagos. She was tipped by the majority of the viewing public to win the competition. Anita was aware that any slip would make her lose the competition, though winning was not entirely by her effort. The decision was solely the responsibility of the voting public. All she needed was to keep improving on her performances. Her parents were constantly praying for her to come out overall best. Her church was equally not left out in the support for her. After three months in the Talent Developers house, five contestants made it to the grand finale. Their performances were relayed live to enable the viewers to pick the best performer. The last five were really very talented. Separating them was really herculean task for the in-house judges and the voting public. The rule was simple – the contestant with the highest number of votes is declared the winner.

CHAPTER NINE

The day began like every other day. Winning the prize money was what was uppermost in the mind of the five contestants. Being the last day, parents of the contestants were invited to watch their children live on stage. Anita’s parents had arrived Lagos the previous day by air, sponsored by the organizers. Besides, this was their first travel on air. ‘Our daughter has made us to enter aeroplane’, Helen said excitedly to her husband as they were shown their seats by a waitress. ‘We thank God for our daughter. God will continue to bless her’, Mr. James said as he struggled to fasten his seat belt. ‘Those who were mocking us for having just one daughter will now know that it is not about the number and sex of children that matters’, Helen said solemnly. Mr. James was really a man of character. He faced lots of persecution from family members who wanted him to take a second wife since his wife, Helen was unable to give birth to another child since the birth of Anita. They reminded him on many occasions that he needed a male child that will answer his name and continues the family lineage. Marrying two wives was never his plan. Though he wanted more children but he cannot throw away his wife simply because she cannot give birth to more children. They have gone to the hospital for checkups and were always told they were okay. Not giving birth to a male child was a big threat to her marriage. Helen was always scared that her husband may succumb to the family’s pressure and send her away. She has received abuses from her inlaws and neighbours. Her neighbour once asked her who will bear her husband’s name when they had a little misunderstanding in the compound. ‘Shameless woman, you think everything is food. What do you have to show for all the food your husband has given you? Just one girl. Show me who will answer your husband’s name, one legged stool.’ She mocked as she walked back to her flat. Helen wept throughout the day. She did not understand why she couldn’t give birth again after Anita. However, whenever she was down with such thoughts, her husband always promised never to divorce her. ‘If God gives us more children, fine, but as far as I am concerned, you will remain my only wife till death’ James vowed. This was the message that kept Helen going over the years. She was sure her husband was always behind her. When the eventually landed at the airport in Lagos, they were received by the organizers and lodged in a five star hotel. This was the same hotel the parents of the other contestants were lodged. It was really an exciting moment for the parents. In the morning, they were brought together for their breakfast. They introduced themselves to one another and had sumptuous meals, chatting and praising their children. In the afternoon, they were driven in the same bus to the venue of the event. Before the commencement of the event, they were introduced to the audience by the Master of Ceremony (MC). The audience was ecstatic and in a hurry to listen to the different contestants. The viewers at home were also waiting for the commencement of the show. By 5:00pm, the show took off as planned. Top Nigerian gospel singers were invited to perform. Their performances enliven the crowd and the viewing public. They also serve as a boost to the contestants. Anita was the third contestant to perform in the evening. Her performance was electrifying. The crowd was really excited as there was no dull moment throughout the twenty minutes she was given to perform. The judges could not hide their admiration that they gave her a standing ovation. Her parents were really surprised that their daughter could really perform with such confidence and dexterity. At the end of the performances, the winners were announced beginning with the fourth runner-up. Bunmi equally lived up to expectation. The crowd was uncontrollable during her performance. The audience mostly of the Yoruba extraction really wanted her to be crowned the winner. The judges were equally satisfied with her performances. The voting from the viewing public were collated and analysed by the company. The state governor who was the special guest of honour was given the honor of presenting prizes to the winners. The only male contestant Iheanacho Okechukwu was named the fourth runner-up. It was really difficult for him, being the only boy among the five finalists. He tried to match the outstanding performances of the girls but the more he tried, the more he failed to measure up. He was also loved by the viewers because of his quiet disposition. They nicknamed him boy among girls. He was always encouraged to take the grand prize being the only boy in the house. Anita’s joy knew no bound when Bunmi was named the first runner-up. The audience jumped up in unison shouting Anita! Anita! Anita! Mr. and Mrs. James were really excited to see their little baby, their only daughter crowned as the winner of the Gospel Music Talent Hunt organised by the Talent Developers. She was given her star prize of One Million Naira and a Recording Contract. The governor who was really thrilled by the contestants offered the five of them Five hundred thousand naira each and scholarships for their secondary and university education. With this announcement, the venue erupted with another round of celebrations. All the parents went around embracing one another.

CHAPTER TEN

Anita did not waste time in recoding her first song. This time around, she worked with sound professionals and engineers. The crew members were extremely excited about her development and commitment to rehearsals. She was determined to make use of this wonderful opportunity God had given her. Her parents supported her all the way and gave her the necessary moral support. She did not however allow her music career to interfere in her academic activities. At the end of her primary education, she came out with distinction in her First School Leaving Certificate Examination. With her primary six examinations over, she went to the studio and recorded her first single. The music took the airwaves with storm. It was played all over the country on both radio and television stations. She was invited by big churches to perform in their programmes especially crusades. She became a known figure within and outside the country. The status of the parents changed immediately. Anita within few years of her professional music career, was able to build a beautiful house for her parents. They were so excited when they packed out from their rented apartment to their own home located in the Government Revenue Area (GRA). Using the Lagos State Government’s Scholarship, she travelled to the United State for secondary and university education. At the end of her university education, she graduated with first class in Theatre Art. She thereafter returned to Nigeria and took up acting in addition to her music career. Ani J, her stage name became a household name. She attributed her success to her parents, Mr. Alex her childhood choirmaster who was able to discover her talents on time and Mr. Paul her primary school teacher.