Alfa Sule Speaks On Comedy in the Church - Istifanus Sarki

Alfa Sule is an evangelical dance drama ministry based in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. Having started in 2002 with only 10 students, the group has grown big and now boasting of more than 40 cast members. Here is an interview with the popular drama evangelist, and president of Christ Chosen Vessel, Oluwafemi Ajewole, otherwise known as Alfa Sule. 

How has been the experience so far?

Well. Thank God for being faithful. He has helped us to produce movies that have changed lives. We also had the opportunity to minister in some places and in the presence of some great people such as governors, kings and others alike. Great ministers of God are not left out.

Which of your movies has made the most impact so far?

Well, by the grace of God, every movie we have produced so far has made great impact, but the one that cut across everyone was O Ti Gan Pa. it went across Nigerian cities and beyond Nigeria.

There was a case on the movie, O Ti Gan Pa, due to the Imam character that was featured. How did you handle it?

Yes. It had to do with the Islamic religion who didn’t like the idea of featuring Alfa Sule as one of the victims in the movie. So the other religion thought, “What is he insinuating? Is he trying to condemn our religion?”

I later met an Imam who later became a friend. He said he doesn’t have any issue with it except for the words, “La ila” that we used. He believes that there is nothing under the heaven that the word cannot bring solution to, as far as they are concerned.

So they gave us options that we either allow the “La ila” to work or we remove the character, So, I removed it, because the bible says follow peace with all men. Alfa Sule is not about condemning other religions. We are not religion preachers. We are gospel preachers. It’s all about gospel and the gospel is all about Jesus Christ.

So, we had to stop production, go back to the location and do it all over again, because everyone is important. No matter what your religion is, we all belong to God. And by God’s grace, they still watch our movies.

I met an Alhaji in the bank one time and he said, “Hey I love the movie, Amos 3:3, that talks about marriage. I enjoyed it”. I do tell people that we don’t do Christian movie. We do gospel movies. Christian movies are for Christians, while gospel movies are for everyone. That is why our movie entertains a little bit of gospel, to get people’s attention.

 How do you manage being comic and getting the message of the gospel passed across at the same time?

That’s the aspect of grace. I won’t accredit it to professionalism. There was an open crusade one time somewhere in Oshogbo where Baba Ojo Ade was invited. So, the host decided to invite Alfa Sule because they believe we can entertain them and get their attention, and then Baba Ojo Ade will then come up. We accepted the invitation.

The place was fully and charged up when we began. By the time we were done, we had altar call, and many of the touts came down and accepted Jesus into their lives. The Pastor wondered, “How did you do that? One minute, everyone was laughing, and at a point, even I got lost. This must be a divine idea”. I said yes. That was why I said it’s grace.

Same thing happened in our program; Let’s go A fishing, in Lagos. In that program, a comedian came to me and said, Sir, pray for me. I asked him why. He said, because I see that you carry grace. How can you get people laugh and get them saved at the same time?” He said, as a comedian, if I can have this kind of grace, I will be grateful to God. 

What’s your take on Stand-Up comedy in church?

(Sighs) Well, I can’t judge that. I simply believe that whatever we do, we should be led by God. When we started out, I was wondering, are we still in the will of God at all? Cos when I compare it to the father of Christian drama in Nigeria, Mount Zion Ministry, it feels like we are just joking.

But deep within, I felt it was God leading us and using that aspect to draw people to himself. So, I can’t say comedy in church is wrong, neither can I say it is right. For instance, in cases where pastors are being made fun of, it is because it has been allowed. We have both fake and original pastors.

The fake ones do thing that allow the pastoral office to be mocked. I have a video here on my phone where a pastor was demonstrating skills in the name of praying, and people were falling down. Sometimes, he throws his leg in the air as though he is kicking football, and people would “fall under the anointing”.  Even if it is the Holy Spirit that is using you, you don’t need to show skills for people to fall.

In other occasions, when some pastors call some very powerful prayer, you know it is going to end in the issue of money. Some Pastors can be personal about honorarium. They believe when they minister in a place, they help the church committee to realize huge amount of money, and their honorarium is made huge too. All these and many more actually give comedians a thing to make fun of.

I won’t say it is right or wrong, but there are some jokes that can mislead people. There is time for play and a time to be serious. We must be careful of the words we utter. It can water the gospel you preach. Take for instance you ministered live in a program and it was impactful. Then you go around the auditorium, misbehaving.

There are also some comedies that are not normal. Anything that will not contribute to the society or to the body of Christ should be avoided. There is tendency for sin to come as a result of comedy. One must be able to get familiar with the spirit of God. So, it is not all comedy is fit in the church.

Some of your movies are done in Yoruba. How do you carry along those that are not Yoruba?

This is one of the seasons we subtitle our movies in English, and some in Yoruba. The Movie, O Ti Gan Pa for instance, is quite comprehensible in spite of language barrier. We have ministered O Ti Gan Pa before white people and they understood.

How do you cope with Stardom?

Well, initially, it was hard. People want to collect money from you. Before I got married, there are some people that want to marry you by fire by force. A lady from Ilorin said she wants to marry me. I don’t know her. She claimed she was the one who came to shake me one time after a program. I told her a lot of people came to shake me that same day. She said, “Don’t worry, when you see me, you will love me.” I asked her who told her that? She said something told her I am going to be the father of all her children. I thought, “Is it that serious?” At a point, I stopped paying attention.

Do you face the challenges with women now that you are married?

Not like before. 

Was there any cordial relationship between Alfa Sule and Kolade Odunlade before the wedding of your brother, Ayo?

Well, yes. Personally, I like him. I watch his movies. Their movies too is full of lessons. Ayo also loves the way Odunlade acts. I think he came all the way from US for the marriage.

Would you feature in commercials if offered to advertise the products?

We can, if we see what it’s all about. At least, we did a five minutes dance drama recently for someone who was into Microsoft application business.

Why do Christian movies hardly trend on cinemas in Nigeria?

I believe one of the challenges, to be candid is that, if we want to work based on the response of us Christian, there is no way you won’t be discouraged. The vision we have as Alfa Sule, if it were other religions, Alfa Sule would have gone farther than that. But a lot of Christians are somehow self-centered. There is no encouragement.

If you want to shoot movie, no one is willing to encourage you. In secular world they encourage themselves. When we were to do Evangelcomedy, we charged a small amount for gate fee, and realized very little. If it were secular comedy, you’ll pay well gate fee. You will even have table for two, for five and so on. And there will also be sponsors.

The same people who are anxious to watch your next movie is the same people that would want to buy the movie for N100, saying N150 is too much.

When we were to set out on O Ti Gan Pa, we sought the help of a particular person who had the instrument for film shoot and was into drama. He came to our rehearsal, and after watching us, he said, “I suggest you talk to your parents. The person taking the role of Mummy Soji is too young. You should have something like real mummy, real daddy, and then we can see what we would do about it.”

I said, “Well, God did not call our parents, he called us. So, never mind”. So, we saved up by ourselves, and went for a ministration in Lagos where without charging them, we were given money enough to shoot the movie. We still had some amount left.

What role does Alfa play in building the new Nigeria?

Our role is to create the fear of God in the mind of people. I believe lack of the fear of God and the mind of God is the problem we have in Nigeria. We have enough that can make this country a better one. Nigeria is supposed to be the best country in the world. I do tell people, let Nigeria swap land with America, and in 5 years, America would be worse than Nigeria while Nigeria would be far better off.

In the US, they appreciate and encourage vision and talent.

Would you blame some gospel artistes for charging high?

No. I won’t. The truth is some people don’t really know how to appreciate artistes. But I believe there is a level you will get to that you won’t need to charge people. I do tell people, if you want to invite Baba Adeboye to your program, he doesn’t need to tell you what you need to package. As God Fearing as Baba Adeboye is, you can’t invite him and give him N50,000.

So, when you don’t charge, people abuse the opportunity. So, I won’t blame them. And, everybody knows what he/she is passing through. To make your ban stand, you need money. So, you can’t compare a one man ministry to a group. But as an artiste, passion won’t let you charge much.

Who are you modeling after?

Well, when you take the dramatic aspect of it away, Baba Adeboye is the one thing I look up to. I like everything about him: his simplicity, his lifestyle, everything. When it comes to Drama, I will say Evangelist Mike Bamiloye. He is one of the people that motivated us. He encourages people once he sees God in it. He is humble.

What would be your advice to upcoming artistes?

Well, firstly, seek God. The bible says godliness and contentment is great gain. Nowadays, people are not contented. Young people now want to ride cars. When God is leading you, even if you have money, there is a way you see money differently.

One time we went outside the country to minister. On our way back, God instructed me to give out all the money given to me at the program. So, as soon as we arrived, I converted the money into Naira, enveloped it and gave it out as a seed. Normally, when you travel, you buy things for your family. But I didn’t buy a single thing for my wife, kids or myself. In this case, it takes one that really fears God to do that.

So, as young artiste, seek God.

Thank you so much for your time.

You are welcome

 

What do you think about comedy in church? is it right? is it wrong? Do you share your opinion in the comment box. let us know what you feel about comedy in the church and about Alfa Sule. 

Note: If you think you know of anyone around you that should be interviewed based on his/her knowledge or experience on certain things in life, that will benefit people, please contact us as soon as you can, and we will be grateful.