How Churches Can Achieve Inclusion Of Persons With Disabilities In Their Activities - Pastor Arowosegbe

He is blind but he is a pastor; and not just any pastor but the senior pastor of a zonal headquarters of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), under Lagos Province 69. The story of Pastor Adegoke Lawrence Arowosegbe, the shepherd in charge of RCCG Light of God Zona Headquarters, is proof to the Bible’s assertion that, while men look at the outer appearance, God looks inwards. It’s also a testament to the fact that God can use anyone to expand his kingdom, irrespective of their situation or condition.

In this interview with Lagos Today Extra!, Pastor Arowosegbe speaks on issues bothering the church and persons with disabilities and other related issues. It’s a must read for all Christians and all persons with disabilities as both parties have one or two lessons to learn.

 

How does it feel being the visually impaired senior pastor of an RCCG zonal headquarters church?

How does it feel? Well, it has its own challenges. The society where we dwell has very little or no regards for persons with disabilities, especially those with visual impairment. So, there has been one or two challenges. However, since it is the work of God, God has always proven himself and we are able to handle most of the situations that come our way, at least as far as church is concerned.

How do the members of your church respond to you, especially during healing ministrations? Do they say “Pastor heal yourself first before you think of healing us”?

We have taught the people, through the Word of God, that it's God who does the healing, not the man of God. And he does it in whichever way and manner he wants. Because one is visually impaired does not mean that God cannot propagate his kingdom through that person. Our God can do anything through anybody. He does his things the way he wants it and when he wants it. For instance, in the book of Daniel chapter 1, verse 21, the Bible tells us that God controls times and seasons. And so, if we have that understanding, that he controls times and seasons, we can also understand that he does things whenever  and in whatever way he likes. That the pastor is visually impaired is not a factor here because  the people can see the work of God manifesting in him. In view of this, they cannot deny the power of God operating through him despite the visual impairment.

At what point in your life did you give your life to Christ, was it before or after the impairment?

The truth of the matter is that I started having visual challenges right from childhood. The visual impairment did not come up in the course of church appointment. I did all my education as a blind student in the blind school. So, at what point did I give my life to God? I gave my life to Christ in 1998; to be specific, the last Sunday of January 1998. Prior to that time, I was just like the regular boy in the neighbourhood: going to different parties, carrying girls and all the rest of it. But at the point when we needed to surrender to God, we surrendered. Old things passed away and all things became new in the new life in Christ.

Looking at inclusivity in the church, especially in the Nigerian setting, do you think we are there yet or more still needs to be done?

More still needs to be done. We are Far from there, far from being there. Very, very far. I'm not too sure at what level we are in this country in terms of inclusion of persons with disabilities in church activities. If I say that we have not even started, it would be like one is not optimistic even though that is the present reality as far as Nigerian churches are concerned. So I will say that we have started but we are not there yet. Maybe with time, we will gradually build it up. For example, many churches, whether Redeemed or other denominations, don't have facilities that can really, really accommodate persons with disabilities. They don't have them. If we look at accessibility as a case study, you will agree with me that we are not there yet. But we do hope that with some of us now getting involved and doing advocacy, Maybe the church will get to know and do the needful to achieve inclusion of persons with disabilities in its activities.

Can you be more specific about these accessibility facilities? We know about ramps. Are there other facilities that the church needs to put in place to achieve this inclusivity for PWDs?

The facilities are different in nature. You talk about ramps, right? Ramps are essential modifications that provide significant benefits to wheelchair users by improving accessibility, safety, and independence. But even if you look at the staircase, where PWDs that are not on wheelchairs walk on, a lot of those steps cause more harm than good to persons with visual impairment. I was supposed to minister on a particular Order of Reading in a particular church. But to climb to the altar was a big challenge. The staircases in most churches are in zigzag form and as a blind person, you are sometimes confused whether to go to the left or to the right. It might be accommodating to persons with sight; but for the visually impaired, that's a big challenge. So, to access the church environment itself, A lot of work needs to be done, a lot of advocacy needs to be made.

In the area of Bible literature, do you also look in the direction of brailing Bibles, Sunday school manuals and other literatures so that blind persons can actively participate in church activities?

Fortunately for us, if I take the Bible as a case study, I have a Bible here which is braille. And to a very good extent, it was not supplied by the church. I have the complete Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, on braille and I ordered all of them from abroad. But in fairness to the Nigerian Bible Society, they have great Bibles there. And I think to a very good extent, they give them out free to those who approach them. And churches should find a way of partnering with them. For other literatures, churches are gradually coming up. I remember what happened with the Redeemed Sunday School manual. I wrote to the church to let them know that We have some visually impaired people in the church and these people need to read the Sunday School manual just like other members of the church. And they have taken that as a responsibility. So, as a case study that I know, the RCCG  produces Sunday school manual in Braille for the benefit of visually impaired people amongst us. and I think other denominations should follow suit.

What advice would you give to some men of God who keep their distance from persons with disabilities?

If I refer back to my message on love preached somewhere last month, we say love accommodates. If we are using love as a parameter in church, then pastors have no reason to distance themselves from people with disabilities. We must understand that even in disability, there is ability. If we have that understanding, we should give everybody a platform, just to test drive. I did not become a pastor overnight. Something happened. Far back in Ebute Meta, between 2004 and 2005, the church I was attending, the pastor saw me and spotted me out. Before then, I was the one writing for the "Excellent Men", a group in the church. I was their secretary. And I was always the one writing the minutes of our meetings. I was also the one writing the Pastor's Desk, a column on the church bulletin. I was carrying out these two assignments simultaneously. And one day, the pastor said, "Arowosegbe,  please prepare to minister for 20 minutes next week Sunday". That was the first time I was being given a platform to minister the Word of God to the congregation. So, pastors have no reason not to allow persons with disabilities to work in the church.

That’s one part of the conversation. Another part of it is that persons with disabilities must also be able to prove themselves. Recall that I said I was writing the church bulletin at the Pastor's Desk, the pastor's corner on the church bulletin. That was what the pastor was supposed to do but I was the one doing it. And I was also the secretary to the Men's group then. So, people with disabilities must be able to convince our society that they can really do what people think they cannot do on account of their disabilities status. Without this, the society, both inside and outside of the church environment, will see you as not able to do those things. You should be able to prove to them by doing those things, and not just doing, you should be able to go the extra mile. That’s what I always do and it has been working for me.

You are married to a sighted wife. How did that happened? How did she fall in love with you despite your visual impairment?

I was working in an oil company and she, at that time, was working with Ikeja Hotels. Ikeja Hotels happened to be the caterer supplying our lunch in the office. And so she, being one of their staff, I got to meet her on one occasion because she was the one that attended to me at the restaurant. But beyond the food menu, beyond the food level, when I was losing my sight rapidly,  connecting with the staff bus was becoming a challenge. So she offered to be helping me to navigate to the staff bus. This was also made possible because she, too, wanted to join the staff bus to enjoy the facility of transportation. She would come and pick me from my office and we would walk together to the staff bus. So, it all started with the staff bus, not even with the restaurant. From there, we started talking. She saw me as a big brother at the beginning. I must say that she had somebody she was dating then and she would come to me for advice about one or two things. And I always gave her my candid, unbiased advice. Yes, unbiased because the idea, at first,  was not to go into a relationship with her; but along the line, we began to develop interest in each other. And something happened that For whatever reason, she fell out of the relationship with the brother. So I saw that as an opportunity to win her heart. That's how we got to meet and we started courting and it worked out to be a marriage at the end.

Some blind persons married to sighted spouses have tales of woes about their in-laws in terms of verbal and psychological abuse. What has been the relationship between you and your in-laws, is it cordial?

Fortunately for me, that seemed to be working out well, to the glory of God. Her mother knew me very well even before I met her. Her mother also worked where I was working. She’s late now. But we both worked in the office. I didn't know her then but she said she knew me. As a matter of fact, she was always the one telling everyone about "Ah, one boy in our office. He's a special fellow. He's a genius." And because of that, maybe because the mother knew me very well and had decided to market me to her family, I became very safe with the entire family. When she was alive, she was closer to me than to her daughter. We were so close that She could confide in me rather than with her daughter. But of course, I am aware of the situations in-laws of persons with disabilities treat them horribly and that should be discouraged. But I think it all depends on how you carry yourself as a PWD. If you present yourself as a loving, caring spouse who is able to meet with the demands of a matrimonial home, whether as the husband or the wife, there is every possibility that your in-laws will treat you well. We must be able to convince them beyond the ordinary. I had an experience when I was doing my Mass Communications program at Laspotech, which has now become a university. A lady, who was being proposed to by a visually impaired man, told me that if I was the one proposing, she would accept the proposal but that she could not accept it from this other fellow because he fell short of her expectation. The point I'm making is that we must be able to prove to the society that we are able. We must bring ourselves out of This beggarly attitude which has made the society to believe that the blind person can do nothing but to beg.

  

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How Prophet Muhammad Foretold The Infiltration Of Extremists Into Islam - Lagos Based Cleric

The Chief Imam of the DaaruNaim Central Mosque, Lagos, Sheikh Imran AbdulMajeed Eleha, speaks with ISMAEEL UTHMAN on insecurity in the north, misconceptions about Islam, and the motives driving violent groups

There are reports alleging that Islamist jihadists are attacking and killing Christians in the northern part of the country. From an Islamic perspective, what does the religion say about interfaith relationships?

It is not true that Muslims are killing Christians in the north. That said, no genuine Muslim, or any Muslim with proper understanding of the Qur’an and Sunnah, will wage war against or hurt any person, animal, or living thing on earth.

In the Holy Qur’an, Allah says He does not forbid Muslims from doing good, being kind, supportive, and warm to people of other faiths who do not wage war against them or drive them from their homes. He says He loves those who are just (Qur’an 60:8). This implies that whoever does not fight you because of religion or force you out of your home must be treated with goodness, regardless of their religion, tribe, or race.

A Muslim governor in the north must not cheat a single Christian in his state. If he does, that means the governor is not just.

If you are living with a Christian, you must not hurt him or her. You must be just to everyone. Islam even teaches us how to live peacefully with our neighbours. The Holy Prophet (SAW) narrated that Angel Jibril (Gabriel) constantly enjoined him to do good and be just to his neighbours to the extent that the Prophet thought the angel would inherit his neighbours after his death. The angel did not tell the Prophet to be good and just only to Muslims; he did not ask who was Christian or Muslim. He told the Prophet to be just to his neighbours—Muslims, Christians, Jews, and others.

The Prophet lived with Jews and others during his lifetime, and he was good to them. That is why I said no Muslim with proper understanding of Islam will wage any kind of war against people of other faiths or tribes.

Some terrorists are often heard shouting “Allahu Akbar” while killing people. “Allahu Akbar” is associated with Muslims, how do you explain this?

From time immemorial, there have been people known as Khawarij, whom the Prophet talked about. There was a man who falsely accused the Holy Prophet of being unfair in distributing resources. The Prophet asked him: “If I cannot share things justly, who else can?” Umar, one of the Prophet’s disciples, wanted to attack the man, but the Prophet cautioned him.

The Prophet then said, “A time will come when the descendants of this man will pretend to be Muslims and will kill fellow Muslims and others.” He added that they are from Hellfire and are not Muslims.

So, those who shout ‘Allahu Akbar’ while committing crimes are not Muslims but criminals. Sharia does not empower anyone to kill; it does not give any individual the right to take a life. Even when a criminal is sentenced to death, only the government carries out the punishment—not private individuals.

Anyone killing in the name of Islam is part of the Khawarij (people who unjustly wage war against government and innocent people). The Prophet even recommended that they be eliminated if apprehended. Therefore, if the government arrests any of these terrorists, they should face the full weight of the law.

Boko Haram claims that Western education is forbidden, and they have been abducting schoolchildren in the North. What is Islam’s position on Western education?

Allah did not command the Prophet to ask for anything except knowledge (Quran 20:114). All the Messengers of Allah were sent to spread knowledge. Are we limited to Islamic knowledge alone? No.

After the Battle of Badr during the Prophet’s time, he gave captured slaves a condition for freedom: they had to learn how to read and write. The slaves were freed after they fulfilled this condition. The Prophet also sponsored some of his followers to learn the languages of other nations, and when they returned, they helped him read and interpret letters from those countries.

We are enjoined to acquire knowledge of the world and its systems, and Western education is part of that. Whoever says Islam forbids Western education is ignorant. The real meaning of “Boko Haram” is the belief that whoever acquires Western education becomes a disbeliever—this is false.

We also have ISIS, ISWAP, Boko Haram, and others claiming to represent Islam. How do you respond to that?

Don’t mix things up. ISIS has a different cause. They are fighting for territorial control over parts of Syria and Iraq, under the leadership of Abubakar Baghdadi. Their activities are limited to Iraq and Syria. They are fighting for land and governance—not Islam. They do not represent Islam, and people should stop judging Islam based on their actions.

People must stop using the activities of those fighting for or against government, resources, or territorial control to judge all Muslims or the religion of Islam.

Al-Qaeda was created to wage war against Russia in support of Afghanistan at that time. Some Arab countries contributed fighters, and America also supported Afghanistan then. That is why some people accuse America of sponsoring Al-Qaeda. Those who created Al-Qaeda are now the same people calling them terrorists. The late Bin Laden even worked with America before their relationship collapsed. Al-Qaeda does not fight for Islam and does not represent Islam.

What about Boko Haram?

The Boko Haram sect has a very hard ideology that contradicts what Islam represents and teaches. They have been in existence since the 1980s. Originally, they were farmers and fishermen living deep inside the bush, far away from towns. They chose to remain in the bush because they had been misled by some clerics. They believed that no genuine Muslim should live in the town because of their ideology.

The question is: Who brought them back to town? It is the politicians who used them for elections. The politicians should explain why they brought them out and why they failed to honour the agreement between them. The crisis between the politicians and Boko Haram started when there was a breach of agreement, and they began killing one another. How is that an Islamic or Muslim affair? There are many political matters that people are wrongly presenting as Islamic or Muslim issues. Let me say clearly that the insecurity ravaging the country is political, not religious.

That aside, we even have Christians among Boko Haram members who were later arrested by the government. That means different sets of people have hijacked Boko Haram. Is a pastor who buries people inside his church not a Christian? Is a pastor sleeping with church members not a Christian? But do they represent Christianity? No.

The issue of banditry is another thing entirely. For a long time, we have had the typical Fulani and Bororo herders. The Fulani have lived peacefully with us for many years; they don’t graze on people’s farms, and they have settlements. But the Bororo are not like that. Now we have herders being identified as bandits. Banditry is not an Islamic issue. In fact, the majority of those killed by bandits are Muslims. It is wrong to claim the killings are targeted at Christians.

Just a few days ago, the bandits killed a leader of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria. Those who were killed in five villages in Kwara are mostly Muslims. The people killed by herdsmen in Oke-Ogun, Oyo State, are also Muslims. It has nothing to do with Islam.

What could be the motive of the bandits?

Only those committing the crimes can clearly state their aims and objectives. They are being sponsored by some godfathers. Is it possible for them to spend the money they raised from kidnapping inside the bush? No. They are working for people who are living large in the towns. What will a bandit in the bush do with N50m? They are obviously collecting the money for their sponsors.

If you examine the areas being terrorised by bandits and terrorists, you will notice that these places have mineral resources. Why are they stationed in locations with resources? Why are they not in riverine areas? That is another angle to it.

How can the situation be brought under control?

The government should get to the root of the matter. The government should go after the sponsors of banditry and terrorism. Only then will peace return to the country.

It has the capacity to end this crisis. The government should also allow both Muslim and Christian clerics to deliver sermons to the people. Sermons soften the heart, and they can discourage people from joining bandits.

Culled from the Punch Newspapers 

 

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Pregnancy With Sickle Cell: What Couples Should Know - Prof Bosede Afolabi

In this interview with Sade Oguntola, Professor Bosede Afolabi, the Director of the Centre for Clinical Trials, Research, and Implementation Science at the University of Lagos, College of Medicine, and Head of the Experimental and Maternal Medicine Unit at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), discusses the information that women with sickle cell disease and their partners should be aware of in order to have safe pregnancies.

CAN women with sickle cell get pregnant? Does it carry any risk?

 Women with sickle cell disease, preferably referred to as sickle cell warriors, can get pregnant. In the few available studies, they do appear to have a higher risk of miscarriage. Also, from the studies that my team and I did, it appears that their ovarian reserve is lower, age for age, than their haemoglobin AA counterparts. However, they can and do get pregnant. And we look after a lot of pregnant women with sickle cell disease in the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), where I work.

Can they have healthy pregnancies, therefore?

They can have healthy pregnancies. However, at least two-thirds of them have complicated pregnancies. Pregnancy, unfortunately, is a situation where they have more frequent crises and more frequent complications, including acute chest syndrome. In pregnancy, they are more likely to have hypertensive diseases of pregnancy like preeclampsia, low birth weight babies and many other issues. They also have a higher likelihood of dying from childbirth, unfortunately. So yes, some pregnancies can be healthy; at least a third of sickle cell warriors in our environment tend to go through pregnancy easily or fairly easily. But a majority of them do have complications during pregnancy.

What are the challenges their babies are likely to face?

Their babies are more likely to be small in weight for their age at birth. They’re more likely to have growth restriction during pregnancy, which means their growth is not as optimal as babies of women who don’t have sickle cell disease. And also, they’re more likely to be born preterm. And finally, because of all these things, their babies do have a higher incidence of stillbirth and death, either during pregnancy or immediately after birth.

 How does sickle cell affect pregnancy and childbirth generally?

  Generally, it affects their pregnancy by causing them to have more frequent crises and more infections, including malaria. They stand a higher risk of having preterm delivery, ending up in a caesarean section, even though they can have normal vaginal deliveries, and a host of other complications. We prefer them, if possible, to have normal deliveries because it is less stressful on their bodies in total.

 However, sometimes, because some of them have had what we call avascular necrosis of the hip, they sometimes have difficulty with their gait and managing the position for a vaginal birth. Some of them have some other reasons, like preeclampsia or severe crises earlier than the ideal time for childbirth, in which case they may not be able to dilate quickly enough to have a normal delivery, and we may need to deliver them quickly. So, for some of these reasons, whether obstetric (i.e., pregnancy-related) or due to the sickle cell itself, we sometimes have to deliver them by caesarean section. But the ideal, if everything goes well, is to deliver them vaginally, and yes, they can push.

 What we try to do is to reduce the pain that they have during labour so that they are more comfortable. And when it comes to the second stage, that is, the time when they’re supposed to push, we also try to reduce their pain as much as possible and sometimes even assist them with the pushing by using instrumental delivery, i.e., forceps or vacuum, to help pull the baby out. Sickle cell definitely affects their pregnancy quite significantly.

They talk about painless childbirth; can they have pain-free labour?

  An epidural is preferable if it’s available in a centre. In my centre – the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), for example – we try to ensure that women going for vaginal delivery who have sickle cell disease have an epidural in labour so that they can deliver as pain-free as possible and smoothly. So yes, that’s the best for them if they are going for vaginal delivery so that the stress of the pain and duration of the labour will not trigger them into having more crises and more problems.

How will their sickle cell treatment plan change during pregnancy to ensure they have healthy babies, free of congenital malformations?

We do want to ensure that they are on the right medication, especially in the first three months of pregnancy. Some pregnant women with sickle cell disease have been on hydroxyurea, which is a drug that helps reduce crises. And when they get pregnant, we say that they should stop. However, it is a good thing to check if hydroxyurea affects babies in that way.

 Animal studies have been done that show that hydroxyurea can cause problems in the unborn foetus. However, these animal studies used doses of hydroxyurea that are 10 to 100 times higher than what human beings use. We know that hydroxyurea really helps these women. So, in the guideline that WHO just released, which I was privileged to be the chair of, we decided that we should consider recommencing hydroxyurea after the first trimester (first three months of pregnancy) in somebody who has been using it before, while making sure to balance the benefits versus the risks. This relates especially to women that the drug has helped in the past by helping to reduce their frequency of crises.

 The reason for this consideration is also because there was no increase in abnormalities with the offspring of women who were taking it during their pregnancies in other observational studies that examined this. Even though we are not 100% sure about it, as proper trials have not been carried out, it’s also important that the mother herself is well enough to be able to carry a pregnancy safely. So, sometimes, when you balance the benefits of avoiding severe crises, which can occasionally lead to the death of the mother from crisis-related complications, it may sometimes be advisable to prescribe hydroxyurea after laying all the cards on the table for the woman and her partner.

 Apart from that, all the other drugs that they may have been on before getting pregnant, like antibiotics that are not safe in pregnancy, may also need to be stopped or changed to other ones that are compatible with early pregnancy. Generally, in all pregnancies, we’re always very mindful of the foetus, but we must remember that the mother is also very important, and for the foetus to be well, the mother also has to be well. So it’s important not to say, Let’s cancel a particular drug. Instead, let’s find an alternative to it. If you don’t find an alternative, then you need to treat the mother. It’s very important. She can have other children. She has to be alive to be able to look after children and to bear children.

What are the signs of sickle cell crisis in pregnancy?

 It is like a sickle cell crisis even when you’re not pregnant. It is that you have the very painful bone pains, pains that are difficult to describe till you experience them. You’re suddenly feeling severe pain in different places. You find it difficult to breathe; you’re feeling uncomfortable, and you are feeling very unwell. It’s important, and that’s why, my warriors, I always say to them, You must drink water. You must have water with you everywhere so that you are not dehydrated. You must make sure you are not too cold or too hot at any given time. Anytime you have any small ache, complaint, pain, or feeling of unwellness, don’t wait like you would when you’re not pregnant. Come straight to the hospital to complain because things can change for the worse very quickly. We want to treat any complications as soon as they arise instead of having to wait.

In the case of sickle cell patients or women with sickle cell, when are they supposed to start antenatal?

 They need to start early. I would say as early as two months.

We talk about preconception care; is it helpful for them to be “cleared” before getting pregnant?

 Pre-conception care is very important for them. There are certain things that one has to check for. Sickle cell warriors sometimes have something we call pulmonary hypertension, which is raised blood pressure in the lung area. It is important to check for it even before the pregnancy. Some of them have sickle cell nephropathy, so they need kidney checks. Also, it’s important to check the eyes and the haemoglobin level. It’s important to know how many transfusions they’ve had in the past and if they have crises frequently so that you know how to modify their treatment and how frequently you have to see them. All these things are important. Before pregnancy, they should also be on folic acid and malaria prevention medicine before they get pregnant.

Are they fit to seek care in a primary health care centre?

 You cannot afford to register at a primary health facility if you are a sickle cell warrior, as it is a high-risk pregnancy condition. A tertiary centre would be ideal. They can, however, register for prenatal treatment at a general hospital in the absence of an accessible tertiary centre, which can then refer them to one, if necessary.

 The need for blood transfusion is common. Intravenous fluids and oxygen therapy are frequently required. Multidisciplinary care is required, including treatment from pulmonologists (respiratory doctors), microbiologists, infectious disease specialists, haematologists, and others. You cannot find all these specialists in a PHC and not even in some general hospitals, which is why we advise them as much as possible that, at the very least, they should register for antenatal care in a general hospital and, preferably, a tertiary centre. The PHCs do not have the resources to look after sickle cell warriors in pregnancy.

What are your parting words for their partners?

 Their partners need to know that these women are very special, and they must help look after their health and care about them. Don’t try and get them to have too many children. I always advise at the very most two children. After two, have some permanent, irreversible contraception like tying your tubes or your husband having a vasectomy, or at least a long-acting contraception like the levonorgestrel intrauterine system implants or the progesterone-only pills. Those progesterone-only family planning methods are good for them, as it has been demonstrated that these can lessen the amount of blood lost during menstruation. In general, the most important thing is that their partners be there for them constantly, make sure they accompany them to the hospital, make sure they get prompt care when they feel unwell, take special care of them, and—most importantly—make sure they limit their family size.

Culled from the Tribune Newspaper 

 

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