Fred would sit over the toilet bowl in the tight space of the Engine Room, open his big notebook on his lap, and begin to scribble furiously, stopping from time to time to swab mosquitoes as they buzzed around his ears. He did that for the better part of four years of his stay at Okaka prison.
On the first night when he began, everyone thought something had gone wrong with good old Fred. But when his fellow inmates saw him do that repeatedly, night after night, they concluded that there was no need to pay the man any more attention.
Let him do what he will. Everyone was at Okaka to carry their own piece of the sacrificial cross to God’s lap of grace somewhere beyond our limited human ken. Fred was just one out of five hundred plus, and one of the happiest inmates inside Okaka prison. His best day of the week was Sunday. It was always a day to jump and dance and praise God. Fred’s shout of hallelujah was always the loudest.
Anyone looking at him would think that Fred was already in heaven. As far as he was concerned, God had given him a singular opportunity to come face to face with himself, correct his personal errors, and make a change in his disposition to life.
Fred carried a smile on his face every passing day, hopeful for that distant date when he would be released from detention, and have a fresh chance to gain the confidence of the world. Fred, by the way, was one of the tallest men in the yard, with wide shoulders that look like a hanger, strong arms, and a voice that carries far. Come to think of it, Fred looks forward to the next anniversary of his freedom.
He was locked up on Monday, 13 August 2012, and by the time the great hinges of the dungeon opened their maws and let him out on Saturday, 13 August 2016, four whole years of his life had passed by. But Fred did not count those years as wasted. On the contrary, he believed them to be the years when he got to know God in person.
‘I promised God that if he made me complete the jail term hale and hearty, I will work for him all the days of my life’. That’s Fred talking. When that far away freedom day came, Fred kept his promise. He desperately wanted to undergo a one-year course in Theology, and get to know God even better.
He had his eyes on the International Bible Training College, Rumuodara, Port Harcourt, virtually on the Deeper Life Camp Ground. Today, he is happy to brandish the identity card of the college before anyone who cares to see it.
‘God being on my side, I’m qualified already as a pastor, but let God train me some more before Deeper Life Ministry gives me a pulpit to stand upon’, he says. Fred confesses that he learnt a lot of lessons in prison. To start with, he has learnt to relate better with people. He has come to understand that the world is populated by all kinds of characters, and a fine selection could be found in prison.
He sees his stay as a period of great trial, and his release came as though he had passed an exam, and graduated into decent society. He has resolved to deal with mankind in all honesty. In short, Fred has resolved to serve God in truth and in spirit. He is committed to bringing in more people to advance the kingdom of God.
He says: ‘If you want to live a free life, you must be on the side of God. I have repented totally. I have repented fully. No more short cuts. And I have no reservations about what I need to do. If you are going to serve God, then do so absolutely’.
What’s more, Fred has learnt to be more frugal. He has learnt to use money judiciously. Send one thousand naira to Fred now, and he will tell you that God is faithful, before giving a break-down of how he will apply that precious one thousand naira. He speaks from experience. In prison, he learnt to cope with less.
Fred became an evangelist in the yard from day one till he left. He was a worker in the prison chapel until he was released. He was the Sunday School Superintendent. All the churches worshipped in one place, at the Chapel of Mercy, so he related well with all the visiting pastors.
He remains grateful to Reverend Samuel of Assemblies of God Church, Onopa, who first gave him counsel, and to Pastor Ayebatonye who is still following him up to ensure that he doesn’t derail after regaining freedom. He feels equally indebted to Pastor Tunde Olowo and Sister Sharon of Mountain of Fire Ministry, to say nothing of Pastor Ayo of Leadership Church, and Sister Ebiye Elijah of Living Faith Church. ‘They were always contributing money for my upkeep’, he recalls.
Fred Apoyibo’s problems began when he was involved on the wrong side of a deal to supply and install long-span roofing sheets. He had been tempted to take a short cut to wealth, and he fell to the temptation. He had defaulted in the transaction because he was looking for excess profit, and landed behind bars for that reason.
He turned out to be among the initial thirty inmates transferred from Ahoada prison to officially occupy Okaka prison in Yenagoa. Fred recalls how desolate the prison yard was when he first arrived with his fellow inmates.
‘The place was bushy when we first got there from Ahoada. DCP (Deputy Commissioner of Police) Godwin was in charge at the time. He mobilized all of us to clear the bush. We were given machetes and shovels, and we did our best to keep the place tidy every day’, he says.
Fred’s conscience told him from the beginning that what he did was wrong, and when the penalty was spelt out by the judge, he took it with appropriate equanimity. He took it with heartfelt resignation. He would go ahead and serve the term. He had fallen into ignominy, but he would rise again and make a success of his life.
Fred takes inspiration from the rugged story of Abraham Lincoln, the American president who persisted from one failure to another in his early life, until he rose above all his worries, and became helmsman in the affairs of his country.
By the same token, Fred made a conscious effort to ensure that the four years of confinement on Okaka Island would yield something miraculous in the days to come.
‘I found myself as an eagle among chickens’, says Fred. ‘I was not comfortable. I had to think anew and act anew. I was confined. I couldn’t go anywhere, or do anything of my own, and God said that’s the only way I can be sure you will act anew when you get out. So I had to humble myself, and learn the lessons God had to teach me’.
As things stand, Fred is proud that he came out of the experience with two fat manuscripts in his own handwriting. He looks forward to the formal presentation of his first two books in the near future. The first is entitled, Removing Your Mountain. The second book has a longer title. Jesus: Worthy to Sit on the Throne.
Both books mean the world to Fred because they were written under truly harrowing circumstances, right in the prison cell, through the sleepless stress and noise from fellow inmates.
Fred says: ‘I had to do it. There was nothing else to do. I worked with zeal, with all the passion I could summon. Sometimes, while writing, I had to tie a wrapper around my head to keep out the noise, and wear stockings to keep out the sting of mosquitoes. I wrote in the toilet, using an upturned bucket as table.
‘Or else, I wrote inside my tent, especially when the queue to the toilet lengthens. Later, I appealed to one Dr Miller who was in charge of the infirmary to give me space to write during open hours, and he did. During lock-up time, the yard police gave me excuse to go ahead and write in quiet’.
Fred was also active in the course of building the infirmary, the only medical facility in the yard. In times past, he used to specialise in roofing hotels, and he brought all his experience to bear on the project. He practically became a consultant on the job, and he did it for free.
‘I discussed with the authorities to let me work with the engineer on site. I worked with the carpenters from excavation to roofing level. I took the measurement, quoted for the job, and directed the engineer where to get the roofing sheets, and I joined to install the roof’, he says.
Today, Fred Apoyibo is out in the free world. Laughter is upon his face, and gratitude overflows his utterances. He has turned his life over to God, and studied hard to graduate from Bible School in September of the year after his release.
He qualified to stand behind a pulpit, and the elders of the church posted him to far-flung parishes, there to talk about Jesus. In one parish, Fred met a sister who shared the same fervour for prayers. Fred found himself praying for a wife, and the sister prayed for God to confirm if she had finally met her husband. God answered their prayers and the twain were duly bound as man and wife.
There was great jumping on the day Fred got married, and he jumped the highest. There was great dancing on the day Fred found his wife, and every dancer stopped to watch only Fred dance his heart out
Fred has a brighter look on his face now. There is a new glow to his personality. His confidence in what God can do is still intact. He simply believes that, one day, he would have cause to smile even wider, knowing that God would take care of all his problems, and he would have nothing to worry about anymore.
