Lagos — Everyone has a soft spot for something. Hers was for parties. She didn't just love to attend and have a good time; she sought every opportunity to play the hostess. Any reason was good enough. It didn't have to be something spectacular. UduakAbasi Umondak, former actress in one of Nigeria's most popular soaps, Mirror in the Sun, former fashion designer whose outfit, Colours was the talk of the town, former First Lady of Akwa Ibom State used to be an unapologetic party animal.

Until life dealt her a cruel blow, she had only seen the good side. Every day was Christmas and every night was New year's eve, until she walked down a street called Depression where loneliness was her neighbour and hunger was her bedmate. But how did she get to the point where she wanted to end it all? She told Nseobong Okon-Ekong about her journey to the precipice. Moments before she fell into the bottomless pit, help came from above. This Divine Moderator changed the rules of her game. She made a few futile attempts to continue in her former ways. The results were very unpalatable. Then she decided to keep a straight course with her Master who demands total devotion to His dictates...

True. The lines have fallen in pleasant places for UduakAbasi Umondak; and the story of her life has changed course from a swift nose-dive to an upward progression on the chart. The notable points spelling the graphic details have recorded hilarious moments filled with so much high-spirited activities that looked as if the hearts of the participants were going to burst with excitement. It posted many days ticking with elaborate designs; days that were filled with feasting, never with famine. There was joy always, never sadness. If she heard of anyone who suffered a spell of misfortune, she thought it couldn't happen to her. She thought she was well protected. Never did she think she could come crashing down, having lost everything and every one dear to her.

"I was such a person that if you called me that your dog had a puppy, I would invite you over with some friends and we would have a party in my house. I saw nothing wrong with a life of unserious chatter and revelry. I thought I was enjoying myself and indeed, I was. I mean if you don't know anything better, it was what you knew that is top on your mind until you find superior information".

May be it will help us to understand better if we properly situate UduakAbasi as a former First Lady of Akwa Ibom State. At that time, her estranged husband, Idongesit Nkanga, a top officer in the Nigeria Air Force was at the zenith of power as Military Administrator of Akwa Ibom state.

But it wasn't just with her stint in the corridors of power that she enjoyed a life of affluence. Her late father was a former legislator in the First Republic and a Commissioner in the then South-Eastern State. He gave his children the very best of education and exposed them to a cultured lifestyle. In her teens, UduakAbasi was already taking frequent holidays in Europe.

Nkanga was among the sixth set of military governors appointed by former military President, Ibrahim Babangida on August 30, 1990. He, it was who handed over to Obong Akpan Isemin, the elected civilian governor on the platform of the National Republican Convention (NRC). Uduak had the privilege of a lifetime to live in a state house at a time when Maryam Babangida as the Commander-in-chief's wife set a standard with the Better Life for Rural-Women programme which was replicated in every state. UduakAbasi was Her Excellency in Akwa Ibom state, which was just three years old at the time she and her former husband held sway.

Even if you don't like her, it is difficult to ignore that she is an unapologetic sharp dresser; who goes to great pains to be sure that what she wears is not only eye-catching but matching; combining the right colours. This trait for the good life was something that she had become identified with right from childhood. Her parents always had a hard time choosing her clothes, because UduakAbasi was hard to please when it came to clothing. Whatever anybody got for her, it always fell short of her expectations. And so, at a very early age, she was conceded the privilege to choose her clothes; a privilege that nobody else in the house was given.

All of these traits would later manifest in two vocations that she threw herself into. She was one of the prominent characters in one of Nigeria's most successful soaps ever, Mirror in the Sun. Much later, she would establish a fashion house called, 'Colours'. Naturally, fashion and acting come with all the allure of a fast-paced life. UduakAbasi lived life to the hilt. Those were the days that her skirts were always skimpy, hugging, made from half-a-yard of material; and the heel of her shoes-six inches high.

While she did everything she could to fashion out ways and means of always reaching the next level of her life of grandiose frolicking, God had other plans for her. With the benefit of hindsight now, she readily recalls many incidents that she could not recognize then as warnings to change the course of her life. She also had a gift that she took for granted; the same one that Joseph and Daniel were blessed with; the gift of seeing in a dream things to come, and usually they turned out exactly the way they saw them in the dream.

Like Joseph and Daniel, UduakAbasi was vilified and suffered many wrong accusations. The day of her suffering arrived when she least expected. Now she can say those miserable days were God's way of taking her through the fire; so that like pure fine gold, every impurity could be removed and she would come out sparkling bright, well prized and much sought after. It is only now that she can look at the sunny side of life again that she is able to fathom God's uncanny methods of training. Back in those days, she felt like a fish out of water. She was always wondering what the matter is.

One evening, as she made her way out of Colours which occupied a good section in the Waterparks premises at Toyin Street in Ikeja-Lagos, she saw a dark covering at the door. Struck by this apparition, she stood still for a while and called the attention of her staff, but no one else saw it. It was a Friday. On her way home, she phoned the office and asked her staff to shut down and go home because it was threatening to rain. The next morning, she was woken up by her security guard. The message? There was fire at her shop. She got there to find that the flame raged through her shop. No other shop was affected.

"I lost over N30 million to that inferno. Still I did not get the message. I tried very much to get back on my feet. I tried the banks. No luck. Friends disappointed me. I couldn't understand what was happening. I mean these were people who I could not imagine would turn down any of my request. They owed me a lot. I contributed to their stability. Not that I expected them to give me their savings. All I wanted was a helping hand. Their refusal to help baffled me. It is now that I understand that God was shutting every door of opportunity in my face".

The worst was yet to come. At this time, it was not that UduakAbasi was not a Christian. "I was regular in church. But I was still doing all those other things. I still had my boyfriend that I was seeing regularly at Victoria Island. I didn't know that the fire that gutted Colours was the beginning of my travails and the beginning of a prophecy in which God told me that He was going to separate me from everything that I was familiar with. My fashion house was gone. Every attempt to bring it back failed. My friends were beginning to go, but the worst thing I faced was the spate of wicked rumours that dealt death blows on my reputation".

It was not easy to adjust. From a people's person, she became a recluse. Tucked away in her own world, she found her Bible again and began to read with a conscious effort to get hold of a word that would change her situation. Then she found that she enjoyed her own company and could stay indoors for days without missing anyone. "God allowed my friends to go because He wanted me to depend on Him alone. God doesn't like to share His Glory with any man. He always does things in such a way that it is clear to everyone - your friends and neighbors who knew that you were down and out-that only God could have done this. It was difficult for me to eat. I experienced hunger. You can only imagine what I am talking about. When you remember that I was former First Lady of a state, former glamour lady in fashion and acting, you cannot imagine that there were days that I didn't know where my next meal was coming from, but that was nothing compared to what was coming next. When my reputation was taken to the cleaners, that pushed me to the wall. Things were being said about me that were completely untrue. I had not experienced that kind of thing before; to have somebody come right before you and tell a lie to your face. As if this was not enough, the person so involved makes it all the more believable because he is known to be your friend".

That was when she decided to end it all. She did not mind if every material possession of hers were taken away. The one thing she treasured most was her name and people had already positioned chisels and hammers and were knocking off huge chunks of it. Now, that was all she lived for; or so she thought. She came to the point where she asked herself why she should continue to live. One day, she decided to commit suicide. It was those days of the forerunner of today's GSM; those days of the 090 Mobile telephone. Her farewell was written to whoever would discover it first, she shut the door of her house, took the land phone off the hook and pronounced a death sentence on herself. She decided the best way to go was to take 30 tablets of Valium along with a good dose of alcohol.

To her, life was not worth living anymore. But God had need of her on earth and was willing to protect and guide her on to more rewarding years. God had opened a safety valve: While she had removed her land phone off its hook, God made her to forget to switch off her mobile phone. With her legs straddling the world of the living and the world of the dead, she was jolted back firmly to this side of reality with an insistent ring on her mobile phone.

The person at the other end was calling from the US. I told him I wanted to die; that there was no point in continuing to live with my reputation in tatters. For over two hours, he sat with me on the phone and counseled me. In the end, he succeeded in convincing me to abandon my plans to kill myself".

When I look back now, I say to myself that if I knew then what I know now, I would gladly go through everything that He took me through in order to arrive at this point that He has brought me to. When God told me to build Him a studio, I had no idea at all where the money was coming from. But God told me that He was going to bless the work of my hand. Then I remembered that I had plots of land in Uyo and along with a machine that I had bought for the production of plastics. I decided to sell them. From these sales, I raised close to N20 million, but every kobo has been sunk into the work that He has given to me. I have no doubt that He will satisfy and more than meet my needs every day; as long as I do what He has called me to do".

You may think that selling property of that magnitude is as easy as taking a walk down the street. Again, there were all kinds of hurdles to cross; daunting hurdles that threatened to make the deals impossible. Only three months ago, the last payment of N4 million was made to her. The entire deal has dragged on for over two years. For so long has it taken to live in obedience of the command that God issued in 2004. He said, "Build me a studio; I heard it clearly in my heart. I greed but I did not set about it immediately. I was thinking I could do it my way. When I settled down to depend on Him solely, things started to happen. Even monies that I got from the bank and some of my friends who contributed about N4 million have all come without a struggle. God has proved Himself over and over again. I delayed because I was thinking what people will say. I was not new to television, but to be seen as an anchor on a Christian talk show, I was not prepared for that. 'His Word Made Flesh' is not the kind of one or two word title you give to a television programme to captivate all who hear for the first time. Indeed, a few marketers and producers that she mentioned the name of the programme to thought it was too long and unattractive, but UduakAbasi is now familiar with the ways of her Master. All the time, He displays an uncommon wisdom that often looks stupid before human intellect. She has also learnt to follow her Master without question. From experience, her Master has a 100% success rate, while she often stumbled through or failed outright with her proposal. She was not willing to risk another period of trial and error; so the name of the programme remains as she heard in her spirit, "His Word Made Flesh".

For those familiar with Christian literature and the Bible, it is all too clear that the cliche that constitutes the title of the programme can be pronounced in one word: Jesus. The Bible describes Jesus as the Word of God who was made flesh and dwelt among us. With the name of a programme that can otherwise be called Jesus, UduakAbasi has unwittingly made Jesus the Chairman of her company; for every time the name of the company 'His Word Made Flesh' is mentioned, it is a celebration of the personality of Jesus and UduakAbasi can't find a better sacrifice to bring unto Him.

Till today, the making of the programme is a mystery. While much of the money has gone into building a studio and an editing suite, UduakAbasi has never used a script. She just finds herself talking. Word by word; one sentence after the other, she surprises herself and friends who know that on her own there is no way she could have exhibited such eloquence. Call her a poet, an orator, a motivational speaker, her speech connects to the human spirit in an unobtrusive manner that completely fills and retains a presence where ever her voice is heard. It stops you and commends the speaker; and then you find that you can't seem to pull your self away.

On her set, every prop you find represents something that adds value to the human spirit in his quest to be one with His Maker. The harp reminds one of the Biblical injunctions to rejoice and be glad always; to make a joyful noise and praise God with instruments. When one of the harps is lit, it gives an effect of fresh oil issuing from a vial. There is a burning candle which represents the unflagging spirit of God. There is a chalice which symbolizes the activity of the Holy Communion, a very important rite in Christendom. Out of the chalice are flowing ribbons of various colours including purple which stands for the royalty of everyone who is a joint heir with Jesus to the riches of God, the Father. The red ribbon stands for the Blood of Jesus, the highest currency in the world with which Jesus paid the price for all who are called by His name. There is blue for the universal love and brotherhood of man. There is yellow which represents everything that is lively and vibrant in creation.

Of course, there is an impression of an open book-The Bible-on which the title of the programme is written. The theme song was written by UduakAbasi and produced by one of the most notable producers of music to come out of Nigeria, Lemmy Otu Jackson. It is to Lemmy's credit that vocalists who worked on the album were procured. Apart from this theme song, she has written five other songs and all of these have been put together in an album to which Lemmy has contributed one song as the producer. The album is due for release before the year ends.

UduakAbasi describes herself, in view of what she has been through, as a living testimony of 'His Word Made Flesh'. She knows that working with the Master usually makes one a Jack of all trade and a master of all. With God, there is no impossibility and the Word of God clearly presents you with a "can-do" kit, which encourages you to think that 'You can do all things through Christ'. So early in the day, she has moved from a TV programme anchor to a songwriter. Of course, she has a background in entertainment which may be employed in the future (if the Master points in that direction).

For UduakAbasi, the initial platform is the talk show which airs on NTA 2 Channel 5. It started with a broadcast time of 4:30pm, but because of the current English Premiership, it now shows 2:30pm Sundays. The programme is split into three segments, the intro, the body and a valedictory segment called 'Dwell On It'. Here Uduak picks a book from her library and reads a portion that the audience is supposed to dwell on for the true, expressive or hidden meaning of the particular passage.

The major segment of the programme features a guest each week. Thirteen episodes of the programme have been recorded already for one quarter. The very first episode was devoted to an introduction that at once familiarized the audience with the content and the profile of its anchor person. This is where Uduak tells the story of her life in a racy, matter-of-fact manner. She took the initiative to bare it all before it becomes a subject of controversy bandied about by rumour mongers.

The very first edition of the programme with a guest gives a correct picture of what to expect every week. It features Segun Lawal, founder of the dance troupe called, Spirit of David. Listening to him tell the story of his walk with God, it sounds like something you have heard before, but where? Then it dawns on you how strikingly similar this programme is to Victor Oladokun's 'Turning Point'; well not exactly. In 'His Word Made Flesh', guests are requested to say what word they heard from God and where exactly they heard the word.

In Segun Lawal's case, he heard the word in the bathroom. That is where God gave him an instruction to go form a dance company. "I had to ask Him again to be sure I heard right. He asked me to get 10 sheets of paper as I was about to go to fellowship that evening. I was to request that an announcement be made for those who wanted to join a dance a company. I said Lord if I can get up 30 persons, I will be willing to start. My move to have the announcement made was turned down. What happened next was a surprise to me. The Pastor (and he is not one of those given to frivolity) said to me, 'Segun God just slapped me for refusing to allow you make that announcement'. The paper was passed around and I was shocked to get 210 names, when the sheets of paper were returned to me".

As with Segun, you will be enthralled to hear how God told each of Uduak's guests, "It is I, I have work for you to do". What usually follows is a whole season of tests, trials and temptations; and in due season the God-given task finds a place to take root and grow. In between time, there is a place called God's 'Waiting Room'. This is the place that many impatient folks, who cannot see, where God in His infinite wisdom is taking them to, fall by the way side. Overcome by the lust to be their own person, they forget the promises of God and follow the dictates of their heart to their own peril.

Born 50 years ago on December 23, 1957, UduakAbasi has nothing to hide about her sex life. Times were when she had a boyfriend even while wearing her Christianity like a cloak. Today, she reveals, "I have stood naked before God to enter a covenant with Him that no man will see me in the nude until the day I get married. I am keeping my body for God. My body is the temple of the Lord and I take that very seriously. It is close to four years now since I made love. I have forgotten what it feels like. I am not struggling with any feeling because I have the grace of God to carry on. Sex is good, but I cannot compromise anymore. God's design is to enjoy sex within the confines of marriage. Nowadays I hardly allow men an opportunity to say those sweet nothings in my ears. I know I will get married, for now I am busy with my Master's work and I cannot be distracted".

The personalized number plate on her red Mercedes Benz coupe reads, 'UDY', a corruption of her name, UduakAbasi (Ibibio for God's will). Having tried many times to chart her own course and ended in disaster, she has come to this one conclusion: Everything concerning her life must follow His perfect will.