The Nigerian church in the industrial outskirts of Madrid
Madrid No Frills is one of the most popular blogs on culture and alternative tourism in Madrid. Doing this piece was quite an adventure. I loved interviewing people at the church and capturing the special warmth the place exuded.
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In one of Madrid’s many stark industrial zones, a Nigerian church provides an oasis of soul for its community. The landscape is typical: factories, warehouses, construction sites, vacant lots filled with weeds, and brothels. Red-brick buildings with large metal grilles for gates, painted in electric blue, line the streets.
Behind one of these gates lies a brightly lit space where a pastor leads the daily church services. On any given Sunday, the area is empty and silent, except for the rich gospel being preached and performed to a lively crowd of parishioners.
I got to know the Nigerian community in Madrid by playing Afrobeat music. I once rehearsed at one of the many Nigerian churches in the Spanish capital, and that’s where I first met Amos, the pastor. Our paths wouldn’t cross again till over a decade later, thanks to our mutual friend Erik, another Californian living in Spain. He and Amos have a band together called Soul Lift, and every Sunday at church, they play gospel in between sermons.
When I first walked through that bright blue gate, I distinctly remember feeling this special glow in that hidden inner space. It contrasted so sharply with the rough barren feel of the industrial landscape, the atmosphere in the church exuding a sense of community that would be hard to find anywhere nearby. The place was packed and very hot, as half a dozen heaters were evenly dispersed throughout the church, warming a crowd of people dressed in a mixture of styles. Some sported trendy urban clothes, others wore vibrantly colored traditional dress.
Today they’d improvised a marriage counseling session instead of the regular service. The church, as Amos, later on, explained to me in an interview, is not only a place of worship. It is a community center hosting celebrations, reunions, and talks about anything from love and sex, to business and finance. As Amos says, a Nigerian church is where both the wedding reception and ceremony take place. Festive gatherings of hundreds of people could easily sing and chant till well past midnight. It’s no wonder then, that the church is located in the outskirts of town—this way the noise won’t bother any neighbors.
There was a special reason for having a spontaneous counseling session on this particular Sunday, but I wouldn’t find that out until later. I did notice a certain urgency to it at the time. The assembly lasted for well over two hours, as everyone had a lot to say. I was initially surprised that they carried out the session in English because the Nigerians I knew in Madrid, like Amos, spoke in Yoruba amongst themselves. But Nigeria is home to over 250 ethnic groups, each with their own language. English is the country’s lingua franca, so it makes sense that this was the language used in the service.
The core of the discussion revolved around the types of problems Nigerian marriages in Spain face. A variety of opinions were expressed. Some were applauded, others booed, while others came off as so outlandish and sexist, that they were met with derisive laughter. It was generally agreed that a lack of respect for one’s spouse and family was a driving force in breaking up a marriage. But another important factor, it seemed to me, was the difficulty in reconciling certain gender norms from Nigeria with those of Spain.
Quite a few complained about having to work all day while their spouses did nothing. Some women were indignant not because of their partner’s trouble finding a job, but because of how they themselves were still expected to carry out the household chores after a long day at work—just for being women. Some men deemed helping out around the house to be beneath them.
During our interview, between chuckles, Amos mentioned that he’d dealt with cases in which a man’s family humiliated him for doing housework, and also criticized his wife for making him do it. It seems these patriarchal norms plague countries worldwide. What became clear, however, was that the women now feel empowered to express their discontent. The consensus was that both men and women could and should walk away from marriages that don’t work. By the end of the talk, I could feel the tension pervading the room, but it quickly smoothed over with some soothing gospel songs.
Amos told me that while the divorce rate is skyrocketing in Nigeria, it’s still easier to get divorced in Spain, partly due to social programs that provide financial aid to women with children. In Nigeria, he says, many people get married and have kids out of social pressure. If things don’t go well, they often find themselves trapped because they simply can’t afford to live separately and take care of the children.
It turned out there had been quite a few divorces within the church recently, leaving some members in fear of the tightly knit community breaking up. The option for an easier divorce was seen as both liberating and threatening. While Amos quietly embraces this new trend—“not everyone is wired for marriage,” he says—he doesn’t want people to give up so easily either. Some marriages can be salvaged if things are properly discussed, and certain expectations can be cast aside.
My impression, as an outsider, was that the church plays a crucial role in keeping its members united. I can’t begin to imagine the struggles of a people who, out of necessity, leave their country for one so vastly different from their own, and not always so welcoming. What better place for group therapy than the warmth of this community center, part of a much wider network in Madrid, the Nigerian community here is surprisingly large. Their sermons are passionate musical affairs overflowing with religious fervor and devotion. Sticking together is vital, and it’s people like Amos who work hard to maintain those strong bonds, allowing his community to not only survive here but thrive here.
Read the published version of the story here: https://madridnofrills.com/gospel-nigerian-church/