U.S. Army Veteran Prince Maduekwe, captures spiritual power, NSPPD global impact on canvas
By Ishaya Ibrahim
Prince Maduekwe, a Nigerian-born and ex-American army officer, has showcased the power of spirituality and the impact of Pastor Jerry Eze’s New Season Prophetic Prayers and Declarations (NSPPD) ministry on brushes and canvas at a recent exhibition at the National Museum in Lagos,
Prince Maduekwe’s artwork had in the past spanned various themes, culminating in a prestigious exhibition at the Pentagon. However, the Covid-19 pandemic’s devastating impact – marked by loss of lives, lockdowns, and widespread depression – profoundly shifted his artistic focus to those with spiritual themes.
One of his signature works is ‘Out of the eater came something to eat,’ which is a remarkable painting depicting the horrors of the COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of Pastor Jerry Eze’s NSPPD and how it brought spiritual succour to many who followed it.
Prince Maduekwe explains: “Why I did this work was when Pastor Jerry opened that prayer platform in NSPPD, which I never knew would get to this point. That time, in the United States, everyone was trapped at home. No one was going out. You people in Nigeria, you had it better. It was horrible in the States. We couldn’t go out. Couldn’t do anything. There was a complete shutdown.
“Not only the shutdown, it brought a lot of uncertainty. In the U.S., if you don’t go to work, you are not sure of the money to pay the next bill. In Nigeria, you have a lot of social support. It’s not like that over there. And you’re also lonely too. Most times when you go to work, that’s where you have the opportunity to meet people. But with the pandemic, people couldn’t go out.
“I was thinking of my children. They didn’t go to school again. They didn’t see their friends. They just talked at home with me. And they were like, Daddy, what’s going on? They were scared. And that got me scared, though I didn’t want to show it. We were fighting not to be depressed.
“So, when Pastor Jerry started NSPPD it was really God sent. So I remember that it was the time I did this work,” he said.
The painting depicted the horrors of the pandemic – the deaths, the depression, and the medical crisis that follows. It also shows the hand of the prophets God sent to provide succour.
Maduekwe added: “And when I did it, you can see, these were people that died. These were toe tags that they put on people that were taken to the mortuary. Because everyday on the news, what we were seeing, like Italy, the U.S., bodies being carried away in body bags. So, this illustrates that experience of the 2020 epidemic.
“And I saw the pandemic as something that was sent to finish mankind. But out of the eater came something to eat. It was like in Igbo, we say the Lord came to swallow what came to swallow us. And that was exactly the message then. It was a pandemic that actually came to cause this destruction. But out of it, something positive came out.”
At the exhibition, Maduekwe also showcased dozens of other paintings showing the interconnectivity of the divine in the affairs of humans.
How the artist became a committed Christian was a question posed to Maduekwe. He replied: “When growing up doing arts and when I started, even when I started my art course in college, honestly, I wasn’t that spiritual. In fact, when I went to college and when I was doing my art in secondary school, I wasn’t even going to church. My grandmother would call me and tell me, ‘it’s either God decides for you or the devil decides for you. So if you’re not going to church, I’m going to build a shrine for you.’
“That’s the first thing that made me start going to church. I was just going to church to please my grandmother.
“Later, If you are my friend and you invite me to church, I will follow you and go. And I want to dive in and know what’s happening there. I was searching for God. That’s how I went to Eckankar, Church of Latter-day Saints, read their Book of Mormon, read their Doctrine and Covenants. I was just reading. But then what kind of gave me a deep connection to God and in fact, took my art career to another direction was this praying platform and NSPPD. It was Pastor Jerry’s ministry that changed everything for me,” he said.
