Waje: my church barred me from choir after I got pregnant

Aituaje Iruobe, a Nigerian singer better known as Waje, has recounted how the pastor of her church had barred her from singing with the choir over premarital pregnancy.

The singer, 39, made this known as she spoke in a recent video chat with Bouqui, a Nigerian gospel singer, on her experience with relationships during the definitive moments of her journey through high school.

“I got into a relationship in SS3 and the relationship went from ‘puppy love’ to sexual. At that time, I felt I loved him and that (sex) was the only way I could express my love,” the singer said.

“At that time, I saw a fine boy who liked me, though we quarreled on several occasions. I didn’t understand the responsibility that came with making decisions like that.

“I got pregnant. One afternoon, someone came to my house and told me my pastor wanted to see me. I knew that day, there were two things that would happen ― either I died or I died.

“Everything in me drained. I went to see the pastor. He was in a conference room with others and he said to me, ‘If you lie, you will die because you are standing in front of God, Holy Spirit and me.’

“He asked me, ‘Are you pregnant?’ and I said, ‘Yes’. He was so disappointed. He told me he wanted to see me in church every Wednesday and Sunday but I would no longer sing in the choir.”

On how her parents had responded to the whole development, Waje said: “I wrote the WASSCE while pregnant and nobody knew; not even my mother. I told her after five months.

“After one of our morning devotions, I told her I had something to tell her. I told her I was pregnant and wasn’t planning on aborting it.

“At that point, she already knew who was responsible because he used to come to our house. After telling her, she told me to go to bed. I knew something in her broke. She didn’t go back to sleep.”