CHRISTIANITY IN NORTHERN NIGERIA, 1975-2000

Musa A.B. Gaiya

Abstract: This paper discusses growth of Christianity in northern Nigeria

since 1975. It shows Christianity has grown in northern Nigeria making it
more pluralistic than it was at independence in 1960. The paper argues
that Christianity has not only solidified its base in what is now called the
Middle Belt but it has made inroads into core Muslims states. This is why
the maintenance of the plurality of the twelve states that implemented the
Shari"ah law in northern Nigeria from 1999 has become a major issue of
contention in the Shari"ah debates.

Introduction
John N. Paden gives the earliest population figures for Muslims,
Christians and Animists in northern Nigeria (what used to be called
northern region before 1967). In 1952, Muslims constituted 73% of
the population of the region, as against 2.7% Christians and 24.3%
Animists. In 1963, the population of Christians seemed to have increased
remarkably; the figures were 71.7% for Muslims, 9.7% Christians and
18.6% Animists.1 The last census done in 1991, which disregarded the
religious factor, gave a conservative population figure of 88,514,5012
out of which 41,324,869 (or 53%) was the total population of north-
ern states including Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. If we go by
the growth of the Christian population in northern Nigeria between
1952 and 1963, the population of Christians in 1991 would have at
least tripled through migration of Christians from south to the north,
through conversion and through births. Due to lack of any other reli-
able data, we would use Patrick Johnstone’s Operation world figures.
He has the following religious statistics for northern Nigeria in the
2001 edition: out of the total population of 58,800,000, Muslim
29,446,000 (50%); Christian 17,094,000 (29%) and Traditional 12,260,000

1
Paden, John N., Ahmadu Bello Sardauna of Sokoto: Values and Leadership in Nigeria, Zaria:
Hudahuda Publishing Company 1986, 743, 744.
2
Ihemebgulem, V.C., and M.O. Osabgemi, ‘Resources, Environmental and Population
Issues in Nigerian Development’, in E.E. Ike and F.X.O. Ugodulunwa, History and
Philosophy of Science, Jos: Unijos Consultancy Limited 1999, 205, 206.

© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2004 Exchange 33,4

Also available online – www.brill.nl
    , - 355

(21%).3 These figures make northern Nigeria the most ethnically and
religiously pluralistic part of Nigeria. Today, it is untenable to speak
of a monolithic north.
In this paper an attempt is made to document the growth of the
Church in northern Nigeria and show how this has created ethnic and
religious pluralism. This pluralism, created essentially by the growth
of Christianity in northern Nigeria, is one of most important tasks the
twelve states in northern Nigeria that re-introduced Shari"ah law in
1999 would have to deal with.

The Story Reviewed

Christianity in northern Nigeria is about a century and a half old.
This means Christianity is old enough in this part of the country to
be regarded as a traditional religion of the peoples of northern Nigeria.
In spite of the period Christianity has been in this area (which is a
third of the size of India), the only book length account of the his-
tory of its presence is E.P.T. Crampton’s Christianity in Northern Nigeria
published in 1975.4 An account of further developments in the church
in northern Nigeria is highly needed, particularly since the handing
over the mission churches to nationals in the 1970s. Crampton has
shown how Christianity began in northern Nigeria and how it grew
particularly among the non-Muslim groups in the central belt. He rea-
soned that Christianity could have made inroads into the Muslim
enclaves of northern Nigeria, were it not for the colonial government
policy of excluding missionary activities. When missionaries were finally
allowed into those areas they were to provide social services without
‘proselytizing’. Missionaries did not obey this; they could not provide
social services without preaching Christianity. When they were allowed,
they did both. Hence the large number of converts among Hausa and
Fulani in cities like Zaria, Funtua, Kano, and Gusau. In 1975, the
year Crampton wrote his Christianity in Northern Nigeria, Muslims and
Christians were living ‘together on amiable terms’. Now things have
changed.
Christianity had entered northern Nigeria in two phases: beginning
with the activities of the Niger Mission headed by Bishop Ajayi Crowther

3
Johnstone, Patrick, Jason Mandryk, Operation World: Handbook 21st Century (In CD),
Paternoster Publishing 2001.
4
Crampton, E.P.T., Christianity in Northern Nigeria, London: Geoffrey Chapman 1975.
356  .. 

around the confluence of the river Benue and Niger and culminating
with the coming of the Faith Missions who occupied the central region
of Nigeria by the turn of the twentieth century.

Phase One: 1857-1894

The first phase, which stretched from 1857 to 1894, was mainly through
the Anglican Niger Mission of the Church Missionary Society (CMS).
This period begins with the establishment of the first Niger Mission
station in northern Nigeria and ends with the beginning of ‘Sudan’
missions. The leader of the Niger Mission was the Rev. (later Bishop)
Samuel Ajayi Crowther. Christianity entered this area with the estab-
lishment of the first Christian mission station in 1857 at the confluence
of the Niger and Benue Rivers at Igbebe (renamed Lairdstown),5 and
later moved to Lokoja in 1866 when the former was destroyed by
internecine strife.6
This era concluded with the arrival in the 1880s of a group of mis-
sionaries from Britain who were described by J.F.A. Ajayi as ‘able,
young, zealous, impetuous, uncharitable and opinionated’.7 Ajayi believed
that these European missionaries, who called themselves the Sudan
Party, had ‘darkened the last years of Crowther’ basically because they
were white and he was black.8 However, Ajayi’s assessment may not
be conclusive. G.O.M. Tasie has pointed out that the Sudan Party
had a different emphasis from Crowther’s Niger Mission and should
therefore be judged in that context rather than just on a racial basis.9
There is evidence the Sudan Party made positive contributions to the
evangelization of northern Nigeria. Early Christianity among the Nupe,
Bassa-nge, Kabba, Igala and Igbira dates back to this period. J.A.
Robinson and his brother H.C. Robinson did a substantial work among
the Hausa people and on the Hausa language, a project begun by Dr.
Schon in 1841. Robinson’s works were a basis for later studies in the
Hausa language by such scholars such as the Rev. J.P. Bargery, R.C.

5
We are not unaware of the weak attempts to introduce Christianity into northern
Nigeria through the Sahara Desert in the eighteenth century.
6
Mckenzie, P.R., Inter-Religious Encounter in West Africa, Leicester: Studies in Religion
1976, 50.
7
Ajayi, J.F.A., Christian Missions in Nigeria 1841-1891: the making of new elite, London:
Longman 1965, 250.
8
Ajayi, 253.
9
Tasie, G.O.M., Christian Missionary Enterprise in the Niger Delta 1964-1918, Leiden:
E.J. Brill 1978, 83-135.
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Abraham and Dr. W.R.S. Miller. Furthermore, later Evangelical mis-

sions whose main ambition was to reach the Sudan10 were greatly
influenced by what they regarded as the heroic act of the Sudan Party.
Furthermore, the Sudan Party tried to detach Christianization from
the Buxtonian idea of ‘civilization’ mission.11 To practically demon-
strate this, the Sudan Party elected to live with ordinary ‘natives’ in
an attempt to plant ‘primitive Christianity’. Equally important for the
development of Christianity within the period under review was the es-
tablishment of the Watney Training Institution at Kpata among the
Bassa-nge. This institution trained, using the Hausa language, many
of the early native missionaries and evangelists who worked in north-
ern Nigeria particularly on the Jos Plateau and Wusasa (Zaria).12 A
few of these evangelists are Henry Miller (who laboured in CMS sta-
tion in Zaria), Jacob Akintola, Jacob Ogudu, Dauda Ogunjemi, Daniel
Arbido, Ali A. Bonli (these worked in Panyam), Moses Olubi (worked
in Kabwir among the Ngas and was popularly known as Musa).

Phase Two: 1894-1954

The second phase covers the period from 1894 to 1954; a period that
began with the coming of Faith Missions in northern Nigeria and
ended with the evolution of indigenous churches. The first indigenous
church to evolve was the Association of Evangelical Churches of West
Africa (today it is Evangelical Church of West Africa, ECWA for short).
The first Faith Mission to reach northern Nigeria was the Sudan
Interior Mission (SIM) with the arrival of Messrs Gowans and Kent
in Bidda in 1894.13 The Sudan United Mission (SUM) arrived in 1904.
Like the erstwhile Sudan Party their attraction was the Sudan, as they
were constrained by the ‘burden of the Soudan’.14 Another was the
United Missionary Society (UMS) under the leadership of Alexander

10
Sudan was at that time the name of a belt extending across the entire breadth
of Africa beneath the Sahara including Northern Nigeria. These missions included the
Sudan Interior Mission, the Sudan United Mission and the Cambridge University
Missionary Party.
11
See Ifemesia, C.C., ‘The “civilising” mission of 1841: aspects of an episode in
Anglo-Nigerian relations’, Journal of Historical Society of Nigeria, ii (1962) no. 3, 291-310.
12
Readily available names were Moses Olubi and one Abraham who were in both
Panyam and Kabwir among Mwaghavul and Ngas. Barnabas Ngwa Gompwell, an
Ngas evangelist, worked in Kabwir and Wusasa until his death in 1973.
13
It was in the same year Canon Robinson of the Hausa Association visited Kano.
14
Fuller, Clare, Banfield, Nupe and the UMCA, Ilorin: World Partners Publication
2001, 18.
358  .. 

Woods Banfield which began to work among the Nupe in Tsonga in

1905.
A neglected aspect in the history of Christianity in Northern Nigeria,
within this period, is the role of freed slaves. The colonial adminis-
tration under Sir Frederick Lugard, later Lord Lugard (1900-1906,
1912-1914), had built homes for freed slaves at Zungeru and Maitonni
(Borno). The inmates were mainly children of both sexes. Due to the
increasing cost of raising the freed slaves, some of them were distrib-
uted amongst missions that needed them, and who trained them as
teachers, pastors, clerks, maids and artisans. Those who could remem-
ber their villages returned to their people, e.g. Malam Goyan to Kabwir
in Plateau State; Yohanna Markus Maunda to Mbula, Dawuda Jumka
Koffi and Kwamiliko to Longuda land in Adamawa State.15 Another
notable ex-slave was Alhamdu (the Rev. Henry G.D. Miller) who was
one of the six boys given to Dr. W.R.S. Miller to train. These boys
were the nucleus of Miller’s school in Zaria City. The Rev. Henry
Miller, after some further training, was ordained a minister in the
Anglican Church in 1921 and served in Kano, Kabwir (Ngasland,
Plateau State), Lokoja, Kpata, and Wusasa. The Rev. Miller was
awarded the title of a Canon posthumously by the Bishop of Kwara
Diocese, the Rt. Rev. H. Haruna.16 In 1908 the two slaves’ homes
were closed down. The remaining inmates were turned over to the
Sudan United Mission (now Action Partners) who had by then com-
pleted some buildings at Umaisha near Lokoja which were named
Lucy Memorial Freed Slaves’ Home in honour of the late wife of the
founder of the mission, Dr. Karl Kumm. Pioneer native missionaries
among the Longuda, a sphere of influence of the Danish Branch of
the SUM, Mal Kwamaliko Guyuk and Jumke Dauda Koffi, were ex-
inmates of Lucy Memorial Freed Slaves’ Home.17
The colonial policy of preventing these missions from entry into
areas considered dominated by Muslims kept these missions among
‘animists’ groups in the central belt of Nigeria until the 1930s. The

15
Olusanya, G.O., ‘The ‘freed slaves’ homes: An unknown aspect of Northern
Nigeria social history’ Journal of Historical Society of Nigeria 3 (1966) no. 3, 531; also
Nicholas Pweddon (forthcoming), A History of the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (LCCN).
16
Baikie, Adamu (ed.), Wusasa: Souvenir pictorial presentation with a brief historical intro-
duction, Zaria: Wusasa Diocese, n.d. 4.
17
See Pwary, Zazwal John, ‘Longuda evangelists in the development of the Lutheran
Church of Christ in Nigeria (L.C.C.N.), 1922-1967’ (MA dissertation, department of
Religious Studies, University of Jos, 1999).
    , - 359

most evangelistic, the SIM later founded the first and most vibrant
native missionary society in 1948 known as the Africa Missionary
Society with one native couple who were posted to Tsanyawa near
Kano to work among the Hausa Muslims. This organization which is
now called Evangelical Missionary Society (EMS) of the Evangelical
Church of West Africa (ECWA) has 554 couples working as mission-
aries in Nigeria and 31 families serving outside Nigeria.18 The other
mission established churches relied mainly on the inter-denominational
evangelistic body the New Life For All for their evangelistic outreaches.
But some of them established mission agencies. Church of Christ in
Nigeria (COCIN) has Community Mission through which the church
has entered Gwoza and Baga (Borno and Chad area), Rivers and Cross
River States, and the suburbs of Kano and Zaria.19 The Baptist Mission
has been working among Kamuku of Yobe State, Ogaja of Cross River
State and the Ijaws and Ohori of Delta and Rivers States. The Evan-
gelical Church of Christ in Nigeria (ECCN), a member of the Fellow-
ship of Churches of Christ in Nigeria, began among the Maguzawa, an
indigenous Hausa group, around Kano. It has five congregations in
the suburb of Kano and has spread further into Katsina, Jigawa and
Niger States (with two congregations each).20
A significant development in the 1950s was the abandonment of the
‘sphere influence’ engineered by the colonial administrators to forestall
clashes by Protestant Missions in the field. This meant every church
could enter and evangelise any territory outside its designated area of
operation. The opening of the Hausa/Fulani territories made them the
most attractive fields. The problem students of church growth in Nigeria
face is lack of statistics. Few churches keep accurate census of members.

Growth of the Church

There has, however, been remarkable growth in some of these churches
in northern Nigeria, particularly among the Hausa/Fulani. The growth
of the Hausa/Fulani church has led to the formation of an associa-
tion of Hausa/Fulani and Kanuri Christians Jam"iyar Masihiyawa a
Nijeriya (the Association of Hausa/Fulani and Kanuri Christians) for
the defence of the rights of Hausa/Fulani and Kanuri Christians. It

18
Evangelical Missionary Society of ECWA Prayer Calendar, 1998/1999.
19
Vingborg, Lisabeth, Nigerians Engaged in the Mission Work Today, Jos: Grace Foundation
Media Services 2001, 17.
20
Vingborg, 22.
360  .. 

first leaders were Prof. Ishaya Audu and Justice Jacob Dandaura.21
The Misihiyawa (i.e. Hausa/Fulani and Kanuri Christians) claim they
number up to 9.8 million.22 This might exaggerated, unless, of course,
‘animist’ Hausa and the Isawa are included.
The Evangelical Church of West Africa has 450023 congregations
out of which 76 are Hausa (Maguzawa) churches in Katsina District
Church Council alone.24 A recent study has shown the Maguzawa
Churches in Kastina State have grown. These churches (229) are
located in Malumfashi, Kafur, Bakori, Faskari, Danja and Funtua.
The Anglican mission to Hausaland, the Hausa Party, that began
in 1900 and was led by the indefatigable and versatile Dr. W.R.S.
Miller, has now borne fruit. Wusasa, the centre of the mission after
missionaries were asked by the Government to move out of the city
of Zaria, is the headquarters of the Wusasa Diocese created in 1997.
Its first bishop, the Rev. Ali Buba Lamido, is also Hausa-Fulani from
Adamawa State. This is a fulfilment of the dreams of the founding
fathers of Wusasa. The Diocese has nine districts, Wusasa, Unguwar
Gayya, Saulawa, Bazana, Rafin Tabo, Bakula, Gedege, Mai-mai and
Kwanga. Between 1999 and 2000 recorded 1442 infant baptisms, 560
adult baptisms, and 626 confirmations in the nine districts.25
Anglicans were the first to begin work among the Maguzawa in
1935 but the work stopped for lack of manpower. However, in the
1950s the Anglican Church in Wusasa revived this mission work par-
ticularly in the Ikara area under the leadership of the Rev. V.R.
Lapage.26 Sunday Audu Gere and Habial Madaki Bankwa, Maguzawa
themselves, tell us in a recent study the growth of the churches in
Ikara: 8 Anglican parishes, 6 ECWA congregations, 4 Baptist churches,
5 Deeper Life Bible churches and 5 Roman Catholic parishes.27 There

21
Interview with Justice Haruna Jacob Dandaura in his house in Jos, 17 December
1999.
22
This figure was given by Justice Haruana Dandaura who is one of the national
leaders of the Masihiyawa. See Gaiya, Musa A.B., Honourable Justice J.H. Dandaura: Apostle
of Religious Harmony, Jos: University of Jos Press, 2003, 78.
23
The Good News, 1 (1993) No. 3, 4.
24
ECWA Prayer Guide and directory, 1997/1998, 61-63.
25
The Bishop’s Charge, Diocese of Wusasa, 19 May 2000, 20.
26
Anfani, Ibrahim, Markus, ‘Christianity and the Hausa (Maguzawa) people, a case
study of Ikara Local Government Area of Kaduna State’ (Diploma in Theology Long
Essay, St. Francis of Assisi Theological College Wusasa, Zaria, June, 1993), 33.
27
Gere, Sunday Audu and Habila Madaki Bankwa, ‘Christian Evangelism in Hausa
land: A case study of Ikara Local Government Area of Kaduna State’, Diploma in
Theology project, St. Francis of Assisi Theological College, Wusasa, Zaria, 2001, 34.
    , - 361

are 131 churches in Wusasa Diocese, most of them attended by Magu-

zawa.28 The Rev. (now Bishop) B.B. Ayam planted Hausa churches in
Rinjim and Karaye (in Jigawa and Katsina states, respectively).29 There
were one hundred thousand Hausa Christians of Kano descent alone
in 1993.30
The Baptist church also started work among Maguzawa in Katsina,
pioneered by Mr. John Kennedy in the 1950s. This work was later
continued by the Rev. A.A. Adegoke. There are now 46 Baptist churches
apart from preaching stations, in Katsina State alone.31
The Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) has also grown. The
church has entered 23 states out of the 36 states (as well as Abuja the
Federal Capital). Through its community mission, COCIN has made
inroads into the Southeast in Cross River State and Rivers State among
the Ogoni.32 The Evangelical Reformed Church (Mada Hills) planted
by South African missionaries has not moved out of the ethnic groups
(mainly Egon and Mada), this is also the case with Nongu u Kristi u
ken Nigeria her Tiv (i.e. the Church of Christ Among the Tiv or
NKST) among Tiv established by the South African Dutch Reformed
Church Mission. Roman Catholics (SMA) entered Katsina in 1968 but
the Dominicans are more successful in Gusau, Yelwa, Funtua and
Malumfashi.33 A number of Roman Catholic churches have been
planted among the Maguzawa. Other fertile areas in the northwest
are among the Kambari, Dakarkari and Dukawa, all in Niger State.
The people here are not only ignorant of the Christian message; they
also live the most primitive lives. There are some other ethnic groups
in other parts of Northern Nigeria that are still resistant to the gospel;
they include Bolewa and Kanuri in Borno State, Gbagyi in the east-
ern part of Niger State, Bokubaru in Kwara State, and Tal in Plateau
State.

28
Bishop’s Charge, Diocese of Wusasa, St. Barth’s Cathedral, Wusasa, May 25 1999, 13.
29
Interview with Markus A. Ibrahim, TCNN Bukuru, 26 November 1999.
30
The head count was done by Jam"iyar Masihiyawa a Nijeriya in 1993 see Kano,
Isiya Idi, ‘Christian Muslim belief system, relationship in Kano State’ Diploma in the-
ology project St. Francis of Assisi Theological College, Wusasa, 1993, 23.
31
Interview with Rev. Isa A. Bello, Baptist Pastors’ College, Lamingo Road, Jos,
11 January 1999.
32
Interview with Rev. Mutashi Shehu, COCIN Coordinator of Evangelism and
Mission, COCIN Headquarters, Jos, 6 December 1999.
33
Interview with Rev. Fr. Michael I.R. Vishih, OP, University of Jos, 3 March
1997.
362  .. 

Worthy of note also are the activities of the Seventh Day Adventist
(SDA) Mission in Northern Nigeria. The mission entered Nigeria in
1914 under the leadership of Elder D.C. Babcock.34 It moved into
northern Nigeria with the establishment of the first mission station in
Jengre (50 kilometres north of Jos, the capital of Plateau State) by
Pastor and Mrs. J.J. Hyde in 1932.35 Its first converts were among the
Amo ethnic group of Plateau and Kaduna States. The work progressed
and more stations were opened among Jere and Chokobo in 1937 and
among Kurama in 1938.36 Its famous hospital in Jengre, which served
also as a leprosarium, provided health care for the people in this area
and throughout the former northern region. The Mission opened a
primary school in Jengre in 1934. Despite its strange policy of pre-
venting members’ children from attending government secondary schools
for fear of backsliding, many of them struggled to rise to the top of
their chosen careers. One of these is Prof. P.M. Mallum, a Professor
of Guidance and Counselling who became the Vice-Chancellor of the
University of Jos in 1989. One of the mission’s early converts, Pastor
Bulus Mallum Kakwi, introduced Adventism in Arum Tumarah among
Rindre in Wamba Local Government Area of Nasarawa State in 1961.37
The SDA Church in Northern Nigeria has grown so much that on
the 31st March, 1993, the North Nigeria Mission was divided into
two: North East Mission with headquarters at Bukuru and North West
Mission with its headquarters in Kaduna.38 By the year 2000 the
Seventh Day Adventist Church in Northern Nigeria had reached 27,000
members.39

Theological Institutions
The mainline and Evangelical churches have several important theo-
logical schools. The Evangelical Church of West Africa has two sem-
inaries, ECWA Theological Seminary at Igbaja in Kwara State and
Jos ECWA theological Seminary in Jos and five diploma awarding the-

34
See Omolewa, Michael, ‘Elder D.C. Babcock, 1854-1932 pioneer of the Seventh
Day Adventist Mission work in Nigeria’, ORITA 12 (1978) no. 2, 133.
35
National Archives Kaduna, Jos Prof. 1871 ‘World-wide Adventist mission Ltd
Application for permission.’
36
National Archives Kaduna: Jos Prof. 1871.
37
Interview with Pastor Daniel A. Agyo, 3 September 1994.
38
Magaji, Pastor E., ‘North East Mission of Seventh Day Adventist; synopsis of the
Seventh Day Adventist Mission in Nigeria’, unpublished report, 13.
39
Pastor Haruna Binda, SDA Church, Jos, 21 June, 2000.
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ological colleges in Kagoro, Aba, Igbaja, Billiri and Agunjin. Apart

from the Theological College of Northern Nigeria, jointly owned by
members of TEKAN (the fellowship of SUM related churches), COCIN
has established Gindiri College of Theology for the award of diplo-
mas. The Baptist Pastors’ College in Kaduna (partially destroyed dur-
ing the February 2000 religious riots in Kaduna) has been upgraded
to a theological seminary. The Anglican dioceses within Province Three
of the Anglican Communion have two theological colleges, one at
Wusasa and the other recently established in Jos. Roman Catholics
have added another seminary in Kano in addition to the ones they
had at Makurdi, Gwagwalada and Jos. The Assemblies of God church
has two theological schools: a diploma awarding Bible college located
in Saminaka, north of Jos and a Seminary in Jos. Most of these schools
are affiliated to a university.

Activities Independent Mission Agencies

Contributions of some independent mission agencies are worthy of
note. The Great Commission Movement of Nigeria (GCM), an affiliate
of the Campus Crusade For Christ, was introduced into Northern
Nigeria by the Rev. and Mrs. Yemi Ladipo in 1969. Its Jesus film,40
translated into 44 Nigerian languages, has made great impact in north-
ern Nigeria. The first translated Jesus film was in Hausa. Calvary
Ministries (CAPRO), starting in 1975 as a Christian Youth Corps
movement in Zaria City, has now sent out missionaries to a number
of West Africa countries. There is also the Nigeria Evangelical Missionary
Association (NEMA) established in 1982 in Ilorin which coordinates
its 45 affiliated missionary bodies, such as the African Evangelical
Outreach, All Christian Fellowship Mission, Gospel Faith Mission Int.,
and His Grace Evangelical Movement. NEMA has a missionary train-
ing institute, the Nigerian Evangelical Missionary Institute (NEMI),
located in Jos for the training of missionaries from these missionary
bodies.
Note must be made of individual efforts at evangelising Northern
Nigeria. Bitrus S. Audu with his Christ Missionary Outreach Ministry
established in 1992 is doing great work among the ‘unreached’ peo-
ples of Adamawa State, particularly the Zah people around Micika.
Dr. Bitrus Gani Kilama’s Hope for the Blind with its headquarters in

40
Another title is The Jesus Film. The film was produced by John Heyman in 1979.
364  .. 

Wusasa is reaching out to the more than two million blind people in
Nigeria. Others are Harvesters For Christ Ministries founded by David
Kanda in 1986 for training and support for indigenous missionaries,
so also is Victor Tukura’s Mission Supporters League (MSL). MSL
raises funds for the support of indigenous missionaries, particularly
those working among ‘unreached’ people in Northern Nigeria.

Education
Before 1970 most primary and secondary schools in Northern Nigeria
were owned and run by Christian missions. However, in 1973, pro-
pelled by the rise in oil revenue, all these schools were taken over by
the Federal Military Government in its drive to maintain uniformity
in the educational system in the country. The only exception was in
Benue-Plateau State where, under the leadership of Police Commissioner
J.D. Gomwalk, most privately owned secondary schools were left in
the hands of their owners. The takeover affected Christian activities
in many of these schools, especially in states where there was Muslim
dominance such as Sokoto, Kaduna and Kano. The first step in de-
Christianizing these schools was the change in their names. In Kaduna
State for example, St. Paul’s College, Zaria, became Kufena College;
St. John’s College Kaduna became Rimi College,41 and St. Luis Kaduna
became Queen Amina in honour of the princess who ruled Zaria
before colonial takeover.
Some states took the next step in stopping the teaching of Christian
Religious Knowledge (CRK) in their schools. In 1999 it was only a
Christian Association of Nigeria-influenced strike by all Christians in
Borno State that forced the government there to rescind its decision
banning the teaching of CRK in its schools. However, despite the pres-
ence of the Fellowship of Christian Students and the Federation of
Catholic Students in these schools, there has been a gradual erosion
of moral standards.
Furthermore, to meet the challenges of free and compulsory pri-
mary education, most post-primary schools expanded out of propor-
tion to the facilities available. This ultimately affected the teaching and
learning in these schools as well as in the tertiary institutions. The
result was a sharp drop in the standard of education from primary to

41
Isado, Jacob and Danjuma Byang, ‘Educational crisis in Nigeria: unexplored dimen-
sions’, Today’s Challenge (1988) no. 4, 4-10.
    , - 365

tertiary levels. So when in 1976 church leaders in Nigeria had an

opportunity to meet with the Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters,
Brigadier (later Major-General) Shehu Musa Yar"adua, they drew the
attention of the Federal Military Government to the conditions of pri-
mary and secondary schools in Nigeria and demanded that the gov-
ernment return mission schools to their original owners. This call went
unheeded, but this meeting forced the church leaders to unite so as
to speak to Government with one voice. That led to the formation of
the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on the 27th August 1976
at the Catholic Secretariat, Lagos.42
At this meeting, Yar’adua had asked Muslims to both open and
close the meeting with prayers. One of the Christian leaders stood up
asked, ‘Can’t you asked a Christian to say a prayer?’ Yar"adua replied,
as reported by Jolly Tanko Yusuf, ‘There are so many denominations
represented here, how can I ask any Christian to say a prayer?’43 For
the first time, Christians in Nigeria came to grips with the problem
denominations and disunity, which is why Christians in the northern
Nigeria formed the Northern Christian Association in 1964.
Some state governments have since concluded arrangements to return
schools taken over from voluntary agencies to them. It has been obvi-
ous that government alone could not manage the educational sector
in view of the dwindling revenue accruing from oil. Many local church
congregations, particularly in the cities, have opened primary and sec-
ondary schools; however, most of the children who attend these schools
are from Christian homes. The main attractions to them are the higher
morals and the standard of education. Evangelism is limited since
Muslim children who attend such schools demand Islamic Religious
Knowledge (IRK). This was the subject of a prolonged litigation in
Kwara State where Muslim parents demanded the teaching of IRK
to their wards in mission schools.

African Independent Churches

Apart from mission-founded churches in Northern Nigeria, there are
some culturally-based churches, the Aladura Churches being the most
prominent. These have had few adherents from the people in the

42
Enwrem, Iheanyi M., A dangerous awakening: the politicization of Religion in Nigeria,
Ibadan IFRA 1995, 81.
43
Grissen, Lillian V., That We May Be One: The Autobiography of Nigerian Ambassador
Jolly Tanko Yusuf, Grands Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company 1995, 94.
366  .. 

northern part of Nigeria because they appear as ethnic churches, but

the contributions to religious and ethnic plurality are immense. However,
the Christ Apostolic Church, a more Evangelical member of this group,
has made some inroads among the Challa in Plateau State. So also
the Assemblies of God Church whose beginnings are similar to those
of the Christ Apostolic Church. The Assemblies of God in Nigeria
began as Church Jesus Christ in Old Umuahia. The founder of Church
of Jesus Christ was one A.E. Wogu. Wogu was attending Faith
Tabernacle when he had an intense spiritual experience and began to
speak in tongues. Since Faith Tabernacle did not tolerate tongue speak-
ing, Wogu withdrew his membership and founded his own church in
1934. Soon branches of Church of Jesus Christ were established in
other Igbo towns such as Ohabiam, Owerrinta, Omoba, Umuda,
Mbawsi and Aba. It was, therefore, the Church of Jesus Christ that
invited Assemblies of God missionaries.44 From its base in the eastern
part of Nigeria, members planted Assemblies of God Churches along
the railway lines in the major stations. One of the places the Assemblies
flourished was Kafanchan from 1939. From there the church spread
to Kaduna and Zaria amongst Kurama. The Assemblies entered the
Plateau and flourished among Berom beginning in 1943.45 One of
them, Rev. Deme Bot became a national leader.46 A more recent
Aladura-like group is the highly syncretistic Brotherhood of the Cross
and Star, founded in 1956 by Olumba O. Obu. It claims phenome-
nal growth in Northern Nigeria. Members attribute this growth to the
powers of the founder, Leader Olumba O. Obu who claims to be
God incarnate.47 The church makes claims of many secret converts,
some of them Muslims in very prominent positions. Temitope Balogun
Joshua’s Synagogue of All Nations is also making inroads in the North
through powerful media propaganda. Joshua’s attraction is also his
power to perform miracles. However, the fastest growing churches in
Nigeria are the Pentecostal and charismatic groups also called Neo-
Pentecostal. These originated in the university campuses in the south-

44
Ogbu U. Kalu, The Embattled Gods: Christianization of Igboland 1841-1991, Lagos:
Minaj Publishers 1996, 170, 171.
45
Ezeigbo, H.I. (ed.), The Growth of Assemblies of God in Nigeria, AOG pub. 1989,
17-18.
46
Interview with Rev. Deme Bot 19/6/2000.
47
Humphrey, G.O., ‘Thought and vision of leader Olumba Olumba Obu: a study
in Nigerian New Religious Movement 1918-1998’ (MA dissertation, Department of
Religious Studies, University of Jos, Jos).
    , - 367

ern part of Nigeria but were not known in the north until after the
Nigerian civil war. They posed a challenge to Islam with their inde-
pendence from western mission founded churches. This posture made
it proliferate. In the city of Kano, Sabon Gari has them in almost
every street.
The most popular of them is the Deeper Life Bible Church begun
by Pastor W.F. Kumuyi in 1973 as the Deeper Christian Life Ministry.
He is a former mathematics lecturer at the College of Education,
University of Lagos, who has made holiness the focus of his preach-
ing. Deeper Life Bible churches are found not only in cities but also
in rural areas, which makes them even more popular with local peo-
ple. Besides this, many northern communities, particularly in the Middle
Belt of Nigeria are attracted to the Deeper Life Bible churches because
of their emphasis on simplicity in lifestyles, holy living and egalitari-
anism. The other popular charismatic churches and seen in every city
in Nigeria are the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa’s Church of God
Mission and Bishop David O. Oyedepo’s Living Faith Church (Winners’
Chapel). These last two leaders are regarded as ‘fathers of the pros-
perity gospel’ in Nigeria. Perhaps most proliferated in Nigerian cities
is the Redeemed Christian Church of God headed by a retired University
don, Pastor E.A. Adeboye. The church has ‘parishes’ in almost all
streets in the major cities in northern Nigeria. The churches are grow-
ing so rapidly with the increase in urbanization that it is difficult to
keep count of them.

The Shari"ah and Plurality of Northern Nigeria

The contention on the place of the Shari"ah in the Nigerian constitu-
tion was not new in Nigeria. The place of the Shari"ah in Nigeria’s
constitution was the subject of protracted debates in Nigeria from 1976-
1999. It began with the submission of the Constitution Drafting
Committee in 1976 which suggested the creation of a Shari"ah court
of appeal at the federal level. The debates were stopped without the
creation of such a court, but provision was made for Islamic law in
the Federal Court of Appeal. The central argument was the inclusion
of ‘a divine law within a human law’, which seen from the non-
Muslims’ eyes is compromising the neutrality of the State with respect
to religion. The antagonists of Shari"ah found support from the inter-
national convention on the relationship between the religion and the
state: the state being neutral on religious matters. The protagonists
368  .. 

argued from a parochial standpoint: that Shari"ah was inseparable from

the practice of Islam. As a result, in each of the debates, the antag-
onists appeared to have superior arguments. Frustrated by this ‘defeat’,
from 1999 some states in northern Nigeria unilaterally decided to
expand the scope of the Shari"ah to bring it to its pre-colonial state.
Non-Muslims in these states called on the governments to recognise
the plurality of these states. The solution to this debacle seems to be
in a compromise which may lead to a constitutional review to reflect
Nigerian peoples’ cultural and religious pluralism. The Western model,
which Nigeria inherited from the British, is certainly not suitable for
every context. But the plurality of the Nigerian polity should be recog-
nised and respected in any arrangements.

Muslim and Christian Relations

The northern part of Nigeria will continue to be a battle-ground for
the two major religions unless there is a realistic dialogue in which
both parties would speak frankly on their rights in the pluralistic soci-
ety. Christians and Muslims must sit and discuss how they wish to co-
exist within one nation. This is very urgent especially now that the
Hausa/Fulani have become restive and feel marginalized in the pre-
sent federal set-up. The expansion of the scope of the Islamic shari"ah
to include within its jurisdiction criminal matters is one way to even
things out, as it believed. This is rather belated, since this would have
been implemented in 1960s when the population of Christians was
about 9.7%. The violation of human rights, especially the rights of
Christians, in these pseudo-Islamic states is real. For example, the
teaching of Christianity is not allowed in schools attended by Christian
children and it is very difficult for Christians to have land to build
churches or to have cemeteries. Churches built without official approval
are demolished, but getting such approval is almost impossible. Religious
and ethnic plurality in northern Nigeria should be taken as a fact.
This is because as Jan H. Boer has rightly opined, ‘[c]onversions from
both traditional religion and Islam to Christianity have produced a
Christian community that is at least numerically equal to that of Islam
and may well have surpassed it. Such a situation calls for new inter-
religious relationships; the old ideas simply do not cut it anymore’.48

48
Boer, Jan H., Nigeria’s Decades of Blood, 1980-2002, Belleville, Ontario: Essence
publishing 2003, 15.
    , - 369

The strong advocate for the Christian rights is the Christian Association
of Nigeria (CAN). The Christian Association of Nigeria took its name
from the Northern Christian Association founded in 1964 by a group
of Christians led by Rev. Bagaiya Nwaya. When Northern Christian
Association was transformed into Christian Association of Nigeria in
1976 Archbishop Anthony Okogie, Ambassador J.T. Yusuf and Mr.
C.O. Williams became its founding leaders.49 The greatest achieve-
ment of CAN is the political unity it has provided for Christians in
Nigeria. Furthermore, CAN has influenced Christian politicians to fight
against the inclusion of Shari"ah courts in the constitution since 1978.
The opposition to Nigeria’s membership in the Organization of the
Islamic Countries (OIC) has been waged by CAN since 1987. As a
result of the Kafanchan religious riot of 1987 in which churches, lives
and property were destroyed, concerted efforts have been made by
CAN to ensure the protection of the rights and safety of Christians in
Nigeria. With the re-introduction of the Shari "ah in some states in
northern Nigeria other Christian groups have equally become active,
such as the Jam"iyar Masihiyawa a Nijeriya (i.e. Association of Hausa,
Fulani and Kanuri Christians otherwise known as TAMANI), the
Association of Non-Indigenes (ANI) and the Pentecostal Fellowship of
Nigeria (PFN).
Even among Muslims the application of the Shari"ah law discrimi-
nates against the poor and women, which further creates fear in the
minds of non-Muslims. Notable examples are the cases of Baba Bello
Karadugarke Jungeli whose hand was amputated on 22nd March, 2000
in Zamfara State for allegedly stealing a cow and Bariya Ibrahim
Magazu who was given one hundred lashes of the cane for sexual
immorality while her boyfriends went scot-free for lack of eye wit-
nesses. Justice cannot be done in a system that does not provide a
means for appeal to a higher court. Since alleged convicts are reminded
to respect divine laws. It will be increasingly difficult for Christians to
practice their faith in these pseudo-Islamic states in spite of the assur-
ances that the Shari"ah laws will not be applied to them. At the same
time this extreme position taken by the Shari"ah states may undermine
Islamic proselytization among the Igbo of the Eastern part of the coun-
try. The outcry of Hausa/Fulani Christians may become louder if the
government makes policies that exclude them completely. I agree with

49
Gresen, 1995, 94, 95.
370  .. 

Jan H. Boer50 when he asked Christians in Nigeria to evaluate their

use of the word ‘secular’ to describe the form of government in Nigeria
in view of the public role religion (Christianity) is playing in President
Obasanjo’s regime. He has built a chapel in the Presidential Villa with
a personal chaplain. This development is both courageous and far-
sighted as there already were mosques in the Villa built by his Muslim
predecessors. The word ‘secular’ may mean neutrality of government
on religious matters but this is impracticable in Nigeria in view of the
important role religion is playing in public life. Prayers in inter-city
buses, taxis and even in domestic airplanes are becoming common. A
more acceptable definition, perhaps, is the non-adoption of any reli-
gion as a state religion. The words of President Obasanjo may suffice
when he said in 1987.
In reality, Nigeria as now composed can neither be an Islamic country nor a
Christian country but a multi-religious society . . . we will do well to reflect on
our religious plurality . . .51

In spite of the problems of the church, primary of which are lack of

unity and insufficient statistical data, the church has grown in north-
ern Nigeria. Its growth in the farther north is phenomenal, perhaps
giving Muslims much concern. The destruction of some of these churches
in this area is an indication of the restiveness that Christian growth
has caused. But Christians can make good these gains if they show
their commitment to obedience to the teachings of Christ on a Christian’s
attitude to his neighbour. Taking the sword for religious causes is not
Christian at all. Jesus told Peter, one of His disciples, ‘Put your sword
back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.’52

Conclusion
This paper has argued that over the years northern Nigeria has become
much more plural than it was at independence. The re-introduction
of the Shari"ah as some states have done does not seem to show that
this plurality was recognized. The Nigerian constitutions of 1979, 1989
and 1999 have maintained section 10 which states categorically that
‘The Government of the Federation or a State shall not adopt any

50
See Boer, Jan H., ‘The Nigerian Christian-Muslim stand-off: Some parameters
for a solution’, TCNN Research Bulletin (2000) no. 33, 14-18.
51
Quoted in Ahnotu, Austin Metumara, Religion, State and Society in Contemporary Africa,
New York: Peter Lang 1992, 50.
52
The NIV Study Bible, 1985.
    , - 371

religion as State Religion’. This provision was made in recognition of

the plurality of the country. Going by this provision, the religious neu-
trality of Shari"ah implementing can be questioned. Even without accu-
rate statistics of the religious groups in northern Nigeria, no one who
knows this part of Nigeria doubts the present growth of church there.
To allay the fears of non-Muslims Shari"ah implementing states must
recognize religious plurality in each of these states and give minorities
their rights as citizens of Nigeria.
Musa A.B. Gaiya is a Reader in African Church History at the
University of Jos in Nigeria. His doctoral dissertation, which he defended
in 1996, was on the Christian Missions in Central Nigeria from 1900
to 1960 (University of Jos).

Additional References
Ayandele, E.A., The Missionary Impact on Modern Nigeria 1842-1914: A political and
Social Analysis, London: Longamn, 1966.
——, “The Missionary Factor in Northern Nigeria 1870-1918” Journal of the
Historical Society of Nigeria, iii, 3, 1966, 503-522.
Kastfelt, Niels, Religion and Politics in Nigeria: A study in Middle Belt Christianity, London:
British Academy Press, 1994.
Walsh, Jarlath S., The Growth of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Jos 1907-
1978, Iperu-Remo: Ambassador Publications, 1993.