NIGERIA 1976
CHANGES IN CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM RELATIONS IN NIGERIA
SINCE INDEPENDENCE

by
E.O. Oyelade & J. Kenny
Nigerian Dialogue, 2 (1977), 6-10

PART I, by E.O. Oyelade

The coming of Independence to Nigeria (1 October 1960) placed before Nigerian leaders several challenges. one of these was how to convince the Nigerian masses that Independence is the central goal of any nation and that Nigerians should be ready to act and think for themselves in matters relating to their internal destiny and international relations. To make their struggle for Independence acceptable religion was employed, because Nigerian society has a central religious culture. Both the Church and the Mosque were already praising the Lord. In addition, several cults associated with traditional religions were revived such as the m Oduduwa movement of the Yorubas, the Owegbe cult of Bendel, the Dan Arewa of the North, the Ibo League of the East, the Eji Nupe of the Nupes etc. To bring forces together in Yorubaland, the Reformed Ogboni Fraternity was revived, strengthened and enlarged to include both Christian youth and the Muslim elite. Another challenge regarded the distribution of responsibility. By the date of Independence many trained personnel were not available to replace the displaced expatriates. There was a remarkable "trial and error" approach to various state establishments. For instance, a "Minister of Health and Welfare" might not know anything about health science or health problems. But, despite this difficulty, it was soon known that Independence had come to stay. Other challenges like how to harness and fairly distribute the national economy, how to maintain a reputable foreign policy, how to bring diverse tribes together and how to run a party system are living issues in our national experience, perhaps will be for many years to come. In all of these struggles committed Christians and Muslims have been in the forefront. It is in the light of this that one seeks to present a study which, although not meant to be exhaustive, will suffice as an introduction to our subject: "Changes in Christian-Muslim relations" in the case of Nigeria.

Geographical characterization

A brief sketch of the displacement and characteristics of Christians and Muslims in Nigeria will be helpful here. In the Yoruba community of the Western State, Christians and Muslims are more open and tend toward religious liberalism in matters of faith and practice. The environmental demands, say in trade, government, education and particularly the extended family situation, seem to bring Muslims ad Christians together at various levels. In the Mid-West, East Central, Rivers and South Eastern States where Islam is in the minority, the confrontation is minimal. The Muslim communities are not remarkably involved in governmental establishments. They are farmers and traders. So, you might say, there is marked indifference. Nupe Islam is surprisingly open. The consensus of the northern Muslim Orthodoxy is that Nupe Islam is very adulterated. Historically they charge them with being islamized by pagan-muslim immigrants resulting from `Uthmān an Fodio's 19th century jihād. The Nupe Muslims therefore tend to accept the association of Islam with pagan practices. But it is also strange to note that they have many restrictions on Christina activities there as in other parts of the North. There are current stories, particularly in the royal lineage, of men married to Christians form the South, Yorubas and Ibos for example. The cream of strict Islamic Orthodoxy is represented by Zaria, Kano, Sokoto, Katsina and Bornu. In this area there is a certain amount of confrontation with the Church. But even in these places Christian establishments have been welcomed when they do not set out with public proselytizing programmes. Here one notices very limited dialogue between Christians and Muslims, for such attempts are suspect to both camps. The North as a whole has a sizable Christian community of indigenous origin, especially in the Middle Belt. This fact is tempering the exclusiveness of Islam in the North.

Awareness

The first outstanding change which Independence brought to Nigeria was the awareness of the Church and the Mosque. To make Independence work, politicians, Christian and Muslim, travelled, held conferences and passed resolutions which were to affect the community at large: not as dār-al-arb (enemy territory) but as ahl-al- kitāb (the tolerated Christians and Jews). This broad-based outlook towards the state gives the first and the last verses of the national anthem prominence:

Nigeria we hail thee,
     our own dear native land.
Though tribes and tongues may differ,
     in brotherhood we stand.
Nigerians all are proud to serve
     our sovereign motherland.
O God of all creation,
     grand this our one request.
Help us to build a nation
     where no man is oppressed.
And so with peace and plenty
     Nigeria may be blessed.

That Christians and Muslims may be truly brothers has been one of the great aims of politicians. Although one may argue that his goal was not fully achieved on the ground that tribalism was one of the gib factors against the civilian regime, yet there was a remarkable amount of understanding of both the tribal and religious differences across the nation. It is in this national awareness that the slogan "Bridge the gap" between North and South was used as a political ideology. Generally, "one man, one vote" was to the advantage of the Northern Muslim leaders who had the greater influence on their voters.

The leaders now visited the various establishments in the South, most of which have been described as "Federal". They saw the flowing wealth of the South and they were bent on moving in to get their share. This meant that they had to temper their close-mindedness against working with Christians of the South. The Christians too were forced to accommodate the new-comers many times to the point of submerging religious distinctiveness to ensure a smooth running of the socio-political processes of the nation. The point is that with Independence, the North dropped the old slogan, "Ina ruwanka da kafiri, an Mission; don Allah rabu da shi" (What concerns you with an unbeliever, a mission boy; please leave him alone) when referring to Christians. The South also dropped the slogan "Kaka ka dobale fun Gambari? Ka kuku ku o ya" (Whatever will make you prostrate for a Gambari [a Hausa man]? It is better for you to die early). Christians and Muslims accepted the fact that Independence was of their making, and that they had to keep it. But who was to keep it, the North or the South? That was the question. The military rulers are now saying every Nigerian must keep it.

Mass socialization

Apart from the national consciousness of the leaders at Independence, the masses are also experiencing social mixing. One of the factors which led to this mixing is education. At first in the South when Muslims sent their children to school it was to the mission schools that were widespread, but later, with more emphasis on free primary education and the foundation of government schools, Muslims allowed more of their children to attend such schools. Again they met with Christian children and teachers. Even when Muslim primary schools were set up, most of the teachers were Christians. This no doubt enhanced the Christian-Muslim liberalism of the South.

In the North, by 1960, government primary schools were few and the standard reached in most schools the "fourth grade". But it was not long before government schools were increased at a terrific rate, so that by 1965 there were government secondary schools in every big city. One should note that in this mixing process of Muslims and Christians in school, the resultant friendships continued and deepened afterwards. Consequently we see former classmates of different religions join together in business ventures or promoting one another in politics or the civil service.

Another factor directly connected with this is the government take-over of schools. In most areas teachers are transferred to schools indiscriminately so that schools previously headed by a Christian may now be controlled by a Muslim and vice-versa. The system of the Local School Board, instead of the old proprietor's board of governors, brought into the schools a situation of Christian-Muslim participation. The result of this is that very often school mates and educational directors go across religious boundaries.

Another factor that enhances the mixing of Christians and Muslims was and is the popularity of the national leaders. In the early days of Independence until the coup, the leaders moved with throngs of people singing their praises. You heard from the lips of Christians and Muslims the words Awo Zik SLA OPA Balewa Sardauna etc. They in turn would stop by churches and mosques to speak to the people. A very interesting example of their influence was the mass copying of the Balewa style of hat and the Awolowo style of hat, one the symbol of Christian leadership and the other a symbol of Muslim leadership. To young people in particular they were symbols of support and hero-worship. It should be mentioned that such popularity of the leaders did not change, especially with General Gowon as the Head of State. Following the end of the civil war, the Head of State opened up the road to popularity by using religious means acceptable to both Christians and Muslims. He declared:

We guarantee the security of life and property of all citizens in every part of the federation, and equality in political rights. We also guarantee the right of every Nigerian to reside and work wherever he chooses in the Federation as equal citizens of one united country.

In the above statement he sought to retain and encourage the ongoing mixing process which was characterizing the early stages of Independence. but this achievement of peace was not a political victory. It was God's victory for our religious nation. So he declared:

We thank God for sparing us to see this glorious dawn of national reconciliation. We have ordered that Friday, Saturday and Sunday be national days of prayer. Then the Head of State went on to describe the contents of the proposed prayer. He said: We must seek His guidance to our duty, to contribute our quota to the building of a great nation, founded on the concerted efforts of all its peoples and on justice and equality.

This statement was meant to increase the loyalty of the Christian-Muslim army as well. It is surprising to observe (although exact statistics are not available) that even among the northern soldiers, the Christians are in the majority. By employing religious means, he was able to alleviate the fears of his Muslim colleagues for the purpose of joint action.

Propagation

With Independence, the opening up of free movement for political campaigning across the nation showed large areas both in the South and in the North were paganism or traditional religion still held sway. In the North the increasing conversion to Christianity of the Shawshaws of the Kafanchan-Jos Plateau, the Gwaris of the Kaduna-Zaria valleys and the Tiv people brought a great challenge to Islam. Before, the politics of the North was mainly based on appeal to Islamic faith and solidarity a situation which the British administration like to preserve. There was fear among Muslims that if Christianity gained a significant following among the non- Muslims of the North, then Islam could no longer be used as a political rallying point in the North. The New Life for All campaign (1965) in the North was already deepening this fear. The then premier of the North (the Sardauna of Sokoto) himself campaigned personally for the conversion of pagan communities to Islam. In the South two movements challenged Islam.

The first was the Jehovah's Witnesses, who were mostly fall-out members of established Churches. They went from door to door seeking converts among Christians and Muslims, employing argumentation and negative attacks on the bases of Christian and Muslim faiths. For the Muslims, they represented the Christian attempt to "win the Muslims".

The second movement was the Aladura movement which emphasises visions, spiritual healing and speaking in tongues. They too went out knocking at the doors asking their audience to try Jesus.

It was the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam that countered this challenge. The result was that both in the North and the South each group made every effort to conquer the other side. In the North influences and pressures were used to attract Christian leaders and civil servants to Islam. The villages which yielded to Islam like Paiko, near Minna, received special recognition from the Muslim rulers.

The Christians in the North felt so threatened that in 1965 the Northern Christian Association was formed with the aims of helping expand the right of religious freedom and community privileges of Christians. In the South when national leaders were involved, the battle was between the religious leaders. In 1965 The true light, by Alhaji Bolaji Akwukewe, appeared with sharp condemnations of the image and the role of Jesus and his Church. bolaji went so far as to declare Jesus a thief, a disrespecter of his Mother and a limited apostle to the House of Israel. He made so much use of the Bible that the Christians were afraid of the consequences. Most Christian clergymen were too busy to be involved, but several laymen started searching the Bible both for defence of the Church and criticism of Islam. Two have been very prominent: Apostle Adetoro from Lagos represented all the spiritualist Churches. Although he did not read Arabic, he had memorized many portions of the Qur'ān and adīth in translation. He would point out in the most derogatory way what he considered the faults of Islam. The next person, a lay reader of the Anglican Church, Mr. Fawole, represented the established Protestant Churches. He knew a little Arabic; in addition he had memorized many Arabic passages. His approach was to use ridicule as a means of belittling Islam. For instance, he would interpret some of the Muslim practices as pagan worship and would compare them with pagan worship among the Yoruba.

This unhealthy confrontation was resulting in bitterness. Sometimes fighting would ensue; at other times members of opposite faiths would ignore or boycott one another in their daily affairs. Understandably this situation did not lead to a meaningful propagation of either Islam or Christianity and no lasting converts were made by this method. It must be said here that in the midst of this struggle, a different and useful trend was appearing.

Ecumenism

One of the by-products of Independence is the Ecumenical Movement among the Churches in Nigeria. Certain religious leaders became concerned with the split-character of the Church. They were concerned with the role of the Church in an independent nation. Can the Church make meaningful impact if it is so divided and the denominations are set against each other? They looked around and found the Church of South India as an example of the uniting spirit of their Lord. The keynote was taken from John 17. Although the proposed Church of Nigeria did not become a reality, the spirit of unity was spreading like a forest fire.

Not only is the movement interested in the relationship between Churches; it extends it interest to the peoples of Islam. A kind of liberal approach was taking shape. The Vatican Delegate in Nigeria, Archbishop Pignedoli, as early as 1962 encouraged Catholics to study Islam and prepare specialists for the purpose of religious dialogue. One of the active supporters of Christian-Muslim relations is Bishop Sanusi, himself of Muslim parentage. Protestant counterparts have also established the Institute of Church and Society in Ibadan, which is concerned with the contribution the Church can make to the betterment of society. Then there is the Study Centre for Islam and Christianity, established by the Islam in Africa Project mainly to foster better relations between Christians and Muslims. As early as 1965 these institutions have been working in cooperation.

Through their influence the Church's attitude to Islam has become considerably more cordial. For instance, in stead of stimulating antagonistic attitudes there was a call to friendship. The Christian spokesmen were admonished to take on a positive approach in religious discussions. It is in this new spirit that the confrontations between Paul Akinbobola, a Roman Catholic writing for all the Christians, and Alfa A.S. Ejalonhibu were resolved only in 1971. Through conferences and study courses in seminaries and at various institutes, understanding of the meaning of Islam has ben increased among Christians.

The ecumenical spirit has also caught up with the Muslims in recent years. In 1972 Dr. Balogun, of the Islamics Department of the University of Ibadan, presented to the Christians gathered at Agbeni Methodist Church a paper "Has Christianity failed in Nigeria?" His full support for the impact of Christianity on Nigeria and his wish to see Muslims and Christians in friendship and cooperation is highly commendable.

In the same year Dr. M.O. Abdul of the same Department wrote a pamphlet Islam and Christianity United? His intention was to show that the teachings which separate us are so controversial among both Christian and Muslims scholars that all we should do is put those differences aside and work for unity. I should mention another prominent lawyer, Alhaji A.D. Ajijola. The title of his book is The concept of Islamic faith (1970). His intention was to show that the reason Christians misunderstand Muslims and their faith is that they have never been exposed to the right teachings about Islam. Muslims are too ignorant to explain their faith to Christians. He declared: "Further, many Christian writers in Nigeria have deliberately misrepresented Islam and treated it as unenlightened and superstitious." Although the works of these two men retain the tain of polemics, their aim is to bring, through understanding, both Muslims and Christians together in the ecumenical spirit.

PART II, material by J. Kenny edited by Oyelade

Looking ahead

The situation in Nigeria at present makes it difficult to present an analysis of the possibilities in Christian- Muslim relations. One can say on the one hand that there is tremendous hope for greater cordiality in the future. For instance, last year the Christian Council of Nigeria held a conference calling the nation back to God, saying that both Christians and Muslims in their own way should seek a national repentance in order to eliminate the forces of evil in Nigerian society. Among the papers presented was "Christian-Muslim involvement in evangelism" by Rev. E.O. Oyelade of the Islam in Africa project. This paper aided the mobilization of all the Christian Churches across the nation. One will expect more positive action on the part of the Churches in the future.

But will Muslims be receptive to friendly gestures of Christians? A recent interview with two Muslim friends seems to suggest the affirmative. The first, who wants to remain anonymous, observed the general attitude of Muslims and remarked:

From the time of Independence until now they have come into their own; they have become educated leaders and people in politics and business, and feel on a par with Christians. Conversely, Christians have greater respect for Muslims now that they have achieved a better position.

A similar confidence in better Christian-Muslim relations is expressed by Shaykh Lemu (Nupe) of the Ministry of Education, Sokoto, an influential member of the Islamic Education Trust, which supplies Islamic religious teacher to schools of Sokoto State. He wrote some of the Islamic Education textbooks. As a result of the development of government schools in the North, Muslim and Christian students, after 1952, were mixing more and becoming more friendly. Then Shaykh Lemu said, "Their only distinction would be known at time for prayer or religious instruction, when they would go their separate ways. It is also becoming more common for Muslims (in N.W. State) to have Christian wives, which would have been frowned upon in the past." Thinking of stimulating a better and wider relationship, Shaykh Lemu wishes to see Christians and Muslims seeking a better understanding of one another. He remarked:

Very few have more than a casual second-hand information of the other's religion; they do not know how to evaluate certain things they read abut the other's religion, such as tracts which are not typical of the religion in general but may represent private or fringe-group views. Although the Church has many levels of hope for a better future relationship, she has her fears also.

In recent years, especially since the end of the war, there has been remarkable hindrance to missionary enterprise in Nigeria. New missionaries have found it extremely difficult to enter the country; even some older missionaries have been unable to reenter after their furlough. The political importance of this restriction needs to be studied by the Church. In addition to this, the Government has been in the process of taking over Church institutions, namely hospitals and schools, which are integral parts of the local Churches. Especially in the North, when a school is taken over the name changes so drastically, e.g. the Baptist Teacher's College at Minna was changed to Ahmadu Bahago College, as if it were originally a school of Islamic foundation. The process of transfer also needs further study. Fro instance an example of the fears of Christians is expressed in an article, "Aid to Islamic schools (W.W. State)" in the Northern newspaper Gaskiya ta fi kwabo on Monday, 25 February 1974. At a meeting the Secretary for Education in the State, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau, expressed more support for Islamic schools and Muslim teachers. The bursary was increased from 300 to 400 and the individual teachers' salary increased from 200 to 300 with an annual increment of 30 and an extra 30 for books. He further stated that there were now 27 such schools in the state. He explained that these schools were to enhance Islamic education and Arabic language in the schools throughout the State.

The point of fear is this. At a time when Government is taking over Christian private establishments and ignoring the Christian religious values involved in them, there is a recognizable support for Muslim voluntary establishments. At the time when Christian missionaries find it difficult to enter the country, there is mass admission for Muslims, particularly Islamic-Arabic teachers from abroad.

Conclusion

Whatever the fear of the Church, the present concern of the Government for a uniform educational system is in the right direction. This will eventually remove all fears. The need today is the encouragement of good will by all. Only as each Christian and Muslim sees his faith as going beyond the frontier of his faith, can he live in the spirit of that faith. The Christians and Muslims have the future of the nation to grapple with. Only when they take their faith seriously can they seek the welfare of their fellowmen. To put it in another way, Nigeria has reached a point in her development where we should not allow the Christian-Muslim conflicts of Europe and the Middle East throughout the centuries impair our progress, cooperation ad brotherhood. Thus, the ecumenical spirit should be broadened and employed as we plan for future development.