Nigeria Stops Christian Crusade

Religious tension grips country.
by Obed Minchakpu

ILORIN, Nigeria, August 31 (Compass) -- Religious passions flared in Nigeria following the decision of the Kwara state government to stop a series of evangelistic meetings organized by German evangelist Reinhard Bonnke with the support of all churches in the city of Ilorin.

The central Nigerian state of Kwara dispatched policemen to stop the five-day program after its second day on Thursday, August 19, claiming that if the meetings were allowed to continue, Muslim militants would attack Christians at the meeting grounds the following day.

Alhaji Bolaji Abdullahi, Kwara state governor’s assistant in communications and strategy, said at a press conference in Ilorin on Friday, August 27, that the government’s action stemmed from the need to prevent bloody religious crisis in Ilorin, the state capital.

“The government moved against the religious program in an apparent balancing act to forestall a security breach, after allowing the crusade to run for two out of the five days it was scheduled, despite protests from Muslims,” Alhaji Abdullahi said at the press conference.

According to him, “It was in the government’s effort to strike a compromise that allowed Bonnke’s crusade to go ahead. Besides, the government limited the crusade to two days, namely Wednesday and Thursday, as against five days the organizers originally scheduled to hold it. This was against the backdrop of threats of sectarian violence slated for the aftermath of Jumaat (Friday) services by the Muslims,” he added.

Muslim militants protested the evangelistic meetings the weekend before Bonnke arrived in Ilorin on Tuesday, August 17, his first trip to Kwara state in 14 years. The program,

organized by Christians in the state under the auspices of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), began on Wednesday, August 18.

Dr. Olusola Ajolore, Kwara state secretary of CAN, told worshippers on Thursday at the meeting grounds, “The government said we should stop the crusade after tonight. They said they would seal off the ground that we bought with our money if we would not comply.”

Bonnke reportedly sensed the tension that could spark clashes between Christians and Muslims and prevailed on the Christian leaders to refrain from any act that could lead to bloodshed.

Besides stopping the program, over 30 armed policemen prevented pastors gathered at Word Assembly Ground, Ajase-Ipo, from praying for the success of the meetings. The policemen, who were directed by the government to seal off the church, also cordoned off the church’s premises.

After the announcement that ended the meetings, thousands of Christians mounted a protest against the government’s action. They were heading towards the Government House before anti-riot policemen shot sporadically into the air to disperse them.

Ajolore accused the government of pandering to the whims of Muslims in the state. He described the program’s cancellation as ill-motivated and preconceived.

“It is amazing that the Kwara state government has by its conduct in cutting short the crusade days shown that it is incapable of holding the group [of Muslims] in check by keeping them out of mischief and crisis, thus provoking the situation,” said Ajolore at a press conference on August 27.

In a statement titled, “Muslims Now Call the Shots in Kwara State,” Christian leaders said, “We see this as an absolutely dangerous precedent.” According to them, “We believe that the whole development was a conspiracy by the Muslim group to put the Christian community out of activity and make them the underdog in the state. This is our state, and we will not continue to tolerate any breach in the exercise of our freedom of association, in worshipping in places of our choice and our own properties.”

Alhaji Salman Adelodun Ibrahim, Kwara state secretary, denied the accusation of the CAN leadership, saying that CAN had agreed that “the crusade must terminate by Thursday night, and that during the crusade, Rev. Bonnke will neither hold procession inside the city of Ilorin nor hold any meeting outside the advertised crusade ground at Budo-Efo.”