Christian Solidarity Worldwide stands shoulder to shoulder with persecuted believers of every tribe and tongue. iBelieve spoke to the CEO of their Nigerian arm, Yunusa Nmadu, about the dangers that Christians are facing there
Reverend Yunusa Nmadu is a rather remarkable character – part pastor, part diplomat – and this rather unique gifting is what fits him to be a voice for peace in a troubled region. It certainly takes some grace to speak so reasonably about the religious strife raging in Nigeria when it has nearly claimed your own life.
“How has it affected me personally?” Yunusa chuckles. “Well, in the year 2000 when there was the Sharia crisis, the church I was pastoring then was burnt down, along with my library and my car. In fact, I escaped death by 45 minutes. It’s not that I knew they were coming, but I left the church just 45 minutes before the destruction took place.
“Right now, the church that I am a pastor of has been torched about ten times. It has been destroyed and burnt down four times.
“Church members have been affected. A church that used to have 2,000 members has been reduced to 600-700 people because people are relocating to other areas of Nigeria. People have left because of fear.”
Fear might have driven away more than half the members of Yunusa’s church, but he’s not going anywhere. What is more, he sees a real difference between the Christians he encounters in the UK and his home congregation. “Well, I feel that the Bible talks about this. Any church that is persecuted grows. What I am saying is that it has helped us to be stronger in our faith and to know that Christianity is worth dying for. We know that it is something good, otherwise people would not be killing us. We also find our peace in the Lord Jesus Christ. That also helps the church to grow stronger.
“People see Christians who have to face all these persecutions and they give their life to the Lord. They do that because of the quality of faith of the Christians. The difference between the Church in Nigeria and in the UK can simply be said to be that persecution has awoken revival in the minds of the Church in Nigeria.”
The remains of a burned-out church in Nigeria.
Faces are obscured to protect those involved
But while Christianity might be worth dying for, Yunusa is also clear that it’s worth fighting for as well.
“If you call it fighting back, that’s fine, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. I would call it defence. There are times in the past when the Christians would run away and the terrorists would come and destroy and nothing would be done.
“The fact that the perpetrators are not tried has encouraged people to defend themselves. If people do evil and they are never brought to justice, what you are telling the people is that they have no protection, so they need to protect themselves.
“So yeah, Christians protect themselves from violence against them. But we have to be able to distinguish that from Christians planning to attack. All Nigerians can tell you that not a single attack was planned and carried out by Christians. They fight back only when attacked, but sometimes it can get very bloody.”
Yunusa is remarkable in that he is actually a convert from Islam, meaning that he stands in a rather unique position in the midst of the religious conflict in his homeland.
“I’m a Muslim convert,” he explains. “I converted to Christianity, so I think I have an advantaged position to be able to tell you the differences between the two religions. You cannot separate Islam from politics. Power is needed for Islam, because it is actually a religion of force, so they need political power to express a religion. Having said that, it is important to note that the extreme Muslims are not so many in number as those who want peace. Those who are extreme are just louder than those who are moderate. And those who declare Sharia Law in Nigeria do not even practise what the Qur’an says!
“I think that Islam and Christianity can live side-by-side, and part of my work is trying to achieve this. We have a long way to go, but I know that it is possible because they have co-existed before.”
For Yunusa, the practical implications of the situation are evident, as he works towards peace in a broken nation, but he is convinced that we also have a part to play. “I believe that Christians are members of one another. If one part of the Church suffers, the whole Church suffers also. The Church in the West must come alongside its persecuted brothers and sisters in prayer, bringing issues before government, and those who God has blessed can support financially the many projects that are necessary.”