Scottish Catholic Observer

THE latest attacks in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna have prompted renewed fears about the descent of Africa’s most populous nation into bloodshed, chaos and civil conflict.

Militant Islamist Boko Haram’s abduction of 275 girls from a school in worst-affected north-east Nigeria sparked outrage and condemnation around the world. About 50 girls quickly escaped but fears for the others grew when they and their kidnappers appeared in disturbing videos posted online.

Most of the youngsters were Christians. They were forced to convert to Islam against their will and reports described their kidnappers threatening to sell them into slavery.

At a recent Aid to the Church in Need international religious freedom conference, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference in Nigeria, responded by calling on the charity’s friends and benefactors to pray for all victims of kidnapping and trafficking.

The archbishop, whose diocese of Jos has witnessed so much pain and misery, asked ACN to help communities of faith urgently in need of healing.

Complete with first-hand ACN testimonies from persecuted parts of Nigeria, this report highlights key ACN projects including:

- Rebuilding churches and other religious communities devastated by persecution

- Providing Catechesis and education to help the young to keep the Faith

- Supporting seminarians offering their lives to God and his people

- Helping religious communities committed to prayer and social action

“The work of ACN is highly felt in different parts of Africa and Nigeria in particular,” Archbishop Kaigama said. “May God continue to bless your generous hearts that what you do for the Church and for the Lord will be amply rewarded.”

Saving lives, rebuilding faith

“I was celebrating Mass,” Bishop George Dodo said. “Suddenly there was a huge blast and we were plunged into darkness.”

The bishop was describing the moment when suicide bombers struck at his cathedral in Zaria, northern Nigeria.

As we walked around the cathedral—now repaired thanks to ACN—we saw a poster commemorating five people killed that day: Jerry Ali, 32, Samuel Maigizo, 28, Zachariah Arat, 26, Ifeany Kevin, 26, and 33-year-old Cosmos Okpara.

Many parishioners owe their lives to these Cadets—described as ‘martyrs’—who cleverly sensed danger and prevented the suicide bomber from driving into the compound. Instead, the explosion took place at the gate.

Paying tribute to their courage, parishioner John Igwe described how, moments after the blast, he ran inside the cathedral to find his wife, Mary, and four children—Eulogius, 8, Faith, 10, Charles, 7, and 4-year-old Janet.

“Thank God, they had all got out but each of them suffered trauma,” John said.

They were the lucky ones; more than 50 people were injured that day.

Thanks to you, ACN provided nearly £20,000 to re-roof the cathedral and a further grant to rebuild the nearby bishop’s house damaged beyond repair.

“We have our problems but—thanks to your help and your prayers—we are staying put and are witnessing to Christ, our Saviour,” Bishop Dodo told ACN.

Two other churches were bombed in Zaria that Sunday in 2012.

Clergy and Faithful are turning to ACN to help repair a number of churches, parish centres and presbyteries damaged and destroyed. Please help us.

Handing on your faith, whatever the age

Age is no bar to an active life nor to passing on the Faith. When we met Emmanuel Musa—which means Moses in Hausa language—he was 77, and his diocese’s oldest Catechist.

Born to Muslim parents in 1936, he converted to Christianity at 14, after attending a conference about Our Lady.

“When I became a Christian, my community rejected me,” he said. “They regarded me as an infidel. They told me this to my face. But I didn’t care. Becoming a Christian was all I wanted to do.”

Emmanuel suffered for his Faith again. Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School, Gusau, where he was headmaster for 13 years, was seized by the local Islamist government. He was removed from the post and his teaching qualifications were revoked.

But clinging to his Faith, in 1975 he started using his teaching skills as a Catechist at the diocesan Catechetical centre and began a new career handing on the Gospel.

“It has got a lot more difficult being a Christian,” Emmanuel said. “We are being discriminated against. We are refused water, access to schools… Our churches have been bombed but we don’t fight back. We should realise that our prayers are enough.”

Please pray that the Church will be strengthened by more witnesses like Emmanuel.

- For more information about the suffering of Christians in Nigeria and how you can help, please visit www.acnuk/nigeria or contact 020 8661 5161