One of our members, Emmanuel, Oladipo hails from Nigeria. On 23 January he preached to us about the great wedding breakfasts to be found in the Bible. But after the sermon, he shared with us his concerns about his native country:"Nigeria’s population of about 150 million people is split roughly half and half between Muslims and Christians. The two lived happily together without any serious incidents until about ten or fifteen years ago when some of the States instituted Sharia law and radical Islam started causing trouble by killing Christians and burning churches at the slightest excuse, such as when one of their number is converted. Christians felt they were not adequately protected, and church leaders were struggling to restrain some of the youth who believed they should not merely defend themselves but fight back in retaliation for the killing of Christians.
A new element came into the picture just a couple of years back when a new sect arose which does not only want to bring all of the country under Sharia Law but also to banish western education. They frequently target pastors to be killed and destroy churches and police stations. They were responsible for the suicide attack on the UN offices in Nigeria which killed 25 people in August 2011 and for the Christmas day bombing of a church which left 37 dead. They are known as Boko Haram, which literally means “western education is sinful.” Their latest atrocity was a series of coordinated attacks on Police and immigration offices in the largely Muslim city of Kano, killing 186 people.
It is difficult to see how security services which cannot protect police stations can protect churches! Please pray for wisdom for the leadership to know how best to handle the crisis and for Christians to realise that the real battle is not against flesh and blood but against the powers of darkness which inspire these satanic acts."
Let's join Emmanuel in prayer for Nigeria.
