NIGERIA, THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN

The Federal Republic of Nigeria is a country in West Africa, bordering Niger on the north, Chad on the northeast, Cameroon on the east, the Gulf of Guinea on the south and Benin on the west. Its coast is primarily man-grove swamp and from there the landscape rises to a plateau region, with mountains in the east and a semi-desert region to the north. Agricultural products include cocoa, soybeans, cotton, tobacco and timber, while natural resources consist of petroleum and gas reserves, coal, tin, lead, zinc and iron ore.

A largely agricultural country, Nigeria was created out of the British territories of Northern and Southern Nigeria in 1914. It received a federal constitution for three autonomous regions in 1954 and became an independent dominion in the British Commonwealth six years later. Part of the British Cameroons voted to join Nigeria in 1961. In 1963 Nigeria became a federal republic in the Commonwealth with three regions (northern, eastern and western) and the federal territory of Lagos. The most populous country in Africa, Nigeria is divided along religious lines: the Muslims that comprise half its population inhabit the north, while Christians form an important minority in the south and west. Among the region's many tribes, the Igbo are predominately Catholic.

History. Once a part of the Songhai Empire, Nigeria's coast was visited by Portuguese traders who introduced Christianity in the 15th century. While the coastal area was entrusted to the Capuchins in the 17th century, systematic evangelization did not begin until 1840, when Protestant and Catholic missionaries appeared along the coast. Ceded to Great Britain by its African king in 1861, Nigeria was administered by a succession of colonies until 1886 when it became the Colony and Protectorate of Lagos.

Nigeria became a part of the vast Vicariate Apostolic of the Two Guineas, created in 1842, but was transferred to Gabon when that vicariate was created in 1863. Priests from the Society of african missions (SMA) arrived along with British rule in 1861. Prefectures apostolic were later formed for Upper Niger (1884) and Lower Niger (1889), after the country was briefly divided into two protectorates, the holy ghost fathers (CSSP) sharing the missionary labor with the SMA. The Prefecture of Eastern Nigeria was created in 1911 for the more difficult missions in the Islamic north.

In 1914 the region was given the status of a single colony, and it became the Federation of Nigeria in 1954. In 1950 the hierarchy was established with two ecclesiastical provinces. Nigeria was granted its independence on Oct. 1, 1960; the same year an apostolic delegation for six countries in west-central Africa was created and headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria's capital.

In 1967 the eastern region of Biafra seceded from Nigeria, creating a state of civil war that lasted into 1970. In 1991 the capital was moved from Lagos to the central city of Abjua. By 1993 the country was ruled by General Sani Abacha, who promised to return the country to civilian rule within three years. However, his regime continued, amid charges of corruption and human rights abuses, and the imprisonment of many Nigerians on charges of insurrection, prompting Nigerian bishops to speak out in favor of democracy and the growing violence. During a March of 1998 visit by Pope John Paul II, Abacha's regime was addressed, the pope noting that "(there is) no place for intimidation and oppression of the poor and weak, for the arbitrary exclusion of individuals and groups from political life, and for the abuse of power and authority." The pope's visit was preceded by a government crackdown on dissidents.

Religious Strife Marks Transition to 21st Century. Elections were held in Nigeria in 1999, following the adoption of a new constitution based on Islamic law, English law and tribal law. President Olusegun Obasanjo, a Christian, was faced with numerous economic problems, among them broadening an economy reliant on petroleum exports and modernizing the nation's agricultural industry. Also of concern were continual flare-ups of ethnic tensions, such as the violence between Ijaw and Itsekiri in the oil-rich Delta State.

While the government did not impose a religion, it allowed states to adopt the Islamic Shari‘a law as they chose. Under the strict imposition of such laws, alcohol was banned, only people with beards would be awarded government contracts, Islam became a required subject in public schools and men and women were not allowed to travel together on public transportation. Violations of law garnered such harsh punishments as public stoning and amputation. In the 1990s this prompted several northern states—among them Amfara, Kano, Niger and Sokoto—to become what critics argued were de facto Islamic states, as state governments funded the construction of mosques and otherwise supported the Islamic faith. By early 2000 northern Nigeria was wracked by ethnic violence as state governments sought to expand Shari‘a into Kaduna state, which had a significant Christian population. Churches and mosques were destroyed, while thousands died in scattered riots, prompting the government to restrict some religious activity.

In February of 2000 President Obasanjo and Muslim leaders in northern Nigeria agreed that the imposition of Muslim law should cease. However, tensions continued to exist, resulting in violent flare-ups by religious extremists. In Kaduna it was reported in May of 2000 that a bounty had been placed on the head of all Catholic priests. The report came shortly after a priest in Kaduna was brutally murdered by a Muslim mob. As northern states continued to respond to the will of extremists and adopt the Shari‘a criminal code, bishops increased their calls to the government to protect the rights of non-Muslims. "It is dangerous to presume that all is well simply because we are no longer burning houses or killing one another," Abuja Archbishop Onaiyekan noted publicly. "No one should expect a situation of blatant injustice to continue indefinitely without consequences."

By 2000 Nigeria had 1,528 parishes, tended by 2,494 diocesan and 640 religious priests. Within the country, 428 brothers and 2,968 sisters dedicated themselves to humanitarian efforts and the operation of the nation's 2,870 primary and 244 secondary schools. In addition to the continued religious strife in the northern states, the attention of the Church was directed towards the rising death toll resulting from the spread of AIDS within Nigeria's

population, as well as government efforts to legalize abortion during a constitutional review in 2002.

Bibliography: Bilan du Monde, 2:630–638. Annuario Pontificio has annual data on all dioceses and prefectures.

[j. bouchaud/eds.]