Nigeria

Welcome to our small corner of God's expansive and beautiful world. It is profound joy for me to be given an opportunity to contribute to this maiden edition of our own national periodical for which all members of the Anglican Communion in this country and indeed all Nigerians should be grateful to the Primate. That this Magazine is now in your hands is. for many of us, a dream come true.

Following the successful hosting of the First African Anglican Bishops' Conference by the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) in October 2004, the idea of having an Anglican periodical on the national newsstand was muted. We pray that this publication will not only add to the number of Nigerian religious newspapers, but will truly be a voice crying in the wilderness.

Having just crossed from Advent to Christmas, one hopes that the competing demands of our times and the alluring entreaties of feverish advertisers have not completeiy drowned the voice of the Baptist by the Jordan. His call was persistent that a nation on whom God had lavished so much love should not so easily turn her back on her Creator and Benefactor. At this season, it would be helpful to remind ourselves of God's benevolence to this nation; a m;ltion with a solid past and bright future. In a recent Welcome Address to about 6000 future leaders of this country and some foreign visitors, I had this to say, inter alia:

For our international visitors, it is a warm welcome to Nigeria, the land that was part of the ancient civilizations of North and Sub-Saharan Africa and which opened its doors to the Western world through the entreaties of the Christian missionaries particularly those sent forth by missionary societies of the churches of Great Britain, Europe and North America in the 19th Century. You are welcome to the community that produced and nurtured the likes of Samuel Ajayi Crowther, the first AfricanAnglican Bishop. You are welcome to the nation that saw the gospel blossom from the mustard seeds sown by British, European, American and other missionaries and nurl/Jred with their blood from the 15th. Century. You are welcome to a nation which, within a century and a half, experienced the emergence of national churches of monumental proportions; a nation which in the last quarter ota century, can be said to have the highest number of churches in the wortd.

You are welcome to Nigeria, the land of aquatic splendor, a land of the farmer's delight, a land that is traversed by exotic vegetation types and mind-boggling landforms, some of which have provided for the country temperate conditions in the tropics! You are welcome to a land with
intimidating markets, the land of the investors'detight, the land forihe
discriminating entrepreneur, the land for the fertile-minded' adventurer. You are welcome to the Star of Africa; a nation, which though ranks the sixth wortd producer or crude petroleum, is described as having only a drop of oil in a sea of gas!

The nation is so blessed that though gas fiaring has been on 24/7 since 1958, that. is, every second for half a century, the nation is still swimming in a sea of gas! Oil and gas form only a sector of the nation's rich endowments. Expatriate miners on the Plateau or in and around lIesha who have exploited this nation's rich mineral resources since the colonial times appreciate the worth of our beloved country.

British, American, European and Asian economies know the quality of the Nigerian human capital. If the Chinese were to ha\le farming rights in the Niger Delta, that region would be, to their paddy rice farmers, a gold mine. The sheer size of the Nigerian market is more mind¬boggling than her land forms. Imagine a country with a teledensity of one line to less than four persons; down from one line to more than three hundred persons ten years earlier. Imagine a country in Sub-Saharan Africa with better telephone and internet flexibility than her colonial master! Can you imagine a country whose capital market appreciated from less than N2tn. to more than N9tn. in less than four years? That country is Nigeria, my beloved country. Any wonder therefore that the average Briton, European or American who ventures to do business with Nigeria, is content not to look elsewhere? Many have forgotten that the big white B in a blue square which is such a common sight in Nigeria. for example, represents the government and people of Germany.

So what is the relevance of all of this analysis to the average Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) member? Religion has to do with people and their relationship with God and to one another. Nigeria, despite her wealth, has been described as a rich country with poor citizens. Why this anomaly in spite of the intellectual wealth of Nigerians as acknowledged both within and outside this country? A word from a man who was one of the arrow-heads at the foundation laying stage of his country's tortuous march to greatness may help. Benjamin Franklin that great American, who was at the centre-stage of the crafting of the American Constitution, a constitution that has stood the test of nearly 250 years, once said:
"He that shall introduce into public affairs the principles of primitive Christianity will change the face 01 the world".
There are many Christians in positions of responsibility and trust in Nigeria who should make a difference to the state of the nation in line with the Preacher's assertion that 'when the righteous is in authority, the people rejoice' (Proverbs 29: 2). That is the main reason for this column. In the coming weeks and months, I would like us to rub minds together in this column and seek ways to help those in positions of trust in this country; in particular, the Christians who, as we know from 2 Chronicles 7: 14, hold the keys to the survival and healing of our nation. '

Have a blessed month as you work and pray lor the peace and progress of our beloved country, Nigeria. Your brother & fellow ambassador of the Most High God accredited to Nigeria.

Venerable S.Igein Isemede
Archdeacon & Vicar,
Our Savoiur's Church, T.B.S Lagos