Nigerians everywhere, those
of belief and those of none,
are mourning the death of
Pastor Lawan Andimi, tak-
en from us by Boko Haram for his re-
fusal to denounce his Christian faith.
I did not know Pastor Andimi per-
sonally. Yet Nigerians and I both
know him and his church by their
works: healing, caring, feeding and
educating, particularly in the north-
eastern regions of my country—in
those areas threatened for too long
by terrorists. Every day, the Church of
the Brethren in Nigeria (EYN) places
itself there bravely where the brother-
hood of man is most in need of sus-
tenance.
Pastor Andimi’s ministry was lo-
cated only 60 miles from the town
of Chibok, from where in 2014 the
world witnessed the shocking kid-
napping of 267 schoolgirls. That even
one individual—this time a man of
the church—could still be taken by
the terror group seven years later
might be viewed as evidence the ter-
rorists are fully functional, and unde-
feated. But it is not.
Since I was first elected to office in
2015, 107 of the Chibok girls have
been freed. Today we seek the others.
Boko Haram are no longer one, uni-
fied threat, but fractured into several
rivals. These splinters are themselves
degraded: reduced to criminal acts
which—nonetheless no less cruel—
target smaller and smaller numbers
of the innocent. We owe thanks to
the Nigerian defense forces, bolstered
by our partnership with the British,
American militaries and other coun-
tries that we are winning this struggle
in the field.
But we may not, yet, be complete-
ly winning the battle for the truth.
Christianity in Nigeria is not—as
some seem intent on believing—
contracting under pressure, but ex-
panding and growing in numbers
approaching half of our population
today. Nor is it the case that Boko
Haram is primarily targeting Chris-
tians: not all of the Chibok schoolgirls
were Christians; some were Muslims,
and were so at the point at which they
were taken by the terrorists. Indeed,
it is the reality that some 90 per cent
of all Boko Haram’s victims have been
Muslims: they include a copycat ab-
duction of over 100 Muslim school-
girls, along with their single Christian
classmate; shootings inside mosques;
and the murder of two prominent
imams. Perhaps it makes for a better
story should these truths, and more,
be ignored in the telling.
It is a simple fact that these now-fail-
ing terrorists have targeted the vul-
nerable, the religious, the non-reli-
gious, the young, and the old without
discrimination. And at this point,
when they are fractured, we cannot
allow them to divide good Christians
and good Muslims from those things
that bind us all in the sight of God:
faith, family, forgiveness, fidelity, and
friendship to each other.
Yet sadly, there is a tiny, if vocal,
minority of religious leaders—both
Muslim and Christian—who appear
more than prepared to take their bait
and blame the opposite religious side.
The terrorists today attempt to build
invisible walls between us. They have
failed in their territorial ambitions, so
now instead they seek to divide our
state of mind, by prying us from one
another—to set one religion seeming-
ly implacably against the other.
Translated into English, Boko Har-
am means “Western teachings are
sinful.” They claim as “proof ” pas-
sages of the Quran which state that
Muslims should fight “pagans” to
be justification for attacks on Chris-
tians and those Muslims who hold no
truck with them. They are debased by
their wilful misreading of scripture—
at least those of them who are able to
read at all.
Of course, there is much of Chris-
tianity and Islam—both in teaching
and practice—that are not the same.
Were that not so, there would be no
need for the separateness of the two
religions. Yet though these unread
terrorists seem not to know it, there is
much between our two faiths—both
the word and the scripture—that run
in parallel.
For the Bible teaches, “Each one
must give as he has purposed in his
heart, not grudgingly or under com-
pulsion” (2 Cor. 9:7), while the Quran
states: “There is no compulsion in
religion” (2:256). Similarly, the Bible
states:
“For if anyone is a hearer of the
Word and not a doer, he is like a man
who looks intently at his natural face
in a mirror” (James 1:23). The Quran
concurs: “Those who believe and do
good works, theirs will be forgiveness
and a great reward” (35:7).
I call on Nigeria’s faith leaders, and
Nigerians everywhere, to take these
words of concord—and the many
more that exist—to their hearts and
their deeds. Just as my government,
and our international partners, quick-
en our campaign to defeat Boko Har-
am within and without our borders,
we must turn our minds to the future.
There is no place in Nigeria for those
who seek to divide us by religion, who
compel others to change their faith
forcibly, or try to convince others that
by so doing, they are doing good.
Rather, we might all learn from
the faith and works of Pastor Andi-
mi. There seems little doubt he acted
selflessly in so many regards—giving
alms and prayers to both Christians
and Muslims who suffered at the
hands of the terrorists. And he passed
from us, rightly refusing to renounce
his faith that was not for his captors to
take, any more than his life. His belief
and his deeds are a lesson and an in-
spiration to all of us.
