Nigeria (MNN) — Last month, militant Fulani herdsmen killed up to 200 Nigerians in the predominantly Christian village of Yelwata. Since then, fear has risen that another large-scale attack could be coming.
Greg Kelley with Unknown Nations explains Nigeria is a land of contrasts.
“It’s a country that’s totally split in half. [Christians] largely are in the south. The other half is Muslim, largely in the north,” says Kelley. “The Fulani have been just as notorious, just as aggressive and brutal as Boko Haram.”
In addition to religions, influence is another dividing line. Nigeria has one of the highest Christian populations in all of Africa, with over 120 million believers according to Joshua Project. Yet their cries for protection are often ignored.
Why? Kelley explains that the Fulani people group is massive, influential, and politically resourceful. “They’re very ambitious, and they have incredible leadership and desire for power. So with that, you have key Fulani people that are dispersed throughout the government, throughout businesses. They have tons of resources. So when these killings happen, they tend to look the other way, and that’s why they’re getting away with it.”
The Nigerian government’s response has been lackluster. Meanwhile, the international community is sometimes bogged down by politics.
“I think the international community is playing a game of Russian roulette a little bit with ‘how much do we try and enforce [sanctions or human rights policies on] these guys and punish the bad guys, while not handicapping the people that we’re trying to elevate?’” says Kelley.
A contrasting response
But on the ground, some Nigerian Christians are pursuing a different solution: sharing the gospel even with the Fulani.
Audio Bibles bring the Gospel to people from oral cultures.
(Photo courtesy of Unknown Nations)
“We are hearing about these very perpetrators of aggressions and persecutions coming to know Christ,” says Kelley. “We just need to resource the people who are willing to go there in a better way. That is truly the answer for Nigeria.”
Supporting these Christians could mean sponsoring motorcycles for outreach, providing training, or distributing solar-powered audio Bibles. Last year, Unknown Nations distributed over 3,000 audio Bibles in Nigeria.
Kelley says the place to start is with prayer. Pray along with Matthew 9:37-38 that God will send more workers into Nigeria’s north. Pray that the advance of the gospel will transform the country from the inside out.
“I promise you one thing: today, there’s someone taking the gospel into northern Nigeria who will be killed because of that, and they’re doing it joyfully,” says Kelley. “Why? Because they recognize we’re just passing through this world. We are just temporary stewards of this opportunity to take the gospel into places like that. That’s the answer.”
Header photo: A western Fulani woman carries a bucket on her head and is silhouetted against the setting sun. (Photo, caption courtesy of IMB, CC 4.0)
