Some of the most enduring lessons of life emanate from our parents. As a child who was born and grew up in Jos, in the northern part of Nigeria, one of my childhood memories was the annual visit with my…
3 killed as Methodist violence flares in Nigeria
Three United Methodists were killed Dec. 15 when a United Methodist Church in northeast Nigeria was attacked allegedly by supporters of the breakaway Global Methodist Church. A few days prior to the attack, a dissident organization that has promoted the…
A Nigerian’s view of the US presidential election
With the U.S. presidential election now over and a winner declared, one thing people may need to do — particularly those whose candidate failed to win the election — however difficult, is to adjust to reality and learn to live…
People are dying in Africa, but the world doesn’t notice
There’s a perception that numbers matter, and so, the more problems there are in a place, the more interest they arouse. Not so in the case of disasters in Africa in the last year compared to what’s seen of the…
Burkina Faso and Nigeria bearing the brunt of terrorism
In the study of insurgency and the disaster it leaves in its wake, few countries in recent years have suffered as much as Nigeria and Burkina Faso, two multiethnic and religiously diverse societies located in West Africa. Both countries have…
New USCIRF reports reveal the state of religious freedom in Eritrea and Nigeria
In the last two months, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom released two major reports, each of which features an overview of the state of religion in two African countries — Eritrea and Nigeria. The reports reveal the…
UMC bishop clarifies threat of Global Methodist Church agitators in Nigeria
New details have recast the apparent immigration detention of United Methodist Bishop Eben K. Nhiwatiwa in Nigeria as a security measure to protect the cleric rather than arrest him over a visa conflict. Initial reports from Nigeria claimed the bishop…
UMC bishop back in Zimbabwe after visa detention in Nigeria
United Methodist Bishop Eben K. Nhiwatiwa was safely home in Zimbabwe Aug. 27 after being detained in Nigeria on a visa complaint while visiting to set up the election of a new bishop. The incident marks the latest encounter in…
My mum and I
I was recently forwarded, via WhatsApp, a video clip of my mother among some family members at a house opening ceremony in my hometown in Southern Nigeria. The video was shared by my beloved cousin, Vicki Egbo. Having not physically…