RESEARCH

Do You KNOW?
Do you know that out of the world's 5 billion people (new facts put the world's population at over 6 billion people)  the United Nations estimates that there are over 223 political countries with over 24,000 nations?  The United Nations defines the word "Nation" as "a group of people set apart by common language, religion, ethnicity, residence, occupation, class or caste."  Encyclopedia American describes "Nations" as a large number of people who see themselves as a community or groups who generally place loyalty to the group above any conflicting loyalty they often share one or more of the following Language, culture, religion, political, and other institutions, a history with which they identify and a common destiny."

It is estimated that out of this 24,000 nations of the world, more than 12,000 nations constituting about 2.7 Billion people (it could be more) are unreached with the gospel.  Mission writers define unreached people as a group of people set apart by common language, religion, ethnicity, residence, occupation, class, or caste who do not have an adequate self propagating Christian population.  If we should drive the message home, we will observe that Nigeria as one of the United Nations 223 political countries is unreached people compliant.

With a population of over 100 million people, Nigeria has over 510 languages groups.  Some of these languages are a corruption of major ones.  The largest concentration of these language groups is in the former North Eastern States of Nigeria now comprising a total of 6 states namely: Bauchi, Gombe, Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, and Taraba States.  Bauchi and Gombe alone with 66,510 sq. kilometers has according to November 1991 census over 4 million people with 77 tribes. Out of these 77 tribes, 28 tribes are in the valley of decision, not knowing which religion to follow, Christianity, or Muslim.  According to November 1991 census, Borno State has over 2,596,589 people and this population is almost entirely Muslims.  Borno and Yobe States have 36 tribes in all and over 400 villages.  In Borno State has no single church.  Adamawa and Taraba States that has a strong Christian presence is deeply engaged in syncretism (A mixture of idolatry with Christianity).

Islam has held many tribes captive in north of Nigeria.  At present, there are 37 tribes or nations that are 100% Islamized.  These tribes are found in Yobe and Borno, Sokoto, and Katsina States.  They were Islamized not because they wanted to, but because they were in need of social facilities that were rightly theirs.  Tribes like the Garmargu, Kotoko, and Baduma prefers to be called Kanuris because identifying with the Kanuris denote civilization.  So Islam carries out it's evangelism by manipulating their sense of need.

Mission writers estimates that over 55 million people are unreached in Nigeria.  About 12 million of them lives in the states already mentioned.  It might not be out of place to estimate that less than 2 million of these 12 million people have been reached with the gospel.  The rest are sentenced to spiritual darkness only resigned to what Christians in Nigeria will eventually think of them.

THE GROWING SOUTHERN CITIES:
The growing Southern cities are insufficiently evangelized despite proliferation of churches and deafening noise going on as revivals.  Lagos has a reputation for spiritual decadence and sin, yet it harbors the highest number of super rich churches.  There are many young and enthusiastic evangelists concentrated all over Southern Nigeria but there is little coordination and conservation of the fruit of their efforts.

The Muslim Yoruba are a large minority in the Northern cities of the West. Besides, there is a large Muslim population in the city of Ilorin, Kwara State, yet one is apt to ignorantly pass the Southern Western States as a people well evangelized.

There are ethnic groups and areas along the Benin border where Christian penetration has not been great.

Areas along the lagoon and riverine parts of Lagos. Ondo, Ogun, and old Bendal States are grossly unreached just as the South Eastern States of Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Bayalsa, Rivers and Delta States, plus some parts of Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo, Anambra, and Abia States.

The great Atlantic Ocean have for many years shielded many people from both environmental and spiritual civilization.  People living along Cameroon border have not been reached.

In Anambra State, the souls of people are keenly contested for by Christ as gods.

In Abia and Imo, cultural revival is having it's tool on the church.  In the Niger Delta States, many communities are not accessible by road thus, the mighty ocean effectively keeps them out from the gospel.  As if it is a conspiracy, the evangelists and Christian churches turn blind eyes to these people and their plight.  At every census, however, they enter their names as Christians and of course the Christians agree that they are Christians but the devil is not amused, he knows who they belong to.