The NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 27th April – Sunday 3rd May 2026
CAN AT 50: WHAT IS TO BE CELEBRATED?
Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil (Joel 2:12-13).
Last week, a test was conducted at an interdenominational Christian gathering for an appraisal of the leadership of the Nigeria Church under intense jihadist attacks. Following a brief deliberation on the subject of Christian leadership, some Christians were invited to rate the performance of the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on a scale of 0 – 10. Most of the respondents rated their performance at level 1, a poor mark on the scale.
That assessment is not a blanket condemnation of every leader of CAN since inception in 1976. Undeniably, CAN has had good leaders, who stood for truth, and were firm in their defence of Christianity in Nigeria. Unfortunately, the leadership of the Association, from 2016, has veered off into compromise with the enemies of the Church. At a time Christian leadership is expected to be firmer and more committed to the Church, the opposite has been the case.
The National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) conducted fact-finding meetings with all the Blocs and administrative arms of CAN in 2015 to resolve critical relationship issues in the Church. At the end of the interactions, the NCEF produced a 184-page report for CAN and followed that up with a Strategy Document for implementation. The Christian Elders also constituted two Committees, headed by eminent Nigerians, to investigate leadership crisis within the Association. From 2017, the NCEF started engaging the leadership of CAN up to the National Executive Committee (NEC), expressing serious concerns about the direction in which the Church was being taken. Instead of interrogating those concerns, Nigeria Christians raised a defence, as if church officials were above error. The status of infallibility accorded church officials by Christians has encouraged them to persist in leadership compromise. To date, some CAN officials do not accept responsibility for misdeeds. When leadership is given the impression that it is not accountable, the consequence to the followers is disastrous.
By August 2026, CAN will be 50 years. Usually, golden jubilees are celebrated with fanfare. Unfortunately, in this season of unprecedented Christian genocide remotely enabled by Christian leadership failures, one wonders how properly Nigeria Christians can roll out drums of celebration as if unmindful of the mass graves of their brethren on the other side of the country. A more proper golden jubilee would be one of sober reflections and mournful regrets over missed opportunities that could have prevented the present bloodshed in the Church and the country. But for the leadership compromises within the household of God, those calamities could have been avoided. Instead of a celebration, the Church should soberly reflect on the following:
1. The commercialization of Christian leadership that has resulted in outright betrayal of Christian interests.
2. The death of tens of thousands of Christians at the hands of Islamist insurgents and the self-induced helplessness of the Church to stop it.
3. The affliction and unwarranted sufferings of millions of Nigeria Christians in IDP camps, while CAN will be celebrating an anniversary.
4. The failure of the Nigeria Church to support and succour persecuted Christians.
5. The destruction, by some CAN officials, of the structures for interventions to mitigate the Islamist attacks.
6. The degrading of Christianity in Nigeria.
7. The pro-Islam posture of the current CAN officials.
Knowing full well the penchant of some Christians to contend over issues, some facts shall be set forth below, facts which have been previously raised but were ignored. The consequences are the ugly realities which Nigeria Christians, and indeed the entire country, are living with today.
The State of the Church Between 1976 and 2026
When CAN was established in 1976, Christianity in Nigeria was in a stable condition. In fact, Christians dominated key sectors of the country, and Christian influence was strong. In 1976, churches were not being burnt, Christians were not being murdered for their faith, there were no Christians in IDP camps, neither were Christian communities being sacked. Fifty years down the road, Christians are being murdered in tens of thousands for no crime other than for being Christians. Church buildings are being destroyed in thousands, while Christian communities are being sacked in their hundreds. How has CAN managed the Church?
The Undermining of the Church
An administration in CAN worked assiduously to put structures in place to mitigate the onslaught of the Islamists. A succeeding administration destroyed those plans and rather forged relationship with the Muslims. The plan to fund the Church, the Strategic Plan to build structures that should strengthen the Church, and the Christian Political Consensus to ensure that the instrument of the State was no longer exclusively in the hands of the Islamists, were all destroyed. Today, the Nigeria Church has no plan, no funds, no political clout. Christians are rather panicking all over the country.
The Pro-Islam Posture in CAN
When the alarm was raised that the current officials of CAN had shown a pro-Islam posture, some Christians considered that observation too harsh. Shortly afterwards, an invitation card surfaced, inviting the Sultan of Sokoto, as “Royal Father of the Day,” to the foundation laying ceremony of a chapel at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in April 2026. When some Christians stridently objected, CAN officials castigated them for disrespecting and maligning CAN. The defence of CAN was that the invitation had emanated from the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF). For political expediency, the SGF kept mute, but that silence was not an admission of guilt. On the contrary, it was an invitation to consider what CAN implied. By pointing the accusing finger at the SGF, CAN simply informed the Church that a parallel CAN Secretariat operates in the office of the SGF, a parallel Secretariat that has the authority to plan programs, invite dignitaries, print and circulate invitation cards in the name of CAN, without the knowledge and approval of the substantive CAN Secretariat.
While the SGF kept mute, the Sultan did not. Not wanting to be made the “fall guy”, the Sultan issued a public statement and insisted that he was officially invited to the occasion. The Sultan of Sokoto, “has described as unnecessary a denial issued by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) concerning an invitation extended to him.” Meanwhile, CAN officials had retorted angrily, lashing out at the brethren who protested the invitation. Are there no Christian royal fathers that could have been invited?
Christians need to realize that their problem is not the enemy that is attacking them but a leadership that fails to protect them. An enemy will always attack, the responsibility of proper leadership is to defend against or confront those attacks. Where a leadership is pro-enemy, the house should realise that it is time to reorganize their leadership structure. That does not call for prayer and fasting. The structure that provides sufficient room for compromise to thrive within the Church must be reviewed and reorganized, not celebrated.
WHAT IS THE WAY OUT?
The National Prayer Altar organized a prayer conference in February 2026 entitled "CHRISTIANITY IN NIGERIA: WHAT WENT WRONG?" That conference identified “leadership” as the bane of Christianity in Nigeria. The Islamists are not too powerful for the Church to conquer and overcome; the major problem is that the Church lacks competent leadership for the job. Instead of lamenting the wickedness of the Islamists, Christians should devote their energy to raising qualified personnel to provide leadership.
When an unqualified person is given a job, his weakness is exposed and he is ridiculed. The clergy is embarrassed because they cannot handle this level of engagement. This is not a theological debate, it is war! This is the time for laity professionals to provide Christian leadership, or at the least, be incorporated into Christian leadership. Engaging the Islamists demands key professionals in the Church. In Judges 11:1-8, the elders of Israel went looking for Jephthah, an outcast, to come and lead them against the Ammonites. They had to search for someone who could do the job.
Before August 2026 when CAN would officially be 50 years, the apex body should have been reorganized to respond effectively to contemporary challenges. There is a war going on and it will not be won by theological arguments. Christians should take note of what the Muslims have done. The current Sultan is not an Imam. He is a retired Brigadier-General, and an Intelligence Officer. Those who appointed him know why they did it. The Church, on its part, has responded by sending theologians to engage him. The outcome is what is going on ... "the wise shall understand"(Dan 12:10).
PRAYER POINTS
1. Est. 1:13-15
Pray that God will raise counsellors for the Nigeria Church, to give Godly counsel in this period of distress.
2. Jud. 11:2-6
Pray that God will open the eyes of Nigeria Christians to see the God-ordained deliverer for the Church.
3. Ps. 110:2-3
Pray that the people of God shall be willing to follow God’s appointed leader for the Church, when he is revealed.
4. Jn. 10:11-14
Pray that God will give to the Nigeria Church a good shepherd committed to the well-being of the Christians.
5. 1 Pet. 5:8-9
Pray soberness for Nigeria Christians to evaluate and respond appropriately to the crisis facing the Church.
6. Eph. 6:12
Take authority over the hosts of darkness contending with the Lordship of Jesus Christ in Nigeria.
7. Is. 49:24-26
Deliver Nigeria out of the hands of the forces of darkness that seek to take the country captive.
