When the humanitarian Church in Nigeria is put to test

… Quickly identify and fix loopholes in the polity – Archbishop Martins

…It’s a Biblical injunction to cater for the less-privileged – Pastor Idowu

…The Church remains a vital partner in Nigeria’s humanitarian response – Osinaike

Over the years, the Church in Nigeria has long been a beacon of hope and humanitarian support for millions of Nigerians.

From providing aid to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to supporting vulnerable communities, the Church has consistently demonstrated its commitment to serving those in need.

The Catholic Church, in particular, has been at the forefront of humanitarian efforts in Nigeria. Through organisations like the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Caritas Nigeria, the Church has provided critical support to communities affected by conflict, poverty, and natural disasters.

However, ugly incident that took place across Nigeria last week where scores of Nigerians, including children were killed over food handouts. While this might not be a direct indictment on the organisers of the Christmas charity events; the stampedes however exposed the deepening crisis of hunger and despair in Nigeria.

At least 35 children were killed in southwestern Oyo state on Wednesday. And on Saturday, 22 people died in south-eastern Anambra state while 10 died in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, where more than 1,000 people had gathered at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Maitama district, to receive clothes and food items.

In his 2024 Christmas message to Nigerians signed by the Director of Social Communications, Very Rev. Fr. Anthony Godonu, Alfred Adewale Martins, the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos described as very sad and depressing, the recent loss of lives of about 100 innocent Nigerians in Ibadan, Abuja, and Anambra in their quest to access food palliatives owing to pervading hunger across the country.

He said it was worrisome that many Nigerians now find it difficult to purchase some of the basic necessities of life, especially during this festive season that should be a period of merriment, sharing of love, food, and other essentials that are the hallmarks of the season of Christmas.

To forestall the repeat of such ugly incidents, the prelate urged government, both federal and state, as well as the legislative assemblies, to quickly identify and fix the loopholes in the polity that are responsible for breeding the massive poverty and hardship that Nigerians are facing.

“As the country mourns these avoidable deaths, the hope remains that the lessons learned from this tragic week will inspire the systemic changes needed to prevent future calamities. May God grant eternal repose to the departed souls and comfort to the families who are left to grieve their losses,” Raymond Anoliefo, director, Justice, Development and Peace Centre (JDPC) Archdiocese of Lagos, stated.

According to him, the stampedes are a painful reminder of the depths of Nigeria’s economic and social crisis. He stated further that the incidents call for urgent intervention from the government, civil society, private organisations, and community leaders. “Addressing the root causes of these tragedies requires a united effort to alleviate poverty, ensure public safety, and rebuild trust among citizens.’

However, the Church’s humanitarian efforts in Nigeria are not without challenges. Limited resources, insecurity, and bureaucratic hurdles often hinder the Church’s ability to respond effectively to humanitarian crises.

“I think what happened in the last couple of weeks is a reflection of the dire state of the economy. People have been so impoverished that they can do anything to get food. The question we should ask is, why are people dying from stampedes at this time. Why didn’t people die years back from stampedes? It is clear that the economy is bad and people are desperate,” Gbenga Osinaike, publisher, Church Times, told BDSunday.

Despite these challenges, the Church remains a vital partner in Nigeria’s humanitarian response. As the country continues to grapple with complex humanitarian challenges, the Church’s commitment to serving the most vulnerable will be crucial.

“The church in Nigeria has a history of reaching out to the poor. I know of the Christ Chapel International Churches. They have a history of feeding the poor as far back as the early 90s. A lot of other churches like Catholics, Anglicans and a number of other Pentecostal churches have been carrying out feeding programmes without casualties,” Osinaike said.

He said further that the church has a history of reaching out to the poor right from the Bible days from the account in the book of Acts. According to him, Jesus shows a clear example of how to manage crowd when he fed 5000 men apart from children and women after one of his sermons.

“He asked them to sit in groups and he was able to feed the huge crowd. There is no record of calamity in any of the outings of Jesus. In the time of the apostles, there were some issues that came up concerning reaching out to the needy. That was what made Peter announce that they needed to get deacons that will do the service while they concentrate on the word and prayers,” Osinaike said.

Speaking further on what the church can do better in relation to giving and crowd control, Osinaike said that the lesson from the Bible offer a specialised way of doing charity. According to him, such charity should be carried out by people who have been trained and assigned to such assignment

“What the church can now do is to begin to create a welfare template that will respect the dignity of the beneficiaries. The other way to go about it is to make available tickets that they can use to access charity venues.

“The idea of announcing free feeding should be discouraged. Rather, the church can begin to identify vulnerable families or people per locality and reach out to them in their homes quietly and not before the camera,” Osinaike said.

For instance, House On The Rock has a legacy of giving through its annual Christmas outreach initiative tagged ‘Project Spread’, which in a way reaffirms its commitment to transforming lives and spreading joy across the Lagos metropolis.

The initiative delivers essential food items and supplies to families, ensuring they have enough provisions to last throughout the festive season.

“True faith calls us to action. Through Project Spread, we are not just giving gifts—we are extending love, care, and hope. It is a powerful reminder that by working together, we can build a world where no one is left behind,” Paul Adefarasin, stated while reflecting on the impact of the initiative.

For three decades, House On The Rock has remained steadfast in its mission to serve humanity through faith-inspired action. The Project Spread initiative is one of the many ways the church demonstrates its unwavering commitment to meeting both spiritual and physical needs by supporting underserved communities during the Christmas season.

“It is a very known fact that the church in Nigeria has been involved in humanitarian acts as far as its inception through free education and free health care. However, over the decades, things have changed so much that these two areas, namely, education and health care, now come at a fee. But it must be noted that in most cases, they are still subsidised.

“In recent years, the humanitarian acts of the church in Nigeria have been majorly focused on the provision of food items and, in some cases, clothing materials. This must have been influenced by the realities of the economic situation of the country,” Olusola Idowu, pastor, The Ajayi Dahunsi Memorial Baptist Church, Ilasamaja, Lagos, said.

According to him, the Biblical injunction to the church to cater to the less privileged and poor members of the society must have been the greater motivation for the church in this direction. He said further that the socio-economic situation in the country and the world at large provides a good platform for the church to obey the Biblical injunction of taking care of the poor.

In doing this, however, the church in Nigeria must be careful so that their good deeds are not spoken of as evil (see Romans 14:16). This requires that the church should learn a few lessons from one of the many humanitarian acts of Jesus Christ as recorded in Mark 6:30-44.

“Firstly, there must be concern for the poor people in the society. Jesus Christ expressed this when He told the disciples to give the crowd something. Secondly, there must be adequate preparation. Jesus Christ demonstrated this when He multiplied the five loaves of bread and two pieces of fish into many baskets.

“Thirdly, there must be proper organisation. We see this in the humanitarian act of Jesus Christ when He told the apostles to instruct the people to sit in groups. Fourthly, there must be good administration. Jesus Christ exemplified this when He told the apostles to give out the bread and fish to the crowd,” Idowu said.

He posits further that there is a need for preservation in every action the church undertakes, which in a way calls for proper management of events both at the pre and post-event stages. “We can see from the texts that after thousands of people were attended to, there were still leftovers. Jesus Christ told the disciples to keep the leftovers.”

As the humanitarian Church in Nigeria is put to test, it is essential that Christians and non-Christians alike rally around its humanitarian efforts. In supporting the Church’s work, Nigerians can collectively help in ensuring that critical aid reaches those who need it most.