The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is an

umbrella organisation An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...

containing numerous

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

denominations in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

History

The Christian Association of Nigeria was founded in 1976, and originally only contained the Catholic Church and mainline

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

groups. However, it later expanded to include

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

churches as well. In 2000, the CAN protested the adoption of

Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...

law in northern states. In February 2006, while President of the organisation, Akinola issued a statement in response to

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

violence against Christians, telling Muslims that they did not have a "monopoly on violence". The following day, Christians rioted in retaliation against Muslims, leading to more than 70 deaths. Akinola later claimed his statements had been misinterpreted in the western media. He even threatened to resign in case the riots should continue. On 2 May 2004, more than 630 christian were killed in Yelwa,

. The dead were pinned white name tags identifying them as members of the CAN. The massacre is known as the Yelwa massacre. In September 2007, the organisation endorsed a

social security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

plan put forth by

Jigawa State Jigawa State (Hausa: ''Jihar Jigawa'' (Fula Leydi Jigawa 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤮𞤤 𞤶𞤭𞤺𞤢𞤱𞤢) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the northern region of the country. Created in 1991 from the northeastern-most region of Kan ...

Governor

Sule Lamido Sule Lamido was born on (30 August 1948) served as Foreign Affairs Minister of Nigeria from 1999 to 2003. He was elected governor of Jigawa State in April 2007. He is a member of the former ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He ran successful ...

Organisation

The organisation is made up of five blocs; they are the Christian Council of Nigeria, the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, the

Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestantism, Protestant Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christian movement Organisation of African Instituted Churches The Organization of African Instituted Churches (OAIC) is a Christian ecumenical organization founded in 1978. It is a member of the World Council of Churches. It describes itself as "the representative body that brings together African Independent ...

, and the

Evangelical Church Winning All The Evangelical Church Winning All, previously known as the Evangelical Church of West Africa, is one of the largest Christian denominations in Nigeria, with about ten million members. ECWA is a partner church of the international Christian miss ...

Fellowship of Churches of Christ in Nigeria The Fellowship of Churches of Christ in Nigeria (TEKAN) is a federation of Christian denominations in Nigeria. It was founded in 1955. Its president is Nemuel Abubakar Babba. Members *Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) *The Lutheran Church of C ...

. The CAN has Women and Youth Wings, a National Executive Council consisting of 105 members (which elects the President), and a General Assembly of 304 members (which ratifies the President's election).

Leadership

In 2016, Supo Ayokunle, President (and Chief Executive Officer) of

The Nigerian Baptist Convention ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

, was elected as president and Prof.

Joseph Otubu Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

, of the Motailatu Church Cherubim and Seraphim Movement, the Vice President. Ayokunle was re-elected for second term and inaugurated in July 2019 alongside his Vice President Rev Dr. Caleb Ahima. In July 2022,

Daniel Okoh Most Rev. Daniel C. Okoh is General Overseer of the Christ Holy Church International, a.k.a. Nation Builders, a former vice President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, and President of the Organisation of African Instituted Churches. Dani ...

was elected as the present president of the association

References

External links

Christian Association of Nigeria Website
{{Authority control Christian organizations based in Nigeria National councils of churches Christian organizations established in 1976 1976 establishments in Nigeria