The NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 16th – Sunday 22nd Feb. 2026
HOW NOT TO BUILD CHRISTIAN UNITY
Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set (Prov. 22:28).
In 1999, Judge Stephen Johnson sentenced the legendary boxer, Mike Tyson, to a one-year jail term for assaulting two motorists in Maryland, USA, following a traffic incident in August 1998. Mike Tyson had made a name for himself, with millions of dollars in his account, by throwing punches at opponents in the boxing ring. When he threw the same punches at someone on the road, he was thrown into jail. Why? Tyson fought an illegal battle. If he had thrown those same punches in the ring, he would have gone home with millions of dollars and lots of accolade. For his punches outside the boxing ring, he lost honour. Not all fights are legitimate
National officials of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) lately published a punchy disclaimer against “Northern CAN.” In their February 2026 document signed by the President of CAN, the Vice President, the General Secretary, and the heads of the five blocs, the eight principal officers of the Nigeria Church, in an impressive show of ecclesiastical authority, decried what they considered the sectionalization of the umbrella body. The worry, however, is whether such a public disclaimer represented a Christ-centered way of resolving issues in the Church.
It is reported that the President of CAN had been requested by NEC to “intervene” between two contending groups in the Northern CAN, the representatives of which were invited to a meeting, only for it to be announced at that instance, off the NEC instruction to intervene, that “Northern CAN” was not in the constitution. The disclaimer on “Northern CAN” did not consider the vital role that that regional arm has been playing on behalf of Christians in Northern Nigeria, being an almost solitary but strong voice for Christian defence in the North and for condemning the serial attacks by Islamists. If Northern CAN were dissolved, it is unlikely that the national secretariat of CAN can play their role as properly.
Christians in the North formed an association in 1965 under the leadership of eminent Christians like the late Ambassador Jolli Yusuf Tanko. The churches in the South did not have such a body until August 1976 when an embarrassing incident at Dodan Barracks, the seat of the military government at the time, compelled the Church to establish the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). Christians in the North had had their Forum. By 2012, the counterpart southern organization, called Southern CAN, was established, and elected its Exco in July 2012 at the Onigbagbo House, Lagos, thus creating a Northern CAN and a Southern CAN. Northern CAN was more vibrant, given the intensity of the attacks that Christians in that region were facing.
The Constitution of CAN, as amended in 2021, may not have mentioned either of the regional arms of the Association, yet a public disclaimer against a vibrant group in the Church does not solve problems within the Church. When Christians publicly disclaim one another, it does not strengthen Church unity. It promotes discord.
Of equal concern is the threat of “legal action” in the disclaimer, contrary to the Bible (1 Cor. 6:1-6). If, at the level of the apex body, litigation by brother against brother is endorsed, how can Christian conflict be managed according to the word of God? Given that national officials of CAN are so mindful about the constitutional sanctity of “Northern CAN,” they could have engaged them to revert to their original name of Northern Christian Forum or Northern Christian Association. Then they may have done a change of name, and the rest could have had their peace.
This would not be the first time that officials of CAN would issue a public disclaimer against credible Christian organizations or publish advertorials against reputable bodies in the Nigeria Church. In March 2021, national officials of CAN published a defamatory disclaimer against the Christian Social Movement of Nigeria (CSMN), castigating its efforts to unite Nigerian churches to overcome jihadist attacks. To those CAN officials, it was probably criminal to seek Christian unity for confronting the jihadists and for supporting IDPs. CSMN was maliciously castigated as an “illegal” outfit attempting to “penetrate the Christian community.”
The National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) had the same stroke after its collaboration with CSMN to organize the Christian Political Consensus in 2018. The objective had been to unite Christians before the 2019 elections and to prevent the re-election of President Buhari who had not hidden his sectional postures. Soon after that consultation, CAN published an advertorial in PUNCH newspaper on 14th December 2018, claiming that it had “dissolved” the Elders Forum, which it had no powers to do as CAN did not establish the NCEF. These are sad lessons on how not to build Christian unity. This worrisome Church leadership trend started in 2016.
There should be better ways of resolving disagreements within the Body of Christ. The Christian Social Movement of Nigeria, established in 2000 by the five blocs of CAN as an independent body, has mooted the creation of a Christian Adjudication Panel for resolving issues amongst Christians, without recourse to the secular court.
The Scripture cautions against removing ancient landmarks. From 2016, CAN officials have shown disturbing signs that critical structures established by their predecessors should be dismantled. The vehemence with which CAN sometimes responds to other Christian bodies, particularly those at the forefront of the battle against Islamist jihadists and their government cronies, sends an uncomfortable message, for which it becomes difficult sometimes to defend it against those who allege paid compromises – thirty blatant pieces of silver.
If CAN had published a disclaimer against the sponsors of terrorism in Nigeria and the corrupt politicians who loot the national treasury with impunity, they might have received praises from men and from angels. The bold disclaimer against “Northern CAN” has only proved that those principal officials can write together. They may as well write to the United Nations, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States to advocate against Christian genocide in Nigeria, compelling the international community to intervene. They can further produce a joint letter requesting a new Constitution for Nigeria, in replacement of the illegitimate one foisted upon the country by the Military, and they may demand a return to the 1963 Constitution negotiated by the founding fathers of Nigeria, as a quicker option.
It is not too much to request NEC to prevail upon CAN officials to withdraw every uncomplimentary letter and cease to threaten the legitimacy of other Christian groups. They should rather focus on building their own legacies, not dismantling what predecessors have established. Like life itself, CAN is a stage. Everyone will play their role and depart. Some punches don’t earn dollars, they bring shame. May God bless the Nigeria Church.
PRAYER POINTS
1) Ps. 133
Pray for unity in the Body of Christ in Nigeria.
2) Matt. 15:13
Pray that God will uproot all those who cause divisions and strife in the Church in their pursuit for selfish interest.
3) Is. 40:1-5
Pray for comfort and strength for Christians in the North and Middle Belt regions of Nigeria, that the glory of the Lord shall fill the entire country.
4) Is. 41:10-13
Pray that God will hasten His help and deliverance for Nigeria Christians.
5) John 10:11-14
Pray that God will raise good shepherds for His Church in Nigeria, and dismiss all the hirelings, who have no interest in the well-being of the flock of Christ.
6) Ps. 11:6
Execute the judgment that is written on all the forces of darkness behind the terrorists as well as all who attack Christians in Nigeria.
7) Is. 66:6-11
Thank God for the New Nigeria and pray that it shall not tarry.
