Lausanne World Pulse – Urban Articles – Niamey—What Is Its Context for Christian Service? Part One

By Martine Audeoud
October / November 2009

The purpose of this two-part article is to study the various elements that influenced the context for Christian service in Niger and more specifically in Niamey, its capital city. In this article, we look at the historical context—namely, the origin of the dichotomy of the presence of Muslims and Christians in this part of West Africa. In part two, we discover some of the characteristics specific to the worldviews prevalent in Niger, and more specifically, in Niamey. In part two we also examine the different elements that can affect Christian service in Niamey.

History of Niger
Historical evidence indicates that human presence can be traced in the Sahara of northern Niger at least as far back as 4000 BC. Five thousand years later, in the tenth or eleventh century, Islam and its accompanying Arab influence arrived. Several Hausa city-states were developed around the fourteenth century along the east-west trans-Saharan trade routes. Various empires rose up and fought against each other until the nineteenth century, each trying to take over the land, sometimes using the excuse of waging a holy war. Islam was initially confined to the upper classes, but spread to the masses during the jihadist movements, most significantly under Dan Fodio Usthman.

Today, the Christian Church in Niger has about fifty thousand members with an annual growth rate of 5.4%.

Early in the twentieth century, French military and colonial forces attempted to control Lake Chad and created the military district of Niger. Although the various ethnic groups living in the area—the Bornu, the Hausa, the Fulani, and the Tuaregs—persistently resisted takeover, they had little success. In 1922, Niger was made a French colony.

Niger was administered as a French colony by the regional French governor in Dakar, Senegal. In 1946, French citizenship was granted to all inhabitants of the French territories. On 19 December 1958, Niger became an autonomous state (the Republic of Niger) within the French community. On 3 August 1960, the Republic of the Niger proclaimed its independence.

The growth of the young democracy was hindered at times by military coups and the subsequent overthrow of political leaders. Niger’s economy grew substantially in the 1970s with the discovery of uranium. This boom ended in the late 1980s as Libya tried repeatedly to take over the north by fueling the Tuareg rebellion, which has started up again in recent months. Today, Niger enjoys a multi-party democracy, its major concern being the Tuareg rebellion against the government in the northern part of the country. Niger is predominantly Muslim (ninety-nine percent according to the Nigérien government¹), but seeks to remain a secular state where freedom of religion and beliefs is promoted. It has consistently resisted Islamic radicalization.

History of Christianity in Niger
Christians attempted to reach Niger with the gospel on two occasions, but failed to make a lasting impact. In the seventh century, Berber Christians “migrated south after being driven from North Africa by emerging Islam. Isolated from other Christians, the faith gradually weakened.”³ Later on, during the nineteenth century, Samuel Crowther, the first African Bible translator for his own people⁴, the Yorubas, became the head of “The Niger Mission.” The mission declined after Crowther’s death and was discontinued for lack of visionary leadership.

Following the First World War, American missionary efforts were again invested in the Sahel region. SIM (formerly Sudan Inland Mission and now Serving In Mission) started to work in northeast Niger, and churches were planted. The Evangelical Baptist Mission started at approximately the same time and developed quite significantly in the southwestern part of country. Finally, during that same period, the Catholic Church turned its attention to Niger, specifically to the major cities where it gathered mainly expatriate African Christians. Further mission groups and parachurch organizations came in later in the twentieth century.

Martine Audeoud has served for over twenty-five years in Africa and Haiti. She has helped coordinate urban consultations in Abidjan and Haiti and is presently in Niamey (Niger) with her family. Beside her regular teaching job at an American school, she teaches and serves as an administrative consultant at the École Supérieure Privée de Théologie in Niamey. Her vision is to empower francophone African church leaders with contextualized tools that will empower them to respond effectively and creatively to the challenges of the twenty-first century urban francophone African context.