ACCESSING THE RESILIENCE OF BRITISH ADMINISTRATION AND CHRISTIAN MISSIONS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN POLITICS IN NIGERIA, 1840- 1960

Abstract

The civilization of Nigeria was a joint effort of the British colonial administration and the European Christian missionaries. Through Western education, many Nigerians were trained which gave them political consciousness to fight for the independence of the Nigerian nation. It was after Nigerian independence, that some elites like Nnamdi Azikiwe, Michael Okpara, and Obafemi Awolowo were elected into the helm of affairs of the new independent Nigerian government up until the 1966 military coup. The problem of this study is that many Christians in Nigeria do not actively participate in the political activities of the nation. This has created room for inequality, injustice and so forth to exist in the country, as some political leaders seem to be corrupt. This is also affirmed in the bible which says that when the righteous are in authority the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule the people groan (Prov 29:2). Therefore, this study is a clarion call for the Nigerian Christians to come out in mass and show keen interest in the politics of Nigeria in order to rewrite the wrongs in the society. The research methodology used in this study is secondary source of data which includes; journals, book of readings, mainline books, unpublished project works, amongst others. The study reveals that, the Christian missionaries played vital role in resuscitating political consciousness and awake the spirit of nationalism among their converts who later fought for the independence of Nigeria. The study recommends that qualified Nigerian Christians should show keen interest in politics and actively participate in it, while portraying Christian virtues.