The Civil War Revival and its Pentecostal progeny: a religious movement among the Igbo people of

538 Pages·2010·3.79 MB·English

by  Richard Hugh Burgess

THE CIVIL WAR REVIVAL AND ITS PENTECOSTAL
PROGENY: A RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT AMONG THE IGBO
PEOPLE OF EASTERN NIGERIA (1967-2002)

by

RICHARD HUGH BURGESS

A thesis submitted to
The University of Birmingham
for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Theology
School of Historical Studies
The University of Birmingam
June 2004
University of Birmingham Research Archive

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ii

Abstract

This thesis is a study of a Christian movement among the Igbo people of Eastern Nigeria from
its origins in the Civil War Revival (1967-73) to the present. It argues that the success of the
revival depended upon a balance between supply and demand. Colonial legacies, Western
missionary endeavours, decolonisation, and civil war not only created new religious demands,
they contributed to the formation of a missionary fellowship, able to exploit the disorder of Igbo
society and the failure of existing religious options to fulfil traditional aspirations.

The thesis shows that during its formative period the revival’s Pentecostal progeny also
benefited from this missionary impulse, and the flexibility of Pentecostal spirituality, which
enabled it to adapt to meet consumer demands. It examines the way the movement has evolved
since the 1970s, and argues that the decline of its missionary impulse, combined with a
paradigm shift from holiness to prosperity teaching, and a propensity to schism, have imposed
limitations on its potential as an agent of transformation. Finally, it shows that during the
1990s, a further shift has occurred towards a theology of socio-political engagement, and
examines the implications of this for the movement’s identity and influence in a pluralistic
society.
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Acknowledgements

This study has its roots in my life and work in Nigeria since 1990, and I am unable to mention
all who have contributed in one way or another. I am grateful to Mission Africa and to the Qua
Iboe Church of Nigeria, who made it possible for me to work in Nigeria. I would like to thank
the Spalding Trust, and especially the Whitefield Institute, for helping to fund my research.
Without their support, this thesis would not have been completed.

My interest in African revival movements developed as I interacted with Christians in Nigeria
and the UK. I am especially grateful to the late Robert Hyslop, whose enthusiasm for revival
was infectious; to Bishop Dr. Cyril Okorocha, who encouraged me to embark on this research;
and to Professor Ogbu Kalu and Rev. Amaechi Nwachukwu, whose idea it was to organise the
‘Remembering the Seventies’ Conference, which introduced me to so many key figures from
the Civil War Revival.

I would like to thank those who have provided hospitality throughout the research process,
especially the community of Amazing Love Assembly in Enugu, Rev. Rufus Ogbonna and Mrs.
Iris Ogbonna, Richard and Aureola Enwezor, Rev. and Mrs. Benjamin Ikedinobi, Rev. Godwin
Nwosu, Rev. Dr Sid Garland and Mrs. Jean Garland, and the staff and students of the
Theological College of Northern Nigeria. I am also grateful to Peter and Margaret Robins,
Trevor and Ann Luke, and Canon Dr. Udobata Onunwe, for allowing me to stay in their homes
during visits to Cambridge, Oxford, and Birmingham respectively.

The present study has benefited from interactions with other scholars. Various parts of my
thesis have been presented to seminar groups at the Whitefield Institute and the University of
Birmingham, and I am grateful for the helpful comments from fellow research students and
staff. I also wish to thank Dr. David Smith, Dr. David Cook, Professor Ogbu Kalu, Canon Dr.
Udobata Onunwe, Dr. Sarah Williams, Dr. John Padwick, and Dr. Andrew Guyatt for taking the
time to comment on my work. I am especially grateful to Dr. Allan Anderson, my supervisor,
for his encouragement and invaluable suggestions, which have helped me to develop my
research skills and improve my thesis.

This study would not have been possible without the kind cooperation of former African
revivalists, Pentecostals, and missionaries, willing to tell their stories and allow me to
participate in their church activities. Special thanks to Dr. Stephen Okafor, Mrs. Frances
Lawjua Bolton, Rev. Thompson Nwosu, Rev. David Adegboye, Pastor Leo Anorue, Dr. John
Onuora, Rev. Ndubuisi Oti, and Rev. Raphael Okafor. I am also indebted to former Scripture
Union travelling secretary Bill Roberts for his hospitality, and for allowing me access to his
private papers. Many others, too numerous to mention, have contributed to the project. Some
of their names are mentioned in the text of the thesis itself. I hope I have captured in this work a
little of their vision and experience.

Finally, I would also like to express my gratitude to Nigerian friends for making me feel at
home in an unfamiliar culture, especially Pastor Ilya Kachalla, an invaluable assistant and friend
during my six months field research in Jos, and Elder Akoh Abraham, who has been unstinting
in his encouragement and kindness ever since I first met him in 1991. Above all, I thank my
parents for their support in various ways over the years. This thesis is dedicated to them in
gratitude, and to the glory of God.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Illustrations and Tables..........................................................................................x
List of Abbreviations........................................................................................................xi
Maps...........................................................................................................Following p. xii

CHAPTER ONE. CONSTRUCTING AFRICAN IDENTITIES..............................1
1. Introduction.................................................................................................................1
1.1 Telling the Story......................................................................................................2
1.2 Explaining Patterns of Growth and Decline............................................................8
1.3 Transforming the Landscapes................................................................................18
1.4 Defining Revivals and African Pentecostalism.....................................................21
1.4.1 Revival............................................................................................................21
1.4.2 African Pentecostalism....................................................................................22
1.5 A Personal Story....................................................................................................25
2. Theoretical Considerations......................................................................................28
2.1 Globalisation and African Identity........................................................................28
2.1.1 Constructing Identities....................................................................................28
2.1.2 Globalisation Theory.......................................................................................30
2.1.3 Global Flows and Identity Construction.........................................................34
2.1.4 Globalisation as a Carrier of Modernity.........................................................35
2.2 Secularisation, Sacralisation, and Religious Pluralism.........................................39
2.3 Conversion and Identity........................................................................................42
2.4 Narrative, Oral History, and Identity Construction...............................................48
2.5 ‘Actual Life’ Theologies.......................................................................................53
3. Methodology..............................................................................................................56
3.1 Ethnography, Phenomenology, and the Study of Religion...................................57
3.2 Engaging with the Subjects...................................................................................61
4. Overview....................................................................................................................68
CHAPTER TWO. SKETCHING THE LANDSCAPES..........................................70
Introduction...................................................................................................................70
1. Socio-political and Economic Landscapes (pre-2002)...........................................72
1.1 Constructing Igbo Identity.....................................................................................72
1.2 Socio-Political and Economic Cultures.................................................................76
1.2.1 The Pre-Colonial Era.......................................................................................77
1.2.2 Colonial Legacies............................................................................................80
1.2.3 The Post-Colonial State..................................................................................83
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2. The Igbo Religious Landscape (pre-1967)..............................................................93
2.1 Igbo Primal Cosmology and Concept of Salvation...............................................93
2.2 The Missionary Enterprise (1857-1967).............................................................100
2.2.1 Mission Churches..........................................................................................100
2.2.2 The Scripture Union......................................................................................109
2.3 Missionary Ideology............................................................................................113
2.3.1 A Failure to Implement Indigenous Church Principles................................114
2.3.2 The Legacy of Enlightenment Thinking.......................................................118
2.4 Local Initiatives (1914-1967)..............................................................................122
2.4.1 Typologies.....................................................................................................123
2.4.2 Revival Movements and Pentecostal Churches............................................125
2.4.3 Prayer Houses................................................................................................133
2.4.4 Protest Movements or Mission Churches?....................................................138
2.5 Religious Culture in the 1960s............................................................................141
Conclusion...................................................................................................................146
CHAPTER THREE. THE CIVIL WAR REVIVAL (1967-73).............................148
Introduction.................................................................................................................148
1. Expanding Religious Markets...............................................................................149
1.1 Igbo Primal Religion...........................................................................................149
1.2 Prayer Houses......................................................................................................152
1.3 Mission Churches................................................................................................153
2. The Story of the Revival.........................................................................................155
2.1 The Civil War Phase (1967-69)...........................................................................156
2.2 The Post-Civil War Phase (1970-73)..................................................................157
2.2.1 SU Township Groups....................................................................................158
2.2.2 Charismatic Ministries..................................................................................160
3. Global Flows and Local Identities.........................................................................166
3.1 Scripture Union...................................................................................................167
3.2 Biblical Texts in Critical Contexts......................................................................169
4. Paths to Conversion................................................................................................175
4.1 Born-again Conversion........................................................................................175
4.2 A Variety of Converts.........................................................................................176
4.3 Power for Living..................................................................................................178
4.4 Power for Healing and Deliverance....................................................................179
4.5 Surviving the War and the Peace.........................................................................180
4.6 A Quest for Ethical Renewal...............................................................................184
4.7 The Conversion Ritual.........................................................................................188
5. Transforming the Landscapes...............................................................................190
5.1 Competing for Control of the Moral Landscape.................................................191
5.1.1 New Birth as Transformation........................................................................192
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5.1.2 Motivating Factors........................................................................................194
5.1.3 Imagining Sanctification...............................................................................197
5.1.4 Erecting Moral Boundaries...........................................................................200
5.2 Contesting Boundaries and Reconstructing Collective Identities.......................201
5.2.1 Eroding Denominational and Ethnic Boundaries..........................................203
5.2.2 Challenging Gerontocratic Structures and Gender Boundaries....................206
5.2.3 Challenging Missionary and Clerical Control..............................................212
6. Missionary Impulses...............................................................................................216
6.1 ‘Repent or Perish’................................................................................................218
6.2 Seizing the Landscape.........................................................................................219
6.3 Power Encounter.................................................................................................226
6.4 Motivating Factors..............................................................................................229
6.5 Pentecostal Infiltration........................................................................................230
Conclusion...................................................................................................................238
CHAPTER FOUR. THE GENESIS OF IGBO-INITIATED NEO-
PENTECOSTAL CHURCHES (1970-83)................................................................241
Introduction.................................................................................................................241
1. A History of Neo-Pentecostal Church Beginnings (1970-1983)..........................245
1.1 Early NPCs in Igboland (1970-1977)..................................................................245
1.2 Ecumenical Impulses and the Propensity to Schism (1976-1983)......................249
1.3 Igbo Neo-Pentecostal Initiatives outside Igboland (1973-83).............................252
2. Predisposing Conditions.........................................................................................257
2.1 Sociological Factors............................................................................................257
2.1.1 Local Socio-political and Economic Cultures..............................................257
2.1.2 The Susceptibility to Bureaucratisation........................................................262
2.2 Local Religious Demands and Global Legacies..................................................263
2.2.1 Power to Enhance Life and Engage in Mission............................................263
2.2.2 The Legacy of Protestant Denominationalism..............................................265
3. Precipitating Factors..............................................................................................266
3.1 Charismatic Leaders Emerging from the Margins..............................................266
3.2 Opposition from the Centre.................................................................................270
3.3 The Removal of Restraining Influences..............................................................279
3.4 Voices from Outside............................................................................................280
Conclusion...................................................................................................................283
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CHAPTER FIVE. DEVELOPMENTS WITHIN IGBO-INITIATED NEO-
PENTECOSTALISM (1972-2002)............................................................................284
Introduction.................................................................................................................284
1. Negotiating the Local and the Global...................................................................285
2. Word and Worship.................................................................................................294
2.1 Preaching and Teaching......................................................................................294
2.2 The Popularity of Preaching and Teaching.........................................................297
2.3 Innovative Worship Styles..................................................................................302
2.4 The Popularity of Neo-Pentecostal Worship.......................................................304
3. Alternative Communities.......................................................................................308
3.1 Church as Family.................................................................................................308
3.2 Ecclesiastical Structures......................................................................................312
3.3 The Nuclear Family.............................................................................................315
3.4 Constructing Boundaries and Maintaining Difference........................................317
3.5 Declining Moral Standards and the Reduction of Difference.............................320
4. Faith, Health, and Prosperity................................................................................323
4.1 A Holistic Understanding of Salvation...............................................................323
4.2 Provenance and Popularity of Healing and Deliverance.....................................325
4.3 Provenance and Popularity of Prosperity Teaching............................................333
4.4 Problems with Deliverance and Prosperity Theologies......................................340
5. Missionary Communities.......................................................................................345
5.1 The Gift of the Spirit...........................................................................................345
5.2 Lay Ministry........................................................................................................349
5.3 Mission Strategies...............................................................................................352
5.4 Church Growth Patterns......................................................................................360
6. Fragmented Communities......................................................................................362
6.1 Structural Conduciveness....................................................................................364
6.2 Structural Strain...................................................................................................365
6.3 Precipitating factors.............................................................................................367
6.4 Consequences of Schism.....................................................................................368
Conclusion...................................................................................................................371
CHAPTER SIX. REDEEMING THE LAND: REVIVALISTS, PENTECOSTALS,
AND PUBLIC ZEAL (1967-2002).............................................................................373
Introduction.................................................................................................................373
1. The Civil War and its Aftermath (1967-1979).....................................................375
1.1 Scripture Union and the Politics of Biafra (1967-70).........................................375
1.2 Revivalists, Neo-Pentecostals, and Post-War Politics (1970-79)........................380
1.3 Social Initiatives (1967-79).................................................................................384
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2. The Second Republic, Military Rule, and the Return to Democracy (1979-
2002)…………………………………………………………………………………..386
2.1 Neo-Pentecostal Responses to Political Corruption and Economic Decline......386
2.2 The Resurgence of Religious Politics.................................................................388
2.3 Neo-Pentecostals and the Road to Democracy....................................................395
2.4 Social Welfare and Development Projects..........................................................400
3. Towards a Neo-Pentecostal Theology of Politics and Social Concern...............404
3.1 Nigeria’s End-Time Destiny................................................................................405
3.2 The Model Citizen and the Prophetic Church.....................................................409
3.3 Intercession and Spiritual Warfare......................................................................414
3.4 A Practical Theology of Compassion..................................................................418
Conclusion...................................................................................................................420
CONCLUSION...........................................................................................................423
APPENDICES.............................................................................................................436
Appendix 1. Interview Schedules, Survey Questionnaire, and Tables..................436
1.1 Interview Schedule for Former Revivalists.........................................................436
1.2 Interview Schedule for NPC Leaders and Members...........................................438
1.3 Jos Survey Questionnaire....................................................................................440
1.4 Jos Survey Tables................................................................................................442
Appendix 2. Pentecostal Church Growth.................................................................445
2.1 Some Pentecostal Churches and Prayer Houses in Igboland (pre-1967)............445
2.2 Some NPCs with Links to the Civil War Revival (1972-1999)..........................446
2.3 NPCs in Onitsha/Anambra State in 2000............................................................448
2.4 NPCs in Enugu in 2000.......................................................................................449
2.5 NPCs in Bukuru in 2000......................................................................................449
Appendix 3. Chronologies..........................................................................................450
3.1 The Civil War Revival in the Context of Igbo Christian History (1857-1987)..450
3.2 Political Milestones in Nigeria (1960-2002).......................................................453
Appendix 4. Revivalist and NPC Texts.....................................................................455
4.1 Eddi Onugha’s Oral Account of Igbo Christian History.....................................455
4.2 Leo Anorue’s Oral Commentary on the Civil War Revival................................458
4.3 Chris Alagbu’s Reflections on the Civil War......................................................460
4.4 Excerpt from an Onitsha Market Pamphlet, 1971...............................................461
4.5 Revivalist Accounts of Evangelistic Activities...................................................462
4.5.1 Uchenna Emezue’s ‘New Year’s Victory’....................................................462
4.5.2 Justin Ogugua Engages in Evangelism during the War................................464
4.5.3 Rufus Ogbonna’s Recollections of Revivalist Activity in Aba....................465
4.5.4 Samson Onwubiko Encounters Traditionalists in the 1970s........................467
4.5.5 Gladys Ekwo Reflects on the Role of Women during the Revival...............469
4.6 Revivalist Conversion Accounts.........................................................................470
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4.6.1 Ume Kalu’s Conversion Experience.............................................................470
4.6.2 Uchenna Emezue’s ‘Journey into life’..........................................................472
4.7 The Revival, Mission Churches, Prayer Houses, and NPCs...............................474
4.7.1 Augustine Nwodika Reflects on the Revival................................................474
4.7.2 Chinedu Nebo on Prosperity and Persecution...............................................479
4.7.3 Uchenna Emezue on SU, CMs, and Churches after the War........................483
4.7.4 David Amaechi Attends a Prayer House during the War.............................484
4.7.5 Raphael Okafor and Ufuma Prayer House....................................................485
4.7.6 Nnaji Chukwuka’s Account of the Origins of Igbo NPCs............................486
4.7.7 Mike Okonkwo Talks about Salvation, Healing, and Prosperity..................487
4.7.8 Augustine Nwodika Reflects on the Evolution of the Movement................488
4.8 Revivalists, Neo-Pentecostals, and Public Space................................................494
4.8.1 SU Biafra’s Theology of Politics and Social Concern..................................494
4.8.2 Chinedu Nebo Reflects on the Revival’s Social Significance......................496
4.8.3 Thompson Nwosu and the Jos Religious Riots.............................................497
4.8.4 Emmanuel Nwajei and the Jos Religious Riots............................................498
4.8.5 Adolf Chigozie Emeka’s Prayer of Intercession...........................................500
4.8.6 Prayer of Intercession during Nigeria 2000..................................................502
4.9 Some Revival Songs from the 1970s...................................................................502
SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY.........................................................................504
1. PRIMARY SOURCES...........................................................................................504
1.1 Oral Sources........................................................................................................504
1.1.1 Interviews and Personal Communications....................................................504
1.1.2 Recordings of Events, Reminiscences, Group Discussions, and Talks........507
1.2 Unpublished Written Sources..............................................................................508
1.3 Published Sources................................................................................................511
1.3.1 Publications by Former Igbo Revivalists, Pentecostals, and their Churches 511
1.3.2 Missionary and North American Pentecostal Publications...........................514
1.3.3 Newspapers and Magazines..........................................................................516
2. SECONDARY SOURCES.....................................................................................517