•Why I’m not happy with many of my Igbo brothers
By Henry Akubuiro
Reverend Chris Christian is the Shepherd of Locust Army International Ministry, Nigeria, founded three decades ago in Kano. He is one of the most celebrated Nigerian preachers with neither a wife nor a family. A preacher for 32 years, he has taken the oath of poverty, which ensures he owns nothing on earth.
The pastor, who turned 60 on Thursday June 26, reflects, in this interview, on the painful life of a eunuch, rooted in self denial for the public good. Rev. Christian is also regarded as Nigeria’s most prolific author with 463 books, and still counting. Writing, he says, is part of his calling. He recalls the agonising moment as a kid living through Nigeria’s civil war, facing Muslim extremists in the early days as a preacher in Kano and steering the ministry to national and international prominence.
You turned 60 on Thursday, June 26. As a child born two years before the Nigerian civil war, how was it like growing up?
I was born in 1965, two years before the civil war broke out. Being born at that period was a tragic experience. The pain was tremendous for me. That is why, when they are trying to bring in IPOB, sometimes it looks like we are opposing it, because we were baptised into the civil war and its consequences. As far as I am concerned, nothing was achieved with that war. So we don’t need a repeat of that.
What did you remember as a child growing up at a period of uncertainty?
I was born in the village, but I could remember the Biafran soldiers were coming to our village, hunting for recruits. People were being pressured to fight. Some of my brothers who didn’t want to fight would take to a hideout on sighting them. Sometimes they would stay there all day and sneak back during the night. Painfully, many graduates from my town died in that senseless war. They included young engineers, doctors and other professionals.
We were subjected to severe hunger. Kwashiorkor was very rampant. We ate some things that we were not supposed to. I didn’t know what the fight was all about, but I could sense tension in the air. All through the war, I was between age 2 and 5 – a toddler – but I saw hunger and suffering around me. In my community, there is a tree called osisi igbuji – it looks like yam. So we would pluck and cook it. Eating that rubbish ended with the civil war. Nobody eats it now. The civil war was a time of starvation. The ugly experience left a mark on me. It was a painful period.
Did you experience strafing, which was rampant at that period?
No. The war didn’t get to my place, Umuchu in Aguata, Anambra State. We were living at the border with Umumaku – that was an extreme zone, away from the theatre of war. But the Biafran soldiers were visible. We didn’t see Nigerian soldiers.
Did kids like you have time to enjoy yourselves at all during that period?
Starvation was unbelievable for any enjoyment to take place. We ate nonsense. It was a horrible experience. We didn’t know what the war was all about. It was while growing up that I heard that Biafra wanted to separate from Nigeria due to some reasons. It was an experience I wouldn’t want to experience again. It affected my growth, denied me many opportunities, brought me pain and created a strange memory in my intelligence. There is no way I can forget it. And then, in my lifetime, somebody who probably didn’t experience the civil war wants to stir up another senseless war. I don’t see any need for any war again. The best thing for the Igbo nation to do is to build Igboland. Igbo are selfish people; they haven’t built the land. But they are trying to ascribe the pain of not building their land to strangers, an unnecessary blame game.
What do you mean by that? This is somehow contentious.
Don’t forget you are interviewing me in Lagos, and all of us know what people went through to establish the city of Lagos, one of the best in Africa. Inhabitants of a land raise the land. I don’t think Igbos have done anything to raise their land because of the way they are. Maybe somebody should interpret their individualism, materialism and selfishness.
But they claim to be among those developing Lagos?
No. They’re lying to themselves. They are taking advantage of Lagos. How do you say you developed Lagos? Why didn’t you develop your own? The Lagos State Government has put a lot of pressure on Igbos and maligned them to make them believe they are not part of this place, but they have refused to leave. So, if they have the capacity to develop Lagos, they should do the same in their place. With all the intimidation they are getting in Lagos, they are still around. It means the land is giving them value, not them giving the land value. They are building houses – is building houses development? When God wants to raise a nation, he puts what a nation should live with in the land. So much has been put in Nigeria. We have oil, which is our mainstay and which is controlled from Aso Rock. The man at the helm at Aso Rock has chosen heads to coordinate the country. Among these people who control the lives of the people and the resources of Nigeria, we don’t have Igbos. From the CBN governor to the EFCC, police, immigrations, customs, army, and senate leadership, Igbos are missing; and they don’t care, because selfishness has ruined their mindset.
Igbos should take the responsibility of developing Igboland. Many Igbos have embraced trading. This is wrong. The Igbo elites should not be traders; they should go to school and have deeper understanding. Your mind should be enlightened for you to reason well. If the mind is not sound, there can’t be genuine prosperity. How many universities are in the South-East? Do you know how many universities are in Ogun State alone? A good number of Igbo youths have gone into the motor parts business, from Obosi, Benin City to Lagos. Anywhere you see this business, you will see Igbos. That’s where they waste away. Why are other people going to school? A boy drops out of school at the age of 17 and goes to the market.
The mind should be enlightened for you to reason well. People are clamouring for Igbo presidency and the release of Nnamdi Kanu, but Igbos are busy doing sit-at-home every Monday. If Peter Obi is honest to himself, he should go and pacify his environment and ensure Igbos are proper Nigerians. Peter Obi ought to intervene and set Igbos free.
But IPOB has said repeatedly that it is not responsible for the endless Monday sit-at-home.
IPOB introduced sit-at-home, and we know it with the group. If it is not the one still enforcing it, it should stop it the way it started it. It’s like somebody put a rope on a dog and said the rope was not his. We have to reassess ourselves. Nnamdi Kanu wants to be released, but he can’t be quiet in court. He is insulting judges. This is an Igbo problem. It hurts me that we have brothers who reason that way. The arrogance, stubbornness and delusion among the Igbos are something else. Their unwillingness to reason together is a big problem. When people who are not learned are talking for others, they are inspired by greed and excessive individualism.
Sunday Igboho was campaigning for Oduduwa Republic the same time Nnamdi Kanu was campaigning for Biafra. Both of them were arrested. Yorubas rallied round and released Igboho, and called him to order. Since his release, he has not brought more trouble. But Kanu has been there for four years, and he still is. Sometimes the level of justice that comes from the throne is controlled by the maturity of the throne. There is a level of justice you don’t bring in the jungle. Nigeria is sometimes like a jungle. Nigerians are not developed; they have short memories. They need to develop progressively. Nigeria is a large country with many ethnic groups. The learning level is not the same. Sometimes those who are far more ahead are like a clog in the wheel of those who don’t want to be anything. And we have to go together, so those who are better than others are all waiting for those who don’t want to be anything.
You hold a controversial view that Nigeria’s problem has nothing to do with leadership, contrary to wide belief…
The problem of Nigeria is not leadership. You can’t blame only one man for the problem of 220 million people. There is corruption at different levels. So it can’t be Tinubu alone. The other day, somebody told me he bought land in Epe and the government of Lagos said it was retrieving the land, only to resell it. That’s corruption. Is it Tinubu doing it? Corruption is everywhere. Nigerians should own up to it. They should be genuine about change. Some of those attacking Tinubu are looking for an opportunity to get favours from the government. Some critics, in the past, were given the opportunity to serve Nigeria, but they were swallowed by the system. They didn’t change anything.
You are from Anambra State, a state that drew criticisms recently from some quarters for the governor’s clampdown on native doctors and traditional worshipers. How do you see this?
Soludu has not outlawed traditional worshipers. What he is trying to do is to clamp down on miscreants, who are trying to explore the gates of traditional worshipers to do evil and empower criminals. He is very selective in what he is doing. It is not every traditional worshiper that he is targeting. The people are also aware of the criminals pretending to be either native doctors or traditional worshipers. After all, he gave them the opportunity to defend themselves. Truth is that the people of Anambra are happy. I am also thinking that it is part of the sacrifice by Soludo to see how he can make tangible contributions to the state.
You have been a preacher for 32 years. How did the journey begin?
I had already come out of school, did my NYSC, and was trying to get involved in one thing or the other. I graduated in 1990 and served in 1991. I worked for some time. I studied Physics. I did minor teaching and business. At a time, I got into computer consultation on software and troubleshooting, but not for too long before the anointing came on me.
How were you called?
Reverend Chukwuma laid hands on me during a church meeting. It was like an outreach somewhere in Jos, where he was invited as a guest. I went there from Kano. Before then, I already had a devotion and lifestyle. I came from a Christian home, and I had been born again. I read a lot of books, but that does not mean I knew I was going to be a full-time pastor. I didn’t know until that hand came upon me. That was in 1993. From that time till now, I haven’t done any other thing than to preach. But I grew progressively. I laid hands on people here, cast demons, travelled to preach here and there. Over time, the number started increasing.
At that time, you didn’t have a church?
We didn’t have this ministry. The Locust Army hadn’t been born then. Gradually, it was unfolding. At the early stage, I was based in Kano. It was a mixture of good and ugly experiences. God teaches in so many ways. There are things I learnt the hard way. The ministry started from one room at Sabon Gari and expanded. Growth itself cannot be one-sided. Some were fine; some I don’t want to repeat.
You set out in a Muslim dominated society, Kano. How did you succeed to win souls?
In Kano, there was a restriction to soul winning, so the church was given an area in Sabon Gari, where we could build a church comfortably, and almost all the churches in Kano were located there except a few. It was very difficult to raise a church because there were constant attacks on Christians by Muslim radicals. They had different reasons to bring mayhem at different points, and living outside Sabon Gari was unsafe. Sabon Gari was much safer for churches.
At what point did you think it was time to leave Kano and expand?
When I started raising young men, I saw the need for the message of immortality to be told in other cities and mobilising them to carry the banner to send the message. Today, we have branches across Nigeria and beyond – in places like Ghana, the UK and South Africa.
How many pastors have you raised?
So many. They are uncountable. Some are outside Nigeria. Some are under me, some were raised indirectly, and they have their own ministries with different signboards. It depends on how they want to work. Some have dreams to have their ministries around the world. Many of them are doing fine.
You have one of the biggest church camps in the South-East, located at Umuchu. How long did it take you to develop the place?
We developed it for about 25 years. Right now, three massive buildings are going on there. It is one of the few places in Igboland people can visit to pray and lodge, no matter your denomination. We are adding 104 rooms to what was there already.
Your 60th birthday focused on ‘Celebrating the Painful Life of a Eunuch.’ You also have the vow of poverty. Tell us more about this.
The vow is not really my vow. I was born a eunuch. It’s something that I discovered. It’s not something that I took. I was born that way. I was born to live without a family. I was born to take the oath of poverty. I don’t have anything anywhere; and I will not have. We do a lot of charity, pay school fees for students. We support people to start businesses, not on here but many places, to support the poor.
Many pastors in Nigeria lead flamboyant lifestyles, and here you are with the oath of poverty. Don’t you think you are short-changing yourself?
Those pastors live what they are and I live what I am. I don’t take anything from the church purse. Anything I have is meant for the church. That’s the way I was born. Maybe I could have lived another way if I was born like everybody else. I am not trying to blame pastors because I don’t want to introduce them to a life they don’t have. I have lived as a eunuch all through – the painful life of a eunuch. By God’s grace, I have been consecrated by God.
It is fashionable now for preachers to own private jets these days. How about you?
How can I own a private jet? Even if somebody gifts me one, I will put it into the use of the church. It doesn’t bear my name as the owner. Like this land, I paid for it, but it doesn’t bear my name as the owner. When I am gone, the church will inherit it.
Is there any advantage of being a eunuch?
First of all, the eunuch’s life is a spirit. There are three types of eunuchs: those born as eunuchs, just like I am, and the eunuch is of the heart; eunuchs that made themselves, and some are man-made. The best of them is the one who came with the grace from God. Sometimes these other two struggles, because they were made against what they are.
What has life taught you at 60?
A lot of lessons. It has taught me many things at different levels. It has taught me uniqueness – looking at a man and seeing a eunuch and looking at others’ lives. You can see the separation – the secluded life of a eunuch, compared to the freedom of other preachers who can marry and raise children. Ninety-nine per cent of my pastors are not eunuchs. I am the only one. I encourage my pastors to marry so they do not go into promiscuity.
So how do you overcome temptation?
The easiest way is to create a network that won’t support it.
Have you been tempted before?
There is no way somebody who is on earth cannot come to it at different points. But you need discipline to nip it in the bud. Don’t forget that people don’t think at the same level.
You are probably Nigeria’s most prolific author. How many books have you written so far now?
I have published 463 books, and I am making about 34 new ones, which will be published in October. That’s what I do predominantly. I do a lot of writing. It was one of the major parts of my calling. The challenge is basically sitting day and night writing. It has made me a recluse. I wrote on leadership, revelation, eschatology, and apocalypses. Each book has a particular interest.
Which of your books has travelled the most?
The book on Self Discovery and Identity has been reprinted thrice. It has also been translated into many languages. Almost all of the 463 books I have written are best selling books. Preaching and writing books solve different problems. Preaching is predominantly for those around, but books can travel; they can get to people who are not part of the church.