Christians in Nigeria rebuild lives in communities shattered by Boko Haram persecution

Nigerian Christians resumed their disruptive lives in communities that were almost completely destroyed by the Islamic insurgent group Boko Haram.

Under the alias, Isaac, a church worker in the predominantly Christian state of Adamawa told World Watch Monitor that Boko Haram uprooted approximately two million people whom the Nigerian government now encouraged to return to their communities "because it's unable to provide for so many."

Isaac said that many Christians also willingly obliged because they found that staying at the Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps placed them under pressure to convert to Islam just to receive food and that staying outside the camps forced them to rely on the goodwill of other people.

He said Boko Haram still attacked from time to time yet these people preferred to return home.

"The first thing I noticed after arriving was the great emotional strain on the returnees," said the church worker.

He noted that many returned as widows and orphans.

"To have fled violence and returned to ghost-towns was hard on them," he added.

Isaac described how Boko Haram intentionally destroyed the communities to make living in the area difficult. The extremists destroyed the community's source of water homes, schools, health centers, and churches.

"One pastor told me there wasn't a single Bible left – all were burned. 'This is one of the most painful things for us to deal with,' he said," recounted Isaac.

Yet the church worker reported that the local Christians still continued their church activities by rebuilding their church houses or by simply sitting on the ground and gathering under the trees.

"Local Christians don't expect much help from the government," noted Isaac "because, in some cases, aid is given to Muslims as a priority."

While the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) urged the Christians to be ready to defend themselves and blasted Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari for his seeming unwillingness to protect the non-Muslims from the sectarian attacks, the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law (Intersociety) accused Buhari of running an Islamist government and even abetting the attacks against Christians.

The Christian militant group Niger Delta Revolutionary Crusaders (NDRC) also vowed to do the same to Muslims and their mosques should Boko Haram carry on its threats to kill Christians and burn down their churches.