Jehovah’s Witnesses recently opened a historical
museum in Igieduma Village, Edo State. The Museum project, tagged, 100 Years of Courage,
documents the activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses and others who were involved in the
establishment of their preaching and community development activities in Nigeria since
1921.
Nigeria is a diverse country with a rich cultural and historical heritage. The people making up
the country have various social, religious and cultural experiences dating back several
centuries.
The advent of Christianity, with its increasingly various denominations, ushered in a new era
in the history of the peoples making up Nigeria. Jehovah’s Witnesses make up a significant
part of the Christian populace of Nigeria.
While the Covid pandemic raged, this museum project was launched at the Branch Office of
Jehovah’s Witnesses at Igieduma village, Edo State. The project documents the 100 years of
the work of the witnesses in Nigeria, and extraordinary story of ordinary Nigerians and
foreigners, men, women and children, whose acts of faith laid the foundation for the thriving
activities of over 400,000 witnesses in Nigeria. The museum also depicts the various
influence of non-witness actors that impacted the spread of their activities, both positive
and negative.
Early Days
The history of the Witnesses in Nigeria began with the arrival of Claude Brown, also known
as Bible Brown, in 1921.
The Museum shows that Witnesses first established their branch office in Nigeria in the
same year and started their evangelical ministry. From the small beginning, they set about
reaching the major towns and hinterlands of Nigeria, the missionaries converting local
people who in turn helped to spread the Bible message further afield. With limited
transportation and mass communication methods available in the early 20’s and 30’s, the
museum depicts how the Witnesses used a variety of initiatives, including the sound car,
megaphones and phonographs to spread the message.
Challenges
The museum further documents how the spread of the word of God by Jehovah’s Witnesses
in Nigeria had been spiced with various challenges. These included denial of physical access
to areas they desired to preach in by local chiefs and religious priests, beatings of new
converts by relatives who misunderstand the Witnesses beliefs, arson, and in some extreme
cases, murder.
The Nigerian civil war brought a new dimension to the challenges faced by Jehovah’s
Witnesses in Nigeria. Pictures and other artefacts in the museum show that the Witnesses in
the former Biafran territory were cut off from their Nigerian brothers. With the resulting
limited contact, the flow of Bibles and bible-based publications became strained. However,
in remarkable demonstrations of faith, the Witnesses on both sides risked their lives and
freedom to cross the lines to deliver publications and directions to those in the war zone. In
heart-touching personal stories, the museum captures the experiences of specific witnesses
who took part in the risky undertaking of crossing the war zones to reach their brothers and
sisters on the other side. A cocktail of ingenuity and faith were often on display. Sadly, some
Witnesses were killed by soldiers and others for refusing to fight in the war in obedience to
God’s command in the Bible – You must not kill (EXODUS 20:13). In interesting twists, some
of the soldiers who fought in the war, including some who encountered or even killed
Jehovah’s Witnesses for refusing to join the war, became Jehovah’s Witnesses themselves
after the war, some becoming elders and missionaries.
In all, the civil war and other challenges, did not appear to break the integrity of the
Witnesses who continued preaching all through the war and even increased in number, as
statistics available at the museum show.
Conventions
The museum featured some of the major milestones in the history of Jehovah’s Witnesses in
Nigeria – their conventions, or large gatherings. Each year, Jehovah’s Witnesses invite their
neighbours, friends, and family to join them for these large gatherings. From Lagos to Port
Harcourt, the museum chronicled the district and international convention history of the
witnesses. The international conventions involved invited foreign guests and speakers and
simultaneous translation into multiple Nigerian languages. Baptism of new converts was a
constant feature of these conventions. These large gatherings strengthened the unity of the
witnesses and gave immeasurable impetus to their work in the country.
An Interactive Museum
The museum is made to meet modern standards and expectations of information
consumption. The museum has audio-video media which tourists can play or view through a
special wifi-bluetooth connection and installed TV screens. These help visitors to get
additional information about the historical event or character on display but also to more
intimately relive the event. Tourists are encouraged to come with their phones, tablets or
other handheld devices with either a Bluetooth or wired headsets to have a more interactive
experience.
Tourists React
Our correspondent captured the mood of the first set of tourists to the museum as they
react to their experience. Seun Faluyi, a tourist, said: it is phenomenal to see how much
opposition Jehovah’s Witnesses faced in the early years. But they were not deterred. They
were brave, they were courageous. Celine, a teenage tourist, said: I like how interactive it is.
Sometimes you forget how much history you have… According to Ayinola Olusoyan, I have
been around Jehovah’s Witnesses for some time, although I am not one of them. Today is a
great day for me to be here…
How to book a visit
According the Spokesman of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Olusegun Eroyemi, the public, journalists,
tourists, and academics are invited to visit the museum following its official opening on June
1, 2023. The Museum is located at Igieduma village, Uhunmwonde Local Government, Edo
State. To book a visit, an individual or group may visit jw.org, click on About Us, select
Bethel Tours, then search for Nigeria on the drop-down menu. Then scroll to: Make a
Reservation., then click on create an account to enable you receive details of your visit
reservation by text or email. Then follow the prompts to complete your reservation. The visit
is free, and a tour guide will be assigned to you or your group.
Published on Brandfit.
Leave a Reply