Survival strategies of Internal Diaspora Churches in Northern Nigeria

This study investigates the survival strategies of Yoruba-speaking Baptist congregations in Northern Nigeria for over a century. The Yoruba members and their churches in Kaduna represent a double minority- in terms both of their ethnicity and also of their religious affiliation as Christians in the region. Yet, they stay where they are and have been able to uphold their Christian identity in an environment that seems to be hostile. The paper analyses the different coping methods and strategies that these Yoruba Baptist churches have adopted in order to survive in the northern region since their founding beginning from 1911. The recent rise of religious tensions in Northern Nigeria has forced the migration of Yoruba and other non-indigenous northerners to other places in southern Nigeria considered to be safe. This is threatening the existence of these churches. The paper argues that one way of ensuring their survival and continuous existence is for the congregations to draw their membership from a broad spectrum of Nigerian ethnic communities. This may require them to change the language of worship; a change of identity which itself may not be easy to navigate.