The Associated Press reports on the saddening destruction of pre-Christian art, culture, and beliefs in Nigeria as a fanatical form of Pentecostal Christianity continues to spread through the poverty-stricken country.

“Born to a family of traditional priests, Ibe Nwigwe converted to Christianity as a boy. Under the sway of born-again fervor as a man, he gathered the paraphernalia of ancestral worship – a centuries-old stool, a metal staff with a wooden handle and the carved figure of a god – and burned them as his pastor watched … Generations ago, European colonists and Christian missionaries looted Africa’s ancient treasures. Now, Pentecostal Christian evangelists – most of them Africans – are helping wipe out remaining traces of how Africans once worked, played and prayed.”

These Christian evangelists, many converted by a Pentecostal surge in the 1980s, have no tolerance for anything from their “pagan” pasts and believe destroying tribal artifacts helps breaks the “curse” of poverty. This rampant destruction has gotten so bad that tribal villages are building special houses to keep ancient pre-Christian artifacts away from Christian vandals, and the Nigerian government has launched an education campaign to stem the tide of cultural eradication.

“The National Commission for Museums and Monuments, which is responsible for protecting the country’s cultural antiquities, has responded with a sensitization campaign. “We are … telling the Christians that they can’t detach themselves from their past, that there is a beginning to their history,” said Omotosho Eluyemi, a senior commission official. The commission urges those who do not want to keep sacred objects to take them to local chiefs. It also seeks stricter enforcement of the law prohibiting export of artifacts.”

But many fear that is some areas of Nigeria it is too late to stem this tide, according to one Nigerian teacher: “there is hardly anyone around these days to speak up for tradition”. In a land where sectarian violence, a growing population of HIV-infected adults, and human rights violations are day to day problems, I somehow doubt that much can be done to halt the spread of this travesty.

Tags: Africa, Christianity, Nigeria, Polytheism