By Masara Kim
[JOS] It wasn’t a Saul-of Tarsus moment, but it was life-changing for a devout young Muslin driving a herd of bony, white-horned cattle through the dust in 2012. He was driving the herd through a war zone dominated by Boko Haram Muslim terrorists on their way to drive hundreds of thousands to displaced people’s camps by 2015.
Aliyu Nuhu’s path took an unexpected turn that year when he had a mystical encounter with Jesus. He was only 20years-old.
As a Fulani herder, born into a Muslim family in Adamawa State, his encounter with Christ sparked a remarkable and dangerous transformation.
The Fulani, Africa’s best-known pan-African herding tribe with over 20 million members has more than 10 million members in Nigeria alone. Often regarded as the founders of Islamic Jihad in West Africa, the tribe comprises some of Nigeria’s most influential figures. They include the immediate past President of the country, Muhammadu Buhari, and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote. But among their number are merciless terrorists, kidnappers and warlords.
The Threat of Fulani Terrorists
Militants identifying as Fulani have killed thousands of Christians in targeted attacks in recent years. The Humanitarian Aid Trust, a UK-based nonprofit estimates Fulani militants have killed six times more Christians than Boko Haram.
Last year alone, Fulani militants jointly killed more than 8,000 people according to Intersociety, an international monitoring group in Onitsha, Anambra State.
A former Interior Minister in the country, retired Lieutenant General Abdulrahman Danbazzau, recently advocated the forced collection of firearms from Fulani residents. Himself a Fulani, Danbazzau acknowledged the threats posed by Fulani militants when he gave a public lecture in the State of Abuja.
Since the year of Nuhu’s conversion, the recorded violence by radicalized terrorists from within his tribe has mounted, yet Nuhu’s fervor for spreading the word of God has only intensified.
Nuhu’s journey to Christianity started at exactly 2:25pm on May 15, 2012 while herding his father’s cattle. At 23, Nuhu was well rooted in the Quran. He tells his disciples that a mystical man constantly appeared to him for over three years, convincing him to turn to Christ. Prior to that time, Nuhu said he had never heard about Jesus. It was his first time hearing the name “Isa” as the man often identified himself.
In Arabic and Islamic tradition, “Isa” is the Arabic name for Jesus, honored by Muslims as a prophet. In some other cultures, Isa may have different meanings.
For example, in Hebrew, Isa can be a variant of the name “Yeshua,” which means
“salvation” or “to rescue.”
For three years, Nuhu resisted the efforts of “Isa” to convert him. Nuhu was determined to make heaven, and to him, Islam was the only way.
‘Isa’ constantly appearing to Nuhu with the idea of leaving his faith often infuriated him, and he soon debated ‘killing’ Him. But just when he had perfected his plans, he had an encounter that transformed him.
In 2015, Nuhu received a vision to evangelize to fellow Fulani members. After two years of discipleship under an evangelist he claims he was directed to by “Isa” in a remote village in Plateau State, he began his mission as a rural evangelist, specifically targeting Fulani communities. Hismission recorded remarkable success, amassing thousands of followers within a short period. In 2022, he founded “Danfulani CharityFoundation” to expand his impact. The nonprofit reaches out to Fulani nomads with medical andhumanitarian aid. During such interventions, he takes the chance to ministerthe gospel of Christ to the villagers.
Ever since, Nuhu gained a reputation as a famous Fulani evangelist, with a huge social media following. His Facebook page where he explains his mission, has gathered more than 130,000 followers within two years of creation in 2022.
Nuhu claims 50 new Fulani converts daily. In one mission alone, he reported winning as many as 800 Fulani Muslims for Christ. This has infuriated a number of Islamic preachers, isolating him for attacks.
In a video posted on his Facebook IN August, 2023 a renowned Islamic preacher, Al-Qassim Abdul advised Nuhu against ‘misleading’ Muslims, warning of dire consequences.
“It is difficult to be an ex-Muslim and be in Nigeria,” said Ms. Mariam Aliyu, a Nigerian religious rights activist in the United States. According to the International Christian Concern (ICC), Nigeria remained the deadliest country to practice Islam in 2023.
US Policy Stance Stands Aloof of Persecution Problem
Nigeria was labeled “Country of Particular Concern,” in 2020 by the Trump State Department, which means nothing to Americans but everything to a Nigerian administration. The CPC label is reserved for nations with the worst human rights records, so it’s a mark of shame.
Without explanation, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken made the label disappear the following year just prior to his first goodwill tour to African in November. But the get-out-of-jail free card from Blinken was belied by the mounting toll of murders and massacres of helpless Christian farmers across Nigeria’s Middle Belt states. The GOP-led US Congressional Committee on Foreign Affairs passed in February 2024 a resolution demanding the re-designation of Nigeria following persisting persecutions.
“It is even worse to be a Fulani and a former Muslim,” said rights activist Maryam Aliyu who is herself a former Muslim to TruthNigeria by voice mail. Ms. Aliyu fled the country due to threats to her life after converting to Christianity.
TruthNigeria recently reported the arrest and detention of a Fulani evangelist, Bello Musa by the Nigerian authorities.
Musa, a close ally of Nuhu endured nine harrowing days in the custody of the Nigerian Police where he suffered severe torture and threats to life according to Ms. Aliyu who was advocating for him. Musa has remained in hiding since the incident.
His alleged offense was his courageous preachings about Christ in Fulani communities and on social media, which he does alongside Nuhu.
After nine days of intensely advocating, Ms. Aliyu, working with three human rights organizations – Jubilee campaign,
Alliance Defense Freedom International and the Christian lawyers fellowship of Nigeria – succeeded in securing his bail.
Despite being taken to a safe house by Equipping the Persecuted Initiative, an Iowa-based mission allied to TruthNigeria, threats to Fulani converts like him are widespread, according to Aliyu.
“This is a big problem for us. Not everyone trusts Fulani Christians. Everyone fears them,” Nuhu said.
“Fulani Christians are caught between a rock and a hard place,” wrote Kyle Abts, the Chief executive of the International Committee on Nigeria (ICON).
“They endure maltreatment from their own kinsmen, but also from Christians who do not believe they are legitimately converted,” wrote Mr. Abts to TruthNigeria.
“I personally know several Fulani, who have been Christians their whole lives and grew up in Christian homes, but still are not considered fully Christian. Their abuse, and their legitimacy are compounded when they are not seen as compliant in reporting of Fulani militants,” wrote Abts in a text message.
Despite these challenges, Nuhu, Musa and Aliyu have continued to spread their messages without fear. In TruthNigeria’s separate interactions with them, they all shared their resolve to follow Christ and propagate the gospel of salvation against all the odds.
—Masara Kim is an award-winning conflict reporter in Jos, Nigeria and the Senior Editor of TruthNigeria.
