A Good Thing Happened Today in Jos

19 March 2010

Dear Friends,

A good thing happened today in Jos that I thought you would like to know
about.

Last Sunday evening, I received a phone call from Rev. Neroy Carter, a pastor
from Ohio, who was in Owerri in the southern part of Nigeria with the Free
Wheelchair Mission. This is a group that gives away a simple but sturdy “traditional”
type wheelchair to handicapped people in the third world. Rev. Carter’s team was
supposed to go to another part of Nigeria to donate wheelchairs but something
prevented that. He asked me if I thought it was possible and if it would be helpful to
have a joint Christian-Muslim wheelchair presentation here in Jos, in light of all the
violence we have experienced lately. He and his colleagues were leaving Nigeria on
Saturday and things are still a bit tense here in Jos so I was not overly optimistic that it
would be possible to do it, especially with such a short notice. However, I called
Ayuba Gufwan, the handicapped man who leads the Beautiful Gate Handicapped
Center and Umar Farouk, my Muslim friend with whom we do a lot of HIV/AIDS
work. Both of them thought it would be possible to put something together in this
short time.

So only five days later, this Friday morning at 10:00 AM, we gathered in the
parking lot of a Chinese bakery, which was a neutral place in the city, and donated 30
wheelchairs to the handicapped. There were 15 Muslim recipients and 15 Christian
recipients. There were brief speeches from Rev. Carter and Bishop Ben Egbujor, a
Nigerian pastor who pastors in London. Also the general secretary of the Jos North
branch of Juma’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), the large Muslim umbrella organization in
Nigeria, made a short speech. Ayuba, who was crippled with polio when he was four
year old, also walked out to the front of the group on little wooden blocks held in his
very strong hands, dragging his legs behind him. He sat in a chair and then challenged
the recipients to take advantage of this opportunity and not use these wheelchairs to
beg but to develop themselves. Everything was in English up to that point but Umar
summarized Ayuba’s speech into Hausa since many of the recipients and their
families could not understand English.

I was the last one to speak. After I was introduced, I gave the proper Nigeria
protocol by addressing the dignitaries present by name or office. I then called Umar
and asked him to translate the first part for me into Hausa. I spoke first of all to the
handicapped recipients. I said,

I am sorry that many of you do not have strong legs and arms like the rest of
us. However, you should be thankful that most of you have strong brains and
that by developing those brains you can do something meaningful in this world.
A Good Thing Happened Today in Jos

I am an American. Let me tell you about one of our American presidents. There
is only one president in the history of the United States who was elected to be
president four times. His name was Franklin Roosevelt. He was the president of
the US during the difficult period of World War II. What I want you to know is
that the whole time President Roosevelt served as president of the United
States, he did so from a wheelchair. So do not allow yourselves to be
discouraged. Perhaps God is preparing some of you right now to become the
president of Nigeria. (much applause).

I then turned to the dignitaries sitting around the high table. They could all
understand English so I did not use a translator.

Second, I want to address those of you who are leaders. You are doing a good
and noble thing by providing assistance for these handicapped people. This is
our duty and this is our privilege. I think both of our religions teach us that the
strong must help those who are weaker. We are grateful to the Free Wheelchair
Mission that has provided these wheelchairs to us. However, in addition to
wanting to be a blessing to each of the recipients, with this gift, the mission is
also challenging each one of us to be more sensitive to the needs of the
handicapped in our society. This grant and this program should be a challenge
to our government at federal, state and local levels to be more committed to
addressing the needs of the handicapped. This ceremony is a challenge to those
in business and education and media and every other part of society to provide
a helping hand to those who cannot help themselves without some assistance.
The Free Wheelchair Mission has done their part. Will we do our part?

I then turned to the representatives of the media and said, “And now I want to
address the media. I want all of you to come right over here and stand directly in front
of me.” There were present about six or eight media people, including representatives
from PRTV, NTA, Ray Power radio, the Standard newspaper and one other news
agency. They obediently stood where I directed them. I had spoken the first two parts
extemporaneously but the third part was what I had prepared in advance so I read my
prepared speech to this group:

One of the verses that the Apostle Paul has given to the Christian church says,
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is
excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8). This is
a verse that encourages us to think about good things.
The news media has a duty to report all of the things that happen so that people
are properly informed about what is going on. The news media has done a
good job in telling the people in Plateau State and Nigeria and the world about
the bad things that have been happening in and around Jos. It is now well
known all around the world that 13 people were killed in Riyom Local
Government Area two nights ago. That was bad news. That event was a
tragedy that forever changed the lives of those 13 people and their families.

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A Good Thing Happened Today in Jos

That was news that should have been reported. The world needs to sympathize
with those families whose members were so tragically taken away from them
and the world needs to condemn those heartless people who unmercifully
slaughtered innocent men, women and children.
However, today something good is happening in Jos. Therefore, it is now time
to think about something positive. Today, the lives of 30 people are being
changed. Today, young people who have not been able to move around are
becoming mobile. Today, young people who had no ability to get to school can
now go to school. Today, young adults who, because of their lack of mobility,
were dependent on others, will now have the mobility that will allow them to
develop a trade and become independent. Today, mothers and fathers who
have been discouraged about the future of their handicapped children are
relieved and happy because there is hope of a brighter future for their loved
ones.
I challenge the news media to go out from here and tell Plateau State and
Nigeria and the world that something good is happening in Jos today. Tell
them that we are not killing ourselves. Tell them that we are not hating
ourselves and threatening and accusing and abusing one another. Tell the
world that Christians and Muslims are working together. Tell them that we are
reaching across the ethnic and religious divide to help one another and support
one another and, yes, even love one another as our respective religions teach.
You news media have been quick to tell the world that people have killed each
other in the name of religion. It seems that the western secular media delight in
showing to the world that religion is intolerant and self-centered and violent
and responsible for many of the problems of the world. I challenge you to go
tell the world that right in the middle of this tense time in Jos, Christians and
Muslims, because of their religion, have come together to focus attention on the
weak and handicapped in society.
I challenge you to go out and show the world that good news is better than bad
news—that love is stronger than hate—that the true interpretation and
application of our respective faiths is better that the secular self-centered,
materialistic lives of those who ignore God or leave God out of their lives.
Yes, we admit that the people of faith can sometimes, because of our emotions,
be drawn into rumor mongering and intolerance and even violence. When that
happens, we who are people of faith repent and seek forgiveness. However,
may the media and may the world know that today, you are seeing the pure
demonstration of our various religions. I challenge you to go tell the world that
Christianity and Islam are not religions of violence but are religions of
compassion toward the needy and helpless. Tell them that our two religions are
not religions that harm people but help people. Tell them that we serve not a
God of war but a God of peace.

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A Good Thing Happened Today in Jos

During my presentation, I was interrupted several times by applause. I think the

Muslims were smiling broader and out-clapping the Christians. When I returned to my
seat, the general secretary of JNI, reached over and took my one page speech and said,
“Please, I have to have a copy of that.”

After this, the representatives from the various agencies gave each of the
recipients a wheel chair, alternating between Christians and Muslims. It was heart-
rending but also heart-warming to see these young people scoot forward on their
bottoms or walk, bent over on all fours or, in perhaps a fourth of the cases, have to be
carried and placed in a wheel chair. Handicapped people are so ignored in Nigeria and
so few good things happen to them that they learn to mask their feelings with a stoical
unemotional fixed gaze and this was true even today. However, there were a few of
those recipients, who after struggling to climb up in their new wheelchair, could not
help but allow a little smile to creep onto their faces, transforming them from the sad
and depressed people they seem to be to the beautiful people they really are on the
inside. My colleague, Dr. Ron Rice who started this amazing ministry to the
handicapped was not here but he would have been very proud.

While the wheelchairs were being given out, I started chatting to a couple of
gentlemen sitting behind me under the tent. One of them said, “Did I hear that you
teach at the university?” I said, “Yes, I am a professor in the Department of Religious
Studies.” A Muslim man sitting next to him quickly corrected me, “No, that is only
partly true. The professor has two jobs. Yes, he is a lecturer in the university but his
second job is helping Ayuba and the handicapped people like this to have better
lives.” I am not sure I have ever received a more satisfying introduction.

When we got home, we heard that today more people were killed in Jos, not
more than two miles from where our dedication was held. Perhaps you will see or hear
or read about it in the press. However, I wanted you to know that today there was
something good that happened in Jos. We pray that it will be a cloud of peace, the size
of a man’s hand that will slowly spread across our troubled city and eventually pour
down torrents of God’s mercy and peace until all of us are soaked with God’s
blessings.

Thank you for your prayers for Jos and for our on-going ministry here.

Grace and Peace! This—or

Prof. Danny McCain

University of Jos
P. O. Box 10402
Jos, Nigeria
Email: mccaind@gmail.com