THE APPEAL OF ETHNOCENTRIC CHRISTIANITY: APPRAISING THE EMERGENCE AND EVOLUTION OF OBERI OKAIME CHRISTIAN MISSION IN IBIBIOLAND-AFRICA

The penetration of Christianity into African societies came with the christening of the religion as a “Whiteman’s Religion.” This undoubtedly placed the Christian Mission as superficial to Africa. As the evangelical activities of the missionaries garnered momentum, African cultures became fertile for the seed of the Christian faith. The Oberi Okaime Christian Mission in Ibibioland, Nigeria, is a typical example of how the Christian faith interacted with Ibibio culture. Hence, adopting historical and descriptive methods, the study appraises cultural and doctrinal factors that engendered the emergence as well as the evolution of the Mission since its inception in 1927. Archival data and oral history reveal that God ordained the OberiOkaime Mission for emancipating Ibibioland from malevolent attributes. Furthermore, the desire for Ibibiocentricness in worship gave impetus to the emergence of the Mission. However, despite persecution through flogging, imprisonment by the native courts, and executions by the provincial court, that however did not deter the expansion and spiritual growth of the Mission up to date. The study concludes that the OberiOkaime Mission is a reflection of Christianity’s evolution in African culture. Its importance is the adaptation of Christianity to Ibibio Etaha market Day as their worship day instead of Sunday and the invention of the mission’s official language, Medefaidrin close to Nsibidi, anold African sign language, the Ibibio counting system among others, byso doing, endears Christianity to Ibibio people.