The Activities of the S.I.M/S.U.M Among Leprosy Patients in Northern Nigeria 1928-1988

Abstract

Different scholars in the field of church history have tried to view the activities of the Christian missionaries in different perspectives. Some have branded them imperialists and others view them to have contributed to the social development of Nigeria. This study was intended to lend voice to the views of those who have argued that although the missionaries have had their weaknesses, they contributed immensely to the social development of Northern Nigeria. The study particularly examines the extent of the role played by the SUM and SIM missionaries in providing social amenities and medical treatment to those suffering from leprosy in Northern Nigeria. To examine this the researcher employed the use of questionnaires, oral interviews and visits to the relevant places under study. The researcher also used secondary sources available in the field. The study covers a period between 1928 and 1988. This was the period leprosy work received the needed attention in Nigeria. The findings of this study show that the early missionaries who worked in the North made enormous positive contribution in the social and economic development of the area as well as the lives of the patients. The missionaries did not only take over the leprosy centers established by the imperial government but set up new ones. They provided shelter, food, detergents and other such materials to the victims. They set up vocational centers where patients were trained in different skills. The missionaries gave the patients a new sense of belonging as they interactedwith them freely in the centers, a phenomenon that is strange to Nigerians. They provided recreational fittings for physical fitness of the patients. They organize prayers sessions, teaching and sermons in different vernaculars. These were aimed at providing the patients the means of livelihood and consequently reintegrate them into their societies; the findings proffer suggestions and recommendations to the church, government, philanthropic organization and spirited individuals on the plight of not only in-patients but also the ex-patients.