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| Oluremi Tinubu Receiving Award of Excellence From CAN |
On a significant Saturday in October 2026, Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, stood before a gathering of Christian leaders, political figures, and congregants at the National Christian Centre in Abuja and delivered a pointed call for deeper unity.
Addressing the 50th anniversary celebration, awards, and thanksgiving service of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), she urged the association’s constituent blocs to close ranks, set aside divisions, and strengthen the collective mission of the Church.
The theme of the golden jubilee, “Walking Together in Faith,” she noted, echoed Jesus Christ’s prayer for oneness among believers.
Drawing directly from Scripture, Mrs Tinubu referenced John 17:21-22—“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us”—and Ephesians 4:4-6, which speaks of one body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all. “I pray, as Christ has prayed over the saints, that all the Christian blocs that make up CAN will continue to be one in Jesus’s name,” she said, according to a statement from her media aide, Busola Kukoyi, and corroborated across multiple reports of the event.
She commended CAN’s leadership and members for their steadfast commitment to spreading the gospel and sustaining the faith, while emphasizing the need for greater consciousness of unity across denominations. The First Lady, who received CAN’s Award of Excellence (also referred to in some accounts as the Christian Icon Award), framed the recognition not as a personal accolade but as a summons to intensified service.
“I want you to know that this award is a call to greater work in service to God and humanity,” she declared. She wished the organization many more fruitful years in the Lord’s vineyard and prayed for Nigeria’s progress.
A Historic Milestone Rooted in 1976
The anniversary marked five decades since CAN’s founding in August 1976, an origin story that itself illustrates the practical necessity of Christian cooperation in Nigeria. On 27 August that year, the then Federal Military Government under General Olusegun Obasanjo invited church leaders of diverse denominations to Dodan Barracks in Lagos to discuss the introduction of a national pledge and flag salutation in schools. After the official meeting, the leaders spontaneously relocated to the nearby Catholic Secretariat and resolved to form a standing organization. Their goal was a forum for regular consultation and joint action on matters affecting the Christian faith and the welfare of Nigerians.
That decision produced the Christian Association of Nigeria, whose motto remains the prayer of John 17:21: “That they all may be one.” Registered formally in 1986, CAN grew into Africa’s largest ecumenical body, headquartered at the National Christian Centre in Abuja. It unites five major blocs: the Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN, encompassing Anglican, Methodist, Baptist, and other mainline Protestant churches); the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN); the Christian Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria / Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (CPFN/PFN); the Organisation of African Instituted Churches (OAIC); and TEKAN/ECWA (Tarayyar Ekklesiyoyin Kristi a Nigeria / Evangelical Church Winning All and related fellowships). Women and Youth Wings (WOWICAN and YOWICAN) further broaden its reach.
CAN President Archbishop Daniel Okoh used the anniversary to reflect on this journey. He described the 50 years as a testimony to God’s faithfulness and the determination of successive leaders to unite believers under one platform despite differences in doctrine, tradition, and practice. Nigeria, he observed, holds the unique distinction in Africa of having such diverse Christian traditions under a single ecumenical umbrella. Yet he acknowledged that the path had not been smooth. Periods of mutual suspicion, prejudice, and marginalization among traditions required deliberate effort by leaders to ensure equal rights and privileges across the blocs.
Okoh positioned CAN for a more assertive future role in nation-building. He said the association was repositioning itself as a prophetic voice of hope while strengthening collaboration with government on issues of national concern. In his address, he called on the Federal Government to protect citizens, respect the Constitution, and ensure accountability for public resources—signaling that unity within the Church must translate into constructive engagement with the state.
Awards, Symbolism, and Broader Participation
The celebration featured awards recognizing contributions to the Christian community and national life. Beyond Mrs Tinubu, recipients of the Pillar of Faith Award included former Heads of State Generals Yakubu Gowon and Olusegun Obasanjo, former President Goodluck Jonathan, and former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. Christian Icon Awards went to Secretary to the Government of the Federation Senator George Akume, several state governors (including those of Delta, Edo, and Oyo), and other figures. The presence of current and former high-ranking officials underscored CAN’s enduring institutional relevance.
A key ceremonial moment was the unveiling by the First Lady of a history book titled Walking Together in Faith, documenting CAN’s five-decade journey.
Cake-cutting and prayers for Nigeria and the Christian community rounded out the thanksgiving service, attended by ministers, former officials, and church leaders from across the spectrum.
Why Unity Remains Urgent: Context and Analysis
Mrs Tinubu’s appeal did not emerge in a vacuum.
Nigerian Christianity is vibrant and numerically significant, yet it has long navigated internal tensions—doctrinal differences between mainline, Catholic, Pentecostal, and African Instituted traditions; competition for influence; and occasional leadership disputes at state or zonal levels. Recent years have seen public reminders from national CAN leadership that there is only one CAN, with no recognized “Northern CAN” or “Southern CAN,” reflecting efforts to curb fragmentation. Social media, as Okoh has previously warned, can amplify inflammatory voices capable of reopening old wounds.
Externally, the Nigerian context heightens the stakes. Persistent insecurity in parts of the country, debates over religious freedom, governance challenges, and the approach of the 2027 general elections create an environment in which a fractured Christian voice risks diminished influence.
CAN has historically spoken on issues ranging from the adoption of Sharia in northern states in the early 2000s to broader concerns of justice, corruption, and citizen welfare. A unified platform amplifies that prophetic role; division dilutes it.
Oluremi Tinubu’s own public profile adds another layer. A former three-term senator for Lagos Central, she has been associated with faith-based initiatives and social causes through the Renewed Hope Initiative, focusing on women, education, agriculture, and vulnerable groups. Her appearance as special guest of honour and award recipient continues a pattern of engagement between the First Lady’s office and Christian institutions, including earlier recognition by Lagos CAN.
Archbishop Okoh’s dual emphasis—celebrating unity achieved while demanding greater governmental accountability—illustrates the tightrope CAN walks.
It seeks to remain a spiritual and moral voice without becoming partisan, yet it cannot ignore the material conditions affecting its members. The anniversary’s focus on “walking together” serves both as retrospective affirmation and forward-looking challenge: unity is not uniformity, but a deliberate choice to prioritize shared mission over secondary differences.
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Looking Ahead
As CAN enters its second half-century, the messages from Abuja on 17 October 2026 carry practical weight. For the association’s leaders and members, the First Lady’s biblical exhortation and the president’s call for a more informed, courageous, and constructive prophetic voice set a clear agenda. Sustaining equal representation among the five blocs, resisting divisive rhetoric, and engaging constructively on national issues will test the durability of the 1976 vision.
In a nation where religion intersects deeply with identity, politics, and security, the ability of Nigeria’s largest Christian umbrella body to model oneness remains consequential—not only for the Church’s internal health but for its capacity to contribute to the broader search for peace, justice, and shared progress. The golden jubilee was both celebration and summons: after fifty years of walking together, the harder work of remaining one continues.
Samuel O. Sulaimon is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Naijapiz. He covers News, Sports, Finance, Faiths, Education, Politics and Technology.
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