RETHINKING THE EFFECTS OF THE FOREIGN MISSIONARIES' MISSION TO AFRICA, FOCUSING ON THE CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN MISSONARIES AMONG THE MARGI UDZIRNGU IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

Abstract

The Margi ethnic group occupies the geographical region of southern Borno and northern Adamawa states of the Republic of Nigeria. This study concentrates on the Margi Udzirngu subgroup who currently resides in North Eastern Nigeria. Margi Udzirngu literally means "the Margi who reside near the mountain," referring to the Mandara Mountains. The Margi Udzirngu resisted external influence and remained impervious to the influence of both Islamic and Christian religion prior to the coming of the Church of the Brethren missionaries in 1948. The primary objective of this research is to understand how the Margi Udzirngu's ethnic identity was transformed as a result of their contact with the Christian religion, and how they in turn used religion as a medium of transformation to the western notion of modernity marking a period of extensive cultural, economic, and political change.