The Fulani of Nigeria.

That would be 20 million of them living inside Nigeria. Of course no one is counting; after all these are nomads who easily move 200 miles in a matter of four weeks and who know not international borders nor possess passports.

Of the 20 million Fulani, there are about 4,000 Christians. After careful counting of zeroes, I came up with one Christian for every 5,000 Fulani. That makes them 0.025% Christian. For a population of, say, Richmond, Virginia, with about 1 million in the surrounding areas, that would mean 200 Christians.

The Fulani have caught my attention as an unreached people group with whom Anglican/Episcopal congregations can have access. The reason is that the Anglican Province of Nigeria is taking the lead in evangelism among this group. Today I stood with four people who form a strong link between them and us. More on “that great hour” in another posting.

What is life like for the nomadic Fulani? Well, for starters they do a lot of walking. Over the 200 miles from Katsina to Lokoja – the grazing route of one of the local clans – the men know the geography intimately. Some use stars, but mostly they just know the paths. They know where the good grazing lands are and where the farmers are who should be avoided.

Their diet consists mainly of ground millet that is smoked over a fire. Along with this they find mushrooms, honey, fruit, and edible roots.

Sometimes they travel with their families, setting up temporary huts for two or three weeks. At other times they leave their women and children with provision in permanent settlements while the men are away for long times with their herds.

Like most other nomads in most other countries, the government shows them little if any favor. They are seen as nuisances, bothering farmers, causing hostilities between rival clans, and not bothering to vote. So why bother with them?

Their cattle are their most prized possessions. Fulani men are attached to them and value them above everything else. Yes, above their wives. They will do anything for the welfare and protection of their herds. The cattle come before anything else in their lives.

The bishop who was describing this to me then remarked that he has learned from the Fulani what Jesus meant when He called Himself the Good Shepherd. The Fulani shepherds showed him what Jesus really meant when He called Himself the Good Shepherd.