- Hosea Nakina Martins, Ph. D1; Prof. Sarwuan Daniel Shishima2; Prof. Dorothy Nguemo Afaor3
The surge of healing phenomena in African Religion and Christianity in contemporary Nigeria is no longer a new thing, where people from nook and cranny go in search of healing from healers in African and Christian Religions respectfully. The human person is subjected to physical, spiritual and psychological sicknesses, threatening cases of spiritual attacks or destruction required to be handled healers, which has become an important subject in African and Christian healing respectively today. The research unveils factors responsible for the proliferation of healing in African and Christian Religions in contemporary Nigeria. The paper made use of mixed approach which consist of comparative, expository, analytic methods of research. Data were collected through field survey, Focus Group Discussion and consultation of books. The paper discovers that, proliferation of healing in African and Christian Religions in contemporary Nigeria is becoming a lucratic business, and people are been exploited daily by healing tycoons, and sometime administered with fake healing. There is also high spiritual poverty, quest for materialism, and socio-economic factors as some factors responsible for the surge of healing in the duo religions in contemporary Nigeria. Also, sources of healing amongst some healers in the duo religions are fake and unverifiable. The paper suggests genuine healing to be carried out in African and Christian Religions in order to restore or offer solutions to people’s related health, spiritual, psychological and physical challenges. People should also guard against patronizing fake healing tycoons inorder not to be exploited by them. Government and meaningful individuals should as well assist genuine healing in the two religions in order to help improve people’s wellbeing now and always. Also, punitive measures should be put in place in order to curtailed proliferation of fake healing activities in the duo religions now and in the future.
Keywords: African Religion, Christianity, Contemporary and Healing.