Curing or Converting Them? A Critical Study of Christian Mission Leprosarium in the Muslim Emirates of Sokoto and Katsina

Christian missionary activities started late in the Muslim emirates of Sokoto and Katsina. This was as a result of many factors that impeded the establishment and growth of proselytization in the region. For Sokoto, it was the center of the defunct Sokoto Caliphate, seat of the Sultan, the spiritual overlord of the Muslim in Nigeria. Establishment of evangelical stations therefore would have been tantamount to a direct challenge to the spiritual nerve center of Islam which may have been resisted. Katsina on the other hand is among the major emirates under the Sokoto Caliphate. Therefore, the missionary instead of direct evangelism resorted to the use of medical and humanitarian options, which strongly assisted the Missionary organizations in making the few converts that they were able to make in the stronghold of Islam in Nigeria.
Keywords: Cure, Conversion, Christian Missions, Nigeria, Muslims Emirates.