The Bassa nation also spelled as Basa is a large one. It cuts across different states in Nigeria and nations in Africa. In Liberia, they are about 35,000 and 5,000, in Sierra Leone, they speak Kru language. We have approximately 230,000 of the then Cameroon belonging to the Bantu ethnic group. In Nigeria, we have the Bassa people of Kogi State, Nasarawa state and Makurdi LGA of Benue state.
For the purpose of this research, we will be focussing on the ones located in Bassa and Ankpa local government areas and the confluence of Niger and Benue Rivers in Kogi State of Nigeria. They speak two different dialects namely: Bassa Nge and Bassa Kwomu. They are referred to as Abacha, Abatsa, Rubasa also. In addition to their dialect, they also speak Igala and Nupe-Teko as means of communication. The total population is 289,000, and a total percentage of Christian is 25.00% out of which only 3% are evangelicals(Joshua Project, N.d.).
The Bassa-Nge People
Very few literature document the history of how the gospel entered into the Bassa-Nge land. One of the unpublished accounts has it that Bishop Ajayi Crowther and his team were the first to take the gospel to these people. They first settled at Gbobe where they crossed the River Niger into Lokoja and planted a church and named it Holy Trinity Church. Besides Lokoja, the gospel also spread from Gbobe to Akabe and Kpaja. Both Cetheriah Matthew, as well as Ritsert, pioneered the work at Kpaja. Both of them were also instrumental in establishing the gospel at Akabe.
As they continued their labor among this tribal group, they engage indigenous persons to assist them in the work. Prominent among these were Josiah Kpanaki, Nathaniel Akanya, and Joshua Tseja. The missionaries invested a considerable amount of time to teach them the vernacular alphabet and these workers later taught the other villagers. The people, however, did not want their children to learn the letters on the ground that their children would be converted to Christianity, and would no longer go to the farm on Sunday. Some of the children however stubbornly insisted on learning. Even though their parent will not allow them to learn in the day time, they utilize the night after they return from their farm work. Sadly, there was no lamp at that time, so they had to gather grasses together and set them on fire to generate light so they could see. Gradually, they began to read the alphabets very well and read some portions of the Bible.
These set of first workers that encountered the missionaries became useful vessels in God’s hands in spreading the gospel and teaching others. When primary schools and secondary schools were later established, they took advantage of them to improve on themselves beyond the vernacular education they learned. The Christian Missionary Society (CMS) established the St. John’s CMS School at Kpata and St. John’s CMS School at Akabe and later St. Stephen’s school at Effin. The names of these schools have been changed to Anglican Schools. Many of the graduates from Bassa land are products of these Anglican schools.
The Bassa Kwomu People
Unlike the Bassa Nge people who were beneficiaries of the work of the Christian Missionary Society (CMS), Christianity came into the Bassa Kwomu first through Christian Missions in Many Land (CCML). The pioneer missionary was Malcon Gross. He labored among them around 1923-1929 using his knowledge of medical science. He preached across Oguma and Ogba and River Benue to Mozum and Igbira. Unfortunately, despite his very hard labor, not even a single person responded to the gospel.
His son, Paul David Gross built on his labor around 1930-1940. He was known for hunting. He hunted for both human souls as well as the animal in the bush. He was lucky to have a convert by named Egbi Jalanje but unfortunately struggled with abandoning his idols to follow Christ fully. He died as a syncretic in 1960.
Qua Ibo Mission later deployed a missionary by name Mr. Corry who made his input between 1932-1942 from his base at Ulondu hill. Corry established a primary school in 1940 and engaged Ahomodu Sebo as the headmaster. Sadly, Corry also did not have any genuine convert all through his ten years of labor.
The Qua Ibo mission still did not give up. They sent another missionary from Ireland in 1943 by one Mr. Clevland. He also labored without any fruit to show for it. The steward company in Ika deployed John Ugala and Khasa Umugu in 1944. Daniel Shigaba and Peter Sekpe Bida became the first fruit in the land. The first to embrace the gospel, before long, these converts began to read and write.
Their testimonies amazed some group of people from Uparandu who travelled for masquerade festival to where the converts were located. They requested for a teacher who will teach them to be like these converts. Instead of sending teachers, they traveled to Uperawa themselves and preached the gospel and then to Akakawa, Inigwi -Omworo and then Uwussa.
Complementing their effort was David Gilmore of Qua Iboe Mission. Gilmore had worked with the Bassas in Nassarawa State. He fully moved into Oguma in 1951 and the following year; there was a breakout of heavy persecution in the land. The traditional rulers threaten the missionaries and converts to quit the land insisting that they don’t need the gospel in Bassa land. Some of them were arrested and imprisoned. The missionary, Ugala went to meet the king of Oguma and requested that they release the convert or arrest and imprison him also. Since that effort failed to yield the release of the Bassa converts, Ugala traveled to see Dickson and Gilmore who later intervened and the converts were released.
The converts maintained their faith and continued with the preaching of the gospel. They were re-arrested and imprisoned. According to them, that was the only option left to ‘safeguard’ the tribe from being invaded with the gospel. In addition, they chased all the igala preachers from the land. Two preachers, Daniel and Peter Bida, were left. Some years after, the traditional rulers, Chief Sokwo Kwurubwa who was the Aguma of Bassa was astonished by the development that Christianity have brought to his kingdom. He then invited Igala preachers to return. The Steward Company at Ife took advantage of the divine intervention to deploy another set of eight missionaries to Bassa land. Gilmore also returned to the land to encourage those who were imprisoned and released for the gospel. The Bassa traditional ruler was provoked but could not send missionary because he was a white missionary. He, however, chased his cook who was an Igbira man away. Gilmore then refused to eat food cooked by anybody and entered into compulsory fasting for eight days. The traditional ruler was compelled to ask his cook to return.
Gilmore established a primary school that produced most of the key Bassa leaders today. The believers then insisted on having a denomination they will identify with. Gilmore offered them Qua Ibo Mission, Sudan Interior Mission and Christian Mission in many lands (CMML). They turned down all of them insisting on having a name of their own. Gilmore then named them Benue Gospel Mission. They accepted it and constructed a church building but effort to register the name did not yield result. They stopped using the name when Robert Hyslop came in as a missionary in 1963 and persuaded them that there was no need for it. The missionaries from Steward Company returned to Ife after some years of labor. The CMML Church sent in some missionaries to continue with the land.
The Bassa believers began to take over the baton in 1958 with seven of them embarking on pioneering work in lands where the gospel was needed desperately. One Micheal Chenre moved to Ugagba in the eastern part of Oguma, Abel Zhiya of Akakena moved to Ukpokwudu, also in the East of Oguma, Joseph Dogwu moved to Ikenda, Daniel Bida moved to Ugbende, Paul Imoh moved to Ukporo and Paul Jimba moved Uzugbe in the North of Oguma. The need for Christian literature in the language of the people became very crucial. In meeting this need, the Gospel according to St.Mark was translated in 1936. It was proof-read and produced at Ika. In 1960, Rev. D.J.K William pioneered the translation of Bassa New Testament. Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA) came into the land in 1970. Those who were desirous of denominational identity quickly joined them.
In 1960, the first Bible school was started in Bassa land. This was pioneered by Robert and Joyce Hyslop. They were the missionaries that made the Bassas drop the name Benue Gospel Missions. Gabriel Chenve Tatare was made the pioneer principal of the Bible school. He started the Students Youth Conference in 1978 through which revival broke out among the Bassa Youths. The 1981 conference was very remarkable as the Lord used one Brother John Ugbenyo to impact the youths indelibly.
Another landmark in the Bassa mission story is the revisiting of the issue of denomination identification. The youths were no longer comfortable with the idea of not having a name. They met with the elders, persuaded Hyslop and they adopted Bible Christian Fellowship. This was registered in 1989. This and over and over 39 denominations are laboring among Bassa today.
The Next Push for the Bassa Harvest
Every generation has its peculiar responsibility. To focus on the remaining task for our generation, a team of believers converged under the platform of Igala, Bassa and Idoma Missions Summit(IBIMS) to take stock of the extent of work done thus far and the exact state of the unfinished task. Part of the IBIMS labor resulted in setting up a research team to survey all the villages that make up the Igala nation. The result was astonishing.
For more effective coverage, IBIMS fragmented into three separate summits: Idoma, Igala and Bassa Missions Summits. After several years of having separate consultations, the Bassa Mission Summit(BMS) also decided to embark on a survey work covering the Bassa nation in Kogi State. This data bank is the outcome of the research work carried out. The research was conducted in 187 villages. 147 of the villages have the presence of churches. 68 of the villages with churches has no Pastor in charge - Sheep without shepherd. 40 of the villages have no church. Like God told Joshua, these 40 villages are the lands that are yet to be conquered. The same way God named them in Joshua 13:2-7, the names of the villages without churches are documented in this book. We agree with Oswald J. Smith, who said there is no reason why some should hear the gospel over and over whereas some have not heard it once. Our prayer is that this book will stir up the heart of the readers to engage the villages that still do not have the presence of the gospel.
