Nigerian Christians watch and pray after historic elections

For the first time in Nigerian history, an opposition candidate has defeated a sitting president, marking an historic power shift in Africa’s most populous nation.

Opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari snatched victory from President Goodluck Jonathan in a contest that wasn’t as close as most election observers predicted: Buhari won by at least 3 million votes.

The contests were also more peaceful than many expected: Though Boko Haram militants attacked a handful of polling places, millions of Nigerians waited hours in long lines and packed polling places without facing violence.

On Sunday, as some polling places remained open to accommodate still-waiting voters, Christians across the country celebrated Palm Sunday in church services undisturbed by attack or harassment. After Buhari lost to Jonathan in Nigeria’s last presidential election, rioters burned more than 700 churches in three days.

Many Christians felt torn over this week’s contest: Some expressed dismay over the failure of Jonathan—a Christian—to curb a Boko Haram insurgency that has killed thousands of Christians and others over the last decade. But many Christians also wondered if Buhari—a Muslim—would adequately protect beleaguered Christians in the north.

Buhari faces a tangle of problems as he takes power, including poverty, corruption, and economic woes. But the former military ruler could make a strong statement with a central priority: Finding abducted citizens, and helping displaced refugees.

More than 200 girls from the mostly Christian village of Chibok remain missing nearly a year after their abduction by the terrorist group Boko Haram. Though local residents have offered vital leads on the girls’ location, the Nigerian military has failed to return them.

Meanwhile, Boko Harm reportedly abducted more than 400 women and children from the mostly Muslim city of Damasak last week. Residents say the militants packed their captives into a local mosque before fleeing the city.

Buhari could prove his promise to protect both Christians and vulnerable Muslims with concerted, sustained missions to rescue abducted citizens from both communities.

The new president also faces an enormous refugee crisis, as the insurgency has displaced as many as 2 million Nigerians from their homes over the last six years. Establishing—and maintaining—security in northern Nigeria is the only path for terrorized citizens to return home.

Christians will be watching Buhari’s first moves as their new leader, but they also will be watching for threats as Easter weekend approaches. Boko Haram has vowed to continue its attacks on Nigerian citizens, and Christian communities have endured scores of attacks in recent years.

Easter Sunday gatherings could be an attractive target for terrorists, but Christians say they still plan to gather to celebrate Christ’s resurrection, and to pray for a new way of life in their own country.