Aba Nigeria Temple Wiki

History

The Aba Nigeria Temple is the 121st operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This temple was built in Aba, in the state of Abia, to serve the nation’s 68,000 members. This was the third temple to be built in Africa. The highly visible temple site is 6.3 acres (25,000 m²) on the outskirts of Aba along the Ogbor River. A bridge had to be built over the river to provide access to the temple.

In the 1960’s the Church headquarters received more letters from Nigeria and Ghana than other countries combined. In all the letters the people were asking for more information and asking for missionaries to be sent. Representatives were sent from the Church to see what could be done in Nigeria and there they found thousands who had joined together to form churches patterned after the Latter-day Saint Church. All were waiting until the time when they could be baptized into the Church. The first missionaries were able to enter Nigeria in 1978. People lined up to be baptized and in just a few short weeks the first branch was organized in Nigeria. Now there are more than 68,000 members in Nigeria

Announcement

Groundbreaking

The highly visible temple site is located north of the Ogbor River on the outskirts of Aba overlooking the surrounding valley on Okpu-Umuobo Road. Elder Christopher N. Chukwurah, Area Authority Seventy, who was in attendance at the ceremony was baptized in this river 20 years previous.^[3]Noorda, Norman and Sharon, “Nigerian Members Gather for Groundbreaking”, ldschurchnewsarchive.com, 9 March 2002, Accessed 29 August 2016.

In his comments, Elder Stucki said, “The mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is to invite the children of God to return back into His presence. We believe the best way to accomplish this is to teach the people how to improve themselves both temporally and spiritually. We encourage them to perfect themselves. The buildings we build and the people we guide and strengthen will long stand as monuments to our commitment to assist in the building of this great country.”^[4]Noorda, Norman and Sharon, “Nigerian Members Gather for Groundbreaking”, ldschurchnewsarchive.com, 9 March 2002, Accessed 29 August 2016.

The Church received government permission to rebuild Okpu-Umuoba Road including a new bridge, all at Church expense. Locals now call this “Temple Road. The original bridge, which temple materials would have to cross to reach the construction site, was wood plank on a metal frame. It was not uncommon to see laundry, cleaned in the river, hanging on the sides of the bridge to dry. The new bridge is concrete and steel. The new bridge is still used for laundry, only now it holds more.^[5]Markham, Julie. Aba Nigeria Temple Open House.

Construction

One year after the groundbreaking of the Aba Nigeria Temple, Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited the construction site while on assignment to Ghana and Nigeria in February 2003. Elder Nelson commented that the construction is moving along nicely.^[6]Heaps, Julie Dockstader. “Saints in West Africa await temples: Elder Nelson visits Ghana and Nigeria.” Church News 1 March 2003. 3 March 2003.

Open House

VIP Tours of the temple were held for two days prior to the public touring the temple. Over 800 VIPs and 40 media representatives attended. VIPs included Tribal elders and leaders, and Tribal Royalty.^[7]Markham, Julie. Aba Nigeria Temple Open House.

A public open house was held for 13 days from 18 June to 2 July 2005 (not open Sundays. ) 25,095 people toured the temple during this time, an average of 1,930 per day.^[8]Whisenant, Vern and Donna “Heavenly”, ldschurchnewsarchive.com, 9 July 2005, Accessed 29 August 2016.^[9]Whisenant, Vern and Donna, “Temple Doors Open” ldschurchnewsarchive.com, 25 June 2005. Accessed 11 November 2014.

Some visitors to the the open house traveled ten hours to attend. One small family boarded buses for a five hour trip to attend the temple open house. The mother, pregnant with her second child, was induced into labor by the rough ride. The baby boy was born on the bus in the parking lot for the open house. His parents named him Temple.^[10]Markham, Julie. Aba Nigeria Temple Open House.

Cultural Celebration

There was a Cultural Celebration on 6 August 2005, the day before the temple was dedicated. The Celebration was titled “Day of Rejoicing.” It was held on the temple grounds and featured 1,500 performers from 15 stakes.^[11]“‘Day of Rejoicing’”, ldschurchnewsarchive.com, 13 August 2005. Accessed 11 November 2014.

Dedication

Dedication Order

The Aba Temple was the 121st active temple built in the world. It was the first temple built in Nigeria and the third built in Africa, following the Johannesburg South Africa Temple (1985) and Accra Ghana Temple (2004).

At the time of its dedication there were 5 temples under construction and 5 temples that had been announced and awaiting groundbreaking and no temples undergoing renovation.

Closing

The temple was closed in mid-June 2009 because of violence in the Aba area.^[13]Stack, Peggy Fletcher “Violence forces closure of Nigeria’s LDS temple”, The Salt Lake Tribune, 26 August 2009. Accessed 16 October 2012^[14]Taylor, Scott, “Violence forces closure of LDS Nigeria temple”, Deseret News, August 27, 2009. Accessed 16 October 2012In an e-mail to the Ogden Standard-Examiner a Nigeria temple worker reported an incident in which four gunmen were seen carrying AK-47s, with shooting reported in the area around the temple. Bullets from the shooting struck the guardhouse on the temple grounds. ^[15]Taylor, Scott, “Violence forces closure of LDS Nigeria temple”, Deseret News, August 27, 2009. Accessed 16 October 2012

Additionally, the city of Aba and its Nigerian state of Abia had seen a marked increase in reported kidnappings, including the 2007 kidnapping of four missionaries near Port Harcourt. ^[16]Taylor, Scott, “Violence forces closure of LDS Nigeria temple”, Deseret News, August 27, 2009. Accessed 16 October 2012

Though the temple was not specifically targeted, safety was a concern. LDS Church spokesman Scott Trotter said, “The safety of our temple visitors and workers is always our first concern. Incidents of violence in recent months in the area where the temple is situated are not necessarily related to the temple but could put church members at risk.” ^[17]Stack, Peggy Fletcher “Violence forces closure of Nigeria’s LDS temple”, The Salt Lake Tribune, 26 August 2009. Accessed 16 October 2012

Reopening

In 2010, Alexander A. Odume was called as president of the Aba Nigeria Temple, the first Nigerian to serve as temple president. Under his guidance, the temple opened on the basis of when people were scheduling ordinance work. By late 2011 the temple had resumed regular operations.

Details

Location

TEMPLES IN AFRICA	Cabo Verde	Praia
	DRC	Kananga · Kinshasa · Lubumbashi
	Ghana	Accra · Kumasi
	Ivory Coast	Abidjan
	Kenya	Nairobi
	Liberia	Monrovia
	Madagascar	Antananarivo
	Mozambique	Beira
	Nigeria	Aba · Benin City · Eket · Lagos
	ROC	Brazzaville
	Sierra Leone	Freetown
	South Africa	Cape Town · Durban · Johannesburg
	Zimbabwe	Harare

Site

Also on site are a Stake Center, an Administration Office, and Accommodation Center. Landscaping includes native flowers and palm trees.

Exterior

Symbolism

Inscriptions

Cornerstone

Spires and Finial

Spire

The Temple features a single attached spire. The single spire is a square tower, typical of the small temples that share this same floor plan. The spire is inline with the main entrance, being offset to the right of center on the length of the temple, but on the center line of the temple width. It consists of 4 levels of progressively smaller and taller cubes. The spire is finished with the same Namibian Pearl granite as the rest of the temple.

Finial

Interior

Services Rooms

The temple has no food services and no clothing rental.

Entry/Waiting Area

The Entry and Waiting Area of the temple is directly under the spire of the temple, and sits between the Baptistry and First Instruction Room.

Baptistry

Initiatory Spaces

Instruction Rooms

Celestial Room

The Celestial Room, a place for prayer and meditation representing Heaven, is at the east end of the temple on the center line, next to Instruction Room A.

Sealing Rooms

Contractors and Individuals

Project Manager

Architect

While the general design and layout of the temple was designed by the Church’s Special Projects Department, the localization of the plans (converting plans for local measurements and code systems) and design was done by Adeniyi Coker Consultants Limited Architects of Lagos, Nigeria.^[24]ACCL Architects To date, this is the only Temple designed by this Architect.

General Contractor

Marlum Nigeria Ltd. of Lagos Nigeria was the general contractor. To date, this is the only Temple built by this contractor.

Structural/Civil Engineer

Bezal Engineering Consultants Lrd, were the Civil/Structural engineering firm for this project. To date, this is the only Temple built by this contractor.

Additional Articles

• Aba Nigeria Temple Open House (Journal, has interior photos)
• Violence forces closure of LDS Nigeria temple