By Gilbert Ekezie
The General Secretary, Chief Executive Officer of Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN), Pastor Samuel Adesola Sanusi, has stressed the need for church leaders to be united at ensuring that Bible translation, production and distribution become easier for Bible agencies like BSN in order to aid spreading of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In this interview, he also spoke on the Foundation, activities, achievements and challenges of BSN. Excerpts:
Could you tell us little about yourself?
I joined BSN in December 2010 as the Church and Publicity Manager, who manages the image of BSN, as well as taking charge of one of the major operations of BSN which has to do with fund raising.
What are the activities of BSN?
At BSN, our jobs are divided into five, which include; Bible translation, Bible publishing, Bible distribution, Fund raising and organizing programmes. The BSN is a member of United Bible Society (UBS), Whales in England and is number 35 in the 40 countries of the world where UBS covers. Every Bible Society is charged with publishing, translating, organizing programmes to make people engage with the word of God and to raise fund. We translate bibles into Nigerian languages.
Could you explain in brief how the Bible came?
The Bible came to us after the advent of Jesus Christ. That is the reason we have the New Testament, which is called the complete Bible now. Before Jesus Christ, we had the Old Testament, which was found in the temple, even Jesus Christ read part of it. From the time of Jesus Christ and now, it is 2023 years. The first Bible started coming out after Jesus’s death, when the disciples started compiling all the life of Jesus to give us the complete Bible. From then to 1804 when the Bible Society movement started, the local language Bible, that is, after Hebrew and Greek, we had Latin Bible, then others followed. Since 1,800 years ago, how many pastors could carry bibles to Church? What we had was the one on the pulpit. But with the advent of Bible Society and other Bible agencies, we have made the Bible available for almost everyone.
What has BSN done so far?
We give free bibles to the less privileged. We run different programmes to ensure that the less privileged are carried along. Every year, we package some gifts for the less privileged because if you go to them empty handed, they will not be happy
How do you get fund?
BSN is not funded by the Church or government. Our fund comes from corporate bodies, individuals and some church organizations.
What does it take to translate a complete Bible?
As at four years ago that we did a competition, it took us N120million to finish a complete Bible in a space of eight to 12 years. The Okun Bible was the last Bible we introduced into the Nigeria market. The Bible is an off shoot of Yoruba language. We completed it in six years and within that time, we spent about N90million. That is to tell you it is not easy to translate the Bible. In fact, translating the Bible is capital intensive project and no BSN can afford to charge, translate the cost of translating into the price of the Bible.
What do you think is the way out of the high cost of translation and price?
What will save the situation is the various taxes and duties we are paying. So, we call on the government to leave the issue of taxes for an organization like us because we are not selling. We do not have printing press in Nigeria that can print for us, so we print abroad, either Western or Asian world. If we add cost of production, insurance, stamp duty, shipping, logistics and other things, a copy of the lately translated Okun Bible will cost between N20, 000 –N25,000. So, if that is the case, who will buy? It will be more expensive, and Jesus Christ came so that people will have access to the word of God. But when the word of God is becoming inaccessible, it becomes a challenge.
Why is the translation of the Bible important to BSN?
Translation of the Bible becomes necessary because there are many people who do not understand the English Language. Even in Lagos State and other developed areas in Nigeria today, not everyone understands the English Language, and that is why in some churches they have interpreters during their services. So, that is why the work of translation is very important and will remain a continuous job. In the record of the world, we have about seven thousand languages, and Nigeria is among the four countries that have the largest number of languages and dialects, with about 500. Out of the many languages in Nigeria, some are dying and many more will still die because nobody puts them in proper form. That is the reason we are ensuring that these languages of our people do not die like that by translating the English Bible into those local languages of the people. What we see today in Nigeria is many men of God building Cathedrals, without building the people.
How many local languages has BSN translated the English Bible into?
Out of the 500 languages in the world, there are about 32 local languages in Nigeria of which BSN has published 27 of them to our credit.
Having published 27 out of 32 languages in Nigeria, what happens to the other ones?
That is the challenge we have. We are ready to do more if we get the desired support. That is why I am calling on the church leaders to come together, sit down and have a rethink on how BSN and other Bible agencies could be assisted. I will keep saying it until they understand that they hold it a responsibility to partner with Bible agencies like BSN to ensure the Bible gets to the people in their various local languages. Efik was the first Bible we translated in 1868, Yoruba Bible came in 1884, Igbo Bible came in 1906 and Hausa Bible came in 1932.Then, how many of those reading those Bibles had our N1 in translating them? Some people made it possible for us to have the Bible translated in our languages. Those who did that were not speaking the languages. Most of them were done by Europeans. Someone will say I am a pastor, I read Igbo Bible, I read Yoruba Bible, I read Hausa Bible, I read Efik Bible, I read Ibibio Bible and others, where would they have gotten the money and other resources to have those bibles , without the efforts of the Bible Society of Nigeria? It is the knowledge of the Bible that makes one a Bishop, Pastor, Reverend, Prophet, Evangelist or that. So, there is need for them to promote and support the translation and production of the Bible.
What is your advice to leaders of Nigerian churches?
You see, the job of Bible translation is slow because those who are supposed to support it are not doing so. Expectedly, every church in Nigeria should adopt a language translation as a legacy. It is good to build house for God. But if you build a house without building the child, the child you did not build will eventually sell that house. I know some Nigerian churches leaders who have bought Cathedrals in Europe. Do such people know whether their congregations understand the word they preach? So, leaders of churches in Nigeria should wake up and collaborate. Individualism will not take us far. Doctrines may differ, but there is something that brings us together.