Africa's Biggest Jesus Statue in Nigeria
The largest Jesus statue on the African continent has been unveiled in Nigeria. The nine-meter tall statue, made out of white marble, has a weight of over 40 tons. It stands in Abajah,in south-eastern Nigeria.
The Jesus statue was built near a church that a Nigerian businessman had built previously. The 43-year old boss of an energy company says he has had the dream of building such a statue for 20 years.The statue took three years to build and was unveiled on the date of his parents' 50th wedding anniversary. Thousands of people took part in the ceremony.
The Nigerian archbishop said that the statue would serve as a symbol for peace in Nigeria. Africa's most populous country is divided into a rich, Christian south and a poor Muslim north . In the past few years thousands of people have been killed by a militant group called Boko Haram, which wants independence for the Muslim north .
The statue is much smaller than Christ the Redeemer, the world's largest Jesus statue, which overlooks Rio de Janeiro.
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Words
- anniversary = date on which something important happened in a past year
- archbishop = high priest who is in charge of all the churches in a region
- ceremony = important social or religious event
- divide = split
- independence = freedom
- marble = type of hard rock that becomes smooth when you polish it; it is used for making buildings, churches etc...
- militant = to fight or use violence to reach a political aim
- overlook = to stand high above on a mountaintop
- populous = many people that live in a relatively small area
- previously = earlier
- serve = be
- unveil = to remove the cover of an object
- weight = how heavy something is