Istifanus Nayaba Ganisa

Photo courtesy of Istifanus Ishaya.

Ganisa, Istifanus Nayaba (1923–2002)

By John Garah Nengel

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John Garah Nengel

First Published: April 25, 2022

Born at Wuku Village in Lemoro, Plateau State, Nigeria, Istifanus Nayaba Ganisa was probably born in 1923.1 He was among the earliest converts of John Jacob Hyde, the pioneer missionary of the Seventh-day Adventist Church to North Nigeria. He attended the Bible school conducted by Hyde between 1934 and 1935. This was the highest educational qualification he attained, and was the basis of his employment and eventual ordination as a pastor.

Ganisa married Afiniki in 1948. In the same year he was employed by the Church as a probationary evangelist. After one year, he was offered a full appointment as a lay evangelist. Because of his limited academic qualifications, it took a very long time for him to be considered for ordination, which finally took place in 1976.2

In 1951, Ganisa opened a mission station in the village of Mistali in the Buji District, some twelve kilometers from the city of Jos. He worked for one year at this station. His entire life was spent as a rural evangelist. During his active service from 1951 and until he retired in 1987, he was sent to open many new stations and served at several already established centers, including Gamau (1951), Talo-Chawai (1955), Kahuta (1959 and 1964), Kayarda (1959 and 1967), Wamba (1967), Amo-Katako (1981), and Fuskan Mata (1987).3

Ganisa enjoyed fifteen years of retirement before his death in 2002. He was survived by his wife Afiniki, five daughters, Holdaya Nathaniel Kiyani, Sheba Jibiro, Abi Ganisa, Elizabeth Musa Damaru, and Rebecca Akpan, and a son, Bitrus Ganisa.

Sources

Maigadi, Ibrahim B. The Adventist Church in Northern Nigeria: A Historical Source Material of Seventh-day Adventist Church in Northern Nigeria. Abuja, Nigeria: Art & Review, 2005.

Service record of I. N. Ganisa. North East Nigeria Conference Secretariat, Bukuru, Plateau State, Nigeria.

Notes

  1. Ibrahim B. Maigadi, The Adventist Church in Northern Nigeria: A Historical Source Material of Seventh-day Adventist Church in Northern Nigeria (Abuja, Nigeria: Art & Review, 2005), 150.

  2. Service record of I. N. Ganisa, North East Nigeria Conference Secretariat, Bukuru, Plateau State, Nigeria.

  3. Maigadi, 150.

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Nengel, John Garah. "Ganisa, Istifanus Nayaba (1923–2002)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. April 25, 2022. Accessed February 14, 2025. https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=2G7D.

Nengel, John Garah. "Ganisa, Istifanus Nayaba (1923–2002)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. April 25, 2022. Date of access February 14, 2025, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=2G7D.

Nengel, John Garah (2022, April 25). Ganisa, Istifanus Nayaba (1923–2002). Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. Retrieved February 14, 2025, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=2G7D.