It's got to be tough to be a Christian in Africa, particularly Nigeria, where Archbishop Nicholas Okoh must feel like his back is to the wall.

One of the most powerful figures in the Anglican Church believes that Africa is under attack from Islam and that Muslims are ”mass-producing” children to take over communities on the continent.

Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, 56, was elected Primate of Nigeria last week and his elevation could exacerbate tensions at a time when Anglicans are working to build bridges with Muslims. Dr Michael Nazir-Ali resigned as Bishop of Rochester earlier this year to work in countries where Islam is the majority religion.

Nigeria is split almost half and half between Christianity and Islam. There are about 17 million practising Anglicans in the country, but they face persecution in the north, while the two faiths vie with local religions for supremacy in the rest of the country.

Archbishop Okoh made his controversial comments about Islam in a sermon in Beckenham, Kent, in July. He said that there was a determined Islamic attack in African countries such as Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda.[Muslims mass-producing children to take over Africa, says Archbishop ]

I don't know why these comments should be deemed "controversial"; Muslims residing in Britain have expressed that intention themselves, as I noted in a blog item last year: Muslims Threaten Demographic Takeover Of Britain In Private Meeting.

A transcript of the Archbishop's sermon is here.

It is at times I have had the privilege of travelling in our continent, Africa, a lot and I see, when you talk about Uganda, you talk about Kenya, you talk about Rwanda, you talk about east, west, everywhere, there is a determined Islamic attack. They spend a lot of money, even in places where they don’t have congregations, they build mosques, they build hospitals, they build anything, with the hope that they will come, and you know what? They come to Africans and say ”Christianity is asking you to marry only one wife. We will give you four!” ”We will give you four - don’t listen to them” If it is just about the money to look after the family, we will support you. So evangelism by mass production. That is the type of evangelism they are doing: mass production, so if you have four wives, four children, sixteen children, very soon you will be a village.

The Nigerian beer war has always stuck in my mind. Nigeria is split betwwen Muslims, some of whom want repressive sharia law, and Christians, who dont' want to live under the bootheel of fascist Islam. So when regular folks wanted to enjoy the noble brew, they were attacked and killed by rampaging Sons of Allah. A kind of low-level civil war have bubbled up occasionally, as Muslims continue their tradition of advancing Islam by the sword.

Finally, the policy fiasco known as the Diversity Visa is welcoming 6,006 Nigerians who got lucky for 2010 in the lottery which picks 55,000 names out of a hat. The 2000 Census counted 134,940 Nigerian-born persons residing in the US.