A Nigerian businessman is set to unveil what he says is Africa’s largest statue of Jesus, describing it as a symbol of peace in a country wracked by Islamist insurgency.
Obinna Onuoha commissioned the 8.53 metre tall “Jesus de Greatest” statue in the year 2013, hiring a Chinese company to carve it out of white marble.
Standing barefoot with arms outstretched, the 40 ton statue will tower over St Aloysius Catholic Church in the mainly Christian village of Abajah in Nigeria’s southeastern state of Imo.
“It’s going to be the biggest statue of Jesus on the continent,” said Onuoha.