11/04/2026
RANDOM 167. Here are some important dates:
1/ Benin Empire - c.1200s-1800s AD
2/ Bornu Empire - c.1380s–1893 AD
3/ Oyo Empire - c.1570-1896 AD
4/ Sokoto Caliphate - 1804-1903 AD
Christianity came to Nigeria in the 15th century through Augustinian and Capuchin Friars from Portugal. That was around the time of the Benin kingdom, but before the Oyo Empire. The first mission of the Church of England was established in 1842 in Badagry by Henry Townsend. Indeed, Christianity was already in Africa c.350-500 AD. Radiocarbon analysis puts the publication of the Ethiopian Bible around that period. In other words, Christianity was in Africa before or about the time it got to Britain from Rome. Christianity got to Britain 597 AD. Note also that Christianity in Africa predates any of the kingdoms listed above. So, it is not true to say it came to wipe out traditional African religion in these kingdoms. They weren't existent.
Christianity didn't arrive in Nigeria through the colonial authority. It was already in Nigeria BEFORE the colonialists came. Britain annexed Lagos in 1861 and established the Oil River Protectorate in 1884, colonising Nigeria. That's almost 400 years AFTER Christianity had arrived. In 1864, twenty years BEFORE colonisation began, the Archbishop of Canterbury consecrated Rev. Samuel Ajayi Crowther the first African Bishop.
Britain outlawed slavery in 1807 through the efforts of Christians - Quakers, the Clapham Saints, and the Methodists. William Wilberforce was a prominent member of the Clapham Saints. They founded Freetown to settle ex slaves.
The Methodist Missionary Society established the first mission school in Badagry in 1843, 40 years before colonisation. CMS Grammar School, the oldest secondary school in Nigeria, was founded 1859 by the Church Missionary Society, 25 years BEFORE colonisation.
The colonial enterprise did not bring Christianity to Nigeria. It had been in Nigeria CENTURIES before colonisation.
