Christianity entered Nigeria through British commercial interests and anti-slavery efforts. After the source of the River Niger was discovered in 1830, the 1841 Niger Expedition included two CMS missionaries, one of whom was Samuel Ajayi Crowther—a former Yoruba slave and teacher from Freetown.
Although the expedition failed, Crowther’s exceptional work earned him training and ordination in England. When liberated slaves who had returned to Lagos requested Christian teachers, Crowther and Henry Townsend were sent, leading to the establishment of the Yoruba Mission in Abeokuta.
Under John Venn’s guidance, the mission combined evangelism with economic development, setting up industrial training centres, schools, printing presses, medical services, and architecture initiatives.
Despite interruptions like the Dahomian war of the 1860s, local Christians continued the work independently. In Eastern Nigeria, the CMS Niger Mission also grew. After a successful private expedition in 1857, Crowther was commissioned to lead an African-run mission. In 1864 he was consecrated Bishop of the Niger Territories, overseeing evangelism from the northern Nupe region to the southern Delta.
A special endowment fund supported Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther’s work, which focused on both academic and practical education as tools for evangelism. He built mission stations around schools and encouraged Christians to positively influence local customs and laws.
However, Crowther struggled to recruit suitable workers, and CMS support did not grow with the mission. By the 1870s, rising European commercial interests caused tension between traders and African missionaries. After the deaths of key supporters like John Venn, CMS leadership shifted, and new secretaries pushed for European supervision. This created conflict, weakening trust between Crowther and the CMS.
In 1890, after a power struggle with J.A. Robinson, Crowther resigned. His son, Archdeacon Dandeson, withdrew Delta churches from CMS control and founded the Niger Delta Pastorate Church, which remained separate for decades until reconciliation began in 1897.
Crowther died in 1891. The Niger and Yoruba missions were merged into the Diocese of Western Equatorial Africa under Bishop J.S. Hill. Not until 1952 was an African bishop appointed again. Hill and his successor expanded the church into northern Nigeria.
Over the next fifty years, the CMS gradually transferred authority to the indigenous Nigerian church, as government support for education increased and more dioceses were formed. Read more…