From Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
It was a three-day event full of celebration and praises as Onitsha, the commercial city of Anambra State, hosted over 60 Anglican bishops, political leaders, businessmen, jurists and others from far and near, who gathered to honour Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther, the world’s first African bishop, who translated the English Bible into Yoruba.
Bishop Crowther, a former black slave boy who by providence became a missionary priest was later ordained Bishop of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in England known today as the Anglican Communion.
Bishop Crowther was born into a Yoruba home in 1807 in a town called Osogun in the present day Oyo State. He brought Christianity, civilization and education to this part of the country and beyond.
He was a victim of Muslim invaders who captured him and sold him into slavery, but was rescued from slavery and baptized by Rev. John Raban in 1825. He was the first African to graduate from CMS Fourah Bay Institute, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Bishop Crowther was ordained a priest in 1841 and due to God’s favour in his life, the CMS Secretary Henry Venn took him under his tutelage and he was posted to Abeokuta where he joined CMS work in Yourba land.
He later joined expeditions to the Niger Territory where in 1857 he was appointed the leader of the Niger mission that successfully established the CMS mission in Niger Territories with headquarters in Onitsha.
As the Niger mission progressed, he was consecrated the first Bishop of the Niger Territories on the feast of St. Peter, June 29, 1864 with the seat of his bishopric at Onitsha, Anambra State.
Among his early episcopal duties were the first synod 1866 at Christ Church, Onitsha, at the bank of the River Niger. The dedication of Christ Church Onitsha on November 16, 1870 made it the mother and anchor of all Christian denominations in the Southeastern, South-South and other Northern parts of Nigeria.
It was based on the contributions of the late Bishop Crowther to evangelism and episodical mission to Onitsha Niger, that made the Bishop on the Niger Diocese, Rt. Rev. Dr. Owen Nwokolo, to celebrate the 160 years of the ordination of the first Bishop of the Diocese.
On the first day of the event which was on June 28, 2024, the entire Anglican Church in Anambra State and beyond converged on All Saints Cathedral Onitsha, where a carnival-like roadshow was conducted round the commercial city to announce and proclaim the 160th anniversary of consecration of Bishop Crowther as first black Bishop and Bishop on the Niger between 1864 and 1891.
The church rolled out different musical instruments in colourful display, while members of the congregation who sang praises in their groups, marched through various streets and roads in Onitsha to thank God for taking the church of Jesus Christ far through a man of extraordinary commitment to evangelism.
The Niger Bishop, Nwokolo and other visiting bishops proceeded to the palace of Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, to pay him homage as the kingdom/city that welcomed and accommodated the first missionary in the entire Eastern region and beyond.
The Archbishop of the Province of the Niger, the Most Rev. Dr. Alexander Ibezim, during the visit related the message of the Anglican Primate to Igwe Achebe.
The Archbishop said: “I bring the message of goodwill from the Primate and congratulate you because whatever we celebrate today is because this community opened its arms to welcome the gospel.
“That Ajayi Crowther was made a bishop about 160 years ago is because there was a story to tell, because he didn’t become a bishop in one day.
“What was impossible for other missionaries that came, the time he and some of your own sons who came and preached the gospel, by the time they were received, it was, indeed, clear that the gospel was welcomed here.
“What we celebrate is not just that he was consecrated, but that welcome to the gospel and also what it meant to welcome life. This is because there were some obnoxious practices that would have made many people not to be alive. But because of the interaction with God who gives life, who spares physical life and gives spiritual life, we celebrate that today.
“We believe that when a good thing happens, it should not pass with time. After 160 years, we still remember a good thing that happened, and 160 years from now, we will still remember more good things happening because of that first good thing that happened.
“We, therefore, bring you greetings from the Church of Nigeria and we congratulate you and pray that God who is the King of Kings will uphold you.”
In order not to allow the sacrifices of the early church fathers to be in vain in the community, he appealed to Igwe Achebe to lend his weight to the spread of the gospel in his domain.
The Obi of Onitsha in his remarks, said that he believed that the church and the community are one.
“Both ought to work together and support each other. There’s always a correlation between violence, inequality and injustice. The church must speak against injustice and inequality while we, community rulers, will do the same thing.”
He disclosed that already the traditional rulers in the Southeast usually meet to find the way forward for the good of everyone by discussing peace, development and justice.
Igwe Achebe thanked Bishop Nwokolo for taking up the initiative of commemorating the 160 years of both the consecration of Crowther as bishop and the anniversary of the Diocese on the Niger.
On the second day of the event on June 29, the Church members and other visitors gathered at the Bishop Patterson conference centre at All Saints Cathedral to learn about the achievements, successes, and challenges of the late Bishop Crowther in a maiden edition of an anniversary lecture organised in his honour.
The two lectures about Bishop Crowther were delivered by Bishop Theologian of Anglican Church of Nigeria, Rt. Rev. Prof Dapo Asaju and Prof Kanayo Nwadialor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, who extolled the virtues of the great missionary.
The bishops and others later unveiled the statue of Bishop Crowther at the junction of Enugu Road, Ozalla road and All Saints Anglican Church, Onitsha, as a way to continue to remember the late missionary who brought light to the area.
The Presidential Candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Mr. Peter Obi, described Bishop Crowther as a bishop who lived a remarkable life through his missionary adventure in Eastern Nigeria and beyond.
He charged the political and church leaders to emulate the virtues of resilience, sacrifice, dedication and commitment of the late Bishop Crowther.
He described Bishop Crowther as a man who saw tomorrow and who single-handedly brought the gospel to Eastern Nigeria and African states as a victim of slavery through his advocacy and missionary teachings.
His words: “Bishop Crowther was a wonderful missionary who brought evangelization and contribution to Christianity to the West Africa region and when you tie it down to his background, you will imagine if we have missionaries today who do the same, the sacrifice this man did, going around, notwithstanding the difficulties that were there. He was a great missionary and a great bishop.
“My advice is for we politicians and other church leaders to learn and follow his virtues. He sacrificed his time, energy and knowledge for society. We should do the same thing whether as a political leader or church leader. We should learn from the sacrifice of this man.”
Also, the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese on the Niger, Rev. Dr. Nwokolo, in his welcome address said that Bishop Crowther was a bishop of the Church of England in the West African Territories beyond the British Dominions, commonly named Niger Territories.
“We gathered on this holy day, the Feast of St. Peter, to honour the legacy of a remarkable man of faith, Bishop Crowther, a slave boy, a victim of Muslim marauders of the 19th century, who became the first black Bishop in the world. His consecration marked a pivotal moment in the history of Christianity in West Africa, symbolizing the dawn of a new era in which the gospel message was deeply rooted and spread by one of its own sons.
“The June 29, 2024 is exactly 160 years since he walked through the nave of Canterbury Cathedral, England, like a sheep waiting to be slaughtered. He was not desirous, neither was he ambitious to be a bishop, but because of the burden for his people he accepted the onerous task of being the first black bishop of the Diocese on the Niger Territories, which in contemporary times, is known as the Diocese on the Niger, the Mother and Nurse of many infant Sees.
“As a Diocese established in 1864, we are not taking it for granted, rather we are taking the legacy of Bishop Crowther as an assignment to carry on the banner of Christ Jesus to the ends of the world and even among those within us, who have not seen the glorious light of the gospel. This maiden lecture series is a testament to our commitment to preserving the legacy of those who came before us while seeking to understand and address the spiritual and social challenges of our time,” Bishop Nwokolo stated.
On the third-day of the ceremony, a thanksgiving service was held at All Saints Cathedral Onitsha, to mark the end of the ceremony.
In his sermon, the Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of all Nigeria, the Most Rev Dr Henry Ndukuba, appealed to Christians to strive to approximate their lives to that of Bishop Ajayi Crowther.
Speaking through the Bishop of Lokoja Diocese, His Grace, the Most Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Egbunu, who represented him at the event, the Primate said, “Today there is a need for people who will serve like Ajayi Crowther. The reason for which we remember Samuel Ajayi Crowther today is because that man knew no limits and we need people who will serve like him, for he served without asking for man’s commendations.”
Emphasising why Christians should aspire for what he called God’s applause, the Primate said: “I want to challenge us to be people who go for heaven’s applause. Having man’s commendations without heaven’s applause brings eternal condemnation. We need God’s commendation more than man’s applause.”
He encouraged Christian faithful to be diligent and focused in their Christian life praying, “As we celebrate the person like Ajayi Crowther, whose ministry was a ministry of great passion, may God rekindle your passion in the name of Jesus.”
He commended the Bishop on the Niger, the Rev Dr. Nwokolo, for initiating and executing the anniversary and encouraged him not to relent in his present drive for the dissemination of the gospel.
Speaking at the thanksgiving service, the Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo extolled the virtues of late Bishop Crowther.
His words: “160 years ago, someone traversed this land. We celebrate history and authenticity. In doing this, we must ensure that we do not forget the full essence of the man, Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther. We will be missing something if in this ceremony we miss the essence of today’s celebration, which for me is that Bishop Crowther lived a life without borders.
“For a moment, imagine how this terrain was 160 years ago, only then can you fully appreciate the depth of his sacrifice, journeying from the uttermost parts of the West to the East to establish the Diocese on the Niger.
“Today, I hear them mention critical institutions from health to education whose foundations were laid by the efforts of a man who decided to serve humanity regardless of class, creed and ethnicity.
“As you deal with others in your daily lives, ask yourself, where is the Ajayi Crowther in me? In Anambra we are building a state that serves all, not minding where you come from, the language you speak or where you worship.
“I am here today to celebrate with the Diocese on the Niger, even as I pray that this legacy will continue to grow across generations to come.”