'Evangelization Where It Is Not Wanted': Colonial Administrators and Missionaries in Northern Nigeria during the First Third of the Twentieth Century

Historical Missionary Activity, Schooling, and the Reversal of Fortunes: Evidence from Nigeria

“…There were various attempts to establish mission stations in Northern Nigeria between 1855 and 1900, which were met with varying degrees of success (Ajayi, 1965, p.97 Furthermore, missionary activity in Northern Nigeria was significantly restricted by the policy prohibiting missionary activity from most parts of Northern Nigeria under the control of the Emirs (Ayandele, 1966, Chapter 4); (Barnes, 1995). 13 The colonial government's attitude towards missionary activity in the North is perhaps best illustrated by the statement below:…”

“…As Lord Salibury said in an address to the Wesleyan Missionary Society in 1900, "You will not convert them...and the danger of creating great perils and producing great convulsions, and it may be bloodshed..., is a danger you must bear in mind" (as quoted in (Ayandele, 1966, p.137)). This was a conflict the colonial government wanted to avoid as much as possible, as they believed that allowing missionary activity in a region dominated by Islam would be tantamount to preaching at gunpoint (Barnes, 1995). The administration also believed that the effect of Islam on Northern peoples has been positive, and was best suited to Africans as a "religion of the tropics" (Sundkler and Steed, 2000, p.256).…”

“…The administration also developed significant antipathy towards African converts to Christianity, and consistently cited the breakdown of law and order among some of the Southern peoples, and the difficulty of managing "Black White Men," as evidence for the wisdom of indirect rule (Barnes (1995) presents a thorough discussion of the administration's views towards African converts). 14 The net result of indirect rule was that missions could not rely on the support of British force in the face of opposition as they had enjoyed in Southern Nigeria.…”

“…14 Some of the antipathy is of course motivated by the early nationalist sentiments already developing among the educated Southerners, their refusal to submit to forced labour schemes, and other anti-colonial activities (see page 434 in (Barnes, 1995). )…”

“…As early as 1914, there were already 37,500 primary schools in the South, but just 1,100 primary schools in the North with an equal population. In a country where 97% of the student population were enrolled in missionary schools as at 1942, the negative effects of this infrastructural deficit was already apparent in significantly lower literacy rates (in Roman scripts) among ethnic groups of Northern Nigeria as at 1952 (Barnes, 1995;Prothero, 1956). We study the sustained impact of these differences in the historical supply of schools, brought about by missionary activity, on modern day Nigeria.…”