Samuel Johnson (Nigeria)
Encyclopedia
Samuel Johnson was an Anglican priest and historian of the Yoruba
. Born a recaptive
'Creole
' in Freetown
, Sierra Leone
, Johnson was an Omoba of the Oyo
clan as a descendant of the Alaafin
Abiodun of Oyo
. He completed his education at the Church Missionary Society (CMS) Training Institute and subsequently taught during what became known as the Yoruba civil war.
Johnson and Charles Phillips
, also of the CMS, arranged a ceasefire in 1886 and then a treaty that guaranteed the independence of the Ekiti towns. Ilorin
refused to cease fighting however, and the war dragged on.
In 1880, he became a deacon
and in 1888 a priest
. He was based in Oyo
from 1881 onward and completed a work on Yoruba history in 1897. This event is said to have been caused by him fearing that his people were losing their history, and that they were beginning to know European history
better. Ironically, this work was misplaced by his British publishers.
After his death, his brother Dr. Obadiah Johnson re-compiled and rewrote the book, using the reverend's copious notes as a guide. In 1921, he released it as A History of the Yorubas from the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the British Protectorate. The book has since been likened to the rise and decline of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon. It remained unparalleled as the primary source of information on the Yorubas until The Rise and Fall of The Yoruba Race 10,000BC - 1960 AD by Ayoade Oluwaseun Olubunmi appeared in 2007.
Yoruba people
The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...
. Born a recaptive
Sierra Leone Liberated Africans
The Sierra Leone Liberated Africans were slaves freed by the British Royal Navy from slave ships on the high seas and brought to Freetown, now Sierra Leone's capital city. The Sierra Leone Creole Settlers and West Indian immigrants called the liberated Africans "Willyfoss niggers"....
'Creole
Sierra Leone Creole people
The Sierra Leone Creoles, or Krios, are an ethnic group in Sierra Leone, descendants of West Indian slaves from the Caribbean, primarily from Jamaica; freed African American slaves from the Thirteen Colonies resettled from Nova Scotia; and Liberated Africans from various parts of Africa...
' in Freetown
Freetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country, and had a city proper population of 772,873 at the 2004 census. The city is the economic, financial, and cultural center of...
, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, Johnson was an Omoba of the Oyo
Oyo
- Places :In Nigeria* The Oyo Empire or Kingdom, a former West-African empire that covered parts of modern-day Nigeria and Benin* Oyo State, a present-day state of Nigeria named after the Oyo Empire...
clan as a descendant of the Alaafin
Alaafin
Alaafin or Man of the Palace in the Yoruba language was the title of the emperor of the medieval Oyo empire of northwestern Yorubaland. It was retained through the fall of that state as the official title of the ceremonial ruler of the contemporary Oyo clan....
Abiodun of Oyo
Abiodun
Abiodun was an 18th-century alaafin, or ruler, of the Oyo people in what is now Nigeria. Coming to the throne shortly after the Oyo subjugation of neighboring Dahomey, Abiodun soon found himself embroiled in a civil war over the goals of the newly wealthy state.Bashorun Gaha, the empire's prime...
. He completed his education at the Church Missionary Society (CMS) Training Institute and subsequently taught during what became known as the Yoruba civil war.
Johnson and Charles Phillips
Charles Phillips (bishop)
Charles Phillips was a member of the Church Mission Society based in the Lagos Colony who became Bishop of Ondo.-Early career:Charles Phillips was the son of a former Egba slave also called Charles Phillips who returned from Sierra Leone to work as a catechist at Ijaye.Phillips gained his...
, also of the CMS, arranged a ceasefire in 1886 and then a treaty that guaranteed the independence of the Ekiti towns. Ilorin
Ilorin
Ilorin is one of the largest cities in Nigeria and is the capital of Kwara State. As of 2007 it had a population of 847,582.-History:Ilorin was founded by the Yoruba, one of the three largest ethnic groups in Nigeria, in 1450...
refused to cease fighting however, and the war dragged on.
In 1880, he became a deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
and in 1888 a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
. He was based in Oyo
Oyo
- Places :In Nigeria* The Oyo Empire or Kingdom, a former West-African empire that covered parts of modern-day Nigeria and Benin* Oyo State, a present-day state of Nigeria named after the Oyo Empire...
from 1881 onward and completed a work on Yoruba history in 1897. This event is said to have been caused by him fearing that his people were losing their history, and that they were beginning to know European history
History of Europe
History of Europe describes the history of humans inhabiting the European continent since it was first populated in prehistoric times to present, with the first human settlement between 45,000 and 25,000 BC.-Overview:...
better. Ironically, this work was misplaced by his British publishers.
After his death, his brother Dr. Obadiah Johnson re-compiled and rewrote the book, using the reverend's copious notes as a guide. In 1921, he released it as A History of the Yorubas from the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the British Protectorate. The book has since been likened to the rise and decline of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon. It remained unparalleled as the primary source of information on the Yorubas until The Rise and Fall of The Yoruba Race 10,000BC - 1960 AD by Ayoade Oluwaseun Olubunmi appeared in 2007.