University of Nigeria Research Publications

OCHULO, Agodi Uchechi

Aut

hor

PG/MA/83/2005

Title

The Missionary Expansion and Growth of the Qua Iboe Church in Igbo Land

(1917-1983)

Facu

lty

Social Sciences

Dep

artm

ent

Religion

Dat

e

November, 1984

Sign

atur

e

;IT23 FIISSTONARY EXPANSION AND GROWTH OF TIIE QUA IBOE CHURCH I N IGBOLAND

19 17-19 83"

OCHULO, Agodi Uchechi EG/~o~/83/2005

DEPARTMENT OF RELIOION UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA

NSUKKA

"THE M I S S I O N A 2 Y EXPANSION AND GHOWTH O F THE QUA I B O E CHURCH I N IGBOLAND

19 17-19831~

BY OCHULO , &odi Gchechi

P ~ / ~ . ~ / 8 3 / 2 0 0 5

A S P E C I A L P R O J E C T REPORT SUBMITTED T O THE DEPARTMENT O F R E L I G I O N ,

U N I V E R S I T Y O F N I G i i R I A NSUKKA

I11 P A R T I A L FULFILMENT O F THE RXQUIREM%NT FOR A MASTER O F I).RTS DEGREE

I N R E L I G I O N

S U P E R V I S O R : --- PROF. 0.U. KALU

NOVEMBER 1984

APPROVAL PA.Gr; : 2-m

Thi s Research P r o j e c t ha s been approved f o r

t h e D e ~ a r t m e n t of Re l i g ion , Un ive r s i t y of Nigeria,

ilau!:lca. *

.. a-..... . .-. .-- . - S U P E R V I S O R

-*.11_1_--1 .

DEAN O F FACULTY

.-------L_ -.-- ------ D I R E C T O R , SCHOOL O f POSTGPADUATX S T U U I E S

iii.

DEDICATION : -__I_ --

Dedicated t o my Dear wife , Chinenye Ochulo,

Fly son Ikechukwu Ochulo; *

My t h r e e daughters :

Chinyere Ochulo,

C;h:inwe Ochulo , Oninachi Ochulo and

!!c our L~ord and Saviour Jesus Chr i s t .

i v ,

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS -.

Qua Iboe Church

Niger D e l t a P a s t o r a t e 4

Church Miss ionary S o c i e t y

Roman C a t h o l i c Mission

Seventh Day A d v e n t i s t

Na t iona l Archives Enugu

I s i n c e r e l y acknowledge t h e

v h i c h I r e c e i v e d from many hands

immense a s s i s t a n c e

up t o t h e s u c c e s s f u l

c o n p l e t i o n of t h i s p r o j e c t r e p o r t .

My g r a t i t u d e f i r s t g o e s t o my l o v i n g S u p e r v i s o r ,

P r o f e s s o r Ogbu U. Kalu. I l o o k a t my s e l f honoured f o r *

having worked under him. H i s profound s c h o l a r s h i p ,

d e v o t i o n t o du ty , open mindedness and h i s r i c h l i b r a r y

& i c h he made a v a i l a b l e w a s a n a s s e t t o me and t o a l l

vho worked under him.

P r o f e s s o r Ogbu Kalu is r e a l l y a n i n v a l u a b l e a s s e t o f

t o every ~ t u d e n t of Church H i s t o r y becauseLhis knowledge

of t h a t f i e l d . I am warmly t h a n k f u l t o him f o r h i s

e x c e l l e n t academic m o t i v a t i o n , l a s t i n g f r i e n d s h i p and

f n t h e r l y a p 2 r e c i z t i o n of problems.

Rev. ! ~ r ) F r o TOEo Ahunanya, Head of Department of

R e l i g i o u s S t u d i e s , A.I.C.E. O w e r r i 1983/84 S e s s i o n ,

d e s e r v e s s p e c i a l thanks. He g r a n t e d me t h e p e r m i s s i c ~

t o under take t h e programme. E q u a l l y , he p rov ided me

vii'ih t h e encouragement and s u p p o r t , M r . Sunday Chuta

of -b llc Genera l S t u d i e s Department, UAiive:.'?ity ~f N i g e r i a

v i i ,

1is~l;lia de se rve s t hanks f o r h i s g r e a t c o n t r i b u t ion and

open mindedness t o d i r e c t , adv i s e and h e l p dur ing my

acac!emic s t r ugg l e s .

Likewise , I am indeb ted t o t h e Q.1.C. a u t h o r i t h a

and h e r Super in tenden t P a s t o r s f o r t h e i r eagerness and

prom:?titude of a c t i o n t o my demands. The Sec re t a ry / *

n.-, l ~ e a s u r e r , Q.I.C. Area, Igboland, Rev. S.I. I r o n d i

deaorves s p e c i a l thanks f o r r e l e a s i n g necessa ry

i s fo rma t ion t o me r ega rd ing t he Church.

My r e l a t i o n s , pe r sona l f r i e n d s and co l l e agues who

s tood by me and spur red me t o t h i s succe s s , I thank you.

F i n a l l y , my beloved b r o t h e r Ukpai of t h e School of .

Pos tgradua te S t u d i e s , Univers i ty o f Niger ia , Nsukka who

c a r e f u l l y typed t h i s work as wel l a6 many of my o t h e r

p a p r s , I am much g r a t e f u l ,

Agodi U. Ochulo

Department of Re l ig ion , Univers i ty o f Niger ia , ?!sul:!~a.

v i i i .

PREFACE

I n r e c e n t years, i n t e r e s t h a s grown among Niger ian

s c : ~ o l u r s i n t h e s tudy of Church History, Many c o n t r i b u t i o n s

i n books and a r t i c l e s have been made by s c h o l a r s l i k e

Prof . O.U. Kalu, P rof . G,OoM. T a s i e and a h o s t of o t h e r s

touch ing on d i f f e r e n t a r e a s of Church His to ry ,

3 u t very few have had a n i n d e p t h s tudy on t h e h i s t o r y ,

e::pansioa, and growth of t h e Qua Iboe Church, e x c e p t p a s s i n g

shntetilents scho la ro . l i k e Prof . OoU. Kalu, E.A. Ayandele,

Zdnund I l o g u and few o t h e r s have made about t h e church i n

t h e i r books and a r t i c l e s .

There is n e v e r t h e l e s s a new i n t e r e s t among

u n d e r g r a d u a t e s i n t h e s tudy of some a s p e c t s of t h e churcb.,

noct1:- members of t h e church.

Thc Qua Iboe Church w a s a small, poor ly f inanced ,

non-denominational miss ion which had s t a r t e d work on t h e

Qua Iboe River i n 1887, th rough Samuel A. B i l l among t h e

I b i b i o of Cross River S t a t e . A f t e r t h i r t y y e a r s of h a l d

vfor!:, i t sp read a c r o s s t o Igboland i n 1917 and had s i n c e

nuddled around Ngwaland p a r t s of Ukwa and k z u i y i Oloko

arcas. A f t e r twenty f o u r y e a r s of i t s e n t r y i n t o I g b d a n d ,

ix.

i t sp read t o I g a l a i n Benue S t a t e i n 1931 by i n v i t a t i o n of

thc C.PI.S., and n o t by h e r own e v a n g e l i s t i c e f f o r t .

T h i s s tudy , t h e r e f o r e , i s aimed a t i n v e s t i g a t i n g t h e

f i i s s ionary Expansion and Growth of t h e Church i n Igboland

1917-198j. An attempt would a l s o be made t o look i n t o

t h e f a c t o r s m i l i t a t i n g a g a i n s t i ts expansion beyond t h e 3

a r e a s i t p r e s e n t l y found h e r s e l f e s p e c i a l l y be tween 1947-

19g3, and make p o s s i b l e sugges t ions f o r g r e a t e r expansion

and. growth.

T h i s p r o j e c t w i l l r e app ra i s e t h e h i s t o r i c a l

s i t u a t i o n , and suggest t h a t c e r t a i n e x t e r n a l h i s t o r i c a l

f a c t o r s t o t h e miss ion played g r e a t e r r o l e i n e i t h e r t h e

retardation o r promotion of i t s miss ionary expansion i n

Igboland dur ing t he pe r iod 1917-1983.

Ochulo, A.U.

Univers i ty of PJigeria, N sukk a

Novcnber 1984

TABLE OF CONTENTS: - .-- Page :

T i t l e Papge i

Approval Page

Dedicat ion

ii.

iii.

L i s t of Abbreviat ions iv.

Acknowledgement v i

P re f ace v i i i o

Cm'~FTER ONE - INTRODUCTION . *.- . --.- . . . r . - Y I I - -I

The Problem **. . - 4 3 Thc Scope and Area of Study ... .O. 6 L i t e r a t u r e Review O O . O 1 a 8 Method of Research O r Y O o - I 6

CLWTXR TWO L -..-.--..-

Cr ic f Background His tory rn O 0 0 0 22

Samuel Alexander B i l l - H i s B i r t h and C a l l 24

The B i r t h of t h e Qua Iboe Church a - o 25

Qua Iboe Mission Council . S o O m . 2s

Thc Name "Qua Iboev a - 0 .-. 32

CLIPTZ R THREE : .1.... 6- .--.-

Qua Iboe Church I n Igboland: Background His tory 39

Othcr Missions Operating i n Igboland before t h e Coming of t h e Qua lboe Church * - a 42

Qua Iboe Church a t Ogbor H i l l Aba .-a 44

CIUPTER FOUR : W -I -A-

Qua Iboe Church Missionary Expansion I n Igboland: A Reassessment of F a c t o r s 0 0 49

~ h b Township Churches o O ~ o o 53 Church Growth and Impact of t h e Q- I . C o i n Igboland o 0 o 0 o 0 59

Conclusion m e , * O m

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION I

Missionary En te rp r i s e i n t o Igboland occured during

the l a t t e r h a l f of t h e n ine t een th century, pioneered by

t h e B r i t i s h Church Misaionary Soc ie ty (c.M.s. ) ' But very

s i g n i f i c a n t i n t h i s e f f o r t was the r o l e played bx

l i b e r a t e d Igbo men from S i e r r a Leone who f o r t h e f i r s t

t h i r t y y e a r s of missionary a c t i v i t i e s i n Igboland (which

was dominated by the C.M.S.) provided the l eade r sh ip

under t h e superv is ion of Samuel Ajayi Crowther, who became

Bishop i n 1864. 2

The Roman Cathol ic Holy Ghost Fathersiwho appeared

on t h e scene from 1885 followed i n t he racd. I

It was however, t h e Aro-Expedit ion w$ich f a c i l i t a t e d

the expansion i n t o Owerri and Igbo-hinterland.

Among t h e P r o t e s t a n t miss ions t h a t operated i n

Igboland within t h i s per iod, t he most aggress ive were

t h e Pr imi t ive Methodists. They came l a t e ( i n 189))'

su f f e red d i s a s t e r s i n t he ea r ly per iod but soon recovered

t o race from Oron on t h e Cross River t o t h e i n t e r i ~ r of

Igboland i n two decades.

Thej-r expansion i n t o . Igholand was much inf luenced by t h e

cons tuo t ion o f m i l r o a d .

Within f i v e yea r s , t h e Methodist had occupied important

r a i l r o a d junc t ions : Ovim, Agbani, Uzuakoli, Umuahia and

Aba where they r an i n t o t h e Qua Iboe Mission which had

4 established t h e r e s i n c e 1917, T h i s denominatiorlal

supremacy i n Aba and i t s envi rons by both t h e P r i m i t i v e

Methodist and t h e Qua Iboe Mission n e c e s s i t a t e d the

c a l l i n g of t he conference of P r o t e s t a n t Missionary S o c i e t i e s

which w a s he ld a t Aba from 30 January t o 1 February 1917. 5

Thi s r e sea rch w i l l survey and eva lua t e t h e e f f e c t s

such r i v a l r i e s had on t h e Missionary Expansion of t h e Qua

Iboe Mission i n Igboland within t h e per iod i n l a t e r

s e c t ions ,

But s u f f i c e i t t o say t h a t t h e Qua Iboe Mission, a

smal l , poorly f inanced, non-denominational mission fouxd

h e r s e l f i n Ieboland i n 1917, having s t a r t e d work on t h e

Qua Iboe River i n 1887 i n Ibuno among t h e I b i b i o of t h e

Cross River S t a t e -

The spread of S e c t a r i a n groups i n t o Igboland

con t r i bu t ed g r e a t l y t o the e n t i r e C h r i s t i a n i z a t i o n of

Igboland,

These a r e of two types: f o r e i g n -based and

indigenous. Among t h e f o r e i g h ones a r e t h e Seventh Day

Adven t i s t s and t h e Jehovah' d ~ i t d e ~ s e s , The indigenous

Churches i nc lude t h e C h r i s t Army Church, v a r i o u s groups

of F n i t h and Apos to l ic Churches, Mount Zion Churches

(1946) S p i r i t u a l . K i n g s Church, S t . Josephs Chosen Church

of God e t c .

Most of t h e indigenous churches a r o s e i n Yorubnland;

o t h e r s a ro se i n Ib ib io lnnd and spread i n t o Igboland. A

few, l i k e Uno Uzo Ndu, C h r i s t Apos to l ic Church (1953)

t h e St . J o s e p h i t e s (1947). and t h e C h r i s t D i s c i p l e s (1953)

are of Igbo Origin , 6

The phenomenal spread of t h e indigenous churches

c o n s t i t u t e a major theme i n modern Igbo Church His to ry

and cannot be t r e a t e d he re s i n c e i t is not t h e s u b j e c t of

t h i s research , S u f f i c e i t t o say t h a t t h e o v e r a l l

cvnnge l i za t i on of Igboland was as a r e s u l t of t h e

miss ionary e n t e r p r i s e of both t h e fo r e ign and indigenous

churches, s e c t a r i a n o r orthodox.

1 THE PROBLEM:

T h i s r e sea rch is p r imar i l y concerned with t h e

missionary expansion and growth of t he Qua lboe Mission

i n fgboland 1917 - 1983, cover ing a per iod of s i x t y F ~ Y

4 . years . I n t h i s work, a t t e m p t would be mado t o nccopnt

for t h e reasons why t h e Qua Iboe Mission s i n c e a f t e r i ts

e n t r y i n t o Igbo land i n 1917 h a s muddled around ~ g w a l a n d ,

p a r t s o f Ass i n Ukwa Local Government Area and few v i l l a g e s

i n Ikwuano/~muahia Local Government Area.

J u s t a f t e r t h e Niger i an C i v i l War, t h e Qua Iboe Miss ion

found i t s e l f i n towns l i k e Enugu, Nkwerre, Umuahia, Owerri,

Lagos s t r u g g l i n g f o r c o n v e r t s w i t h t h e o l d e r e s t a b l i s h e d

churches i n t h e s e towns.

S i n c e t h e scope o f t h i s r e s e a r c h i s l i m i t e d w i t h i n

lgbo land , I would t h e r e f o r e mention c a s u a l l y t h a t i n 1931 7

t h e Qua Iboe Mission was e s t a b l i s h e d i n I g a l a l a n d i n Benuc

S t a t e p i o n e e r e d by David O I N e i l l and Herber t Dickson w i t h

some I b i b i o conver t s . I n P o r t Harcour t , R i v e r s S t a t e ,

e f f o r t s by Qua Iboe Miss ion s t r a n g e r e l ements made up of

I b i b i o s , and Igbos l i v i n g i n t h e town y i e l d e d r e s u l t wi th

tile e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f some churches i n t h e town.

I n s p i t e of t h e above mentioned e f f o r t s by t h e

I l i s s i o n i n Igbo land and beyond, t h e r e s t i l l e x i s t s l a r g e

expanse of Igbo land where t h e Qua Iboe Mission h a s n o t

r c g i s t e r d i ts presence .

The boundary agreements e n t e r e d i n t o by t h e e a r l y

r i v a l m i s s i o n s cannot s a t i s f a c t o r i l y e x p l a i n t h e poor

spread o f t h e Qua I boe Mission i n Igboland, Bocause

t h e wholo exeroise f a i l e d t o ach ieve i ts major o b j e c t i v e

of c r e a t i n g t h e i r miss ion co lon i e s , analogous t o t he t e r r i t o r i a l

scrambles o f European powers f o r Af r ica , 8

Never the less , t h e r e s e a r c h would a l s o t r y t o examine

t hose a r e a s where t h e Qua Iboe Mission gained ground,

' 9 e f f e c t i v e l y winning conve r t s from o t h e r churches.

There still e x i s t s a tremendous unaccounted h i s t o r y

of Mission Expansion of t h e Qua Iboe Mission i n Igboland.

Thc m a t e r i a l s a v a i l a b l e dwell p r i m a r i l y on t h e "h i s to ry"

of t h e Mission from 1887 when i t was founded by S.A. B i l l

n e g l e c t i n g a very important p o l i c y of t he Mission which

i s its spread from one l o c a l i t y t o t h e o ther . Very

un fo r tuna t e i s t h e f a c t t h a t t h e s o u r c e s t h a t have y i e l d e d

much of t he h i s t o r y w r i t t e n about t h e church a r e p r i m a r i l y

o u t s i d e t h e a r e a under review. However, w r i t t e n accounts

about t h e church a r e documented by f o r e i g n e r s - miss iona r i e s ,

a d m i n i s t r a t o r s and t r a v e l l e r s - and s t o r e d away i n home

a r c h i v e s i n B e l f a s t Northern I r e l and . 10

The a u t h e n t i c i t y of rniaaionary recorde *kpiv

p r o p r i e t y i n t h e r e c o n s t r u c t i o n of l o c a l

ha s been s eve re ly quer r ied . Says Paul J e r

" . missinnary rocords a r e radioa l ly inadequate f o r t h e h i s t o r y of the t h i r d world church. They a r e u s u a l l y o r i e n t e d towards miesionary i n s t i t u t i o n f o r t h e most p a r t so by d e f i n i t i o n a poor r e f l e c t i o n of t h e l i f e of l o c a l congregat ion under l o c a l l e ade r sh ip . 1 I

I1 THE SCOPE:

For t h e purpose o f i ndep th i n v e s t i g a t i o n , t he pe r iod

d a t i n g from 1917 t o 1983 has been chosen. 1917 r e l a t e s *

t o t h e es tab l i shment of t h e e a r l i e s t l o c a l church i n

Igboland of t h e Qua Iboe denomination s i t u a t e d a t Ogbor

H i l l noar Abn waterside.13 1983 marks t h e h ighes t po in t

i n t h e Church's development i n t e rms of expansion and

Another s i g n i f i c a n t a spec t of t h e year 1917 i s t h a t

it marked t h e coming t o g e t h e r of P r o t e s t a n t Missionary

S o c i e t i e s on t h e ques t ion of d e l i m i t a t i o n of a r e a s of

operation by t h e d i f f e r e n t miss ions t o avoid c l a shcs ,

Th is d e c i s i o n o f t h e conference ass igned a l l towns beyond

10 mi le r a d i u s , South and Eas t of Aba t o t h e Qua Iboe Mission,

bu t t h a t no new s t a t i o n s be occupied ou t s ide t h a t rad ius , 14

T h i s r e s e a r c h assumes t h e fo l lowing headings each

d e a l i n g wi th t o p i c a l i s sues .

Chapter I w i l l look a t Problems t h e r e sea rch aims

t o i d e n t i f y , Other i s s u e s under t h i s s e c t i o n i nc lude

Scope and Area of Study, some e x i s t i n g l i t e r a t u r e and

method of i nves t i ga t i on .

I n chapter 11, the au thor w i l l look i n t o t he background

h i s t o r y of t h e Qua Iboe Mission. The coming of t he Qua

Iboe Mission i n t o Igboland w i l l form t h e main sub jec t of

~haI?ter threeo Its se t t l ement a t Ogbor H i l l Aba and

r i v a l r y with o t h e r miss ions w i l l form t h e main arms of t h i s *

chapter.

Chapter I V w i l l r e a s s e s s the f a c t o r s t h a t inf luznced

thc missionary expansion of t h e Qua Iboe Church i n

Igboland. Growth of the church wi th in t he per iod would a l s o

be looked into .

The impact of t he Qua Iboe Mission i n t he a r e a s i t

cvangclized within Igboland followed by conclusion and

con t r ibu t ion w i l l a l s o be considered i n t h i s chapter ,

I11 AREA OF STUDY:

The research work is not looking a t t h e Qua Iboe

Mission and i ts missionary expansion from g loba l

perspect ive. Nei ther is t h e work covering t h e whole of

N i p r i a r a t h e r the research i s r e s t r i c t e d within Igboland

as suggested by t h e t i t l o of t he work: MISSIONARY

JXPANSION AND GROWTH OF THE QUA IBOE MISSION I N IGBOLAND

1917-1983. For s p e c i f i c case study, the focus is on

Igbolnnd from 1917 t o 1983 when t h e miss ion reached

i t s h i g h o s t p o i n t i n expansion,

Igbo land covers t h e whole o f Imo and Anambra S t a t e s o

The main c u l t u r a l a r e a s of Igbo land a r e namely: NorthoWest

made up o f Oni t sha , Southern Igboland i s occupied by 4

Owerri Igbos , Western Igbo made up o f t h e I k a Igbos ,

E a s t e r n o r Cross R i v e r I g b o s comprising of Aro-Chukwu,

Bcnde and A b i r i b a and Northern Igbo comprising of Nsukka,

15 Abaka l ik i and Afikpo,

Igbo land i s t r a v e r s e d by t h e Imo River i n t h e E a s t ,

wi th t h e Aba River as i t s main t r i b u t a r y . On t h e Western

side is t h e R i v e r Niger whi le t h e E a s t e r n Railway l i n e c u t s

t h c whole a r e a i n t o two from P o r t Harcour t i n t h e South

p a s s i n g such towns l i k e Aba, Umuahia, Uzuakoli t o Enugu

and beyond fn t h e nor th .

I V SOME EXISTING LITERATURE:

However, miss ionary e n t e r p r i s e of t h e Qua Iboc Mission

i n g e n e r a l h a s been g i v e n c o n s i d e r a b l e t r e a t m e n t by t h e

e a r l y European p i o n e e r m i s s i o n a r i e s , though none

s p e c i f i c a l l y looked a t t h e missionaky a c t i v i t y o f t h e

n i s s l o n i n Igboland.

F i r s t l y Jean S. Corbe t t i n h e r book According t o Plan

(Worthing, Sussex 1977) h a s a recorded s t o r y of Samuel

Alexander B i l l , founder of t h e qua Iboe Mission i n

Nigeria. The au tho r compiled he r work from e n t r i e s made

i n d i a r i e s and l e t t e r s by S.A. B i l l himself about h i s journey

from B e l f a s t t o Cnlabar. The book does not p re tend t o be

a d e f e n i t i v e h i s t o r y of t h e Qua Iboe Mission s i n c e i t l acked

s i g n i f i c a n t even t s and p e r s o n a l i t i e s . I 6

It is r a t h e r a resume of B i l l s e a r l y miss ionary

a c t i v i t y and h i s e n t h u s i a t i c endeavours t o extend t h e

Iilission beyond Ibuno on t h e bank of t h e Qua Iboe Rivero

Secondly, A l l The Days of My L i f e Qua Iboe Mission

E c l f a s t (1981) was a r e c o l l e c t i o n of Herbert W. Dickson

and h i s miss ionary e f f o r t s wi th t h e Qua Iboe Mission i n

p a r t s of Mbioto, Eket and Ib iaku D i s t r i c t s a l l i n Cross

River S t a t e , l7 Herber t Dickson i n t h i e book reviewed

ep i sodes dur ing h i s miss ionary work i n Niger ia f o r more

t han f i f t y y e a r s s e r v i c e wi th t h e Qua Iboe Mission.

CIomcnt s of d i f f i c u l t y and embarrassments as wel l as those

of g r e a t joy were included.

A Great Door i s Open Unto U s (1951) which is a l s o a

c o l l e c t i o n of add re s se s given at a conference he ld on

18 20 October 1950 i n Po r t ru sh I r e l and , Each a r t i c l e high-

l i g h t e d t h e successes of t h e m i s s i o n a r i e s wi th t h e Qua Iboe

and t h e need f o r renewed enthusiasm t o meet t h e new

c l ~ ~ a l l e n g e s i n t h e f i e l d , *

I n h i s own c o n t r i b u t i o n , Sunr i se I n Niger ia - A record

of l l i s s ionary Se rv i ce from 1920 t o 1952 - Qua Iboe Church

P u b l i c a t i o n (1977) Rev, W.L. Wheatley recounted what he

s a w and experienced mostly i n t he Oloko D i s t r i c t dur ing

twenty-five y e a r s of C h r i s t i a n Service , 19

Twenty-Five Years I n Qua Iboe, a s t o r y of a miss ionary

e f f o r t s i n Niger ia w r i t t e n by Robert L. Mckeown London (1912)

lookcd a t t h e miss ionary work as i t is around each of t h e

s t a t i o n s in I b i b i o landO2O There is more contemplation

i n t h e evo lu t i on of t h e n a t i v e church e s p e c i a l l y a t Ibuno

w i t h h i t h i s per iod of twenty-five y e a r s t h e miss ion w a s

e s tab l i shed .

When we r e sea rch i n t o a v a i l a b l e l i t e r a t u r e on t he

qua Iboe Mission from t h e n a t i o n a l i s t s i d e , t h e r e seem

t o be a t o t a l neg l ec t by some w r i t e r s on t h e a c t i v i t i e s

of t h e Qua fhoe Misalon i n Niger ia . For i n s t a n c e ,

J.F,A- k j e i i n h i s book F h r i s t i h n Mission i n N i g e r i a 1841-1891.

The making of a New E l i t e , on ly made a p a s s i n g s t a t e m e n t

about t h e Qua Iboe Church, 2 1

I n s h a r p c o n t r a s t , John Be Grimley and Gordon E. *

Robinson i n t h e i r book Church Growth I n C e n t r a l and

Southern N i g e r i a , ( ~ i c h i ~ a n 1966) devoted much on t h e --.-

h i s t o r y of t h e church from 1887 when i t e n t e r e d Niger ia

th rough Ibuno.

The a u t h o r recorded c o n s i d e r a b l e church growth i n

mcmber~h ip wi th in t h e miss ion between 1911 and 1963 and

i t had 42,692 communicants as a g a i n s t 245 i t had i n 1911

r e c o r d i n g a n average of 821 communicants y e a r l y . 22

I n h i s work C h r i s t i a n Miss ionary E n t e r p r i s e I n The

Niger D e l t a 1864-1918 (Leiden 1978) G,O.M, T a s i e reviewed .,- the p a r t n e r s h i p o r r i v a l r y which p r e v a i l e d between t h e

miss ion s o c i e t i e s engaged i n t h e e v a n g e l i z a t i o n of t h e

Nigcr De l ta , The Q.I.M. was one of t h e s e miss ion

s o c i e t i e s . 23

I n Volume 111 of h i s book The P l a n t i n g of C h r i s t i a n i -

I n A f r i c a , (~oadonr 7955) C.P. Groves recorded t h e coming - - of S,A, B i l l t o Ibuno on t h e Qua Iboe River a s t h e f i r s t

miss ionary o f t h e Qua Iboe Mission i n Niger ia . The s t e a d y

advance up t h e Qua Iboe River and t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t of

s t a t i o n s on t h e e a s t e r n s i d e of t h e r i v e r marked,a tremendous -

achievement by t h e miss ion w i t h i n t h e f i r s t twenty f i v e

y c a r s , COP. Groves commented on t h e converging a t I k o t

E!:pene of t h e Qua Iboe Mission, t h e S c o t t i s h P r e s b y t e r i a n

H i s s i o n and t h e P r i m i t i v e Methodist . 24 And t h i s r e s u l t e d

i n boundary agreement reached by t h e t h r e e missions.

I n r e c o r d i n g t h e a c t i v i t i e s of P r o t e s t a n t Miss ions

in t h e e v a n g e l i z a t i o n o f Igbo land , O.U. Kalu i n h i s

c o n t r i b u t i o n " P r o t e s t a n t C h r i s t i a n i t y I n Igbolandw i n

C h r i s t i a n i t y i n West Af r ica : The Niger ian S t o r y , ---- 0.U. Kalu ( e d ) ( Ibadan Daystar P r e s s : 1978) t r a c e d t h e

expansion of t h e Qua Iboe Mission from t h e Qua Iboe River

whcre i t w a s f i r s t e s t a b l i s h e d i n 1887 among t h e I b i b i o t o

t h e Western p a r t of Imo River i n Igbo land as a r e s u l t of

r i v a l r y and scramble f o r s p h e r e s of i n f l u e n c e wi th t h e

P r i m i t i v e Methodist . The f i r s t confe rence of Mission

S o c i e t i e s h e l d i n 1917 and 1926 was as a r e s u l t of such

c lashes . The conference though i t l acked enforcement

s a n c t i o n s , a t tempted t o hold back Qua Iboe Mission

expansion i n t o Aba, Bende and West bank of Imo River. 25

There ha s been r ecen t wr i teups by undergraduates

referring d i r e c t l y o r p a r t i a l l y on t h e a c t i v i t i e s of t h e

(Iua Iboe Mission. Fo r i n s t ance , I g n a t i u s Uleanya i n h i s

t h e s i s submit ted t o t h e Department of His to ry , Univers i ty

02 Niger ia , Nsukkn looked a t &ifisionam A c t i v i t i e s 1%

Northern Ngwa 1909 t o 1960 . The Qua Iboe Mission was --..-.UYU

among t h e f r o n t l i n e miss ions t h a t p ioneered t h e evange l i za t i on

of Northorn Ngwa wi th in t h e period.

I n h i s own c o n t r i b u t i o n , COD. Ogugbue, i n a r e s e a r c h

p r o j e c t submit ted t o t h e Department of Re l ig ious S tud i e s ,

Univers i ty of Ibadan 1981, f o r an award of a 19.A. Degree

looked a t t h e Or ig in and Expansion of t h e Qua Iboe Church

i n Ngwaland, It i s a p ioneer work on t h e miss ionary

a c t i v i t y of t h e miss ion wi th in Ngwaland. Other a r e a s

covered by t h e essay inc lude some f e a t u r e s of t h e Qua

Iboc Church e.uch as Doct r ines and Ordinances, Membership,

I h r r i a g e , D i s c i p l i n e , Church Organieat i o n a ~ d t h e impact

of t h e Qua Iboe Mission i n i ts a r e a af influence. 26

The au tho r however, d i d not look i n t o some of t hd

f a c t o r s t h a t t r i g g e r e d o f f expansion and a r e a s of chukch

growth.

I n h i s own t h e s i s on The Missionary F a t e r ~ r i s e oE

t h e Seventh Day Advent is t Mission i n N~waland 1910 t o YY-.-

1960. submit ted t o t h e Department o f Rel igion, Univers i ty ..- 4

of Niger ia , Nsukka 1979, t h i s w r i t e r noted t h a t be fore t h e

coming of t h e S.D.A. i n Ngwaland i n 1923, t h e Qua Iboe

Mission had ~ e t t l e d a t Ogbor H i l l i n Aba s i x y e a r s e a r l i e r ,

hence when P a s t o r C l i f f o r d of t h e SoDmAo came t o Aba, he

l i v e d wi th M r . O'Neil an Eng l i sh Missionary working wi th

t h e Qua Iboe Church a t Ogbor H i l l , 27

DOE. Etukudo, had a ca se s tudy of The Qua Iboe Mission

i n t h e mainland of t h e Cross River of Niger ia , 1887-1960; - -

n p r o j e c t he submit ted t o t h e Department of His to ry ,

t h e Qua Iboe Mission i n t h e mainland p a r t of Cross River

S t a t e and t h e impact of t h e Mission on t h e a r e a , 28

The Qua Iboe Mission and Its Impact on Et- - - Znvi rons L.-...-- s i n c e 1898 was a r e sea rch conducted by l'.S. Ekpa,

Department of His to ry , Univers i ty of Calabar, 1980.

I n t h i s c o n t r i b u t i o n , Ekpa noticoa t h a t Etinan b e c m e

onc of t h c mission s t a t i o n s of t h e Qua Iboe Mission on

25 November, 1898 en t ab l i shed by S.A. B i l l himself t h e

founder of t h e ~ i s s i o n , ~ ~ E t inan l a t e r became very

important i n t h e miss ion h i s t o r y of t h e Qua Iboo Mission, *

having i t s f i r s t secondary school and h o s p i t a l e s t a b l i s h e d

Very few a r t i c l e s e x i s t on t h e Missionary a c t i v i t i e s

of t h e Qua Iboe Mission, Edet A. Udo remarked t h e a c t i v i t i e s

of t h e Qua Ibce Mission i n t h e Missionary s c r a a b l e f o r

sphe re s of i n f l u e n c e i n Eas t e rn Niger ia 1900-1952 which

appeared i n Ikenga Vol. 1/2 J u l y ( 1 9 7 2 ) ~ Competing with

o t h e r miss ions l i k e t h e P r i m i t i v e Methodist Mission, t h e

United Free Church of Sco t land and (c.M.S.), a boundary

d e l i m i t a t i o n agreement reached by t h e miss ions i n t h e i r

1926 Conference reques ted t h e Qua Iboe Mission t o withdraw

e n t i r e l y from t h e western s i d e o f t h e Imo River " t h a t

all towns now occupied by t h e Qua Iboe Mission beyond a

10 mi le r a d i u s sou th and Eas t of Aha be r e t a i n e d by them,

but t h a t no new s t a t i o n s be occupied ou t s ide t h a t radius . 330

The boundary agreement cou ld be r e s p o n s i b l e for t h e

m i s s i o n s i n a b i l i t y t o r e g i s t e r h e r prosence West of Aba

town t o Imo River u n t i l l a t e r s i x t i e s .

A d e t a i l e d comment was made by O.U. K d u about t h e

Qua I b o e Miss ion i n h i s t r e a t m e n t o f t h e Garrick, Bra ide

I'iovement - cap t ioned "Waves from t h e Rivers : The Spread

of G a r r i c k Braide Movement i n Igbolandw i n J o u r n a l o f

Niger D e l t a S t u d i e s Vol. 1/2 (1977) and JHSN Vol. 3/4 . -.*a - (June 1977).

I n t h a t a r t i c l e he saw t h a t most of the Qua Iboe

c o n g r e g a t i o n s i n Ngwa and Ukwa had once been members of

t h c C h r i s t Army Church changing t h e i r r e l i g i o u s a l l e g i a n c e

between 1927 and 1930 as a r e s u l t o f t h e c o l l a p s e of t h e

movement, 31

V METHOD OF FIESEARCH:

I n a d d i t i o n t o secondary s o u r c e s , o r a l informfit ion

forms a major source of h i s t o r i c a l r e c o n s t r u c t i o n . This

was tremendously used t o supplement kno'dedge gained

from w r i t t e n sources . I n a l l c a s e s however, t h e o r a l

in fo rmat ion was compared wi th w r i t t e n sources.

I n o r d e r t o i d e n t i f y and l o c a t e dependable in fo rmants ,

t h c q u a l i t y and q u a n t i t y of a v a i l a b l e r e c o r d s , and l e a d

information relating to patterns of missionary expansion

and church growth, ques t i onna i r e s , modelled t o e l i c i t

these informat ion were designed and d i s t r i b u t e d t o

church l e a d e r s i n t h e a r e a under study.

A t ano the r l e v e l , i n t e rv i ews were conducted with

i d e n t i f i e d in formants most probably t h e o l d e s t mgmbers

of each l o c a l church wi th t h e h e l p of f i e l d a s s i s t a n t s *

There w a s i n spec t ion of l o c a l church r eco rds a t t h e

v a r i o u s Super intendent and D i s t r i c t Headquarters. These

r eco rds supply informat ion r e l a t i n g t o number of

communicants, bnptisma, o rd ina t ions , church fund, dea ths

e t c , with in a p a r t i c u l a r per iod, Carefu l ly c a r r i e d ou t

a n a l y s i s of it would confirm growth o r dec l ine wi th in

the per iod in the D i s t r i c t ,

Such f i e l d i n v e s t i g a t i o n was, however, preceded by

n meticulous search ing of va r ious a r c h i v a l source m a t e r i a l s

r c l a t i n g t o the Qua Iboe Mission.

Archival work is a l s o necessary i n overseas

r e p o s i t o r i e s , d e s p i t e t h e pessimism expressed by

Prof. O.U. Kalu over t h e i n a c c e s s i b i l i t y t o t h e

documentary sources f o r ahurch History. He emphasized

that t h e Qua Iboe Mission records are i n f a r away Dublin,

t h e r e f o r e u n l e s s funde ex is t t o permit a t r i p t o t h e home

base i t becomes d i f f i c u l t f o r a r e s e a r c h e r t o come o u t

wi th a u t h e n t i c informat ion about t h e Church. 32

H i s observa t ion need no t be discouraging. I t 3 should

r a t h e r be seen as one o f the problems of Afr ican

Historiography.

I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e above r e s e a r c h methods, l o c a l

church h i s t o r y committees were c o n s t i t u t e d whereby both

t h e p r i e s t and members of t h e committee could look on such

an e x e r c i s e as an oppor tun i ty t o w r i t e t h e i r own h i s t o r y

f o r t h e f i r s t time - an e x e r c i s e t h a t could be undertaken

wi th t h e utmost r e l i g i o u s zeal as an oppor tun i ty t o

serve.

F.K. Ekechi ; M i a s i o q r k ~ b t e r p r i s e and R i v a l r y I n Igbo land 1857-1914 Frank.Case: London (1972) pa 1

O.U. Kalu; " P r o t e s t a n t C h r i s t i a n i t y I n Iabo landn C h r i s t i a n i t y I n West A f r i c a : The ~ i ~ e r i a n S t o r x ( e d ) O.U. Kalu, Ibadan Days ta r P r e s s (1978) p a 30

I b i d , PP. 313-314

A S h o r t H i s t o r y of t h e Qua Iboe Mission 1887-1978 P r e s e n t e d a t t h e Q.I.C. 9 l s t Anniversary 15th-28th October , 1978.

4

E,A. Udo, "The Miss ionary Scramble f o r Spheres of I n f l u e n c e i n astern N i g e r i a 1900-1952" Ikenga Vol 1/2 (1972) p. 28.

A B r i e f H i s t o r y - Qua I b o e Church B i b l e Col lege Ankpa 1963-1983.

G.O.M. T a s i e , C h r i s t i a n Miss ionary E n t e r p r i s e i n t h e ~ i ~ e r e 1 1978) p. 234

O.U.

10, O.U.

11. Paul

Kalu, "Waves from t h e Rivers : The Spread of G a r r i c k Bra ide Movement i n I ~ b o l a n d " J o u r n a l of Niger D e l t a s t u d i e s Vole 1/2 (1977) pp, 89-100 JHSN Vol 8/4 ( - June 1977)

Kalu "Doing Church H i s t o r y i n A f r i c a Today" Church H i s t o r y i n a n Ecumenical P e r s p e c t i v e : Papers and Repor t s o f a n I n t e r n a t i o n a l Ecumenical C o n s u l t a t i o n h e l d i n Basle October 12-17, 1981 e d i t e d by Lukas . Vischar , p, 87.

J e n k i n s , "Mission H i s t o r y - A Manifeston (unpubl ished) .

12, Ryder Alan "Towards T r a d i t i o n and His to ryu i n J.D. Fage (ed) A f r i c a n Discovers Her P a s t , OUP (1970) pa 32

13. T.R. Graham, A G r e a t Door: The Ind igenous Church A Qua Iboe Mission P u b l i c a t i o n 1951, PO 37

14, E.A. Udo, ',The Miss ionary Scramble", p. 30

15. L.U. E j i o f o r , Dynamics of Igbo Democracy: A Behavioura l A n a l y s i s of Igbo P o l i t i c s i n Aguinyi Clan, u n i v e r s i t y - P r e s s ~ t d . , Ibadan (1981) p. 8

16. J.S. C o r b e t t , According t o Plan: The S t o r y of Samuel Alexander B i l l Founder of the Qua Iboe Mission N i g e r i a , Henry Eo Wal ter L td Warthing, ( s u s s e s 1977) Po 130

17. J e S o Corbe t t : A l l The Days o f My L i f e , ~ u a ' I b o e Miss ion P u b l i c a t i o n is a c o l l e c t i o n of a d d r e s s e s g iven at a Conference h e l d on 20 th October 1950 i n P o r t r u s t I r e l a n d .

9 Rev. W.L. Wheatley, S u n r i s e I n N i g e r i a , Qua Iboe Church P u b l i c a t i o n (1977) PO 45.

20. H.L. McKeown: Twenty-Five Years I n Qua Iboe - A S t o r y of a Missionary E f f o r t i n N i g e r i a , (London: 1912)

21. J.FoAo Ajay i , C h r i s t i a n Miss ions I n N i g e r i a 1841-1891 The Making of a N e w E l i t e (~ongman 1965) p. 234

22. J.B. Qrimley and G.E. Robinson: Church Growth I n Cont,r~; and Southern N i g e r i i , William B. Eerdrnans P u b l i s h i n g Coy. Grand Rapids, Michigan-

23. GmOaM* Tas ie : ( ~ e i d e n E.J. B r i l l 7978) pa 212

Oroveo, The Planting of C h r i s t i a n i t y i n A f r i c a Vol. 111. London (1955)

Kalu, I 8 P r o t e s t a n t C h r i s t i a n i t y " , p, 314

Ogugbuc, The O r i g i n and Expansion of Qua Iboe Church i n Ngwaland, Imo S t a t e of N i g e r i a B.A. T h e s i s submi t t ed t o t h e Department of R e l i g i o u s S t u d i e s , U n i v e r s i t y of Ibadan, Ibadan 1981,

27. A.U, Ochulo, M i s s i o n a ~ y E n t e r p r i s e of t h e Seventh Day Adven t i s t Mission i n Ngwaland 1910-1960 B.A. T h e s i s submi t t ed t o t h e Department of R e l i g i o n , U n i v e r s i t y of N i g e r i a , Nsukka, ( 1979)

26. E.D, Etukudo, C h r i s t i a n Mission i n Niger ia : A Case Study o f t h e Qua Iboe Miss ion i n t h e Mainland of t h e Cross River o f N i g e r i a , 1887-1960 Department of H i s t o r y , U n i v e r s i t y of Ca labar

29, 1.6. Ekpa, The Qua Iboe Miss ion and Its Impact on E t i n a n and E ~ v i r o n s S i n c e 1898, Department of H i s t o r y , U n i v e r s i t y of Ca labar , 1980.

30, E,A, Udo, T h e Miss ionary Scramble", p. 30.

31. O.U. Kalu, "Waves from t h e Rivers", p. 90.

32. O.U. K a l U , "Doing Church History", p. 87

CHAPTER TWO 22

BRIEF BACKGROUND HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN OF THE QUA IBOE *--

MISSION I N NIGERIA

By 1846, t h e P re sby t e r i an Church had been e s t a b l i s h e d

a t Calabar fo l lowing p e r s i s t e n t a p p e a l s by Calabar c h i e f s

f o r a missionary t o s e t t l e among them.' The P re sby t e r i an

C h r i s t i a n Expedi t ion a r r i v e d a t Calnbar on ~ p r i l . 1 0 , 1846

accompained by John Beecrof t , t h e Governor of Fernando Po,

The Reverend Hope Masterton Waddell, an I r i s h P reeby t e r i an

q d Rev, Samuel Edgerley formed " the Vanguard of t h i s

movement which developed i n t o t h e United Free Church

E-Iission of Calabart'. 2

Conver ts were soon made as t h e fame of t h e mi s s iona r i e s

spread r a p i d l y and Calabar be ing a very important

a d m i n i s t r a t i v e and commercial headquar te r s a t t r a c t e d many

people from t h e h i n t e r l a n d among whom were t h e Ibuno people. 3

I n 1886, t h e Ibuno people a t t h e mouth of t h e Qua Iboe

River through t r a d i n g c o n t a c t s i n Calabar developed a

?.;ecn i n t e r e s t f o r t h e gospel. They r epo r t ed t h e i r

cxpcr iences t o t h e i r people a t home and M r * W i l l i a m s from

S i e r r a Leone, a C h r i s t i a n and one of t h e f o r e i g n t r a d e r s

who s e t t l e d i n Ibuno s t ~ r t e d t ench ine them t h e Ten

Commandments, ga the r ing them on Sundays t o t e l l them

t h c word of God. Eventua l ly , t h e i r d e s i r e was made known

t o t h e P re sby t e r i an S c o t t i s h Mis s iona r i e s a t Calabar when

they reques ted f o r a miss ionary t o come and l i v e i n t h e i r

n i d s t and t each them more about God.

The reques t w a s forwarded by Mr. Fos t e r , a Jamaican

rfiissionary t o D r . G r a t t a n Guiness, t h e p r i n c i p a l of

Bar ley Missionary T ra in ing Col lege, London. He immediately

p laced t h e r eques t before h i s g radua t ing s t u d e n t s i n 1887.

ttGentlemen, he s a i d , 'I have here a remarkable l e t t e r . It has been w r i t t e n by a t r a d e r a t t h e r eques t of West Afr ican Chiefs. They want a white man t o l i v e among t h e i r people and t each them about God- The S c o t t i s h Mission at Calabar h a s l o s t s o many workers, through i l l n e s s and death , t h a t i t is unable t o answer t h i s c a l l and has s e n t i t on t o meet'

Throwing t h e t r a v e l s t a i n e d envelop on t h e t a b l e he looked I

around t h e s e r i o u s young f a c e s and i s sued a formidable

cha l lenge , "Its s t r eacherous , fever-r idden c l ima te ,

and cannibal ism is not unknown i n t h e area. You would

have no Mission behind you, but w i l l one of you young

nen o f f e r t o go?" 4

M r . Samuel Alexander B i l l of B e l f a s t made an immediate

persona l response and proceeded from Liverpool t o Nigeria. 5

A s r e c a l l e d by J.W. Westgarth,

Unlike many m i s s i o n a r i e s he was no t s e n t by any Church o r miss ionary s o c i e t y , so he was without t h e suppor t such s o c i e t i e s gave and had no means of h i s own, but t r u s t i n g God, he made up h i s mind t o t a k e th i se t rb l row work, t r a v e l l i n g from I r e l a n d , he a r r i v e d i n Eas t e rn Niger ia , 4000 mi l e s from I r e l a n d , 6

* SAMUEL ALEXANDER BILL - HIS BIRTH AND CALL: ..--

Samuel Alexander B i l l w a s born i n B e l f a s t , Northern

I r e l a n d , January 1864. H i s mother had o f f e r e d him t o t h e

s e r v i c e of t he Lord, Samuel had e a r l i e r made up h i s mind

t o 80 ou t as a miss ionary t o one of t h e many unoccupied

f i e l d s s c a t t e r e d over t h e globe. To g e t him wel l equipped

f o r t h e work h i s mother s e n t him a t t h e age of twenty-two

t o Harley Missionary Tra in ing College.

S,A. S i l l a t t ended a l e c t u r e i n Ba l lymacar re t t

P r e s b y t e r i a n Church by t h e l a t e Rev, Win Rodgers, L.L.D;

of Whiteabbey e n t i t l e d - "Glimpses at t h e Map of t h e Worldf1

By t h e s e l e c t u r e s , D r . Rodgers sought t o rouse miss ionary

i n t e r e s t , and t o d i r e c t a t t e n t i o n t o t h e many unoacupied

f i e l d s , s t i l l s c a t t e r e d over t h e globe. Thencefor th ,

Kr. B i l l f e l t cons t r a ined t o spend h i s l i f e i n t h e

evange l i z a t i on o f some p a r t s of t h e g r e a t heathen wor l~

MR. AND MRS S.A. BILL. FOUNDER OF - --- Q.I.C. OF NIGERIA.

Seve ra l associated with h i m i n christian work, exper ienced

t h e same Divine compulsion. One of these - M r . John

i-I 'Kit tr ick - became t h e p ioneer of t h e Congo Balolo Mission,

where he f e l l a v ic t im t o t h e c l ima te a f t e r f i v e y e a r s 1

arduous workm7 Another M r . Archibald Ba l i e , fo l lowed

M r . B i l l t o Qua Iboe i n 1888. Others l i k e Rev. Samuel

b i ~ s s i s o n , M r . James Ferguson, M r . D. MIMaster, and

M r . R.M. S t e e l e , t o whom t h e way d i d not open counted i t

a p r i v i l e g e t o have fe l lowship , by g i f t and p raye r , wi th

t hose c a l l e d t o t h e f ron t .

TBE BIRTH OF THE QUA IBOE CHURCH: =----

Samuel B i l l s a i l e d on 14 September, 1887 of t h e same

y e a r , D r . and Mrs. ~ u t n n o s s having defrayed t h e c o s t of

h i s passage be s ide s f u r n i s h i n g tho means f o r a l i m i t e d

o u t f i t . Apart from t h i s , Mr. B i l l had no help. He hoped

t o support himself by t r a d i n g o r working, and at t h e sane

time t e ach t h e people , who d e s i r e d t o hear about God.

A f t e r a good passage t h e steamer reached Calabar

on 6 October, and t he d e s i r e s , of y e a r s was r e a l i s e d .

I n h i s r e g u l a r read ing of t h e s c r i p t u r e s , M r . B i l l ' s p o r t i o n

f o r t h a t day included t h e twenty- thi rd Psalm. Nothing

c o u l d have been more a p p r o p r i a t e t o h imsel f o r t o t h e

a n t e r p r i s e upon which he had embarked.

He a r r i v e d Ibuno about 1 December of t h a t y e a r

having s p e n t a s h o r t t ime wi th M r , F o s t e r a t Ca labar

l e a r n i n g something abou t t h e peop le , t h e i r l anguage , and

t h e p r o s p e c t s of work amongst them, I n a n t i c i p a t i o n of *

r e c e i v i n g a miss ionary t h e n a t i v e s had b u i l t a small

house, which M r . B i l l r o o f e d w i t h c o r r u g a t e d i r o n , g iven

him by a t r a d e r .

He u s u a l l y g e t s p r o v i s i o n th rough a l a u n c h t h a t

s a i l e d between Ca labar and Eket , Making h i s l o n e l y abode

i n h i s house, he v i s i t e d t h e n e a r e s t towns. He began work

f o r t h w i t h by t e a c h i n g t h e a l p h a b e t t o R number o f young

peop le eve ry morning, and h o l d i n g s e r v i c e s on Sundays.

It was p o s s i b l e f o r him t o do s o w i t h t h e h e l p of t h o

E f i k books, o b t a i n e d from t h e Miss ion P r e s s a t Ca labar ,

and by t h e f a c t t h a t a co lourcd English-Speaking t r a d e r

named Williams, a n a t i v e of S i e r r a Leone, had a c q u i r e d

t h e n a t i v e l anguage , hav ing s e t t l e d i n Ibuno s e v e r a l y e a r s

p r e v i o u s l y , M r . W i l l i a m s i n t e r p r e t e d f o r B i l l , u n t i l

he a c q u i r e d s u f f i c i e n t g r a s p of t h e language. 8

H e soon disoovorod that the condi t ions of l i f e , t h e

methods of t r a d i n g , and t h e n a t u r e of t h e n a t i v e food

p rec luded him from even a t t e m p t i n g t o make t h e work

se l f - suppor t ing . I n t h e s e c i rcumstances , he communicated

wi th h i s o l d f r i ~ r d s i n I s l a n d S t r e e t , s u g g e s t i n g t h a t t h e y

should h e l p by endeavouring t o r a i s e e25 a n n u a l l i .

Hc s u f f e r e d much n o t on ly from f e v e r and i t s d e p r e s s i n g

e f f e c t s , b u t from o t h e r h a r d s h i p s , and t h e q u a l i t y of

t h e a v a i l a b l e food. I n a l e t t e r t o a f r i e n d he s a i d a l l

was d a r k excep t what w a s v i s i b l e t o t h e eye of f a i t h . H e

was s u s t a i n e d a t t h i s season by c o n s t a n t v i s i o n s of t h e

One who had c a l l e d him t o t h t i s o l a t e d epot. Re was a l s o

cheered by t h e k i n d n e s s of Mr. and Mrs. Williams. When

t h e y s a w he had t r o u b l e abou t food, they i n v i t e d him t o

p a r t a k e wi th them; w h i l s t they and o t h e r s s e n t him g i f t s

and f i s h and yams. Nor was he f o r g o t t e n by D r and Mrs.

Guinness , who despatched s e v e r a l s u p p l i e s of s t o r e s .

Meanwhile, i n t e r e s t i n t h e s e r v i c e s and c l a s s e s was

i n c r e a s i n g . Many o f t h e n a t i v e s were e v i d e n t l y p l e a s e d

t o have a miss ionary i n t h e i r midst. Few were r e a l l y

h o s t i l e , and a number were e a r n e s t and a t t e n t i v e i n

l i s t e n i n g t o h i s teaching. Several of t h e young people

w e r e 60 eager t o learn that they r e a d i l y agreed t o g ive

an hour o r two he lp ing M r . B i l l t o c l e a r t h e bush around

h i s house, i n r e t u r n f o r d a i l y l essons .

The Sunday meetings were h e l d i n t h e y a r d s of f r i e n d l y 4

Chiefs , whose wives, c h i l d r e n and s l a v e s composed t h e

congregation. Sho r t l y , a mud-and-wattle church was e r e c t e d

capable of accommodating 200 worshippers. Al toge ther t h e

out look was so encouraging and t h e need so g r e a t t h a t

PIr , A. B a i l i e jo ined him before t h o end of 1888.

The f i r s t of h i s conve r t s were David Ekong, belonging

t o t h e p r i n c i p a l p r i e s t l y family who came t o l i v e with

Nr. B i l l s h o r t l y a f t e r h i s a r r i v a l and a woman c a l l e d

Mmn Et i a . David Ekong l a t e r became t h e f i r s t ordained

n a t i v e p a s t o r o f t h e Qua Iboe Church,

By 1890, when B i l l t r a v e l l e d t o B e l f a s t , t h e r e were

fou r t een p ro fe s s ing C h r i s t i a n s and n ine r e g i s t e r e d

i n q u i r e r s i n t h e Church and t he f i r s t two conver t s

rece ived baptism on December 29, 1889. The f i r s t

communion s e r v i c e i n connect ion wi th t h i s church, he ld on

1 February, 1890, i s t h u s r e f e r r e d t o i n M r . B i l l ' s d i a r y

- "Today t h e Lord ' s Supper was observed f o r t h e f i r s t t ime

i n Qua Iboe. Eleven s a t down on t h e t a b l e , a l l wi th

b l a c k s k i n - except Mro B a i l i e and myself - but a l l l o o k i n g

t o a common Saviour."

Though t h e f r i e n d s i n I s l a n d S t r e e t had no t guaran teed

evcn S25, they were a b l e t o raise 3770 i n 1889 and g75 i n

1890. Out of t h e s e amounts s u p p l i e s b a r e l y s u f f i c i e n t f o r

the m i s s i o n a r i e s ' food were s e n t t o t h e f i e l d ,

E a r l y i n t h e l a t t e r y e a r , D r , and Mrs. Guinness

i n t i m a t e d t h a t they cou ld under take no f u r t h e r h e l p , at

t h e same t ime o f f e r i n g t o t r a n s f e r Messers B i l l and B a i l i e

t o t h e Congo, The m i s s i o n a r i e s r e p l i e d t h a t t h e y would n o t

see t h e i r way t o l e a v e Qua Iboe- God had s e t b e f o r e them

an open door from which they d a r e no t withdraw. They

f e l t H e had l e d them t o t h i s c o r n e r of A f r i c a , and t h a t

i t would p l e a s e H i m t o r a i s e up f r i e n d s and f u n d s f o r

t h e i r suppor t ,

CJUA IBOE MISSION COUNCIL FORMED:

With t h e withdrawal of D r . & Mrs. Guinness s u p p o r t ,

t h c r e was u r g e n t need t o seek f o r a l t e r n a t i v e sponsorsh ip

and suppor t f o r t h e mission. With t h i s i n view, Bill.

( i n 6 J u n e 1890) went home t a k i n g wi th him David Ekong

' p a r t l y t o r e c r u i t h i s health and at so t o oocure wider and

morc d e f i n i t e i n t e r e s t i n t h e new work,

I n t h i s he obtained help. M i n i s t e r s i n B e l f a s t f r e e l y

gave him t h e oppor tun i ty o f speaking about Qua Iboe t o

t h e i r people. H i s way was opened i n t o Mission H a l l s and

Sabbath Schools, with t h e r e s u l t t h a t many responded t o *

h i s appeal by prayer and g i f t . He rece ived va luab le

a s s i s t a n c e from M r . D.A. Black, of t h e Y-M.C.A., and

from M r . Robert M'Cann, then Sec re t a ry of t h e I r i s h Union

of Y.M.C.A.'S, M r . M'Cann int roduced M r - B i l l t o many

places i n d i f f e r e n t p a r t s of I r e l a n d , and arranged meetings

at which he gave an account of h i s t h r e e y e a r s i n Qua Iboe.

There was something s o p r a c t i c a l and s t r a igh t fo rward

about h i s s t o r y , a s t o c a l l f o r t h t h e sympathy and ga in t h e

support of s p i r i t u a l people from t h e very f i r s t . No

mission ever enjoyed the cooperat ion of more devoted

hclpers .

An Interdenominat ional Council was formed, of which

9 D r . D.C, Hamilton wae appointed Hon Sec re t a ry , and

M r . W e S t r a i n , Hon Treasurer. Severa l members of t he Qua

Iboe Missionary Assoc ia t ion i n Mount-Pottinger jo ined t h i s

310

Couhcil, and t h e Assoc ia t ion i t s e l f bebame t h e f i r s t

Auxi l ia ry of t he Mission respons ib le f o r t h e support

and management of t h e a f f a i r s of t he Qua ~ b d e Mlesion.

~ h o membership of t h e ~ o d n c i l r e f l e c t e d t h e l e a d i n g

churches of d i f f e r e n t denominationk i n Belfabt . So,

t h e Qua Iboe Mission Council i n B e l f a s t became t h e fvHome

Councilfv of t h e Qua Iboe Church of Nigeria. Because of

tho rowing na tu re of t h e work, rendered t h e use of a

l a r g e o f f i c e necessary, and i n 1903, home headquar te rs

were secured a t 317 S c o t t i s h Providence Building,

7 Donegall Square West, Be l f a s t B.TI, 6JE.

Before M r . B i l l r e tu rned t o Ibuno i n May 1891, he

wrote wi th a joyous h e a r t - "Many f r i e n d s have been

r a i s e d up who have promised t o pray f o r and otherwise a i d

t h e work, s o t h a t we can look forward with confidence - not so much i n t h e f r i e n d s , a l though many of them have

become very dear t o u s - but i n t h e Lord, who has l a i d

t h i s work on t h e i r h e a r t s , and caused them t o t a k e an

i n t e r e s t i n it.!!

With es tab l i shment of t h e Qua Iboe Mission,

Rev. WoH- Graddon, one of t he Miss ionar ies who worked i n

t he mission commented

"The Qua Iboe Church is t h e spmktaneous r e s u l t of t h e f a i t h f u l preaching o f t h e Gospel of the Lord J e s u s C h r i s t and t h e sy s t ema t i c t e ach ing of B i b l i c a l Tru th i n a v i r g i n f i e l d , commenced.with t h e coming of a s i n g l e I r i s h miss ionary, M r . Samuel Alexander B i l l . A s i t has been no ted e a r l i e r , t h i s man had, i n t h e f i r s t i n s t a n c e , no e s t a b l i s h ~ d o r g a n i s a t i o n behind him i n h i s homeland no g rand iose programme t o p r e sen t and no . t a i l o r made denominational programmed p a t t e r n t o

implementow *

Firo B a i l i e meantime remained a t Ibuno, r e c e i v i n g cons ide r ab l e

encouragement i n t h e s e rv i ce s . Four more were bap t ized ,

and t h e e f f e c t of t h e new t each ing became apparen t i n t h e

l i v e s of a l l coming under its in f luence .

The work i n t h e qua Iboe f i e l d was growing r a p i d l y

and many more m i s s i o n a r i e s v o l u n t e r r e d t o come o u t t o

work f o r t h e miesion. More conve r t s had been won f o r

C h r i s t and many had l e a r n e d t o read and w r i t e and some were

appoin ted t e a c h e r s and preachers . The Church Workers

were pa id by t h e Council i n B e l f a s t up till 1908 when it

was decided that " A l l n a t i v e work should f i n d its

suppor t from n a t i v e sourcesfv. 10

THE NAME "QUA IBOE":

Concluding t h i s s e c t i o n , I would endeavour t o throw

l i g h t on t h e h i s t o r i c a l meaning of t h e name of t h e

Mission "Qua Iboeon

It is no t uncommon t o h e a r both members and non

mcmbers of Qua Iboe Church ask what t h e name Qua Iboe

means. It is t h e r e f o r e only p roper t o make t h e fo l lowing

b r i e f h i s t o r i c a l exp lana t ions.

I n t h e 15 th Century, names were given t o s e v e r a l 4

p l a c e s and r i v e r s exp lored by t h e Europeans. Examples

of such names are S i e r r a Leone ion ~ a n g e ) , and Lagos

(nruned a f t e r t h e p o r t of Lagos i n Southern Po r tuga l ) ,

Sometimes, t h e European e x p l o r e r s d i d not g ive new

names t o t h e exp lored areas bu t t r i e d t o u s e t h e l o c a l

names. For i n s t ance , a look a t t h e map of Niger ia , Eas t of

t h e lower Niger a l ong t h e c o a s t , w i l l show Bonny town

and Bonny River ; Opobo town and Opobo River ; Qua Iboe

town and Qua Iboo River and Calabar town and Calabnr River.

They a l l d e r i v e t h e i r names from t h e towns a t t h e i r mouths.

The River now c a l l e d Qua Iboe River empt ies i t s e l f

i n t o t h e A t l a n t i c Ocean i n Ibuno a t a town c a l l e d "Aqua

ObioI1 meaning "Big Townft, When t h e f i r s t Europeans on

t r a d e exped i t i on reached Aqua Obio and asked o f t h e name

of t h e p l ace , t h e n a t i v e s t o l d them "Aqua Obiovm I n

o r d e r t o record i t on t h e i r map they wrongly s p e l t and

c a l l e d i t "Qua Iboev o r "Kwa IbowD Of course , t h i s mis take

was no t i n t e n t i o n a l but was a r e s u l t of language d i f f i c u l t y .

>!any such mis takes *abound i n names of p laces i n

Niger ia where t h e e a r l y Europeans wrote down such namce on

t h e i r maps dur ing t h e i r f i r s t v i s i t s .

For i n s t a n c e , "NvosiH is s p e l t "NbawsiV; l1Oma Ahian

(market square ) s p a l t ~rnuahia", a l l a long t h e Eas t e rn

R a i l way 1 ino.

Thus t h e e a r l y Europeans s p e l t and c a l l e d "Aqua Obioft

town as "Qua Iboen town and t h e "Aqua Obiow River as t h e

"Qua Iboew River. Th i s was many y e a r s before t he a r r i v g l

of 9cv, S.A. B i l l , I n o r d e r t o l o c a t e t h e a r e a of h i s

miss ionary a c t i v i t y which was concen t ra ted a long t h e ba s in

of t h e Qua Iboe (Aqua Obio) River , Rev. S.A. B i l l chose

t o c a l l t h e miss ion f i e l d "Qua Iboe MissionH o r "Qua Iboe

P r o j e c t D n

Th i s means a "Missiont' o r "Pro jec tn ope ra t i ng a long

t h e ba s in of t h e Qua Iboe River. Had t h e name "Aqua Obioft

no t been cor rup ted he would c e r t a i n l y have named t h e miss ion

"Aqua Obio Mission" j u s t as t h e f i r s t P r e sby t e r i an

f i i s s i o n a r i e s c a l l e d t h e i r Mission work i n Calabar

"Calabar Mission."

An e x t r a c t of t h e minutes of t h e Qua Iboe Mission

Church Conference h e l d a t E t i n a n on 23 January , 1923

at which Mr. Samuel Alexander B i l l w a s t h e Chairman r e a d

t h u s :

J o s e p h Ekandem aeked f o r enl ightenment r e g a r d i n g t h e meaning of t h e name Qua Iboe as a p p l i e d t o t h e Mission. M r . B i l l informed him t h a t it' was t h e name of t h e r i v e r , t h a t a t t h e beginning he had been asked t o come t o "Qua Iboew and t h a t e v e r s i n c e t h e Mission has been s o c a l l e d He h a s no i d e a a s t o t h e o r i g i n of t h e name.12

P r i o r t o 1944, t h e Qua I b o e Church was known and c a l l e d t h e

Qua Iboe Mission of N i g e r i a becauee, she was s u p e r v i s e d

by t h e Qua Iboe Mission T r u s t A s s o c i a t i o n i n B e l f a s t .

But when t h e Qua Iboe Mission o f N i g e r i a became f u l l

f l edged and s e l f - s u p p o r t i n g , a l l t h e Qua Iboe s t a t i o n s

were c o n s t i t u t e d i n t o a church by t h e r e s o l u t i o n adopted

and passed by t h e Qua I b o e Mission T r u s t Assoc ia t ion a t a

meet ing h e l d i n B e l f a s t on t h e 11 of September, 1944.

An e x t r a c t from t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n of t h e Qua I b o e Church

of N i g e r i a reads :

And whereas t h e s a i d Qua Iboe Mission T r u s t A s s o c i a t i o n a t n meeting h e l d i n B e l f a s t on t h e e l e v e n t h day o f September, one thousand n i n e hundred and f o r t y f o u r a R e s o l u t i o n was adopted and passed at t h e s a i d meet ing t h a t a Church should be e s t a b l i s h e d i n t h e a r e a over which t h e s a i d Qua Iboe ,Miss ion e x e r c i s e s s p i r i t u a l j u r i s d i c t i o n o . . ~ l ~

Therefore i n 1944, the Qua Iboe M i ~ d o u o f Nigeria

founded by Rev. S.A. B i l l i n 1887 was const i tuted i n t o a

cliurch. It was hence known and c a l l e d the Qua Iboe Church

of Nigeria . In May 1957, the Qua Iboe Church Trustees

were reg i s t ered and the Church then acquired the f u l l 4

l e g a l powers o f an incorporated body. She became

reg i s t ered as a Church i n Nieeria .

FOOTNOTES

I. See E l i z ~ b e t h I s i c h e i , A H i s t o r y of t h e Iabo Pepple MacMillan P r e s s Ltd ( 1976) p. 177; Edet A - Udo '

"The Missionary Scramble f o r Spheres of f n f l u e n c o i n E a s t e r n N i g e r i a 1900-1952~~. Ikenga Vol 1/2 p. 23; J.F.A. Ajay i , C h r i s t i a n Miss ions i n Nigeria 1841-1891: The Makin& of a New E l i t e , London Longman: 1965, pp. 177-194. Aymdele , E.B., The Missionary Impact on Modern N i g e r i a 184291914: B P o l i t i c a l and S o c i a l Ana lys i s , LC ,ngmnn Group L t d ondo don 1966) PP- 792-194 J O B , Grimley and g or don E. Robinson, Church Growth I n C e n t r a l and Southern ~ i g e r i x l i a m B. Eerdmnn, P u b l i s h i n g Company Grand Rapids, Michigan 1966) p, 342 0. U. Kalu, ' P r o t e s t a n t C h r i s t i a n i t y i n Qboland" i n C h r i s t i a n i t y i n West Af r ica : The Niger ian S t o r y ( e d ) 0 ,U. Kalu ( Ibadan Days ta r P r e s s 1978) pa 312. C.P. Groves, The P l a n t i n g of C h r i s t i a n i t y i n A f r i c a Vol. 111, (London: L u t t e r w o r t h P r e s s , Edinburgh: 1953)

2, Watt E,S., The Quest of S o u l s i n Qua Iboe, Marshal l Morgan and S c o t t , (Edinburgh: 1951) p. 212

3 . Qua Iboe Church Conference, A S h o r t H i s t o r y of t h e Qua Iboe Church 188791978, P r e s e n t e d at t h e Qua Iboe Church 91st Anniversary 1 5 t h t o 2 8 t h October , 1978 ( P o r t Harcour t : 1978) Po 1

4, J,S, C o r b e t t , According t o Plan: The S t o r y o f Samuel Alexander B i l l , Founder o f t h e Qua I b o e Mission, Niger ia : Henry E. Walter Ltd. Worthing, Suesex 1977) p. 11,

50 Qua Iboe Church, Mannual o f Doc t r ine and P r a c t i c e , E t inan , N i g e r i a (Qua Iboe Church P r i n t i n g P r e s s ) po 1.

60 J o W - Westgarth, The Qua Iboe Mission Makes H i s t o r y I b i a k u I tam, p, 1, c i t e d a t I.S. Ekpa ' s work on The Qua Iboe Mission ,and Its Impact on E t i n a n and Environs S i n c e 1898, Department o f H i s t o r y , U n i v e r s i t y of Ca labar 1980,

7. R.L. MIKeown, Twenty-Five Years I n Qua Iboe. The S to ry of a Missionary E f f o r t i n Niger ia , Morgan & S c o t t , (London 1912) pp. 53-54.

8. Mr. Williams no t only I n t e r p r e t e d bg t a s s i s t e d i n t h e Se rv i ce f o r some t i d e a f t e r Mr. B i l l ' s a r r i v a l .

9. Mr. DOC. Hamilton cont inued t o a c t as Honarary Sec re t a ry u n t i l he jo ined t h e South Afr ican General Mission i n 1896 when he was succeeded by h i e b ro the r , t h e l a t e M r . James Hamilton, who d i ed i n 1905. Mr. HOB. Niblock, now ok Chefoo, w a s f o r some t ime a s s o c i a t e d with M r , James Hamilton i n t h e Secre ta rysh ip .

10. P. Beyerhaus, "The Three S e l v e s Formular" I n t e r n a t i o n a l Review of Missions, Vol. 53 ( 1964)

11. O.U, Kalu, ' 'P ro tes tan t Chr i s t i an i t y " , p. 316

12, Qua Iboe Church Archives, E t inan , Minutes o f t h e Qua Iboc Church Conference he ld a t E t inan on 23 January, 1923; c i t e d by Ekpa, I .Se , Department of His to ry , Univers i ty of Calabar , ( 1980).

13. The C o n s t i t u t i o n of t ho Qua Iboe Church (Q-I.C. P re s s , E t inan , 1978) p. 1

CHAPTER THREE: 39

THE QUA IBOE CHURCH I N IGBOLAND: BACKGROUND HISTORY

S.A. B i l l and B a i l i e were not s a t i s f i e d t o conf ine

themselves t o Ibuno. They went up t h e r i v e r preaching

and e s t a b l i s h i n g s t a t i o n s a l l over i ts bas in , Having

qu ick ly e s t a b l i s h e d Ibuno as t h e i r c e n t r e , they qoved t o

Elcet, Ubium, Imnan, Ibeeikpo, Abak and by 1909 t o Uyo and

t hen Itam i n I t u D i s t r i c t . 1

A t Uyo, t h e competing miss ions converged, s t r u g g l i n g

f o r conve r t s and a r e a s of in f luence . The Qua Iboe Mission

and t h e United F ree Church of Sco t land sphe re s had converged

at Uyo advancing from Ibuno and Calabar r e spec t i ve ly ,

Th i s a f f e c t e d t h e work of t h e t h i r d miss ion, t h e

late-coming P r imi t i ve Methodist which advanced from Oron

towards Uyo. S e r i e s of conferences were organised by

t h e competing miss ions t o a v e r t p o s s i b l e dangers i nhe ren t

. - with such c lashes . S u f f i c e i t t o say t h a t t h e r e were

d e l i m i n t a t i o n boundar ies which conf ined r e s p e c t i v e

miss ions t o c e r t a i n a r e a s o f au tho r i t y . Though most

d e c i s i o n s of t he se conferences were f l o u t e d , but most

geographical a r e a s being maintained by i nd iv idua l m:

today w a s as a r e s u l t of such conferences ,

With t h e expansion of t h e Qua Iboe Mission from Uyo

t o I k o t Ekpene, i t could e a s i l y be p o s s i b l e t o expand t o

Aba fo l lowing t he governmenb road and Qua Iboe River as

well

The Calabar Conference of 1909 having opened a new era

i n t h e h i s t o r y of P r i m i t i v e Methodism i n Eas t e rn Niger ia ,

a f f e c t e d s e r i o u s l y t h e ambit ion of t h e Qua Iboe Mission t o *

settle a t Aba because t h e P r i m i t i v e Methodist had taken

n d v ~ n t a g e o f t h e Eas t e rn Railway l i n e e s t a b l i s h i n g i ts

s t a t i o n a t ~ b a . The s t r u g g l e f o r denominational supremacy

i n Aba and i t s env i rons by both t h e P r imi t i ve Methodist

and Qua Iboe Missions and t h e f a c t t h a t much of t h e h i n t e r l a n d

remained wntouchcd by t h e miss ionary in f luence , n e c e s s i t a t e d

the c ' d l i n g o f t h e Conference o f P r o t e s t a n t Missionary

S o c i e t i e s which was he ld a t Aba from January 30 t o February

1, 1917. Presen t were t h e Right Rev. Bishop Tugwell,

( a t t h e Chair ) and t h e Venerable Archdeacon Crowther (w.D,P)

Messers S.A. B i l l and E,Co Eakin (Q.I.M), t h e Venerable

Archdeacon Dennis, Rev. G.T, Basden (c.M.S.) t h e Revs. Nathanie l

Boocock, and A.H. Richardson - ( P r i m i t i v e Methodist ~ i s s i o n )

and Che Rev, E.E. Richard, a v i s t o r from t h e P r i m i t i v e

l.Icthodist Mission, Absent were two members of t h e United

F ree Church of Scot land, D r s , Wood and Hitchcock*

The conference recommended the t r a n s f e r of f k o t

Ekpene c e n t r e t o Qua Iboe Mission, and A t m , centre t o the . .

P r i m i t i v e Methodst Mission. It f u r t h e r recommended that

on thc s o u t h and e a s t of Abn t h e P r i m i t i v e Methodist Mission

should n o t extend beyond a r a d i u s o f 10 mi les , and t h a t

t h e boundary of t h a t Mission t o t h e west should be t h e

Imo River. A s f o r Aba end n o r t h of i t , t h e P r i m i t i v e

Methodist Mission was no t t o e n t e r any town which t h e Niger

D e l t a P a s t o r a t e had occupied, excep t by t h e mutual agreement

of t h e p a r t i e s concerned. 3

The conference suggested t h a t t h e Qua Iboe Mission

should be g r an t ed permiss ion t o ex tend much f u r t h e r t o t h e

e n s t , t h an t h e s t i p u l a t i o n of th ree -mi les r a d i u s allowed.

Very u n f o r t u n a t e l y , most of t h e s e recommendations

t h a t s t i p u l a t e d some miss ions t o c e r t a i n a r e a s of o p e r a t i o n

o r involved exchange of a r e a s of i n f l uence were no t

complied with. Because none of t h e s e d e c i s i o n s was y e t

f i n a l u n t i l they had been r a t i f i e d by t h e Pa r en t Committee

of t h e member miss ions , 4

The P r i m i t i v e Methodist miss ion abrogated t h e concess ions

t h a t were made t o t h e Q.I.M. i n I k o t Ekpene. These s e t

Up R cha in r eac t i on . The Q.1.M. i n t u r n r e fu sed t o q u i t

Aba t o t h e P.M.M. The C.M.S. was informed by t h e P.M.M.

t h a t they would be ob l i ged t o n u l l i f y u n i l a t e r a l l y t h e

boundary arrangements reached between thorn( should the

United Freo Church of Sco t land r a i s e any o b j e c t i o n s t o tho

boundary drawn ( i n t h e absence of t h e l a t t e r ) between t h e

P r i m i t i v e Methodist Mission and United Free Church of

Scot land,

These revea led t h a t t h e whole e x e r c i s e had been a waste

of time. The C.M.S. was most d i sappoin ted i n J u l y 1917, *

i t revoked its agreements wi th t h e P r i m i t i v e Methodist

Mission and i n February 1918 revoked a l l t h e o t h e r d e c i s i o n s

of t h e 1917 conference.

OTHXR MISSIONS OPERATING I N IGBOLAND BEFORE THE ENTRY OF TIE QUA IBOE MISSION: -

The en t ry of t h e Qua Iboe Miss ios i n t h e I b o country

w a s some t h i n g i n t h e n a t u r e of "the f u l n e a s of t he tirne.lt5

This was t h e observa t ion of Rev. W.L. Wheatley one o f t h e

f i r s t m i s s iona r i e s of t h e Qua Iboe Mission t o work i n

Igboland. T h i s w a s t r u e because, missionary a c t i v i t i e s

6 i n I g b o h n d had e x i s t e d s i n c e 1854 when t h e Church

Missionary Soc ie ty came with t h e e x p l o r e r s of t h e Niger

Civer. I n 1880% t h e pace was quickened with t h e a r r i v a l

of cm a g r e s s i v e Roman Catho l ic Order, t h e Holy Ghost

I?ntherse7 F u r t h e r s t i l l , t h e Aro Expedi t ion of 1901/2 and

t h e European Scramble f o r c o l o n i e s a t t h e t u r n of t h e

century l e d t o t h e opening o f t h e Igbo h in t e r l and , 8

Before t he Qua Iboe Misoion entered Igbolnnd i n 1917, 9

o t h e r mi s s ions had prepared t h e ground. Especially i n

South-Eastern X g b ~ l a n d , ' ~ t h e Church of Sco t land Misaion

\qns working i n t h e Aro Chukwu Area, t h e P r i m i t i v e Methodist

had s t a r t e d work i n Aba d o t t i n g h e r s t a t i o n s along t h e ra i lway

l i n e up t o Umuahia, Ovim and Agboni and t h e Niger Del ta )

P a s t o r a t e Mission ( an a l l -Afr ican breakaway from t h e I

C.I4.S.) had s t a r t e d work Rmong t h e Iban i , Ka labar i , Brass, I

I1 I Ogoni and Ikwerre Ibo c t c . s i n c e 1891. I

Miss ionar ies sc ra tched and elbowed one ano the r i n I t h e i r h a s t e t o stcake c l a ims t o t h e v a s t h i n t e r l a n d with i ts

I

r i c h a g r i c u l t u r a l products. For i n s t ance , t h e N.D.P.

c?esired t h e economy of her a r e a s f o r v i a b l e n a t i v e s e l f -

suppor t ing churches; t h e absence of any r e g u l a r e x t e r n a l

support meant t h a t a l l i t s funds were t o be r a i s e d l oca l l y .

The r e l i g i o u s t e r r a i n i n 1914/15 throughout Igboland

w a s c h a r a c t e r i z e d by c e r t a i n f e a t u r e s : t h e European-centred

churches were expanding more r a p i d l y than they had before ;

they s taked c la ims over wide a r e a s which they could not

e f f e c t i v e l y c o n t r o l and they won an impress ive number

of adhe ren t s who could ha rd ly be c a l l e d converts .

I n t h e midat of t h i s , t h e Gar r ick Braide phenomenon

broke out i n t h e Niger De l t a i n 1912, l2 The movement flowed

i n a l l d i r e c t i o n s and by 1918 had v i r t u a l l y covered Ngwaland

as f a r as Oloko on t h e Umuahin boarder , It e a s i l y o u t s t r i p p e d

t h c NOD~P. and opened up t he miss ion f i e l d f a s t e r than any

European miss ion could, So i t d i d i n South-Western I g b o l ~ n d *

around Oguta and from t h e r e reached i n l a n d i n t o Owerri, I

I s u and Okigwe, But by t h e l a t e 1920 's t h e Gar r ick I

I I

Dl-aide movement had run i n t o s e r i o u s t roub le . BY 1927 I

and 1930, t h e Gar r ick Braide movement ( t h e C h r i s t Army Church 1 I

as i t was c a l l e d ) not only f a i l e d t o expand but v i r t u a l l y

l o s t grounds t o t h e Qua Iboe Church, t h e Seventh Day

Advent i s t Mission ope ra t i ng i n Ngwaland wi th in t h e

per iod, 1 3

THEAUA IBOE MISSION AT OGBOR HILL ABA: .A* --

The foregoing was t h e background of C h r i s t i a n i t y i n

Igbolnnd p r i o r t o t h e advent of t h e Q o I o C , i n Igboland.

I n 1917 Bishop Tugwell o f t h e Church Missionary

Soc i e ty (C.M.S) i n v i t e d t he Qua Iboo Mission which had

bccn working amongst t h e Ibuno and I b i b i o people s i n c e

1887 t o e n t e r t h e Ibo country and e s t a b l i s h churches

main ta in ing B i b l i c a l d i s c i p l i n e ,

So t h e QUA Iboe Mission en t e r ed Igboland on t h e

i n v i t a t i o n of the a l r eady e x i s t i n g miss ion i n t h e area.

There seem t o e x i s t a f r i e n d l y r e l a t i o n s h i p between t h o

Q0I.M. und t h e C.M.S., because f o r t h e second time t h e

C.M.S. is i n v i t i n g t h e Qua Iboe Mission t o ope ra t e i n t h c

formerb a r e a of inf luence. The second occasion bas i n

1931 when t h e CoMmS. could no t extend i t s own commitments

t o I g a l a l and , sou th of Benue River. The C.MoS, Bishop

i n v i t e d t h e Qua Iboe Mission t o cons ide r miss ionary i

work i n t h a t t e r r i t o r y . I 4

Rev. Alber t V. Wilcox was appointed t o p ioneer t h e

work i n t o Igboland, Having set o f f from Ibuno, he

a r r i v e d and worked i n Aba and Oloko. areas from 7917 t o

1922. H i s method of evangelism was t o v i s i t t h e ch ie f of

a v i l l a g e and o b t a i n h i s permission t o open up a church

and a school i n t h e a rea ,

Before Rev, A.V. Wilcox d ied i n 1922, he was jo ined

by William Lord Wheatley i n 1920 who cont inued t h e Qua

Iboe Mission work i n Igboland,

Rev. Wilcox before h i s dea th i n 1922, had opned a

small school at Ogbor H i l l j u s t ou t s ide hba township in

1920 and the f i r s t twelve boys who a t t ended were given

school instrt.aa*ion and B i b l e teaching, He named the

schoo l "Ogbor Hill I~s t i tn tc t t aua Lator it became Wilcox

flcmorial Primary School , a f t e r t h e d e a t h of Wilcox,

I n 1962, t h e s i t e became t h e Wilcox Memorial

Comprehensive Secondary School, Aba, 16

I n 1922, Rev. Wheatley a p p l i e d t o . the D i s t r i c t

O f f i c e r Aba f o r l e a s e o f l a n d t o b u i l d a permane'nt church

at Ogbor H i l l , and on M a y 7, 1925, t h e request was

granted. 17

(see Appendix I A and B)

FOOTNOTES 47-

E.A. Udo, "The Missionary Scramble f o r Spheres of In f luence i n South Eas t e rn N ige r i a 1900-1952" -

I k e n ~ a Vol 1/2 (1972) p. 24

0, U. Kalu, I1Pro t e s t a n t C h r i s t i a n i t y i n IgbolandfV C h r i s t i a n i t y I n Vest ~ f r i c a : - The ~ i ~ e r i a n S t o l e d ) O.U. Kalu Ibadan Daystar P r e s s (1978) p . 5 ~ 4 .

E b A o udo , "The Missionary ScrambletV, p. 28

G.OoMo Tas ie , C h r i s t i a n Missionary E n t e r p r i s e i n t h e Niger De l t a 11164-1918, Leiden E,J. Br$l ( 1 9 7 n PP- 233-2340

W.L. Wheatley, Sunr i se i n N ige r i a (Q.I.c. P r e s s 1975) P. 45

E. I s i c h e i , A His to ry of t h e Igbo People o on don: MacMillan P r e s s Ltd., 1966) p. 160,

P.B. Clarke @'The Methods and Ideology of t h e Holy Ghost F a t h e r s i n E a s t e r n Niger ia 1885-1905" i n t h e His to ry of ~ h r i s t i a n l t ~ i n West Afr ica , 0.U. Kalu ( ed ) Longman 1980 pp. 36-59;

FoK. Ekechi, Missionary E n t e r p r i s e and Rivalry i n Igboland 1857-1914, Frank Cass (London 1971) P O 233.

W.L. Wheatley writes t o t h e D i s t r i c t O f f i c e r , Aba dated 6 t h March 1922 r eques t i ng f o r l e a s e of l a n d from t h e Government t o b u i l d a Q.I.C. a t Aba. Nat ional Archivee, Enugu Riv, Pro6f 0~/220/1922: 8/10/171

We r e f e r to Ngwa, Aba, Ukwa, Umuahia, Bende as f a r as Arochukwu as Boutb-Eastern Igboland, O.U. Kalu, "Miss ionar ies , Colonia l Government and Sec re t S o c i e t i e s i n South-Eastern Igboland, 1920-19501V - J H S N Vol 9/1 ( ~ e c e m b e r 1977)

W.L, Wheatley, Sun r i s e i n Nigeria, p, 45

72. G. 0.M. Ta s i e "Chr i s t i an Awakening I n Vest Afr ica , 1914-1918: A Study i n t h e S ign i f i c ance of Native Agencyft, West i i f r i can Re l ig ion , Vol. 16/2 ( 1 9 7 5 ) ~ p. 37.

13. 0.U. Malu, "Waves from t h e Rivers : The Spresd of Gar r ick Brnide Movement i n IgbolandM Journa l of Niger Del ta B t u d i e s Vol 1/2 ( 1977) JHSN Vol 8/4 ( - June 1977)

14. J.S. Corbe t t , A 1 1 The Days of My L i f e , ~ e c b l l c c t i o n s of Herber t W e Dickson, Qua Iboe Mission P u b l i c a t i o n ( 1981) pp, 47-48.

5 E.A. Ayandele, "T rad i t i ona l Ru le r s and Mis s iona r i e s in re-colonial West Afr icaM Tarikh Vol. 3/1 (19771, PO 28.

16, Informat ion from Rev. S.I. I r o n d i , ~ e c r e t a r y / ~ r e a s u r e r , Q.I.C. Imo S t a t e Area Conference, He w a s a l s o a Superv i sor of q . I ,C. Schools before t h e Government t ake over of Schools i n 1970.

17. NAE F i l e No. Riv Proof, 0'7(/220/1922, 8/10/171

CHAPTER FOUR 49 0

QUA fBOE CHURCH MISSIONARY EXPANSION I N IGBOLAND: .. A REASSESSMENT OF FACTORS

Missionary expansion d e a l s with t h e q u n n t i t a t i v e . a n d

g e o g r ~ p h i c a l spread of a mission wi th in a given space

of time. And t h i s i s inf luenced by f a c t o r s both e x t e r n a l

and i n t e r n a l . I n a s s e s s i n g t h e missionary expansion of *

t h e Qua Iboe Mission, one would conclude t h a t t h e Qua

Iboe Church has not performed very wel l a f t e r s i x t y s i x

y e a r s of i t s opera t ion i n Igboland.

A c r i t i c a l s tudy of t h e s t a t i s t i c a l d a t a showing

numerical growth between 1917 and 1983 of t h e church i n

Igboland, Appendix 11, could r evea l t h a t between 1917

and 1926, 1927-36, 1937-46 ; t h e church experienced tremendous

expansion i n t o p a r t s of Ngwaland, Oloko and Wkwa areas .

T h i s is r e f l e c t e d by t h e number of churches e s t a b l i s h e d

and p reache r s s e rv ing under t h e mission. Informat ion from

t h e ques t ionna i re and from o r a l i n t e rv i ew confirmed t h a t

t h e Qua Iboe Mission made i ts g r e a t e s t inroad i n t o d i f f e r e n t

p a r t s of Igboland wi th in t h e f i r s t t h i r t y y e a r s o f

incep t ion i n Igboland, 2

On t h e same da t a , t h e number of p a s t o r s , e v a n g e l i s t s

and p r eache r s o rda ined wi th in t h e pe r i od was no t

commensurate wi th t h e r a p i d i n c r e a s e i n conver ts . The

s t a t i s t i c s show t h a t between 1917 and 1926 on ly two

p a s t o r e were r e spons ib l e f o r e i g h t y churches s c a t t e r e d

a l l ove r Aba and Oloko a r e a s of Ngwaland with over one

thousand communicants, Rev, W.L. Wheatley and Rev. A-V,

Wilcox had t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of oversee ing t h e s e

churches, 3

It is obvious t h a t a g r e a t e r r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f

church expansion w i th in t h i s pe r i od was borne by n a t i v e s

when one cons ide r s t h e number of ordained p a s t o r s ,

e v a n g e l i s t s and p reachers , 4

C e r t a i n f a c t o r s eould be r e spone ib l e f o r t h i s

momentary spread of t h e qua Iboe Mission i n Igboland

w i th in t h e s h o r t per iod. F i r s t l y , t h o c o l l a p s i n g of t h e

Ga r r i ck Bra ide Movement between 1921 and 1928 has tened

t h e spread of t h e Qua Iboe Mission i n Ngwaland and p a r t s

of Ukwa,

Most of t h e Qua Iboe congregat ion i n Ngwa and

Ukwa had once been members of t h e C h r i s t Army and had

changed t h e i r r e l i g i o u s s t r i p e s between 1927 and 1930. 5

The Seventh Day Adventist Mission a l s o b e n e f i t t e d as a

r e s u l t o f t h e c o l l a p s e of t he movement. One of t h e i r

mi s s iona r i e s RePo Dauphin wrote t o t he Resident a t

Owerri thus:

S i r ,

Permit m e t o s t a t e f o r your informat ion t h a t t h e Chr i s t Army Church which was born of a , g r e a t r e l i g i o u s awakening i n t h e Niger Del ta P a s t o r a t e Church and seceded from t h a t Church on account of d i f f e r ence of opinion is now under t he l e a d e r s h i p of the SDA Denomination, with Headquarters i n Washington, D. C. , U-S. A. and we have undertaken t o s e t i n order t he t h i n g s t h a t a r e wanting, and t o c o r r e c t any abuse o f r e l i g i o u s l i b e r t y t h a t may be found amongst t h i s people.6

S.P. Dulphin noted t h a t the r e a l t h r e a t t o t h e Braide

Movement was the resurgent Qua Iboe Mission. The Q.I.C.

i n t h e i r competit ion with t h e P r imi t ive ~ e t h o d i ~ t had

crossed i n t o Western bank of Imo River i n 1924 but were

forced t o r e t r e a t because of t h e d e l i m i t a t i o n boundary

agreements, which l i m i t e d the Qua Iboe

e a s t of Imo River. 7

The Qua Iboe Mission neve r the l e s s

Mission t o a r e a s

b e n e f i t t e d from

the s p i r i t u a l movement and with n re inv igora ted sense of

mission moved i n t o Ukwa and Eas te rn Ngwa a r e a s boardering

on Ibibiolnnd.

Rev. W.L. Wheatley and David OINeill with t h e i r

e n t e r p r i s i n g and agg re s s ive missionary s t r a t e g y , a ided

by two n a t i v e agen t s - Nwankpa and Onwuchekwa supplanted

t h e C h r i s t Army Church and the N.D.P.

The D i s t r i c t O f f i c e r (Bende) mentioned i n h i s

I n t e l l i g e n c e Report f o r 1930 t h a t : *

"In dkoko Area, t h e Q.I.M. seem t o be at loggerheads with t h e Afr ican Church and NDP mainly because t h e f i r s t named soc i e ty is cndesvouring t o t ake over t h e churches from t h e two l a s t named. The Q.1.M. European Missionary, M r . Wheatley has been t o l d t h a t he is adopting t h e wrong a t t i tude ."8

A sccond f a c t o r t h a t quickened t h e r a t e o f expansion was

t h a t t h e Qua Iboe Church s tood ready t o e x p l o i t any l o c a l

church dispute . Appendix 111 is a sample record of twenty

fou r Q.I.C. s t a t i o n s t h a t t r aced t h e i r o r i g i n from d i s p u t e s

a r i s i n g from o t h e r e x i s t i n g churches l i k e t h e N.D.P.,

Chr i s t A n y Church, Afr ican Church. e t c .

Such d i s p u t e s r e s u l t e d t o members d e f l e c t i n g t o t h e

Wn Iboe Church which they claimed a t t r a c t e d t h e i r

i n t e r e s t , Sometimes, t h e paren t church may not t ake i t

l i g h t l y when h e r members d e f l e c t t o t he Qua Iboe Mission.

For i n s t a n c e i n March 1931, Rev. W.L. Wheatley of t h e Qua

Iboo Church was dragged t o cou r t by Rev. M.H.D. ~ b a y e h of

t h c Nicer Del ta P a s t o r a t e all i n Oloko D i s t r i c t of t h e i r

miss ions because e i g h t of h i s v i l l a g e churches seceded

and jo ined t h e Qua Iboe Mission.

I n h i s s ta tement before t h e D i s t r i c t O f f i c e r ,

RoL, Archer i n t h e Provenc ia l Court holden a t Umuahia

on 2nd March, 1930, Rev. WoLo Wheatley of t h e Qua Iboe

Mission s t a t e d :

About November 1928, t he se and o t h e r towns ceased t o c o n t r i b u t e t o t h e funds of t h c NoDoP,Mo I n January 1929, I w a s asked if t h e Qua Iboe Mission would accep t t h e s e towns i f they decided t o come t o t h i e mission. I n January 1930, a f t e r fu r lough t h e fo l lowing e i g h t towns d e f i n i t e l y asked me t o t ake them i n t o t h i s mission: Oloko Proper, khaba, Mbubo, Nchara, Umu Akwu, A j a t a k i r i , Umugo and Urnuezeuku.9

These s e c e s s i o n i s t s had accused t h e NoDmPe of ( i ) s t r i c t n e s s

of t h e Niger De l t a P a s t o r a t e r u l e s ; ( i i ) r e f u s a l of baptism

t o people who had a t t ended a long t ime; ( i i i ) i n s i s t e n c e

on read ing t h e Bible ; , ( i v ) i n s i s t e n c e on marriage by

church r i t e s ; (v ) over assessment.

The Qua Iboe Church c a p i t a l i z e d on such d i s p u t e s

which enhanced its expansion programme wi th in t h e e a r l y

pe r iod of its miss ionary incep t ion ,

Thi rd i n t he se f a c t o r s , was t h e f a c t t h a t t h e

IJmD.Po had prepared t h e ground f o r c h r i s t i a n i t ~ wi th in

Ngwdand, Ukwa and Oloko - Umuahia where the Qua Iboe

Church triumphed. So t h a t , t h e Qua Iboe Church sowed

on n t P t l e d ground.

In 7917, Bishop Tugwell of t h e CoMeSo i n v i t e d t h e

Qua 1 b o e ' ~ i s s i o n t o e n t e r t h e Ibo country i n t h e Aba and

Oloko D i s t r i c t s and e s t a b l i s h churches. I0

Reasons f o r t h i s i n v i t a t i o n could be deduced.

Though t h i s a r e a w a s s p e c i a l l y a s s igned t o t h e C.M.S.,

they f e l t t h a t they could e f f e c t i v e l y evange l ize t h e

a r e a with ano ther miss ion coming i n t o t h e area. Poss ib ly ,

t h e NmDePo could no t provide enough man power t o man t h e i r

s t a t i o n s . Lnck of f i nance must have hampered t h e e f f o r t s

of t h e miss ion because they cou ld no t provide s choo l s and

o t h e r s o c i a l welfare i n s t i t u t i o n s f o r t h e i r converts .

No wonder RCV. Abayeh l o s t e i g h t of h i s churches t o Qua

Iboe Mission i n Nbawgi D i s$ r i c t of t h e mission. One would

say t h a t t h e r e w a s t h a t mutual agreement among t h e l e a d e r s

of t h e NoDoP. t o a l low t h e Qua Iboe Mission come i n t o t h e i r

f i e l d and make conver ts . Hence Rev. Ockia of t h e NmDoP.

handed over h i s numerous s t a t i o n s t o t h e Qua Iboe Mission

without any r e s i s t a n c e . See Appendix V. I n ano the r

occasion, t h e N.D.P. seconded t h r e e of h e r t r a i n e d

p reache r s t o t h e Q.I.C. t o assist t h e m i s s i o n a r i e s a t t h e

i n i t i a l s t a g e of t h e i r mission work i n Mgwaland. I 1

Having looked i n t o t h e Qua Iboe Mission i n Igboland

and i ts i n i t i a l f a s t spread within t h e first t h i r t y

y c a r s of i ts incept ion , one would have expected a wider

gcogrnphical spread of t he Qua Iboe Church throughout

Igbolnnd a t l e a s t before Independence.

When we examine the s t a t i s t i c a l da t a underqrcview

Appendix 11, i t is evident t h a t t he second t h r i t y y e a r s

of t he church i n Igboland witnessed slow r a t e of expansion.

Zctween 1946 and 1947 t h e church was only a b l e t o add 10 I

s t a t i o n s t o i ts o r i g i n a l f i g u r e of 120 s t a t i o n s , between

1956 and 1966, t h e church had 20 s t a t i o n s i n a d d i t i o n and

between 1966 and 1977, t h e church had a d d i t i o n a l 5 s t a t i o n s .

I n t h i s second paragraph, some p e r t i n e n t reasons

would be deduced a s being responsible .

F i r s t l y , the Qua Iboe chureh i s a poorly f inanced

denomination which would not l i k e t o expand beyond the

reach of he r resources. Because t h e church had no home

base and being founded by one man S.A. B i l l from Be l f a s t

i n Northern I r e l a n d and consequently w a s poor. Unlike

o t h e r miss ions l i k e t h e S.D.A., t h e C.M.S., t h e Methodist

and the Presbyter ian , t h e i r mi s s iona r i e s were sponsored

from t h e home basee12 As a r e s u l t of poor f inance , t h e

Qua Iboe church could no t employ o r main ta in many

m i s ~ i o n a r i e s i n t h e f i e l d as w a s t h e case wi th o t h e r

l !~ i s s ions no r could it s t a n d t h e keen-compet i t ion which

c h a r a c t e r i z e d miss ionary e n t e r p r i s e of t h e period.

S ince i t hadn ' t enough f i nance i t was d i f f i c u l t t o e s t a b l i s h

schools , h o s p i t a l s and o t h e r s o c i a l we l fa re i n s t i t u t i o n s

which were b a i t s t h a t a t t r a c t e d conver ts . Though t h e

14ission had s choo l s and co l l eges , they were few comparqd

t o o t h e r miss ions l i k e t h e Roman Ca tho l i c Mission, t h e

C.M.S. o r t h e Methodist.

It would be erroneous t o say t h a t t h e d e l i m i t a t i o n

boundary agreement en t e r ed i n t o by t h e C.M.S., t h e

P r i m i t i v e Methodiest , t h e United Frce Church of Sco t land

and t h e Qua Iboe Mission i n 1917 was r e spons ib l e f o r t h e

poor expansion of t h e church wi th in Igboland. Because

t h e s e boundary agreements were not s e r i o u s l y complied wi th

and t ho C a t h o l i c s and Lutherans though they w e r e . no t

s i g n a t o r i e s t o t h e s e agreements, recognised no boundaries-

These two white miss ions and t h e Afr ican Churches d e f i e d

t h e power of t h e f i v e p r o t e s t a n t miss ions and e s t a b l i s h e d

their churches and a a h o a l s is a l l tawne that accepted

them,

So one would say t h a t if Qtsa Eboe Wtaeien had

t h e r e sou rce s i t would have spread beyond Imo River and

f a r i n t o Igbo h e a r t l a n d before Independence s i n c e o t h e r

miss ions were encroaching i n t o h e r own presumed a r e a of

i n f l uence ,

Other f a c t o r s r e spons ib l e f o r t h i s r a t a r d a t i o n m a g

be accounted f o r by t h e S t r u c t u r a l Organ isa t ion of t h e

Church, d e c i s i o n s and r e sou rce fu lnes s by t h e l e a d e r s on

tho s p o t and o t h e r l o c a l f a c t o r s o

The s t r u c t u r a l s o t up of t h e church is such t h a t a

l o c a l church could no t under take expansion programme u n l e s s

t h e l e a d e r s saw t h e need f o r such expaneion.

Between 7947 and 7977, t h e a b i l i t y of any denomination

t o expand depended l a r g e l y on what i t could provide f o r

the n a t i v e s , and s i n c e t h e Qua Iboe Church cou ld no t a f f o r d

t h e s e adequate ly because of l i m i t e d resources , she

cons idered i t very proper t o conso l ida t e t h e grounds she

gained when t h e c o i p e t i t i o n r ace had no t i n t e n s i f i e d and

dur ing t h e per iod of l o c a l c r i s e s w i th in t h e o t h e r

denominations. See map - Exten t o f Qua Iboe Church i n

Igboland,

-

The s t a t i s t i c s

59.

on Appendix IVB show s y e a r l y r e t u r n s

of t h e s e township churches. Enugu church recorded very

h i c h membership i n 1979. E l d e r Arungwa, i n my interview

with him no tcd t h a t t h i s h igh i n c r e a s e i n membership was

t h e f r u i t of a Crusade t h e Church a rgan i s ed t h a t year. '13

Hc f u r t h e r s t a t e d t h a t downward t r e n d i n membership was

because t h e church embarked on a permanent churoh bui ld ing.

Those who cou ld no t s u b s c r i b e t o t h e l e v i e s a r e g r adua l l y

leaving. I 8

Since t h e church is unab le t o main ta in permanent and

r e s i d e n t i a l p r eache r s i n some of t h e township churches

because o f meagre r e s o u r c e s of t h e church, t h r e e of t h e

f o u r township churches were empowered by t h e Area

Conference t o t ake c a r e of themselves i n terms of o rgan i s i ng

Sunday s e rv i ce s .

CHURCH GROWTH AND IMPACT OF THE QUA IBOE CHURCH I N IGaOLAND:

Church growth i s t h e e x t e n t t h e church proapers both

quantitatively and q u a l i t a t i v e l y , a n e v a l u a t i o n of t h e

s p i r i t u a l depth a t t a i n e d at both pe r sona l and f e l l owsh ip

l e v c l s , and t h e e x t e n t of miss ionary outreach. Thus,

i t is p o s s i b l e t h a t t h e church cou ld exper ience expansion

60.

without an apprecimblo growth, just as t h e r e cou ld be a

n o t i c e a b l e church growth w i th in a ~ i v o n space and t i m e

wi thout a s i g n i f i c a n t miss ionary expansion. And s i n c e

every denomination h a s a d i f f e r e n t h i s t o r i c background,

such background would g r e a t l y a f f e c t i t s growth both i n

t h e s p i r i t u a l and s e c u l a r realms. I 4 3

Church growth i nvo lve s convers ion of t h e whole man,

growth i n number won t o Christ and dep th of commitment of

t h o s e t o God and t o t h e way of Ch r i s t . And t h e f r u i t of

t h e growing exper ience i s seen i n s o c i e t y at l a r g e .

Frequency i n a t t e n d i n g s e r v i c e s , growth i n t h e knowledge

of t h e B ib l e , w i l l i n g n e s s t o assume r e s p o n s i b i l i t y i n

the, church and z e a l i n winning o t h e r people t o C h r i s t

should be b a s i s f o r measuring s p i r i t u a l growth.

Church growth may be numerical , s p i r i t u a l and

organic.'5 Even t h e s u c c e s s o f such church and miss ion

a c t i v i t i e s and programmes Like medical services, schools,

i n s t i t u t i o n s e t c , cou ld be measured i n l i n e w i th the extent

they enhance church growth,

The t h r e e sphe re s of church growth as pu t forward

by Olson G i l b e r t a r e embraced by every church o r

denomination depending on t h e area a p a r t i c u l a r

donomination may s t r e s s .

61. /

For i n s t a n c e , - the Roman C a t h o l i c Church, one could

say l a y s much emphasis on number, good o r g a n i s a t i o n , and

i n f r a s t r u c t u r e but p l a c e s l e s s emphasis on t h e s p i r i t u a l

need of h e r members.

The Anglican t a k e s i n t e r e s t on t h e s p i r i t u a l growth

of h e r members. It e n j o y s g r e a t f o l l o w e r s h i p , we l l *

o r g a n i s e d , and h a s i n f r a s t r u c t u r e which h e r members

c n j oy. I

The P r e s b y t e r i a n and Methodis t , though t h e i r s t r e n g t h I

I

cannot be measured w i t h t h e f i r s t two denominations, but

t h e i r members have sound s p i r i t u a l ba lance ; and a l s o

we l l o rgan i sed , b u t w i t h few i n f r a s t r u c t u r e .

When we l o o k a t t h e independent churches who broke

;,x-~~y. f :. 221 tr. .ir mrj Llier tmhtas.caeu :rikb i:ir: . 'LPOH~G~'L.~L' k ' & i 2 i i 3

Powor i n t h e Word, Assemblies of God, Cherubim and

Snraphim, Deeper L i f e C h r i s t i a n M i n i s t r y , A l l b e l i e v e r s

I 6 e t c , one could n o t i c e t h a t they l a y s t r o n g o m p h ~ d s on

t h e s p i r i t u a l growth of the members and t h e church as a

whole. L i t t l e s t r e s s i s p laced on o r g a n i s a t i o n and

number. E v i d e n t l y , t h e Qua Iboe Church s e e s h e r growth

under t h e s e t h r e e headings; S p i r i t u a l , Numerical and

Organic* The church h a s grown t o produce d e d i c a t e d ,

committed c h r i s t i a n s and t h i s has i n g r e a t e r measure

a f f e c t e d t h e i r l i v e s i n t h e s o c i e t y .

Grea t emphasis is p laced on members s t u d y i n g t h e

word of God, p a s s i n g r i g o r o u s examinat ion b e f o r e baptism

based on ones a b i l i t y t o read t h e Bible . Regular church

s e r v i c e s i s emphasized and s t r o n g d i s c i p l i n a r y a c t i o n i s *

h k e n a g a i n s t members who go a g a i n s t church d o c t r i n e s .

I n t e rms of numerica l growth, t h e church, from t h e I

1983 annual r e t u r n e , h a s 166 s t a t i o n s , See Appendix 11. I

Most of t h e s e s t a t i o n s a r e l o c a t e d i n r u r a l a r c a s wi th

a n annual average a t t e n d a n c e o f 80 people. And t h e annua l

s t a t i s t i c a l r e t u r n s of t h e church f o r 1983 recorded a l i t t l e

above 15,000 people. The church, one could say h a s grown

tromendeously when one c o n s i d e r s i ts l i m i t e d f i n a n c i a l

r o s o u r c e a having an average annua l i n c r e a s e of 237 rnembcrs.

The church from t h e beginning was modelled t o be s e l f -

r e l i a n t and se l f - suf f i c i ent not depending on home base f o r

f i n m c i a l s u p p o r t a6 with o t h e r missions.

The numerica l s t r e n g t h o f t h e church would improve

wi th t h e emergence o f township churches, and t h e y o u t h s

i n v o l v i n g themselves i n enlargement campaigns.

O r g a n i c a l l y , t h e church h a s very simple

o r g a n i s a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e which enhances e f f e c i e n t

a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . Appendix VI. Every member i n t h e church

i s a p a r t of t h e o r g a n i s a t i o n and h a s a say i n t h e d a i l y

a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of t h e church. Members of t h e l o c a l church

norminate and confirm t h e appointment of deacons and e l d e r s . *

Another a r e a of growth worth mentioning t o u c h e s on

p r o v i s i o n s of medical s e r v i c e s , s c h o o l s and o t h e r s o c i a l I

i n s t i t u t i o n s .

The Miss ion was a b l e t o p rov ide a primary schoo l

f o r h e r members i n every v i l l a g e i t e s t a b l i s h e d even

i f t h e r e h a s been one provided by a n o t h e r denomination i n

that same v i l l a g e . It had only one t e a c h e r t r a i n i n g

i n s t i t u t i o n throughout Igboland a t Azuiyi Oloko and a

Secondary School a t O ~ b o r H i l l , Aba. Church growth i n t h i s

area i s d i f f i c i e n t bacausc o f l i m i t e d f i n a n c i a l resources.

Impact o r c o n t r 5 b u t i o n s of t h e Qua Iboe Church

w i t h i n t h e communities she found herself and Igboland

i n g e n e r a l h a s been tremendous.

The impact of c h r i s t i a n i t y on N i g e r i a as a whole and

Igbo land i n p a r t i c u l a r h a s been d i s c u s s e d by many

prominent Niger ian s c h o l a r s . J.F.A. ASayi ( C h r i s t i a n

Missions i n N ige r i a 1841-1891, Longman ?965), E.A. Ayandelo

The Missionary Impact on Modern N ige r i a 1842-1941, (London:

Longman, 1966) and F.K. Ekechi, (Missionary E n t e r p r i s e

and S i v a l r y I n Igboland 1957-1914, Frank Cass: London:

19721, a r e few of t h e s e scho la rs .

C h r i s t i a n i t y , which t h e Qua Iboe Church s tood f o r ,

SOU@~$ t h e c r e a t i o n of a completely new s o c i a l o rde r

which tended t o wipe out most of t h e customs and

i n s t i t u t i o n s of Igbo s o c i e t y , which do not f a l l i n l i n e

with h e r teaching,

P e r s i s t e n t a t t a c k s were d i r e c t e d t o s e c r e t s o c i e t i e s ,

f c n s t s a s s o c i a t e d wi th i d o l worship and conve r t s were

encouraged t o d e s i s t from par taking.

A f t e r about twenty y e a r s of Q.I,C. i n Igboland,

,dl t h e s e s o c i e t i e s and f e a s t s were no l onge r a t t r a c t i v e

t o any Qua Iboe Church member because of t h e

i n d o c t r i n a t i o n given them,

Rev, W.L. Wheatley i n h i s r eco rd of missionary

s e r v i c e noted:

"Old Ajuaie was i n t h e church ( ~ e n u ) t h a t day..o He had now renounced Okonko and heathenism, and had s epa ra t ed from h i s o l d croniesm"17

Burning of "Juja" and t h e Gar r ick Braide movement were the

consequences of c h r i s t i a n i t y i n Igboland e s p e c i a l l y wi th in

~ I : w a l a n d . ' ~ The NDP between 1914 and 1917 c a r r i e d out a

massive burning of i d o l s and t h e &,I.C. demanded t h a t dl

hc r members should no t worship o t h e r gods. Only t h e

"God i n Heavenff was t h e t r u e God.

The impact of t h e Qua Iboe Church on t h e s o c i e t y w a s

21 so much f e l t through h e r educa t iona l programmes.

Reading 2nd wr i t i ng rece ived much encouragement r i g h t

from t h e founding of t h e Qua Iboe Church i n Igboland.

Schools were b u i l t where eve r a church was e s t ab l i shed .

The f i r s t Q.I.C. r e g u l a r primary school i n Igboland was I

t h e "Ogbor H i l l I n s t i t u t e ' ' which was opened i n 1917 by

Rcv. A.V. Wilcox and i n 19-18 another famous primary school

was opened a t Azuiyi Oloko. The Qua Iboe Church had

t h i r t ywe igh t primary s choo l s i n Igboland before t h e Government

t d i e over of schools. I n 1962, i t opened h e r only Grammar

School i n Igboland a t Ogbor H i l l , Aba - Wilcox Memori,d

Grammar School; and i n -1966 the s i t e f o r t h e primary

school a t Azuiyi Oloko was conver ted t o a Teacher Tra in ing

College . T h i s imp l i e s t h a t t h e Q.I.C. con t r i bu t ed i n g i v i n g

Igbo people ba s i c educa t i ona l background.

The miss ion s c h o o l s and a l l t h e e d u c a t i o n a l

programmes were aimed a t i n d Q c t r i n n t i n g t h e c o n v e r t s t o

t h e b e l i e f s and teachings of t h e Qua I b o e Church.

P rof . E.A. Ayandele w a s r i g h t when he s a i d ,

"... i n t h e v i l l a g e community of t h e Ibo... t h e miss ion

schoo l became from t h e beginning of t h i s cen tu ry t h e *

i n s t r u m e n t f o r t h e convers ion of c h i l d r e n f o r more t h a n

a genera t ion . 19 I

By c o n v e r t i n g t h e c h i l d r e n through h e r miss ion school^ I

t h e Q,I.C. hoped t o produce a f u t u r e C h r i s t i a n s o c i e t y I

i n Igboland.

I n a r u r a l e g a l i t e r i a n s o c i e t y such as Igbo s o c i e t y ,

t h e assessment of t h e s t a n d a r d of t h e development of n

v i l l a g e was based on t h r e s t h i n g s , namely market , schoo l

and church. The Q.I.C, gave many v i l l a g e s churches

and s c h o o l s and cou ld n o t b u i l d o t h e r f iocial i n s t i t u t i o n

because o f meagre f i n a n c i a l r e sources .

CONCLUSION : ---a

I n t h i s p r c j e c t , e f f o r t h a s been made t o r e c o n s t r u c t

t h e miss ionary expansion and growth o f t h c Qua Iboe

Church i n Igboland from 1917 t o 1983.

67

An assessment of t h e f a c t o r s r a s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e

trcmendeous g a i n s made w i t h i n h e r first t h i r t y y e a r s i n

Icbo land could be t r a c e d f i r s t l y , t o t h e f a c t t h a t t h e

N.D.P. Church had p repared t h e ground b e f o r e t h e e n t r y of

tllc Qua Iboe Mission. Not only was t h e ground prepared,

t h e r e were a t t h a t t ime r e v o l t s w i t h i n t h e N.D,P. Church

which t h e Qua Iboe Church wasted no t ime t o e x p l q i t .

The c o l l a p s i n g o f t h e G n r r i c k Braide Movement a l s o I

enhanced t h e growth and expansion speed of t h e Qua Iboe I

#

Church between 1917 and 1928. 1

I But a f t e r t h i s f i r s t t h i r t y y e a r s of r a p i d expansion,

t h e church found i t s e l f s t a g n a n t , only t o c o n s o l i d a t e h e r

ground j u s t around Ngwaland and t h e environs .

F o r t h e church t o g a i n more ground w i t h i n t h i s p e r i o d

i n Igboland when t h e r e a r e a c u t e r i v a l r y among t h e

v a r i o u s c h r i s t i a n denominations, c e r t a i n f a c t o r s must be

t a k e n i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n ,

The Qua Ihoe Church must s t e p up i t s e v a n g e l i c a l e f f o r t s

EO as t o win s o u l s and g a i n f r e s h grounds,

It should be borne i n mind t h a t c o n d i t i o n s p r e v a i l i n g

today a r e q u i t e d i f f e r e n t from what o b t a i n e d when t h e

p i o n e e r m i s s i o n a r i e s came i n t o t h e scene. Today a l l s o r t s

of r e l i g i o u s denominat ions have p e n e t r a t e d i n t o a l l nooks

and c o r n e r s o f I ~ b o l a n d . There is a s o r t o f e v a n g e l i s t i c

c o m p e t i t i o n s and every denomination would n a t u r a l l y l i k e

t o s e e t h e i r church e s t a b l i s h e d i n every towns and v i l l a g e s

i n I ~ b o l a n d and N i g e r i a as a whole,

Evangelism t h e s e days i s very compet i t ive and expensive,

c o m p e t i t i v e i n t h e s e n s e t h a t b e s i d e s t h e move by most

denominations and or thodox churches t o expand, t h e r e a r e

o t h e r w e l l equipped and o rgan ized non-denominat iokd I

g roups of young promis ing e v a n g e l i s t s who make good impress ion I

on t h e i r aud ience anywhere t h e y can p o s s i b l y g a t h e r , Such

groups u s u a l l y have modern i n s t r u m e n t s t o a i d them i n I

t h c i r work,

To compete favourab ly w i t h such groups , t h e church

should mount rov ing e v a n g e l i s t i c campaigns o r c o n c e n t r a t e

permanently i n some a r e a s ,

It may i n v o l v e a c q u i r i n g l a n d and e r e c t i n g decent

church b u i l d i n g s ,

The conference should p rov ide fund t o suppor t

e v a n ~ e l i s t i c campaigns and compel1 t h e i r p r e a c h e r s t o

a c q u i r e t h e necessa ry t r a i n i n g v i t a l f o r t h e work.

However, t h e e x i s t i n g churches should be c o n s o l i d a t e d

and i t s growth mainta ined through wel l planned execu ted

projects. There should be l o v e among t h e members s i n c e

t h i s m a y enhance growth and foster expansion.

FOOTNOTES

I. i) Ekpa, I f r e k e S o , The Qua Iboe Mission and Its Impact on E t inan and Environs S ince 1898, Department of His to ry , Univers i ty of Calabar, 19 80.

ii) E tukudo, Enebong Donald, C h r i s t i a n Missions i n Niger ia : A Case Study of t h e Qua Iboe Mission in t h e Mainland of t h e Cross River S t a t e o f , N i g e r i a 1887-1960, Department of His to ry , Univers i ty of - Calabar , 1982.

i i i ) Ogugbue, C.D., The Or ig in o f Qua Iboe Church i n Ngwaland, Imo S t a t e of Niger ia , Department of Re l ig ious S tud i e s , Univers i ty o f Ibadqn, Ibadan 1981.

i v ) O j i Enyioma Alozie , The His to ry of t h e Qua Iboq Church: Its Or ig in , Progress a-nd Achievements Department of Re l ig ion , Univers i ty of Niger ia , Nsukka, J u l y 1982

2. i ) In te rv iew wi th Rev. S,I. I r o n d i , Church Sec re t a ry , Q.I.C. Igboland, i n h i s Off ice on 27 August, 1984

i i ) I n t e rv i ew wi th Rev, J.N. Nwaekpe, Super in tendent Pas to r , Oloko Superintendency, i n h i s Of f i ce on 7 August, 1984.

i i i ) Over Eighty Churches wi th in Igboland were founded wi th in t h i s per iod as i n d i c a t e d i n t h e ques t i onna i r e f i l l e d by t h e d i f f e r e n t churches.

3. i ) Rev. W.L. Wheatley, Sun r i s e i n Niger ia : A Record of Missionary Se rv i ce from 1920 t o 1952. A Qua Iboe ~ u b l i c n t i o n , 1977, p. 46.

i i ) GoOoM- Tas ie , l lChr i s t i an Awakening i n West A f r i c a 1914-1918: A Study i n t h e S ign i f i c ance of Nat ive Agencyf1 i n The His to ry of C h r i s t i a n i t y i? West Afr ica , p. 293-308 e d i t e d by Prof. 0 ,U . Kalu Longman 1980, a l s o i n West Afr ican Re l ig ion Vole X V I /2 1975, ppo 32-42.

40 J.FoA. Ajayi, "Henry Venn and t h e Po l icy of ~evelopment ' ' - - -

in The Elistory of Chrfstianity i n West Af r i ca Longman 1980, pp. 53-75 e d i t e d by Prof. OOU. Kalu

5 O.U. Kalu, !!Waves from t h e Riversw pp 89-100

6 . Nat iona l Archives, Enugu CSE/~/? 1/8. Former C l a s s Mark CSE 603-B 799/19.

70 i ) Eoko Udo, "The Missionary Scramble f o r Spheresu P. 30.

i i ) Rev. W.L. Whcatley, Sun r i s e i n Niger ia , p. 70

3. Nat ional Archives, Xnugu 17/1926 Riv Proof 1/9/3 P o l i t i c a l I n t e l l i g e n c e Vol. 11, 1930, 19 Jan. 1930,

9. Na t iona l Archives , Enugu - OW 626 Urn D I V 3/1/4

10, W.L. Whentley, Sun r i s e i n Niger ia , p. 45

11. Rev, A.V. Wilcox's Diary con t a in ing important even t s from t h e time he v i s i t e d Azuiyi Oloko D i s t r i c t f i r s t i n 6 September, 1917 t o May 1921 when W,L. Wheatley came t o Azuiyi t o l i v e .

12, E.A. Udo, tlThe Missionary Scramblett, p. 32

13. In t e rv i ew wi th E l d e r Arungwa a t 26 Pefer Okoye S t r e e t , Enugu on 21 September, 1984.

14. John B. Grimley and Gordon E. Robinson, Church Groyt: I n Central and Southern Niger ia , W i l l i a m B. Ecrdmans Publ i sh ing Company Grand Rapids, Michigan 1966, p. 160.

15. G i l b e r t W. Olson, Church Growth i n S i e r r a Leone: A Study of Church Growth i n A f r i c a n t s Oldest P r o t e s t a n t Mission F i e l d , Publ ished by W i l l i a m B. Eerdmans Publ i sh ing Coy. Grand Rapids, Michigan 1966, pa 25.

16. H.W. Turner, ItA Typology f o r Afr ican Re l ig ious Movementslt - JRk Vol. 1-2, 1968-1969, pp. 1-34.

17. Rev. W.L. Wheatley, Sun r i s e i n Niger ia , p. 54

18. In t e rv i ew wi th E lde r Gab r i e l of Owo Ahiafor Church i n h i s house 18 September, 1984.

I?. EoAo kyandele, The Missionary Impact on Modern Niger ia 1942-1914, (Longman, ?966), p. 4

+!,?_cndix IA: A Reproduct ion of t h e ~ p p l i c a t i o n made by Rev. W.L. Wheatley r e q u e s t i n g for lease of l a n d a t Ogbor H i l l , Aba f o r a Church Bui ld ing.

QUA IBOE MISSION Oloko D i s t r i c t

1.Iissionary i n Charge Address: P. 0. Box 28 ?!.L. Wheatley Aba Azu iy i S. N i g e r i a

V i a Par% Harcour t West A f r i c a

6 t h Mar 1922

Dcar S i r ,

F o r sometime p a s t a number o f I b i b i o s have been a t t e n d i n g t h e Church a t O ~ b o r ABA on Sundays a f t e r it h a s bccn used by t h e I b o peop le t h e r e m

They have now e x p r e s s e d a d e s i r e t o have t h e i r own b u i l d i n g i n t h e N A ~ ~ V C q u a r t e r a t ABA. A t t h e p r e s e n t t ime t h e r e is an a t t e n d a n c e of 9 0 and I am s u r e t h a t many more would a t t e n d i f they had a Church o f t h e i r own a t A X . I a m w r i t i n g t o ask i f l a n d c o u l d be l e a s e d from t h c Government f o r t h a t purpose.

I may add t h a t t h e Miss ion h a s been e s t a b l i s h e d at OGBO s i n c e 1917.

Thanking you f o r a n e a r l y re? ly ,

Yours f a i t h f u l l y ,

The D i s t r i c t O f f i c e r , A 3 8

Appendix I

5 t h May 1925

MEMORANDUM

FROM : TO : 4

The D i s t r i c t O f f i c e r The Honourable, The S e n i o r R e s i d e n t , Owerr i P r o v i n c e

ABA OVERRI

LEASE OF LAND AT OGBO TO QUA IBOE MISSION 0

I recommend t h e g r a n t i n g of t h e c o n d i t i o n s

asked f o r , please.

/ ~ @ ; d / D i s t r i c t O f f i c e r

Appendix 11 73 -

---.--u I I - .-- NO of ?~cachr,-, - .. .- - - -&..* - Churches w i t > . P r e a c k r s _ -.-.-

Source: Zeturns from the different Superintendencies =??lied to the Generrl Secretary, (2. I. C., Igboland Annually. -

..

Sample Records of Defections t o Qua Ibae Church

Christ A r v Church

Former Year of Agents Year Reasons for Defection Defection - p A.O. OckiJra "I5 discovering that the money sent

t o him by Ovo members was i l l i g a l tender,

L

Mr. Okereke 1 1916 1 Attracted by Q.I.C. Teaching

J Not Land dispute and Swearing of

1916 Oath Available 19 40 Nwankudu Nwosu/Ugbaja 1916 Riot i n Church 19 27 '6~onda etcI

M r . Brown African Church Doctrine

j 1917 Unclean 1927 The doxology was bad. "4s

-0 - ---r it was i n the beginning,n Emmanuel 19 16 was meaningless 1920

Allison I I

' .1 Dissatisfaction with RmDePm 3 ? Performance I 1934 I

EL.

---

Unu o b 5. d ~ m

Umuajuloke

African Gospel

Church N-DmP.

Rev. Kori M r . W wangwa ( ~ a l a b a r i )

Not Available

Ekuenye Icha Pas to r Enoch

Al l i son

Rev- Kori took court ac t ion agaiast members

Excessive c l z s s fees and se i zu re of members property

General D i s a t i s f a c t i a n

- ~ n - f i g h t i n g within Leadership

Job bani)

Saurce: Local Church Historg: E.T. Epelic -r-

University of ' Niger? a, Nsukka, 19;

reachers were d e c e i t f u l indegenes qere not employccl as teachers. i,D.P. education was poor.

Lgent flogged an offencler with Prench cane .

?, Department of BoXigion, 7 I

A p p ~ - d i x IVB

%,I. C, Churches- Located in Townships - Iaboland i 1978-1987;\ tze+*?wm =

An Ex t r ac t frolr 17ev. i i ,V , Wilcoxls Diary i n h i s own ...Id --- ._.,.- -

language

This record i s with Elder H.N. Okike of Azuiyi Oloko

AZUIYI OLOKO DISTRICT -1 --

3rd Feb. 1918:

5 t h Feb. 19% 5 t h Feb. 1918:

/

F i r s t v i s i t e d when i t i n e r a t i n g f i n d i n g out what towns were occupied. Found Church here and the re*

Deputation came from Oloko t o Aba asking me t o t ake them over. Told them t o br ing l e t t e r from Chief (wtth some reques t ) '

Deputation came aga in with l e t t e r from Chief with some request , Promised t o go next week to see t h e i r t o m *

Vat3 delayed going t o Oloko s o Chief (Uluka) , himself came t o Ogbor today and persona l ly asked me t o take over t h e i r school and g ive them a teacher.

Went t o Oloko and s tayed u n t i l 17th Oct. Chief and people aga in asked me t o come myself4 Promised t o come i n I0 d ~ y s time i f they sent c a r r i e r s . Wrote t o Ockiya about s t a t e of a f f a i r about 20th Oct . l e t t e r 3.

Came t o Oloko. Wrote D,O. 27th Oct. about opening achool. L e t t e r 6 .

Wont t o s e e Mr. Alibo, but he was out,

F i r s t Serv ice a t Oloko. Jonathan I n t e r p r e t i n g

Counted Houee i n Aauiyi and found 22 compounds with 330 people. Varying from 5 t o 30 i n a cornpound.

B e l l s t o l en . Jack made min i to r a t 5/66 a mcnth,

Had ta lk with ch i e f and people about new teacher and new a i t e f o r school. Tom Iregbu made mnl; tor a t 3/6d a month,

81.

Def in i t i ons

(fgboland) Thia is thc highest autbmrity (

loland. The church aonfaronce is therefore a unizy

LO three S t a t e area Conferen

, Imo State (Igboland) and

c The Superintendency i

11: having at l e a s t t h i r t y ch

Superintendent Minister. E

D i s t r i c t s under i ts field,

.e D i s t r i c t as used i n the 4.I.C. c o n s i s t s of

. out s ta t i ons of any number determined by the

and having among them not l e s s than seven

.nned by an Evangelist or 8 Pastor of l e e s o r

, ABa Superintendency has four D i s t r i c t s

congregations; Oloko has four D i s t r i c t s with

r c p t i o n s ; Ogwe hae four Districts with

gnt ions and Jsiala Ngwa has three Districts

tcgnt i ons or l o c a l churches

(see Appendix IVA)

Lo c a1 Chu,r,c:nn-~, ngregat ion: The Q.I.C. b e l i e v e s t h a t t h e

primary u n i t of church o rgan i sa t i on i s the " loca l church"

o r I Ic~ngrcgnt ion .~ ' Each l o c a l congregat ion comprises of a l l

the communicnnts and i n q u i r e r s i n t h e church,

Thc i n q u i r e r s a r e t h e unbapt ized members of t h e church.

The r u l i q ; bocIy of t h e Local Church i s t h e Committee.

The Committcc o f t he l o c a l church c o n s i s t s of a l l E lde r s ,

Deacons and a fcw nominated members of t h e p a r t i c u l a r

church. The Comrdittee i s r e spons ib l e f o r t h e o rd ina ry d p j t o

day running of t hc a f f x i r s of t h e church. The E l d e r s i n t h e

church are rus :~ons ib le f o r t h e s p i r i t u a l c a r e of t h e church

while t h e Dcncons t ake ca r e of t h e mate r ia l .

A l o c a l church is manned by a l o c a l preacher.

( s e e appendix VI)

Appendix V I I :

Corrcspondenccs of t h e Q.1-C. Deposited w i t h t h o Public Record Of f i ce of Northcrn I r e l a n d between 1917 t o 1983.

LETTERS

Class &lark: Dntc: -4 ..I.-..&-

Descr ip t ion :

D330 1/f;B 1920-1921 L e t t e r s from A.V. Wilcox, Missionary i n t h e f i e l d t o Mr. R.L. McKeown, General Sec re t a ry of t h e Home Council.

D 3 3 0 1/AF 19110-41 L e t t e r s from B e l f a s t &,I,M. to S.A. B i l l , Super intendent i n t h e f i e l d ,

D33O 1/AH 1332-33 L e t t e r s from a l l i n t e r e s t e d p a r t i e s concerning t h e e r e c t i o n of a tombstone f o r t h e grave of M r . J. Kirk ex-Missionary i n Qua Iboe.

. . ~i,ay-June 1939 L e t t e r s from a l l p a r t i e s involved

concerning a derogatory a r t i c l e i n t h e Qua Iboe l o c a l p r e s s about wages pa id by t h e miss ions t o t h e i r n a t i v e t eacher . M r . S.A. B i l l s u c c e s s f u l l y i n v a l i d a t e d t h e a c c u s a t i o n s on behalf of t h e mission,

D330 1/AK 19~10-41 C i r c u l a r s from Qua Iboe Mission B e l f a s t t o f i e l d workers, con t a in ing genera l encouragement and some in format ion o f happenings a t home.

MISCELLANEOUS TO HOME COUNCIL

D330 1/AL 1927-32 L e t t e r s t o Home Council , one suggesf- what is r equ i r ed of a Sec re t a ry ; on( t h e n a t i v e p a s t o r and e l d e r s i n QUR

p e t i t i o n i n g f o r a h e l p e r for. Mr. S.l

DIARIES :

D33Ol/CC 1321-22 Diary kept by R.C. McKeown dur ing v: t o Qua Iboe, s u b j e c t indexed a l p h a b e t i c a l l y .

LEG 4L DOCUMENTS :

~3301/F.;\/l 1948 Foundation deed of t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n o f t h e Qua Zboe Churoh,

ACCOUNT SHEETS:

D3301/1:1 Jan 31, 7939 C a p i t a l f~ccount no t i ng Investments of General Trus t Associa t ion.

Feb. 3, 1939 Cap i t a l Account of Nat ive Churcheve Investment Account

Jnn 3?, 1939 Cap i t a l Account of R e t i r e d Woi.kervs Fund with a breakdown of investment income.

19 39-40 Account of Qua Iboe Mission T rus t Assoc ia t ion and t h e Re t i r ed Workcrvs Fund.

Jan. 31, 1956 Rece ip t s and Payments Accounts f o r y e a r ending 31 January, 1956 f o r t h e Qua Iboe Miscion, Accountant E.J. Dowdall & Shard.

HOME COUNCIL:

Jan. 1942 Council Records of t h e death of M r . S.A. B i l l on t h e 24th Jan , 1942, i nc lud ing a s h o r t synops i s of h i s work f o r t h e Mission.

16 Hnr. 1942 Council r e c o r d s of t h e dea th of Mr. R.L. McKeown 71/3/42, i nc lud ing a s h o r t synops i s of h i s work f o r t h e Mission.

3 Apr i l , 3942 L e t t e r from M r . J o McEwan t o Miss. Jacob g iv ing d e t a i l s of t h e dea th of Mr. S.A. B i l l .

1923-1963 Book of t h e names of h e l p e r s a t t e a t a b l e s a t Annual Meetings of t h e Home Council.

Dec. -I944 C i r c u l a r commenting on t h e l a c k of c and ida t e s f o r r n i s s i o n ~ r y work.

MISCELLANEOUS:

D3301/0A Apr i l 1934-March 1957 8 Small p o s t e r s a d v e r t i s i n g d i f f e r e n t t a l k s given by v a r i o u s members of t h e miss ion t o t h e publ ic ,

Apr i l 1938- arch 1939 : S a i l i n g schedule f o r West African Mail Se rv i ce , E l d e r Derps te r Line,

12 Oct. 1932: Minute of a Court Case. The P l e n t i f f s Afr ican Church of I k o t Ekpene; Defendants, t h e P r i m i t i v e Methodist Church of t h e -me town. Case concerns j o i n t p roper ty -

*

D3301/0A 7 0 Jan , 1920 School C e r t i f i c a t e f o r Smart Nsana of I k o t Abasi Town, Signed by A.Y. Wilcox.

16 Dcc. 1940 Crossed Cheque t o Q.I.Me s igned by S.A. B i l l ,

13 13 Papers of Alber t V ic to r Wilcox on h i s a p p l i c a t i o n t o j o i n t h e Mission; inc lude medical papers , r e f e r ences , a p p l i c a t i o n t o j o i n e tc .

- MICROFILM:

D330 l/P 1308-1912 P l ans of P a r t s of t h e Qua Iboe Mission i n Niger ia ( D ~ ~ o I / J A / I - ~ ) Daily J o u r n a l (330 1/~1~/6-4 1 )

1912-1916 Daily J o o r n a l of M r . S.A. B i l l (D3301/DA/12-16)

Oct, 1915 Daily J o u r n a l of M r . S.A. B i l l (D3301/~&/16-20).

Sourcc: Pub l i c Record O f f i c e of Northern I r e l a n d C -*Lr.L-.

Do 3301, ~ e c o r d s of Qua Iboe Mission i n Niger ia and Be l f a s t . Deposited by Qua Iboe Mission B c l f a s t : From Prof. O.U. Knlu 's Library .

BIBLIOGRAPHY 86.

PRIMARY SOURCES: O r a l Informat ion from Direct In t c rv i ew with some respondents i n Q.IoC. Igboland.

Akwarandu, J.I., ( ~ e v . Pastor2 i n charge of Ogwe Superintendency, Aged 48 years .

I r o n d i , S.I. (Rev. P a s t o r ) Secre ta ry /Treasure r , Igboland Area Conference, He w a s a Superv i sor of Q.I.C. Schools before t h e Government t a k e over of Schools, Aged 75 years .

Okike, H.N., E lde r i n Q.I.C. Azuiyi Oloko, kgsd 65 years . Re t i r ed School Master.

Okpulor, P.O., Rev. Pas to r , i n charge of Abn Superintendency, Aged 60 years .

Nwaekpe, J .N . ( ~ e v . P a s t o r ) i n charge of Oloko Superintendency, Current Chairman Igboland Area Conference , Aged 73 years ,

Onwuka, J.N., (xev, P a s t o r ) i n charge of Q.1.C. Church Nkwerre, Aged 65 years .

Wokocha, A.A. (Rev. p a s t o r ) i n charge of Northern Ngwa Superintendency, Aged 70 years .

ARCHIVAL SOURCES : NIiTIONAL A R C H I ~ S , ENUGU ( NAE)

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164. Large Bundle of Qua Iboe Mission L e a f l e t s - c.~. A F r u i t f u l F i e l d : t h e s t o r y of Qua Iboe -- Virst ~ m p r e s s i o i , hear in^ t h e Gospel1I. The ~ e o ~ & - d Men: - ~ e ~ o s i t E d wi th t h e Pub l i c Record Of f i ce of Northern I re land .

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