University of Nigeria Missionary Expansion and Gr… · C;h:inwe Ochulo , Oninachi Ochulo and !!c...
Transcript of University of Nigeria Missionary Expansion and Gr… · C;h:inwe Ochulo , Oninachi Ochulo and !!c...
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)
8. Abadist 6/1/1/ "Aba Native Adminis t ra t ion I n t e l l i g e n c e Report 1930"
9 Abadist 1/15/36, "Seventh Day Adventist Mission - Appl ica t ion f o r S i t e 1923~'
10. Abadist 1/21/8 "Seventh Day Advent is t Lease of a P l o t of Land nea r Aba on Umunso Road 1929-30"
11 Abadist 1/23/26, ilSchools and Miss ions h s s i s t c d 1931- 1934"
12, Abadist 1/26/183, "Chr i s t Army Church 1923-1948"
I Abadist 1/26/391, "Hand Ovor of Government School5 and Mission Schools t o Native Adminis t ra t ion 1932-35"
14, Abadist 1/26/869, "The New Church Mission, Aba Inaugura t i on of 1942"
15. Abadist 1/26/894, ltN,D-P. Church Dispute 1943-47"
16, Abadis t , OW 23/1920: '!Qua Iboe Mission."
17. i ibadis t 49/1920: "Opening of Schools by Missionsti 4
18, C a l Proof 2/11/12, Annual Report on Uyo D i s t r i c t 1930.
19. C a l Proof 2227 "Personal Papers of M r . & Mrs. S.A. B i l l n
20. C a l Cprrof 3/1/1800 Qua Iboo Mission General Corraspondenae 1937-1954-
21, OW 412/16, "Appl icat ion f o r Land by some C h r i s t i a n Miss ions Owerri Province 1916-1919'l
22. OW 187/17 "Mission and Mission Schools - Appl ica t ion& i Received i n 1977, 1917-1918"
23, OW 196/17, tlMission and Mission Schools - Gencral I n s t r u c t i o n s t 1 (1917)"
24. OW 195/17, t tChr i s t iLrmy Church - P r o t e s t Against De l ta P a s t o r a t e Miss ion 's a l l e g e d usurp ing of t h e i r property." 1917.
25. OW/87/18, f lSchools and Missions - h p p l i c a t i o n f o r 19-18" -
26. OW 246/21, "Appl icat ion by P r i m i t i v e Methodist Mission t o open Schoolw
27. 0\6/342/21, "Niger Del ta P a s t o r a t e Mission Appl ica t ion f o r S i t e (1921-1922)lt
28. 0~ /798/22 "Wilcox, Rev. A.V. Renewal of Passpor t (1921)"
29. 0k1/83/22, "United ~frican Church Establ ishment of Church a t Aba 1922-23"
30. 0~/274/24, W . M . S. Appl ica t ion f o r s i t e (1924-25)"
31. OW 626: I1Rev. Abayehon b e h d f of N.D.P, Mission Oloko ve r sus Rev. Whe~ t l ey and 33 Others on behalf of themsevles and Qua ISoe Mission 0 l o k 0 ~ ~
32 Riv. Proof 8/10/713, OW 846/22 ItChrist Army Church Garr ick Braide Convention 1921-1922H
33. Riv, Proof 8/10/171 OW 220/22, "Q.1.M i ~ p p l i c ~ t i o n f o r S i t e 1922-25''
34. Riv. Proof 8/10/302 OW 365/22 "Niger Del ta Hative Church Appl icat ion fo r s i t e 1922"
35. Riv Proof 8/11/162 OW 194/23 "R.C.M. Appl icnt ion f o r s i t e 1923" q
36. Riv Proof 8/11/263 OW 321/23, I1iifricnn Church, Appl icat ion f o r s i t e 1923"
37. Riv Proof 3/11/337 OW 508/23 W i g e r Del ta Pas tora te . Appl ica t ion f o r s i t e 1923"
38. Riv Proof 8/12/46 OW 53/24 "African Church, Appl icat ion f o r s i t e 1924-251~
39, Riv Proof 8/12/243 OW 274/24 flC.H-S. Appl icat ion f o r s i t e 1924-25"
40. Riv Proof 8/2/52 Mission Holdings i n Owerri Province 1914.
SECONDARY SOURCE:
41. Ajayi , J.F.A., C h r i s t i a n Mission i n Niger ia 1841-1891, The Making of a New E l i t e (Longmans 1965).
42. ,$mucheazi, E.C., Rendin= i n Soc ia l Sciences: I s s u e s i n National Development (Fourth Dimension Pub l i she r s
43. Anderson, W.B., The Church i n Eas t Afr ica , 1840-1974 ,...-..-- (Cent ra l Tanganyika P re s s Dodoma) pp 139-150
44. Arungwn, G.O., The Qua Iboe Church F ie ld : Pas t and Present (Iroegbu and Sons P re s s , Umunhia 19x4)
45. Ayandelo, E.A., The Misaionnry Impact on M~dern - -.. Nigerian 1942-7914 (Longman Group Ltd. , London 1966) PO 115
46. Baeta, C.G. {ed) Chrigtianity in Trop ica l ;tf.r-$c~ -- Studias Presented and Discussed a t t h e Sev_c_nt& I n t e ~ n a t i o n a l Afr ican Seminar, [email protected] of
r ... L--..
Ghana (Oxford Univers i ty P r e s s 1968) ' 47. Basden, G.T., Niger Iboe rank Cass Ltd., London 1966)
48. Bnr re t t , David B., Schism and Renewal i n Af r i ca airo obi: OUP 1968)
49. B i l l , S.A., Ear ly Morgan and S c o t t Ltd.. , B e l f a s t
50. B i l l , S.A., F i f t y Years i n Qua Iboe, Morgan and S c o t t Ltd., B e l f a s t 1937. +
51. Corbe t t , J.S., According t o P lan , Henry E. Walter Ltd Worthing, Susset, p. 103
52, Corbe t t , J.S., Love Have Never F a i l e t h , The S tory of Hi lda E. Dickson, of t h e Qua Iboe Mission.
53.Dickson,. H.W., A l l t h e Days o f E4y L i f e , A Qua Iboc Mission Pub l i ca t i on , Worth I r e l a n d 1981).
54, Dike, K.O., The Origin of t he N i ~ a r Missions 1841-1891 (Ibndan Press 1962)
55. E j i o f o r , L.U., Dynamics of Igbo Democracy: A JM-mvioural Ana lys i s of Igbo P o l i t i c s i n Rguinyi Clan. ( u n i v e r s i t y P r e s s Limited Ibadan 1981)
56. Ekandem, J., Chosen Vessel: Faithful Servant, d Qua Iboe Mission P u b l i c a t i o n (1965)
58. Epe l le , E e M e T r ,
(Port Harc
59. Esp ie , M.A., and West Afr i c Pi 308
60. Fashole Luke e t Africa (Ib -- pp. 176-20
61. Grau, E., ffMission.sr.y P o l i c i e s AS soen i n the work of Missions with t h e Evangelical P r e s b y t e r i a n Church Ghana" i n C h r i s t i a n i t y i n Trop ica l A f r i c a (ed) by C.G. Baeta (0.U.P. 19.68)
62, Gru i ley , J., Churth Growth in Cantrnl and Southern Niger ia (Michigan Grand Rapids, 1969)
63. Groves, C.P., The P l a n t i n g of Chri~st iani ty I n A ? r i c s Vol. 111 1878-1914 (London Luthcrworth Press 1955)
64, Harnack, A . , The Mission and Expansion of C h r i s t i n n i --- I n The F i r s t Three Cen tu r i e s ( ed ) James Xoffot N.Y. (Harper Torch Books 1962).
65. Hast ings k., Church and Mission i n Modern Afr ica : Burns and Oates (London, 1967)
66. Henige, D., Oral His tor iography, Longman lo on don 1382) PP. 39-66.
67. Idowu, E.B., awards an Indigenous Church (oxford 1965)
68. I l ogu , E., Christianity and I ~ b o Cul ture (NOK Pub l i she r s Ltd. 1974 New York) pp. 58-59.
69. I s i c h e i , E., A History of Igbo People* he PIacMillian P r e s s Ltd., London, 19763 p. 179
70. I s i c h e i , E., The Sb6 People and the Europeans: The G e n i s i s of A Re l a t i onsh ip t o 1906 (London Faber and Faber L td 1973)
72 Iwe, N.S.S., C h r i s t i a n i t y Culture and C o l s n i d i m i n ~ f r i c a , ' R.S.N.C., Po r t Harcourt,
73. Kalu, O.U. ( ed) The His to ry of C h r i s t i a n i t y I n West Af r i ca The Niger ian S to ry (Days ta r P r e s s 1978) Po 308
74. Kalu, O.U. Divided People of God: Church union Movement I n Niger ia 1867-1966 (NOK P u b l i s h e r s New York 1978) p. 22
75. Kalu, O.U. ( ed) !the History of C h r i s t i a n i t y I n - Vest Afr i ca (~ongrnan London 1980)
76. Luzbetak, L. J., The Ch~r ; ;~~d~:h+-Cul t u r e , Word ~ u b l $ c a t i o n (
77. McCall, D e F o , Africa f n ~inie , ~ e r s ~ e o t i & , of H i s t o r i c a l Reconstruct ion from Unr Scources (Boston u n i v e r s i t y P r e s s (15
78. McKeown, R.L., I n t h e Land of the O i l Rivera and S c o t t , Ltd., P a t e r n o s t e r Bui ld ings
rmrgan Bol f aat
McKeown, R.L., My Tour I n Qua Iboo, B e l f a s t (1945)
McKeown, R.L., Twenty-Five Years I n Qua Iboe: .The Story of a Missionary E f f o r t i n N i ~ e r i a (Morean ,md S c o t t Ltd., P e t e r n o s t e r Bui ldings 3 e l f a s t 1912)
Moorhouse, G . The Miss ionar ies , (N.Y. J.P Lipponcot t , 1973
Nwaguru, J.E.N., Rba and B r i t i s h Rule: The Evolu t ion and Adminis t ra t ive Development of t h e Old j~ba Divis ion of Ieboland 1896-1960 San ta P r e s s and Pub l i sh ing C o Ltd., Enucu (1973) p. 62.
Oddamten, S.K., The Missionary Fac to r i n Ghana's Development 1820-1880 (Acc ra , Waterv i l l e Pu5. House, 1978).
Odj id ja , E.M.I., Mustard Seed: The Growth of tho Church i n Knoboland. (Wa te rv i l l e Publ i sh ing House) Box 195 iiccra (1973) pp. 67-69.
Oliver , R., The Missionary Factor i n E a s t Rffi_ca .. ( ~ o n d c k : Longman, 1952)
Olson, G.W+, Church Growth In Sierra L o m e (Pfiohi~an Grand Rapids, 1969)
Pee l , J ,D.Y,, Aladura, A Relipious L,---- Movement Arn~ng the Yoruba (oxford: 1968)
Sherk, W. R., Henry Venn - Missionary St~tssmaq (Daystar P r e s s Ibadan 1983) p. 43.
S h o r t e r ~ y l w a r d M.F., African Culture and the C h r i s t i a n Church: A n In t roduc t i on t o Soc i a l and P a s t o r a l lmthropology, ( ~ e o f f e r y Chkmpman London Dublin 1973) PP. 156-1950
Sweetman, D., Bishop Growther: Makers o: (~ongrnan 1961) p. 24
f Afr ican Kis to ry
Tasie, G.O.M., Christian Missionar Enterprim In the Niger Delta, lqft?&-li~~,d< E. J. Bill 1 - r
Temu, A.J., B r i t i s h P r q t o s t a n t Hiaaiahe in Kenya - Longman (London 19 72)
Tuma, Tom, B u i Z d i n ~ a Uganda Church, African P a r t - i c i p a t i o n i n Church Growth and E x p ~ n s i o n airob obi: Kenya L i t . Bureau, 1980
Uchendu, V.C., The I&o of Soufh Bast N i ~ e r i a old Rinchar t a n d Winston, Inc. 1973)
Udonsak, A.N., Q.I.C. B i b l e Col lege : X Brie f H i s t o r i c a l Review 1941-1980. P o r t Harcour t 1980.
Vansina, J., Oral T r a d i t i o n : A Study. i n H i s t o r i c a l ---- Methodology (Chicago, 1965)
Walker, W., A H i s t o r y of t h e C h r i ~ 3 t i n n Church, 3 r d ed. ( ~ d i n b u r ~ h , 1976)
Warren M., The Miesionary, Movement from B r i t a i n i n Modern H i story (London: SCM P r e s s , -1965)
N a t t , E.S., The Queat of Souls i n Qua lboe, London
Westgarth, J.W., The Holy S p i r i t and t h e Primitive Mind Qua Iboe Church P u b l i c a t i o n ( B e l f a s t 1 9 q
Wold, J., Gods Impatience i n L i b e r i a ( ~ i l l i m B. Eerdmnns P u b l i s h i n g Company, Grand Rapids Michigan 1968)
Wheatloy, W.L., S u n r i s e in Higor ia , Q.X.C. P r e s s E t i n a n 1977
A r t i c l e e : 9%
?03.- Adiakpan, J.B., "The Reginning of E ' d u ~ a t t ~ 5.n QUR Iboew, The Q . I . C o Magazine (Jan. 1963)
lo$. Afigbo, A.E., ( i ) "The Aro Expedi t ion of 1901/02: An Episode i n t h e B r i t i s h Occupation of I ~ b o l a n d " ODU 7 (1972) F) The Mis s iona r i e s and t h e Aro Expedi t ion of 1901/02, West Afr ican Re l ig ion 9 (1977) o r JRQ Vol. 5/2 (1973) -9
105. Afigbo, A.E., "Chr i s t i an Miss ionar ies and Secu l a r A u t h o r i t i e s i n South-Eastern Niger ia from k o ~ o n i a l Timesu ODUMA ? / I (October 1973) -
106. kf igbb, h , E o !'The Missions, the S t a t e and Education i n SoutheEastern Niger ia , 19%-1971" i n E r i s t i a n i t y I n Independent Af r i ca (ed) Fashole Luke -- e t - a 1
ondo don 1978). pp. 176-192,
107. Afigbo, A.E., "Oral T r a d i t i o n and His to ry i n Eas te rn Niger ia t t , Af r ican Notes ( Ibadan, 3/3 (1966)
108. Agbeti , K., y e s t Afr ican Church His tory; Chri -s t inn Mission and Church Foundations 1482-1919, Univers i ty of Cape - Coast , P. 118.
109. Ajayi , JoFoi,., ffHenry Venn and t h e Po l i cy of Developmentll J o u r n a l of H i s t o r i c a l Soc ie ty -0L Niger ia , Vol. 1/4, Dee- 1959
110. hk in so l a , A., f t C h r i s t i a n Denominat i o n s i n Niger iau i n C h r i s t i a n i t y i n West B f r i c a - The ~ i i o r i a n S t o q ( ed ) O.U. Kalu (Ibadan: Daystar P r e s s 197'i;TJ
111, , Ayandele, E.A., "Traditional Rulers and l l i s s i o n a r i e s i n Pre-Colonial West Africa ," Tar ikh 3/1/ ( ~ e c e 1969)
112. kyandele, E.A., "The Aladura Among t h e Ydrubacn i n C h r i s t i a n i t y i n West Afr ica - The Niwria S t o m (ed ) O.U. Kalu,
113. Bascom, W.R., "Africa] CIVILIXhTIONS vo:
114 Beyerhaus, Po, "The T: ( 1964)
115. Coatns, E.O., ItThe Whl Missiology_ Vol.
116. c u r t i n , P.D., F i e l d ~ e b h n i ~ u a s ib* CoS~eoting and Process ing Oral Data, Jou rna l of Afr ican Histor2 ---- Val. 9 (1968)
117. Ekechi, F.K.9 "Colonialism and C h r i s t i a n i t y i n West Afr ica : Igbo Case 1900-1915" 12/1 (1969)
118. I femes ia , C.C., "The C i v i l i z i n g Mission of 184qtt JHSN Vol. 2/3 Dec. 1962 -
119, Ifernesia, CaC., "The S o c i a l and C u l t u r a l Impact of C h r i s t i ~ n Mis s iona r i e s on Yest Af r i ca i n tho 19 th and 20th Centuries!', West Afr ican Rcli,qion NO. 12 J u l y 1982
* 120. I e i c h e i , E., "Seven V a r i e t i e s of Ambiquity: Some P a t t e r n s
of Igbo Response t o C h r i s t i a n Missionst1, JRA 3/3 (1970) -
121 Kalu, O.U., "Church Unity and Re l ig ious Chnnr;c i n Afr icat1 in C h r i s t i a n i t y i n Independent Af r i ca , (ed) FashoLe Luke -- e t a1 London: Rex C o l l i n s 7978
122. Kalu, O.U., V o i n g Church His to ry i n Afr ica ~ ~ d m " church His tory i n an ,Ecurnanical Perspec t iyo : Papers and Reports of a n I n t e r n a t i o n a l Zcumenical Consu l t a t i ons held i n Bable, Oct. 12-17, 1983 ( ed ) by Lukas Vischer , pp. 87-89.
1 Kalu, O.U., "Gods i n Re t r ea t : Models of Re l ig ious Change i n Africatf Niger ia J o u r n a l of H u m i n L t z 1/1 (Sept. 1977) 42-53.
124. Kalu, O.U., "Miseionaries, Colonia l Government and Secret S o c i e t i e s i n South-Eastern Igboland, 1920-50" J H S N Val. 9/1 ( ~ e c * 19771 -
125. Kalu, O.U., "The P o l i t f c a of R e l i ~ i o u s Sec ta r ian i sm i n Africa" - MAR Vol. XVI / ' l , pp. 15-25
126. Kalu, O.U., "Protestant Christianity i n I ~ b a l a n d ~ ! i n A h i s t o r y of C h r i ~ t i n n i t y 16 v e s t - ~ f r i c a : The Nigerinn Story_ (ed) O.U. Kalu, Day S t a r Pr 1977.
127. Kalu, O.U., "The Rout of the ( fods:Ghria t ianizat ian of Cross River I ~ b o l a n d , 1904-1940~~
128. Kalu, O.U., "Religion aa a Fac to r i n Nat ional D e ~ o l o p m e n t ~ ~ i n E.C. Arnucheazi ( e d ) Readinas i n the .- - 6
Soc ia l Sciences: I s s u e s i n N a t i o n a l Devel.oprnent Four th Dimension Pub l i ca t i on 1979) pp. 30-
129. Kalu, O.U., "The S h a t t e r e d Crosa: Church Union Movement i n Niger ia , 1905- 1966*l, Ghana B u l l e t i n of Theolo~ty
I K d u , O.U., "Waves from the Rivers : The Spread of t h e Gar r ick Braide Movement i n Igboland 1934-1934" J o u r n a l of Niger D e l t a s t u d i e s 1/2, (1977) - %9-100 - JHSN Vol. 8/4
5
I Lema, k*A+, W o Hake Disciples of A 1 1 Nationsv1 C h r i s t i a n Theolo& for Miesion f Aprtl 1980)
I Nair, K.A., "Kings and Mieaionar ies i n Ef ik P o l i t i c s 1846-7858 JAS 4/3 (1977) -
133 . Pee l , J. D.Y. , "The k l adu ra Movement i n Westem Nigeria" Tarikh Vol 3/1 (1969) pp. 48-55.
I Pee l , J.D.Y., 11Sycreti8rn and Religious Chmgett Comparative Studies i n Society and His to ry (1968)
135- Stevens, Pa ( J r l . , nThe Uses o f Oral $ r ~ d i t i o n s i n t h e Writing of ~Lrican HistoryN Tarikh Vol. 6/1 (1978) pp. 21-30.
136. Tas i e , G.O.M., ! 'Christ ian Awakening i n West Afr ica , 1914-1918" A s tudy i n the SignifScance of liative &wncy, West Afr ican Re l ig ion 16/2 (1975)
137. Tasie , G.O.M., 'IKing Jaja of Opobo nnd C h r i s t i a n Mission Under Bishop Samuel, A3ayi Crowthurtl PDWI.A, 3/l ( ~ p r i l 1976)
8 Turner, P., "The Wisdom o f t h e F a t h e r s and the of Chr i s t : Some Notes on C h r i s t i a n !~dnpt ~frica," - J R A 411 (1971) pp. 45-48
139. Uchendu, V.C., "Missionary Problems i n Nigeric P r a c t i c a l k n t h r o p o l o g ~ Vol. 2/3 ( 1964)
! Gospel : a t i on i n
140. .Udo, S.A., "The Missionary Scramble f o r Sphere In f luence i n Eas t e rn Nigeria 1900-19T2v1 Ikenea, J o u r n a l of Afr ican Studiea Vol 7/2 pp. 22-36
141. Webster, J.B., '*The Bible and the Plclughtr JHSN 2/1 (Dee. 1963)- LCC-
2 ~ a r w a n , John "Wade William Hapria. T h 6 e n e s i s of a n Afr ican He1 i g i o u s MovementN $ i i s s i o ~ o ~ V o l III/4 (Oct. 1975) pp. 431-450.
UNPUBLISHED THESIS &!ID. LONG ZSSAYS:
143. A B r i e f History - Qua Iboe Chtwch Bible Coil- Ankpa 1963-1983.
144. Barrah, A.rZ., The Impact of Western Re1ip;ion-onthe Socio-Economic and Cultural L i f e of NsuJ. (Irno S t a t e ) , Department of ~oc io logy\hn thropoloey Univers i ty of Niger ia , Nsukka, 1978. *
145. Ekpa, 1-S,, The Qua Iboe Mission and Its Impact- Etinan and Environs S ince 1898, Department of H i s to ry , Univers i ty of Calabar (1980)
146. Ekpa, O.C.O,, C h r i s t i a n Miss ions i n Oku I n ?yo Divis ion ( 1950-1964) T h e i r impact i n t h e Area, Department of His to ry , Univers i ty of Niger ia , 1975
147. Etukuda, E0D.g C h r i s t i a n Mission i n Nigeria: A Case Stbdy of the Qua Iboe Mission i n t h e Mainlmd - of t h e Crosa River of Niger ia 1887~1960 , A - , ' . B m A o Thes i s p resen ted t o the Department of His tory Univers i ty of Calabar (1982)
148. Kong, A.J.U., "History of the Schooln as quoted i n Q.1.M. S.S. J u b i l e e (Summer 1965)
149. Manual of Doctr ine and P rac t i c e . Publ ished by t h e QUA Iboe Church: P r i n t e d a t Q.I.C. ( P r i n t i n c P r e s s
150. Minutes of t h e Q.I.C. Conference he ld a t E t inan on (23rd January 1923)
151- Ochulo, A . U . , 'FAe Mission~ry h-terprise of the Sevonth Day Adventist Mission i n Ngwalnnd 1910-liz, B.A. Thes i s p resen ted t o the Department of Re l ig ion Univers i ty of Nigeria, Nsukka (June 1979)
152. Ogugbue, C.D., The Origin ard Expansion of fl&Iboe Church I n Ngwaland, Imo S t a t e of Niger ia , B. i sr ~ 6 c s i s submit ted t o t h e D s ~ a r t m e n t of Re l ig ious Studies , * - Unive r s i t y of I b a d ~ n , Ibadan E i g e r i a (June 1981)
I Okoraafor, G.O., . A Study - - of - t h e R e m i o u s Zdliti Programmes of t h e Q. L C o P r e sen t eZF to - the N i c e r i a B a p t i s t Seminary, May 1977.
I Onwu, EON. ( ~ e v ) The Coming of C h r i s t i a n i t y I n t o -.." 'Cross River S t a t e Igboland 1902-1966 Department of Re l ig ion , Univers i ty of N ige r i a 1977.
P u b l i c a t i o n s Deposited with the Pub l i c Record O f f i c e -. -. - - - of Northern I r e l a n d
155. Joseph Ekadern: A qua Iboe Mission P u b l i c a t i o n , (1965)
156. Q.1.C. C o n s t i t u t i o n Publ ished ( 1978)
157. Q.I. C. Archives Etinan.
158. Q.1.C. The Church and Cu l tu r e , E t i nan , N ize r i~ . : ( q . 1 , ~ . P r i n t i n 3 P re s s )
159. Records Kept a t Q.I.C. Archives E t inan , Church United F i e l d Conference Minutes.
160. Small L e a f l e t Alber t V i c t o r Wilcox, an Afr ican P ioneer depos i ted wi th t h e Pub l i c Record Of f i ce of Northern I re land .
161. The Q o I o C . , Maeazine: Spec i a l I s s u e t o mark t h e Seventy- f i f tb Anniversary of t h e Q.1.C. (Jan. 1963).
162. A Great Door is Open t o U s , Qua Iboe Mission Pub l i ca t i on con t a in ing a c o l l e c t i o n o f essays.
163. "David Ekon61l The F i r s t P a s t o r of t h e Qua Iboe Church. A Qua Iboe Mission P u b l i c a t i o n (1964').
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 .
165. a Shor t His to ry of t h e Qua Iboe Church 1887-1978 - Presen ted a t Qua Iboe Church 9 7 s t knn ivcrsa ry (15th-28th October 1978).
166. "Etinan Church His to ryw Unpublished Manuscript i n possess ion of Rev. D.J. Usien Super intendent P a s t o r q.1.C. Et inan Superintendency.
167. "Qua Iboe, The S to ry of a Mission I n West Afr icnt t A Broadcast on Northern I r e l a n d Home Service Celeb r s t i ng t h e 75 th Anniversary o f the Qua Iboe Mission, November 25, 1962.