Before now, a lot of people believed that the English Bible was translated into Yoruba language by Bishop Ajayi Crowther at the first storey building in Badagry. On May 27th 2013, Prince Femi Fadina hailed from Ota royal family came up with a programme in Ota. The programme tagged, The Celebration of our heroes past, 1842, 2nd Story building in Nigeria in which he debunked the claim. He emphatically said that the bible was translated at the second storey building, while Bishop Ajayi Crowther was in Ota. He said that history and facts available proved that history was thwarted to favour Badagry. In this piece, Tayo Adelaja examines the controversy surrounding the Bible translation through the eyes of the stakeholders.
On May 27th, 2013 Ota town played host to students from various schools within the localities, pressmen and notable men from all walks of life. The Chairman of Ado-Odo Ota Local Government, Comrade Rotimi Rahman was beaming with joy as if the second storey building in Nigeria and the seat of Bishop Ajayi Crowther was a new discovery. The people that came for the event tagged ‘The celebration of our heroes past, 1842, 2nd Story Building in Nigeria’ was led by the Chairman of Jethro Tours and a Prince of the town, Prince Femi Oluwashina who took them round the monuments and relics of the past.
The second storey building was inspected by the people present for the programme, the burial sites of the early missionaries were shown to the people. Comrade Rahman enthusiastically said, “We’re going to make Ota the hub of tourist destination in Nigeria. We are going to partner the private sector to rebuild and rebrand our place- Ota. We’ve had opportunities of visiting other places, the beauty about these places is that they preserve their history and culture. They make such a place of enviable sites for tourists. That is what we are going to do with the second story building in Nigeria, a place we are told the bible was translated. It is a great monument that we are going to turn around.”
Speaking during the event, Prince Fadina said, “In this place was history made and nobody is talking about it. Bishop Ajayi Crowther actually sat on this seat. This is the second storey building in the nation. This building is bigger than the church. It is a building the nation should look at. If we can go to Israel to look at the tomb of Jesus, if we can go to South Africa to look at the Mandela place and other places like Elmina Castles in Ghana, why are we not doing anything about what we have in Nigeria? This is a tourism destination. What do we get from those places we visited? It is an opportunity for us because it is the same thing we are talking about here. Bishop Ajayi Crowther came here and turned the English bible into Yoruba language. I am also appealing to the Christian Communities that enough of prosperity evangelism. Let us look into this building, let us propagate Christianity as it should be. As a tourism stakeholder, I will not allow this building to die. We’re going to showcase this place and make it tourist attractive”.
Prince Femi was unequivocal about the place of translation as he declared that the bible was actually translated in Ota. He said, “We are here to promote 1842 because it is a brand. I brought the children here so that they will be aware of their past. They are the present heroes. I am sure that 1842 will generates a lot of debates and its origin, but I believe that the bible was translated here and we can say that anywhere and anyday because the truth is that the Church headquarters in those days is here in Ota. Bishop Ajayi was in Ota, how can someone in Ota now be elsewhere simultaneously? Of course, he spent major part of his lifetime in Ota and here he did the translation!”
When asked if he is sure that the Bible was actually translated in Ota, he replied, “A lot of people are not bold enough to take the bull by the horn. From my own research, I can confidently say yes it was done here in Ota. A lot of the history in the past is political. It is time for us to correct the past so that we can have a correct history. It is time to get the past right, that is the reason I chose the Children day for the 1842 programme. The Children needs to know the truth about their history and the past. They will be able to pass it on to the next generation.”
Lending credence to Prince Femi’s story, Jaye Alalade the Church Secretary of Saint James Anglican Church, Ota, where the second storey building is situated declared that there should be no controversy at all about the place of translation. According to him, “Bishop Ajayi’s Crowther was administering some sections of the Christian’s churches then from Ota. It was very prominent in the book on the history of the early Christian movement by The Johnson. Ajayi Crowther was specifically tagged with Ota because he was administering the churches then from Ota. We can even say that he was a Bishop as at that time in Ota. It was stated in that Johnson book that he translated, doing the work of the translation of the Bible from here. I can say that with all authority and that is the only authentic book you can get on the issue for now that actually spoke about the early missionaries. It was stated that Ajayi was administering his Diocese from here in Ota, let me put it that way, though it was not called Diocese then. Maybe they left only Lagos as he was administering a larger part of the churches then. Definitely, he was here and it was here he translated the bible from English Language to Yoruba language.”
At the popular First Storey building in Badagry, the curator took me through history. He told me that the foundation of the building was laid in 1842 and the building was actually completed in 1845. The building and the pictures of the Missionaries were shown to me. The curator when asked if the bible was translated in Badagry said, “Yes. The first English Bible brought to Badagry is still here”. He took me to an enclosed Bible case which contained the English and Yoruba Bible. He said further, “This is the first English Bible and the first printed Yoruba Bible. It was printed in Great Britain by Lowe & Brydone (Printer) Ltd. London. As you can see when coming in, the well outside was dug in 1842 to facilitate the work on the site of the first storey building in Nigeria. We had to put the two Bibles in a glass frame and locked it because people that came to see it have started tampering with the pages. Some of the pages are even torn.” He told me that the Bible took the revered Bishop just a year to translate and the evidence of the translated bible is the copy he is showing me. I wanted to know if actually that is the first bible and he said that he would have opened the bible case for me to see, read the printed date and the signature on it, but the key is now with the Bishop of Badagry Diocese who is not around for now.
Read Also:
At the palace of His Majesty, De Wheno Aholu Menu Toyi 1, Oba Akran of Badagry, I met the monarch and the Setenme of Badagry, Gbonugan (Chief) Sehubo Ajose-Harrison, the Secretary-General to the Royal Council and Chief du Cabinet of Badagry. After been ushered into the palace by Prince Senyon Akran, I asked if the English Bible was actually translated to Yoruba Language in Badagry. Oba Akran sat silently without uttering a word, while the 83 years old, Ajose-Harrison stared at me for what seems like an eternity with the thick eye glasses before replying, “Do you have any other opinion? Were you not taught in elementary School about Bishop Ajayi Crowther and the bible translation?”. At that point, I told him about the Ota claims that it was said that the Bible was not actually translated in Badagry but in Ota. He asked, “Where in Ota?”. I replied that according to the programme I attended, it was said the Bible was translated at the second storey building in Ota. Oba Akran interjected, “They didn’t even said it is the first storey building?”. I replied, “No sir, but is it true that the bible was actually translated in 1842, as claimed when the programme was held in Ota”. Oba Akran retorted that, “It cannot be 1842 because the first storey building was in 1845! They (the missionaries) arrived in 1842.”
Ajose-Harrison silently said that, “I’m not sure that those who are talking know the meaning of storey building. The Britons called it ground floor while Americans called it first floor. The Second one refers to by the Britons as first storey is known by the Americans as the second floor. It is because we are used to the Britons, that is the reason for calling it First storey building. There is difference between the Americans and Queen’s English. What we have in Badagry and known as the First Storey building in Nigeria was built in 1845. What I’m explaining now is that the first ground floor and storey building in Nigeria was built here in 1845. That which you are talking about now, I don’t understand.”
Speaking further on the issue, he said, “The building was completed in 1845! There were no records anywhere that the Bible was translated before then. The preaching of the gospel was first done outside on 24 Sept, 1842 at the place now known as Agia Complex in Badagry”. Oba Akran asked Prince Senyon to bring the picture of Bishop Ajayi Crowther in the palace at this junction.
Oba Akran said that Bishop Ajayi Crowther has a study room in that First Storey Building. Ajose-Harrison added that the place is called ‘scriptorium’. Oba Akran said that the bible translation was done inside the scriptorium by Bishop Ajayi Crowther who was a Reverend at that time. Ajose-Harrison said that the CMS was not even in Nigeria as at that time. Oba Akran added that, “we had 170 years of Christianity in Nigeria recently, Bishop Ademowo, the Dean of the Anglican Church in Nigeria was at our Cathedral for the ceremony.” Ajose-Harrison asked rhetorically that, “Does it mean that Ademowo as one of the head of the Anglican Churches in Nigeria does not know the history of the church in Nigeria?” He spoke further that, “Even the Primate of the Anglican Church, Arch Bishop Okoh I’ve not heard him says such things either now or in the past that the bible was translated in Ota nor has he come out to say that he heard it in the history of the Anglican Church that the bible was translated in Ota. The church in Ota was not built before that of Badagry nor was it the first church built in the country. The first one built was in Badagry like I said earlier and it was in 1845 and in the scriptorium was where Rev Ajayi Crowther translated the bible into Yoruba. I feel that you should ask Fadina if the church in Ota was built before that of Lagos Cathedral.”
Oba Akran added, “the Bible was translated not only into Yoruba but also into Nupe by Rev Ajayi Crowther who is from Osogun close to Iseyin understand the Nupe Language too. He is a Nupe man.” Delving into history, Oba Akran said, “Rev Henry Townsend came in to Badagry in December 1842, three months after the arrival of Thomas Birch Freeman.” Ajose-Harrison supporting the monarch said, “the first Christmas celebrated by the Missionaries some will say it was in Abeokuta, or some other places. Truly, they are missionaries, but the first Christmas was celebrated in Badagry. Freeman went to Abeokuta and met Townsend when he came back to Badagry before Christmas where they celebrated the first Christmas together”.
The monarch, Oba Akran said that the Ota then resisted Christianity and as such was called Ota, meaning enemies of Missionaries. He said that, “Abeokuta too claims to have the first bible in Nigeria given to them by the Queen. When did Queen give them the bible? Does it mean that the Missionaries that came into Nigeria then did not come with Bible?”
When I contacted Rt. Rev Dr Akin Atere, the Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of Awori and asked if it is true that the English Bible was translated into Yoruba Bible in Ota by Bishop Ajayi Crowther? When did Bishop Ajayi Crowther actually arrive at Ota? When did he leave Ota? How long did it take him to translate the Bible from English to Yoruba? Are there any proofs or records to show that the Bible was actually translated in Ota? Is it true that the second storey building sited at St Andrew Anglican Church, Ota was actually built in 1842?
He replied, “I may not have enough time to give a comprehensive report but the first established fact is that Bishop Ajayi Crowther was an itinerant preacher and missionary. Therefore, one may not tie him dawn to a place for the entire translation, that is why many places can claim this glory. For instance, Badagry also has it as part of their history, there is also a claim in Lokoja as well as his home town in Osoogun(close to Iseyin)in Oyo State. There could be elements of truth in all our claim since it might have taking some times to complete the exercise. Oral history had it that the bishop spent some time at Ota on his way to Abeokuta and also Ota was a transitory stopover to Lagos, Abeokuta and neighbouring countries. Our assurance is also based on the fact that some white men who were Crowther contemporaries were buried beside the 2nd story building, evidence are on ground till today. The actual time of his arrival may be difficult to ascertain but the probability can be got from the elders or the obas. As to whether there is proof, the closest is the discovery of old written materials that supposedly used by him, unfortunately it was not preserved. Some of the things that would have authenticated some of what we are looking for are now lost into history because importance was not attached to antique, even Government did not showed interest early enough. Our people also are poor in record keeping. I cannot say specifically when the 2nd storey was built, but I doubt 1842 because if the missionary left Badagry for Abeokuta in December 26 of same year, I’m not sure if the history is correct but it could be between 1943/4.”
Questions are still begging for answers because if the Anglican Bishop in charge of the Ota church can state that the second storey building was not built in 1842 as written on the building in Ota, the seat that Prince Femi Fadina claimed to be that of Bishop Ajayi Crowther which was the only evidence of his presence in Ota as at date, can that be true? Bishop Ajayi Crowther lived between 1809-1892! Is it only in Badagry that the Bible was actually translated according to the monarch and others whose believe were that the Bible was translated in the scriptorium room? How long does it take Bishop Ajayi Crowther to translate the Bible into Yoruba language?
First published in Nigeria Compass 2011
