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Christianity, Western Education and Development in Akwa Ibom State, 1846 – 2007
Abstract
The history of Christianity is the story of development. One of the most effective tools of evangelization used by the Christian missionaries is Western education. Therefore, the complex problem of development which faces Nigeria in general and Akwa Ibom State in particular since her creation out of Cross River State on September 23, 1987 demands a deeper understanding of Nigeria’s colonial relationship with Europe. The beginnings of that relationship go back to the 15th century, when the Portuguese Catholic Missionaries got to Benin and Warri, but it
was rather sporadic until the 19th century with the arrival of the Presbyterian Church at Calabar on April 10, 1846 led by the Rev. Hope Masterton Waddell. Other missionaries were to follow, notably: the Rev. (later Bishop) Samuel Ajayi Crowther who led a team of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) into the Niger in July, 1857 and Ikot Abasi, 1902. Pastor Samuel Alexander Bill in Ibeno in 1887; the Methodists,
in Oron in 1893 and the Lutherans in Ibesikpo in 19351. The relationship became much complex when Christian evangelism joined hands with European commercial and colonial enterprise. These three co-ordinated aspects of the Europeans – the missionaries, traders and colonial masters - largely shaped the making of modern Akwa Ibom State in particular and Nigeria in general2. They are vital threads of Akwa Ibom historical experience.
was rather sporadic until the 19th century with the arrival of the Presbyterian Church at Calabar on April 10, 1846 led by the Rev. Hope Masterton Waddell. Other missionaries were to follow, notably: the Rev. (later Bishop) Samuel Ajayi Crowther who led a team of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) into the Niger in July, 1857 and Ikot Abasi, 1902. Pastor Samuel Alexander Bill in Ibeno in 1887; the Methodists,
in Oron in 1893 and the Lutherans in Ibesikpo in 19351. The relationship became much complex when Christian evangelism joined hands with European commercial and colonial enterprise. These three co-ordinated aspects of the Europeans – the missionaries, traders and colonial masters - largely shaped the making of modern Akwa Ibom State in particular and Nigeria in general2. They are vital threads of Akwa Ibom historical experience.
