The Contextualization Attempt at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
The beginning of the twentieth century witnessed a bogus attempt at contextualization that has sometimes been historically lumped with the African church movement. This was the founding of the “Christian Ogboni Fraternity.” The Ogboni secret society is an ancient institution in Yorubaland, thought to have originated in Ile-Ife. In the nineteenth century, it was deeply rooted in Yoruba culture and was prominent among the Egba and the Ijebu. The Ogboni played a dominant role in the legal aspect of government and in policy and law-making functions, and it was very influential in the administration of the Oyo Kingdom from the nineteenth century.
Colonial Suspicion and Early Christian Attempts
The colonial authorities in Lagos viewed the society with suspicion because it had similar characteristics with the Freemasons in Europe, and they were determined to wipe it out in an attempt to prevent any subversion of British authority in Yorubaland. The first attempt at “Christianizing” the Ogboni was made in Abeokuta by Isaac Olufusibi Coker and some others, during the last quarter of the twentieth century, founding a Christian Ogboni fraternity. The fraternity, however, ceased to exist before the end of the century. Thomas A. Ogunbiyi of the Anglican Church would revive this vision and firmly establish it.
Thomas Ogunbiyi’s Early Life and Ministry Training
Ogunbiyi, in his youth, intended to become either a tailor or a carpenter; but for some reason he eventually ventured into farming. His father, Jacob Ogunbiyi, wanted him to be a minister of the gospel, but Thomas was not interested in this. Jacob Ogunbiyi was the first indigenous chief of Lagos Island to be converted to the Christian faith, and he afterwards donated the building for Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Ebute Ero. Seeing that he could not persuade his son to become a preacher, Jacob Ogunbiyi sent him to be trained as a printer. Later on, through James Johnson’s influence and a promise by his father to send him to Fourah Bay College, Thomas Ogunbiyi eventually agreed to become a minister. He therefore attended the CMS training institution from 1886 to 1889 and was thereafter sent to Ondo as a teacher. In 1893, he went to Fourah Bay College where he obtained a diploma in theology. Despite his ministerial training, Ogunbiyi remained very sympathetic towards Yoruba traditional religion. In 1900, he tried to start what he called the “Christian Ogboni” but was dissuaded from doing so by other Anglican ministers.
Inspiration from Travels and Freemasonry
In 1912, he visited Egypt, Palestine and England, where he observed Eastern mystical religions and Freemasonry first-hand, and decided thereupon to actualize his plan of a Christian Ogboni society. On returning to Nigeria, he joined one of the Masonic lodges in Lagos, and by 1914, he had become district chaplain; but he was not satisfied with the imitation of a foreign practice. He wanted something indigenous, so he decided to reform the traditional Ogboni cult.
Formation of the Christian Ogboni Society
In December 1914, Ogunbiyi, along with W. B. Euba (a former minister of the Methodist Mission) and others, formed the Christian Ogboni Society. Then, on a fixed day, Ogunbiyi invited the traditional Ogboni cult members to initiate them into the society at a service at the Ebute Ero Anglican Church. The new society was declared to be for Christians only. Euba told one missionary, “The fraternity will be found as time goes on, not of a vicious and dangerous movement, but as a handmaid, a loyal and faithful ally of all missionary enterprise and an indispensable auxiliary to Christian efforts.
Tale Tuesday 022
Date: 20th December, 2022
Title: Christian Ogboni Fraternity- part 1
Source: A Heritage of Faith: A History of Christianity in Nigeria
Author: Ayodeji Abodunde
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