Samuel Johnson (Nigeria)

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Samuel Johnson (1846-1901) was an Anglican priest and historian of the Yoruba. Born in the Oyo area, Johnson claimed descent from Alaafin Abiodun of Oyo. He completed his education at the CMS Training Institute and did teaching while the Yoruba wars went on.

He was involved in peace efforts in the 1870s, leading to his work assisting the end of the Yoruba wars in 1886. In 1880, he became a deacon and in 1888 a priest. In 1897, he completed a work on Yoruba history. This is said to have been partly written because he feared his people were losing their own history, and knowing European history better. Ironically, this work was subsequently lost.

After his death, his brother, Dr. Obadiah Johnson, re-compiled it from his notes and so in 1921 A History of the Yorubas from the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the British Protectorate was finally published. Dr. Obadiah Johnson had died the previous year, so neither saw the book published in their lifetime. The work remains an important source for Yoruba history. It is at times a source of some controversy concerning it inspiring Yoruban nationalism and also his being an Anglican priest.

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