Mojola Agbebi (1860–1917) was a Nigerian

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

minister. He was formerly named David Brown Vincent, but during the wave of

African nationalism African nationalism is an umbrella term which refers to a group of political ideologies in sub-Saharan Africa, which are based on the idea of national self-determination and the creation of nation states.Yorubaland Yorubaland () is the homeland and cultural region of the Yoruba people in West Africa. It spans the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Togo and Benin, and covers a total land area of 142,114 km2 or about 60% of the land area of Ghana. Of this ...

and in the

Niger Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitical ...

. Agbebi was the son of a Yoruba

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

catechist Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the ...

, and was born shortly after his "Saro" father returned from

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

to his homeland with the gospel. He left the CMS (the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...

) in 1880 and became a Baptist around 1883. He played a prominent role in the March 1888 establishment of the Native Baptist Church (now the First Baptist Church) in Lagos, which was the first indigenous church in West Africa. Agbebi was a part of Ebenezer Baptist Church, Lagos, which was formed as result of a dispute within the First Baptist Church when American missionary Rev. W. J. David fired Rev. Moses Ladejo Stone, the native pastor. David rebuffed requests for an explanation by a delegation and by the church business meeting, claiming that he had the authority to dismiss Stone. Agbebi was an apostle of

ecumenism Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

. In 1898 he founded the African Baptist Union of West Africa, and in 1914 he started the

Yoruba Baptist Association The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

. He also supported his wife's efforts in establishing the nationwide Baptist Women's League in 1919. He was also politically active, and presented a paper at the 1911 First

Universal Races Congress The First Universal Races Congress met in 1911 for four days at the University of London as an early effort at anti-racism. Speakers from a number of countries discussed race relations and how to improve them. The congress, with 2,100 attendees, ...

in London.

References

Nigerian Baptists 19th-century Baptist ministers 20th-century Baptist ministers Yoruba Christian clergy 1860 births 1917 deaths 19th-century Nigerian clergy 20th-century Nigerian clergy {{Nigeria-Christian-clergy-stub