Obadiah Johnson,

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

(1849–1920, born in

Freetown, Sierra Leone Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...

) was a Saro who was both the second

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

to qualify as a medical doctor and the co-author, with his brother the Reverend

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

, of ''A History of the Yorubas from the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the British Protectorate''.

Life

Johnson was of a

liberated African The liberated Africans of Sierra Leone, also known as recaptives, were Africans who had been illegally enslaved onboard slave ships and rescued by anti-slavery patrols from the West Africa Squadron of the Royal Navy. After the British Parliament ...

or ''recaptive'' family that was originally from

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

and was an

Omoba Oba means ″ruler″ in the Yoruba language, Yoruba and Bini languages of West Africa. Kings in Yorubaland, a region which is in the modern republics of Benin, Nigeria and Togo, make use of it as a pre-nominal honorific. Examples of Yoruba beare ...

of the Kingdom of Oyo as a descendant of Alaafin Abiodun. He graduated from the

University of Edinburgh Medical School The University of Edinburgh Medical School (also known as Edinburgh Medical School) is the medical school of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and the United Kingdom and part of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. It was esta ...

with an M.B., C.M. degree in 1886 and his M.D. in 1889. From 1890 to 1897 he was the Chief Medical Officer in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

. Although this achievement of his was a milestone in history, he became famous only for tackling another monumental undertaking. In 1897 his older brother, the Reverend Samuel Johnson, completed a major work on the history of the

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 ...

s but, in Dr. Johnson's own words, "A singular misfortune...befell the original manuscripts of this history, in consequence of which the author never lived to see in print his more than 20 years of labour." The manuscripts were sent to an English publisher in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, through a missionary society in 1899 but, "nothing more was heard of them". In 1900, Johnson visited England and called on the publisher who told him he misplaced the manuscripts and, "that they could not be found, and that he was prepared to pay for them." Although Dr. Johnson smelt a rat immediately, he and his brother decided to "let the subject rest there." The original author, Samuel Johnson, died a year later on 29 April 1901. Thus, Dr. Obadiah Johnson had "to rewrite the whole history anew from the copious notes and rough copies left behind by the author". In August 1901, Dr. Johnson was appointed an unofficial member of the Legislative Council of the Colony of Lagos. He then acted as an unofficial adviser, as in 1903 when there was a crisis over the payment of the tolls that were collected from traders by native rulers, although Europeans were exempted. The alternative was to replace the tolls by a subsidy. Governor

William MacGregor Sir William MacGregor, (20 October 1846 – 3 July 1919)R. B. Joyce,', ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 5, Melbourne University Press, 1974, pp 158–160. Retrieved 29 September 2009 was a Lieutenant-Governor of British New Guine ...

requested views from

Christopher Sapara Williams Chief Christopher Alexander Sapara Williams (14 July 1855 – 15 March 1915) was the first indigenous Nigerian lawyer, called to the English bar on 17 November 1879. In addition to his legal practice, he came to play an influential role in the ...

Charles Joseph George Charles Joseph George (before 1881 – 1906) was a successful SaroA "Saro" was a freed Sierra Leonean slave, of Nigerian origin, who had returned to Nigeria. trader who was appointed a member of the Legislative Council of the Lagos Colony from 18 ...

and Obadiah Johnson as indigenous opinion leaders. All were in favor of retaining the tolls to avoid upsetting the rulers. Dr. Johnson died in London in 1920 and the book, ''A History of the Yorubas from the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the British Protectorate'', was published in London in 1921 by George Routledge and Sons. This book is recognized worldwide as a pioneering historical study and a book of great merit, which sealed the two Johnsons' places in history.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Obadiah 1920 deaths 1849 births Fourah Bay College alumni Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of King's College London Sierra Leone Creole people Yoruba physicians 19th-century Nigerian medical doctors 20th-century Nigerian people Yoruba royalty Saro people Deaths in England Abiodun family History of Lagos People of colonial Nigeria