This is the phenomenal story of one of the most important Christian thinkers in African history. In this biography, Ayodeji Abodunde traces the remarkable career of Mojola Agbebi, one of the most important intellectuals in West Africa in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Agbebi was the most forceful writer, pamphleteer, and debater in Lagos in his time, and his intellectual exertions were significant in shaping the cultural, political, and religious discourse of the city.

He was an outstanding preacher and one of the most successful Christian evangelists of his day, and he wrote extensively about Christian missions in West Africa. Another major focus of his writing was the upliftment of Africans everywhere, socially, politically, and economically, and he boldly countered the arguments of scientific racism and repudiated notions of European cultural superiority prevalent in his day.

This fascinating account explores several of his poems; his thoughts on the European Christian missionary enterprise in West Africa; his writings on colonialism; and his exertions in the cause of the development of indigenous literature. This biography also discusses his visit to the United States in 1903 and his observations on race relations there.

Mojola Agbebi’s career recorded many firsts: he was one of the pioneers of the first indigenous church in Nigeria; he established one of the first independent private schools in Lagos; he was the first Nigerian to visit a sitting United States President in the White House; he was a founder of the first anti-secret society in Lagos; and he was the one who initiated the celebration of Mothers’ Day in Nigeria.