Ghost stories, history haunt Nigeria’s oldest storey buildingBy Eugene Agha, Lagos | Publish Date: Jan 29 2016 11:00PM | Updated Date: Jan 29 2016 11:01PMThe charming, white, one-story building, with its corrugated iron sheet roof overlooking the marina waterfront, is the most famous mission house in Badagry, Lagos State. While being the source of ghost stories, it has continued to attract many tourists from Nigeria, and beyond.
Ghost stories, history haunt Nigeria’s oldest storey building
Nigeria first storey building in Badagry
It is known as the first storey building in Nigeria, because its foundation was said to have been laid in 1842 by the early missionaries. Completed in 1845, it is also famous because it is a place where returnee slaves settled, giving rise to a thriving society that bubbles with life till this day.
Here, there abound ghost stories told of spirits of tortured slaves, clanking their chains at night in remembrance of the awful punishment they suffered in the hands of merciless masters. The tales, sometimes told by residents dramatically, have claims of sightings. The reported hauntings are of people seeing, feeling and even hearing the ghosts of missionaries singing gloriously. There are even unconfirmed reports that Reverend Townsend and Crowther have been sighted around the area.
Behind every ghost story, is an object for it to anchor on. So there also are many relics from the slavery period, found around the area after the abolition of the trade, now housed in a museum not too far from the first storey building. The house itself was said to have been built by early missionaries who arrived the marina waterfront on December 17, 1842. Twenty three of them who were led by Reverend Henry Townsend arrived the shores of Badagry, from England.
On arrival, they found some locals whose main occupations were fishing and farming. They settled among the locals, and without a place to worship, the missionaries proceeded to plant a tree, from where they first preached the gospel. On December 25, 1842, the missionaries celebrated their first Christmas in Badagry. It is said that the friendliness of the missionaries attracted famous voodoo worshippers who later embraced Christianity.
The foundation of the building was laid by the Rev. Henry Townsend of the Methodist Church, making it the first church in Nigeria. The building which served as vicarage for Saint Thomas Anglican Church and was later used by Samuel Ajayi Crowther, the first African C.M.S Bishop that translated the Holy Bible from English to Yoruba, has six rooms, two big sitting rooms, four stores and a safe where valuable items were kept. However, there was no toilet, bathroom or kitchen in the original construction work as those who lived in the house took their bath outside. Almost all the materials used for the construction work were sourced locally. It was learnt that two of the six rooms were given to the labourers while one was allocated to Mr. Cladius Phillips, the first teacher.
The mission house which was also used as school had about 40 students who were all men. These students started off the primary school. It was also learnt that the school which was established in 1845, soon after the completion of the mission house, was named Saint Thomas Primary School.
The average age of the students was put at 45. They spent 12 years in the school. All the teachers were said to have lived in the mission house for about 23 years.
One of the rooms was given to Samuel Ajayi Crowther, a returnee slave originally from Oyo State. Crowther was said to have been born in 1809. Captured at age 12, he was sold to Portuguese slave traders. While at sea, the Portuguese vessel was hijacked by the British Royal Navy. The ship carrying the slave was moved to Freetown, now known as Sierra-Leone. Here, most of the slaves worked under some missionaries, while Ajayi worked under Rev. Crowther, accounting for the reason why Ajayi later adopted his master’s name. Ajayi was said to have attended Furabay College in Freetown. He was also sent to the School of Theology in England and ordained a reverend in 1825.
From the outside, the structure looks old and weak, but the wooden staircase looks strong enough to allow for just two persons at a time. It leads to one of the two rooms located on the upper floor of the building where there is a glass case containing the English and Yoruba versions of the bible translated by Bishop Crowther.
It was said that the English Bible is 173- years-old while the Yoruba version is 170-years-old. Historians say the once-beautiful main door was hammered out of cast iron, and to protect occupants from intruders, the builders fixed strong frames painted in dingy brown-black.
Ezekiel Viavonu, a tour guide, said, “The early missionaries were Thomas Birch Freeman of the Methodist Church, England, and his assistant, Reverend Deegraft. In December 1942, Reverend Henry Townsend of the Christian Missionary Society also came to join them in Badagry to spread the gospel. They used to preach under a tree, and the Badagry Town Hall stands where the tree was once located. The ground floor still has some of the materials used for the building including the bricks, nails, the hinges to mount the doors and the corrugated sheets to roof the building. ‘1842’ is written on one of the corrugated sheets in one the rooms where the labourers was said to have stayed.”
The floors are connected by a wooden staircase which seems to require renovation. Another staircase leads to the upper floor from outside. There is also a well inside the compound which the guide said was dug in 1842, and helped provide drinking water for the community.
Viavonu added that there have been several attempts by the Lagos State government to take over the management of the property from the Anglican Church, but they were declined.
When experts compare the building’s design to some modern houses in Lagos, it is clear that there is an architectural connection. Nevertheless, the first storey building in the nation holds a significant place in the country’s history and if well-preserved, will remain a remarkable tourist attraction and historical landmark for as long as it stands.
http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/feature/ghost-stories-history-haunt-nigeria-s-oldest-storey-building/131391.html