Samuel Ajayi Crowther

Ajayi was born around 1809 in Osogun (modern Oyo State). Captured by Fulani slave raiders at age twelve during the collapse of the Oyo Empire, he was sold to Portuguese slavers. In 1822, the British Royal Navy intercepted the slave vessel, liberating Ajayi and resettling him in Freetown, Sierra Leone, where he was baptized Samuel Crowther.

Showing exceptional intellectual aptitude, Crowther was educated at Fourah Bay College and later in London. Ordained an Anglican priest, he participated in the British Niger Expeditions of 1841 and 1854. A brilliant linguist, he published the first grammar of the Yoruba language and translated the Anglican Book of Common Prayer and the Holy Bible into Yoruba. In 1864, he was consecrated Bishop of West Africa at Canterbury Cathedral, pioneering indigenous church administration across the Niger territory.