03/03/2021
The Coming of CMS in Ngwo Clan:
"The initial attempt at the establishment of Christianity in the Agbaja area of Old Udi
Division was in 1913 when Chief Onyeama (the paramount ruler of Eke and the speaker/head of all the warrant chiefs in Agbaja area where Ngwo belong requested Mr. N.C Duncan, the British colonial officer at Udi to help him transmit the white man's knowledge and wisdom to his people by way of establishing a church and a school at Eke where the indigenous people would be instructed in English Language. Chief Onyeama had travelled with Mr. Duncan to London for the Empire Day celebration on the 24th of May 1912. He was fascinated at the level of development he saw and decided to replicatesame in his home town. In that regard, Mr. Duncan, (himself an adherent of CMS) invited Rev. G.T Basden who was in the period, the education secretary of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in Onitsha Province, for inspection and establishment of a school. Rev. Basden posted Rev. Daws after the inspection to open a CMS church and school at Eke. After the establishment of the school, Rev. Daws decided to instruct the natives in the Igbo
language instead of the English language and every effort made to change the did not work. Owing to this, Chief Onyeama did not only stop Rev. Daws and the operations of CMS but proscribed its establishment in the whole of Agbaja Area. That same year, (1913), he (Chief Onyeama) invited Rev. Father Joseph Shanahan of the Roman Catholic Mission (RCM) who established RCM church and that is, St. Paul's Catholic Church and School at Eke. That was why the CMS did not have a strong presence, especially in the Northern Agbaja area up to Affa and Akpakwume/Nze.
In 1917 conscious effort was made both by Mr. Duncan and Rev. G.T Basden to see if CMS can be re-established in Agbaja Area, this time at Enugu-Ngwo. Coal mining operations which started in 1914 and the activities of the Eastern Railway and even the influx of other European firms had transformed Enugu-Ngwo. The influx of people from all parts of the country and even beyond had transformed the town into a plural society. The Warrant Chiefs of Ngwo, under the leadership of Chief Onyeama still oversaw the affairs of Enugu-Ngwo Township. In 1915 Rev Basden met with Mr Duncan requesting him to use his position as the District Officer to help establish CMS in Enugu Ngwo. Duncan fearing that Chief Onyeama who equally doubled as the colonial government's land agent in Enugu-Ngwo might detect the presence of CMS if opened in Enugu-Ngwo township preferred establishing it in Enugu-Ngwo village where their activities can be concealed. The chiefs were divided in accepting the proposal for the establishment of a C.M.S outpost especially, those loyal to Chief Onyeama. Ozo Chime Ukwuani, the Warrant Chief, representing Ekagbani which was comprised of Enugu, Etiti, and Amachalla bowed to the pressure of the protagonists and quickly contacted Ozo Nnadi Nwagu who promptly released his compound for its establishment. Rev. Isaac Uzowulu Ejindu who had taken over from Rev. Daws was invited to start a CMS church in Enugu-Ngwo on the 17th of January, 1917" - Ani, Uchenna S. Ph.D., MHSN&
Ezeonwuka Innocent-Franklyn O. Ph.D., MHSN
