proposal oyo

8/12/2019 Proposal Oyo

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

The modern day Oyo, like other places in Yorubaland, was involved in

African Traditional Religions. However, the hristian faith successfully made an

in!road into Oyo territory in the "#$%s. onse&uently, the land which had been

resistant to foreign especially 'estern influences opened its gates to the

(uropeans, particularly )ritish e*plorers, soldiers, merchants and hristian

missionaries.

Today, hristianity is one of the most popular religions in Oyo +tate,

igeria. The religion was first introduced by -ortuguese traders in the mid!"$%%s,

but failed to take root. " The second wave of hristian missionary activity in

igeria started in the mid!" th century. Among the first missionaries were former

slaves from +ierra /eone proselyti0ing in igeria. These individuals established

missions in )adagry and Abeokuta in southwestern igeria. )ritish missionary

organi0ations such as the 'esleyan 1ethodist 1issionary +ociety and the

2Anglican3 hurch 1issionary +ociety also set up stations in the "#4%s. The

'esleyan 1ethodist 1issionary +ociety set up its first missionary station at

)adagry in "#45. Also present were the 6nited -resbyterian hurch of +cotland

" A7ayi, 8. 9. A. The Christian Missions in Nigeria, 18411891: The Making of a New Elite. (vanston, :ll.; orthwestern 6niversity -ress, "


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1ission in alabar and the +outhern )aptist onvention in :7aye. The atholic

+ociety of African missions, representing the atholic hurch, reached /agos and

Abeokuta in "#th century, Oyo e*tended its control to the ?ahomey (mpire 2in present!

day )enin3, Asante (mpire 2in present!day @hana 3, )orgu, and Tapas 2territory of

the upe3. The desire to e*tend into ?ahomey stemmed from Oyo s slave!raiding

activities. ontrolling )orgu was necessary to tap into the northern trade. Oyo

began losing territory in the ">#%s, when small Yoruba kingdoms, especially :lorin

, began to e*tricate themselves from Oyo control. Abiodun and O7igi were notable

Alaafin from that time period. The Oyo (mpire began to decline in the early " th

century and collapsed in "#==. = :n short, hristianity became well established in

Oyo after the fall of the Oyo (mpire.

5 8ohnson, +amuel. The History of the Yor !as fro" the Earliest Ti"es to the #eginning of the #ritish $rote%torate .Reprint. /agos; ++, 5%%".= /aw, Robin, The &yo E"'ire, % 1())18*(: + est +fri%an -"'erialis" in the Era of the +tlanti% la/e. TradeO*ford; larendon -ress, " >>.


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:n sum, hristianity took its root particularly in Abeokuta in the year "#4=

through the town of )adagry and from there to :badan in "#$" and also to :7aiye.

1issions were established in Ogbomoso and Oyo before the :7aiye war of "#


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iv. 'hat challenges were faced by the 1ethodist hurch, Apaara founding

fathersC

Ob$ect#%e! of the !tudy

(very research work is targeted towards the achievement of certain

ob7ectives. 9or this study, the proposed research ob7ectives are to;

i. (*amine the nature of traditional religion of the people of Oyo

ii. (*amine the historical origin of 1ethodist hurch as well as its

introduction into Oyo

iii. ?iscuss factors that contributed towards the growth of the church

iv. Analy0e the impact of the church on the land and the people of Apaara,

Oyo.

Sco&e of the !tudy

The work covers the history of 1ethodist hurch in Apaara, Oyo from its

foundation in "##> to 5%"5. The study cannot isolate the history of Apaara, its

people, traditional religion and the coming of :slam into the town. Hence, in one

part, the study begins with the people and move further to the introduction of

hristianity into Oyo in and then the coming of 1ethodist hurch in Apaara, Oyo

in the " th century.


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'#terature Re%#e(

)efore any historical research can be carried out, certain works or research similar

to such work in &uestion has to be considered. This is done, so as to 7ustify, critici0e or

add to the e*isting works on the sub7ect matter. +ome e*isting works are therefore

reviewed by the researcher in her work.

Reverend +amuel 8ohnson s work focuses on the History of the Yor !a , the book

discussed about the foundation of Oyo and its geostrategic importance to the Yoruba

people but the ma7or concern in this study is on 1ethodist church Apaara Oyo. However

the work is relevant in the area of early history of Oyo.

'illiston 'alker in + hort History of the Christian Ch r%h , talks about the

growth and birth of the hristian 1issions 2churches3 but fail to lay more emphasis on

the advent of 1ethodism in the country 2 igeria3 and its spread to Oyo, which has been

provided ade&uately in this work on the History of 1ethodist hurch, Apaara, Oyo.

Rt. Rev. Ayo /adigbolu in his work, focuses on the Roots of 1ethodism in :badan

?iocese, he gives account of the origin 2historical background3 of churches!1ethodist

churches in :badan diocese which includes Apaara circuit 2Apaara /ocal hurch3 but the

aspect touched in the study on the History of 1ethodist hurch Apaara, Oyo has unveilsome aspects that are briefed in the former work by Rt. Rev. Ayo /adigbolu but not

ade&uately covered since it goes beyond the period covered in the e*isting works, it

serves as a great contribution to other work on related topics.

The record from 1ethodist hurch, igeria during the foundation conference of

"


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1oreover, a programme of launcheon of ew hurch )uilding in the circuit

2present circuit3 of the church also contributed to the basic information needed by the

researcher but was not ade&uate in its informations. Therefore, this study has, without

mincing words, contributed greatly and widen the scope of understanding of interestedfuture researchers on related topics by giving ade&uate information on the contribution of

notable members of the church and activities 2attitudes3 of some hristian missionaries

towards the development of the church and its various achievements at different levels.

9inally, every church in every community has its own history. 'ithout the history

of the community and that of 1ethodist hurch Apaara, Oyo, the history of the Oyo

people and its environs and that of hristianity in Yoruba interior mission is not

completed. This then, form the 7ustification for the present study.

S#gn#f#cance of the !tudy

(very product of history is of great significance as our general knowledge

becomes widened. The first beneficiary of this study is the research student, whose

knowledge and understanding of the area of study is e&uipped. This study increases

our understanding of the origin and development of 1ethodist hurch Apaara,

Oyo on which much has not been written.

:n addition, the study of this nature would make it possible for general

readers, students of history and teachers to be familiar with how the church was

established.

:t will also help secure and safe guard the history of the church, keep it

documented for future reference instead of mouth to mouth which may suffer loss

of tangible information due to loss of memory.


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9inally, no successful historical research is a worthless e*ercise, the

interviewees will have their memories refreshed as a result of this work.

Re!earch )ethodo ogy

This study adopts the historical research methodology. This method is most

appropriate in studying the history of an organi0ation in a particular society. The

work depended largely on primary sources especially oral interviews collected

from the members of the hurch as well as from prominent persons of in Apaara

Town. +econdary source materials were also sourced to enrich the research work.

-ublished works on hristianity in Oyo were consulted to provide a scholarly

guideline on the historical evolution of the 1ethodist hurch in Oyo.


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S*NOPSIS O+ CHAPTER

CHAPTER ONEINTRODUCTION)ackground to the +tudy+tatement of the -roblemResearch DuestionsOb7ectives of the +tudy+cope of the +tudy/iterature Review+ignificance of the +tudyResearch 1ethodology

CHAPTER T,O

)ETHODIST CHURCH- APAARA- O*O IN HISTORICA'PERSPECTI.ES:ntroduction(arly Origin1ethodism in Oyo Town ?evelopment of the hurch

CHAPTER THREEI)PACT O+ THE CHURCH ON APAARA AND O*OReligious :mpact-olitical :mpact+ocial :mpact(conomic :mpactHumanitarian +ervices within the +ociety

CONC'USION

BIB'IO/RAPH*


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RE+ERENCES

A7ayi, 8. 9. A. The Christian Missions in Nigeria, 18411891: The Making of a New Elite. (vanston, :ll.; orthwestern 6niversity -ress, "

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