Hello ,

It’s been a while since you heard from me about the Bishop Crowther Project. The team and I had to take a break, first to review all the materials we have so far collected – in the archives and on the field. 

Plus, we all had to attend to other private and professional commitments. 

The good news is that we got back on the road late last month, visiting Ibadan and Osoogun (Bishop Crowther’s home town). 

The good news is that we got back on the road late last month, visiting Ibadan and Osoogun (Bishop Crowther’s home town). 

In Ibadan we interviewed Professor Femi Osofisan, whose play ‘Ajayi Crowther: The Triumps and Travails of a Legend” had its world premiere at the Law School auditorium in April 2002 – that’s 200 years to the time Crowther was freed and shipped to Freetown.

We also had the honour of interviewing Dr Tunde Adegbola – Executive Director at African Languages Technology Initiatives (Alt-i). Among other things, he helped put in context the issue of Crowther’s translation of the Bible into Yoruba and the Satan/ Esu conundrum. 

These two important interviews done, we then travelled to Osoogun to see the town destroyed when the young Ajayi and several others were taken as slaves. We had interviews with the Baale and other traditional elders of the community. 

Pelu Awofeso and Prof. Femi Osofisan

Dr. Tunde Adegbola in an interview session with Pelu Awofeso

We were led to the home of Crowther’s parents and what’s left of it.  

Remarkably, what used to be a living, bustling community of 12,000 people and enclosed by a wall and five gates is now a field of corn. 

I’ll go into more detail about all these encounters. Going forward, however, the newsletter will only go out to donors and individuals who have signed up to receive updates on the project through the newsletter. 

If you haven’t and would love to so so, kindly subscribe to our newsletter

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If you would like to watch the Crowther short film selected and screened at the irep International Documentary Film Festival earlier this year,

Click Here!

All the work we have done in the past nine months have been made possible by the kind support of donors. We do need more to keep going until the documentary is done. You may send us a donation using the following bank details: 

Homestead Nig Ent

United Bank for Africa (UBA)

Acct No: 1015558184

Thank you. 

Pelu Awofeso