The Emirs and the Visits of Christian Missions in Ilorin Muslim Emirate of Northern Nigeria, 1823 – 1900

This article traces the genesis of the Emirs of Ilorin Emirate encounter with the Christian Missions. The Emirs were ‘head bent’ in protecting their domain against the Christian missionary’s incursion. They did this not because they hated Christianity but because they followed the instructions and general directives tenaciously in line with the Sokoto caliphate to run away from religious rivalry, competition particularly, Christianity and for fear of conversion. Thus, we have noted that each of the Emirs’ played the role of defensor fedei in his emirate and as such he could not willy – nilly allow missionaries to proselytize. One remarkable thing about Emirs with the Christian missions’ encounter was the level of friendliness and display of knowledge in their various doctrinal expositions. It is against this background that we examine the Emirs and the visits of the Christian Missions in Ilorin Emirate, C. 1823 – 1900. The author made use of both the primary and secondary sources. In particular, the study relied on eye witness account of the Christian Missions. In addition, travellers’ records were also utilized with secondary materials and used for chronologic and thematic analysis. Keywords: Emirs of Ilorin, Christian Missions, Doctrinal Encounter, Christianity, Islam and Caliph Directives.