Onyeodo. Daniel Ogbonna (1885–1969)

Daniel Ogbonna Onyeodo was a Seventh-day Adventist pastor, evangelist, teacher, and church administrator from Aba in Eastern Nigeria. He mentored many young pastors and served in various places in Nigeria.

Early Life and Education

Daniel Onyeodo was born on January 15, 1885, in the Mgboko Obete Village in Obingwa Local Government Area, Abia State, Nigeria. He was born into the family of the late Mr. and Mrs. Onyeodo Evo of Umuoriaku Kindred in Mgboko Obete, Obingwa Local Government Area, Abia State.

Onyeodo had his early education at the government school in Aba, and he graduated in 1916. Because he was an intelligent student, he served as an assistant (student) teacher in the same school in 1916. In 1922, at the age of 35, he was introduced to Pastor Jesse C. Clifford by C. H. Dede, a worker in the government school, Aba. At that point, Jesse Clifford needed a local interpreter to assist in his missionary work in the Igbo land and to communicate with his Ngwa audience. In an effort to resolve this issue, Pastor Daniel Ogbonna Onyeodo and C. H. Dede assembled a team of outstanding students from the government school to work with Pastor Jesse Clifford, particularly regarding interpretations.

This team of interpreters organized for Jesse Clifford was comprised of Philip Emelefu Onwere of Umuobari Obete, Josiah Evo of Ohuru Amaisi, Robert Abaribe of Ohuru Amaisi, Adaelu of (Abayi) Umuakpara, and S. W. Ubaniukoma of Umuohia Ahiaba Ancient Kingdom.

Onyeodo was not born as a Seventh-day Adventist. He was a convert through Pastor Jesse Clifford’s missionary work in Eastern Nigeria. He accepted the Sabbath message in the missionary school established by Jesse Clifford to get his first contacts of prospects in Aba. Among those who accepted the Sabbath message with Onyeodo were Josiah Evo, Robert Abaribe, Philip Onwere, Mr. Adaelu, A. J. Dike, and Mr. Dinneya.

These new converts, including B. I. Tikili, Obadiah Ahamba, and others, joined those who accepted the Adventist message while in Sierra Leone, forming the first Seventh-day Adventist nucleus in Aba. Onyeodo’s committed services led to the first Seventh-day Sabbath worship conducted in Ngwa Land, held in Umuola, Aba in April 1923, marking the official beginning of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Eastern Nigeria.¹

Family

Onyeodo married Rhoda Wawucha Wamaghinna of Akpaa Osokwa kindred in Osisioma Local Government Area of Abia State in 1918. They had a son, Jacob Onyeodo.

After obtaining his First School Leaving Certificate in 1916, Onyeodo worked in the government school in Aba before joining the full-time ministry as a Seventh-day Adventist pastor in East Nigeria Mission.

Ministry

Pastor Onyeodo began his ministry as a teacher in Jesse Clifford’s Missionary School in Aba, which served as the platform for the mission work of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Aba territory. He became one of the first group of pastors to serve in the Aba Headquarters Church. This was the closest Adventist Church he pastored within the former East Nigeria Conference.

He served more as a missionary to many unentered villages and communities in the Eastern Region and beyond. He mostly accompanied Pastor Jesse Clifford on his missionary tours and assignments in Nigeria.

Pastor Onyeodo served as a local church pastor in Adenoma, Degema, Nchia Eleme, and Ahoada, all in Rivers State, Nigeria. He also served as a local church pastor in places such as Ile-Ife, and Ibadan in Western Nigeria from 1950 to 1954.

Pastor Onyeodo also served in areas such as Kafanchan, Kaduna, Jos, Maiduguri, and Ila in northern Nigeria from 1954 to 1956. He trained many people who became teachers, ministers, and civil servants for the Adventist Church and the local society.²

Retirement and Passing

Pastor Daniel Ogbonna Onyeodo returned home from missionary work in 1957 at 72 years of age. He still continued to be useful to the Adventist Church in the East Nigeria Mission. Upon his retirement, he served on different local church committees and sponsored many local church evangelistic meetings until he died in 1969 at the age of 84 years old.

Legacy

Pastor Daniel Ogbonna Onyeodo’s work as the first Ngwa interpreter to Jesse Clifford helped propagate the gospel in Nigeria. He sponsored the education of more than 20 young men who were not his relatives except by faith and belief. His good works and services continue to bear good fruits in all the villages and places he pastored in Nigeria. His ministry was across cultures, tribes, and tongues.³

Sources

“History of Seventh-day Adventist Church in Eastern States of Nigeria.” Golden Jubilee

Celebration, January 1973. In the author’s private collections.

Notes

1. Jacob Onyeodo, a Seventh-day Adventist Church member and first son of late D. O. Onyeodo, an interview session conducted by the author at Aba, January 15, 2024.↩

2. “History of Seventh-day Adventist Church,” Golden Jubilee Celebration, January 1973.↩

3. Grant Chinweze Emenike, church pastor and Stewardship Director, Aba East Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, in an interview with the author conducted on January 10, 2024.↩