That same year, William R. Brown, a Jamaican, entered the West African scene. He came from Trinidad, which had been his base for preaching throughout the Caribbean. Having given a witness in most of the islands there, he was invited by J. F. Rutherford, the president of the Watch Tower Society, to ‘proceed to Sierra Leone, West Africa, with wife and child.’

From there he visited Nigeria in November 1923 and gave his first lecture at the Glover Memorial Hall. During this brief visit he also distributed hundreds of Watch Tower publications in business houses and government offices. W. R. Brown was again in Lagos in 1926, this time lecturing to overflowing crowds at the Glover Memorial Hall. On this trip he also encouraged Brothers Namikpoh and Owenpa to widen out the scope of their preaching activity. Brother Owenpa later wrote:

“Brother W. R. Brown invited me to enter colporteur service [now pioneering] and I resigned from the railway . . . July 1, 1927. I started colporteur work the same date. He gave me Scriptural instructions and encouragement by calling my attention to Philippians 1:28 (Weymouth): ‘Never for a moment quail before your antagonists. Your fearlessness will be to them a sure token of impending destruction, but to you it will be a sure token of your salvation.’”

Thus Vincent Samuels from America and two West Indians named Brown played important roles in the early stages of the work in Nigeria. A good start was made and the work continued to grow.

“BLACK” BROWN AND “BIBLE” BROWN

Claude Brown came to be known as “Black” Brown. William Brown was called “Bible” Brown, for, as he himself wrote: “When lecturing I always used lantern slides, enabling me to flash every Scripture text on the screen and then explain it.” It was first in Sierra Leone that he was called “Bible” Brown, because he was fond of saying, “Not Brown says, but the Bible says.”

Regarding the religious leaders, William Brown wrote: “At the time the public had little regard for what they called ‘the white man’s religion.’ It was appropriate that I speak at the Glover Memorial Hall on the failure of Christendom’s religion. Accordingly I advertised the lecture in the three leading newspapers. A Catholic editor submitted my write-up to Dr. Moses Da Rocha, who wrote a letter and had it published alongside my ad. He urged the government of Nigeria to prohibit my meetings or at least send policemen to preserve the peace. He appealed to various religious leaders in Lagos to send their ablest representatives to my meeting and smash to pieces my ‘heretical theses.’ Policemen and many church representatives did show up.

“Throughout the exposé of Christendom the audience interrupted with applause. When the meeting was opened to questions, the son of an Anglican clergyman asked two questions, which were answered, and attempted a third, whereupon I said: ‘Please sit down and allow others to ask.’ . . . I closed the meeting, offering them the paper-covered Deliverance book. . . . They emptied all the cartons . . . and even came to my home that night for more . . . 3,900 books! They went far and wide placing them with their neighbors.”

LAGOS BECOMES A HEADQUARTERS

Recognizing that the Nigerian field seemed more fertile than any other West African country at the time, William Brown transferred his residence to Lagos by the end of 1930.

The convention’s news pamphlet, The Messenger, carried this report from Brother Brown:

“A vigorous witness is being given [in West Africa]. The little band here travels over 2,000 miles [3,200 km] along the coast by steamships and other means of conveyance. They also travel by train and car over 700 miles [1,130 km] into the interior. Although more than half the population in this vast area is illiterate, yet it’s surprising to see how readily the reading community purchase the books, in order to know something about God and the Bible.”

W. R. Brown traveled extensively to give public lectures and get the Kingdom work started in new places. He wrote: “I never felt at home sitting in the chair in the office for any length of time. I would budget my time so that I could be out . . . delivering the good news orally and by printed page. . . .

“When entering a village . . . I would go to the chief and invite him to attend the lecture to be given in front of his compound. It was not uncommon for the chief to send a man around the village advertising the talk with a bell. The chief’s people would spread a large carpet for him and place a chair on it. There he would sit with a man holding an umbrella over him and sometimes a man with a large ostrich fan keeping him cool. Thousands would attend.”

‘IN NO RESPECT FRIGHTENED BY OPPONENTS’

As Brothers Brown, Ogunfowoke, Adediji, and Owenpa moved about the country they were now running into much opposition. When Brother Brown visited Ilesha in 1931, the assistant district officer threw him out of the catering rest house and confiscated all of his books. When the governor in Lagos took up the matter, having had a complaint lodged by Brother Brown, the Resident blamed his officers, apologized, and returned the books. However, religious opposition increased against the fledgling group of Bible students.