On November 1, 1886, the Baptist Academy, widely recognized as the first Baptist secondary school in Nigeria, was officially opened in Lagos on the Mission Compound, Broad Street.
The opening was led by Rev. William J. David, pastor of First Baptist Church, Lagos.
According to Mission records, the Academy traces its origin to 1855, when Rev. Joseph M. Harden, an African-American Baptist missionary, established an elementary school on land granted by Oba Dosunmu.
After three decades as a primary school, the mission expanded its educational work. In 1886, the secondary department was inaugurated on the Mission Compound, marking a major milestone for Baptist education in Nigeria.
Dr. Samuel Morohundiya Harden was appointed the first principal of the Academy.
At the time of opening, the primary section had 129 boys and 95 girls, while the new secondary section began with 14 boys and 3 girls.
The curriculum combined literacy, Christian character training, and vocational skills including carpentry for boys and sewing and needlework for girls.
The school later relocated its secondary arm to Obanikoro along Ikorodu Road, where it operates today, while the Broad Street site continued as W.J. David Memorial Baptist Primary School in honour of Rev. David.
The 1886 opening remains a landmark in the history of missionary education in Nigeria, coming four years before CMS Grammar School, Lagos, is often debated as Nigeria’s oldest secondary school.
