God’s Battle Axe – Hope Waddell

In the city of Calabar, Cross River State, Southern Nigeria, stands one of oldest colleges in Africa, Hope Waddell Institution. This college has produced many great minds in the continent and beyond. Missionaries from the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland founded it in 1895. Today, it symbolises the great work done in the city by Hope Masterton Waddell, a clergyman from Ireland. The institution was named after him after his death.

Waddell was born in Ireland on November 14, 1804 to Susan and Alexander Waddell, both members of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. The young Waddell expressed an early interest in joining the ministry, but was discouraged because of his speech impediment. At age 17, he apprenticed with a druggist before leaving in 1822, to prepare for missionary work. The Scottish Missionary Society eventually accepted him as a candidate in 1825.

After he was ordained as a clergy in 1829, he married Jessie Simpson and together they embarked on a mission trip to Jamaica with the Church of Scotland Mission. Here he worked with the enslaved population of Cornwall until 1831, when the Baptist War slave revolt broke out. Many blamed the revolt on the presence of Christians who allegedly gave the slaves ideas about equality and freedom. He remained in Jamaica until 1834 when his wife’s poor health compelled him to return to Ireland.

 In 1845, Waddell gained approval of the Church of Scotland Mission to move to Calabar for missionary work. In 1846, he arrived in Old Calabar accompanied by some black members of his congregation in Jamaica, who wished to carry the gospel to their native land. The mission later moved to Creek Town in 1847, where the team worked to educate the local population and convert them to Christianity. Waddell also attempted to stop the practice of infanticide in the area, especially the killing of twins; then believed to be a manifestation of evil. Towards this end, the team built a settlement for twins and their mothers, to protect them against attacks by other locals. In addition, he managed to procure various agreements to abolish human sacrifice.

Waddell soon discovered some communication problems. For example, the Efik language spoken by the local communities did not have a word for “sin”, only a generic word meaning “bad thing”. This want of a sense of sin, ignorance of sinfulness, lay in the way of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Though the natives had no idea of the devil in the scriptural sense, they stood in mortal terror of the secret supernatural power, or the pretence of power. Through the proclamation of the good news of Jesus, they soon came to understand that He is the only cure for this dreadful evil.

Convinced of the importance of education, Waddell established some schools and learned the local language, which he used to write books and pamphlets. However, after his leave of absence in 1853, Waddell and other missionaries had some disagreements. This was after he discovered that they had admitted new members into the church without going through approved procedures. This and other differences, largely due to his perceived highhanded personality, combined with his failing health, convinced him to retire to Dublin, Ireland in 1858. He died in 1895. The same year, a school in Duke Town was named Hope Waddell Institution in recognition of his work in Calabar.

It is amazing what God can do with any man that yields to His will. Today, some of us would use speech impediment as an excuse not to preach the gospel. We would be unnerved by what people would say or do to us. We would be disturbed if they make mockery of us because we do not have the command of our tongue. Waddell overcame such fears and gave himself to God for the salvation of souls. What is your excuse for not preaching the gospel dear brethren? Will it impress God? Will it receive the cheers of angels and the cloud of witnesses in heaven? The Lord Jesus Christ said in Luke 12:48, “…..For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.” What has God committed into your hands to prosper the gospel of Jesus Christ and God’s Kingdom? Will the Lord say to you, “Well done good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord?”

***** Materials sourced from Hope Masterton Waddell and His Missionary Team, https://www.placefortruth.org, Hope Masterton Waddell, https://en.m.wikipedia.org.