ABSTRACT
NIGERIA claimed the attention of several British missionary societies. They came to propagate the Christian faith but as was the case elsewhere each of them made a significant contribution to the development of educational and medical services. Competition between them was at times sharp. Again the difficulties they had to overcome differed according to the region into which they attempted to move. Sickness, religious hostility and difficult terrain often stood in their path. Yet within a period of little more than a hundred years they achieved much. Some indication of these achievements is conveyed in this brief account of the way in which each of the missions penetrated further and further into the country to found schools, hospitals and churches.
