Meet Jonathan Adagogo Green, Nigeria’s first professional photographer who preserved 19th-century life through images

• Jonathan Adagogo Green became Nigeria’s first known professional photographer in 1891, decades before modern photography became widespread.

• The Bonny-born photographer documented Nigerian chiefs, colonial officials, cultural traditions, and everyday life in Southern Nigeria.

• He took the historic photograph of Oba Ovonramwen of Benin aboard the SS Ivy during his exile in 1897.

• Green’s photographs remain important historical records, with some of his works preserved in collections including the British Museum.

Long before Nigerians started saying “take one more picture” for social media, a young man from Bonny, Rivers State, was already using a camera to preserve moments that would later become priceless pieces of history.

His name was Jonathan Adagogo Green, and he was Nigeria’s first known professional photographer.

Born in 1873 in Ayama, now known as Peterside in Bonny, Green was an Ibani (Ijaw) man who grew up during a period when the Niger Delta was experiencing major political and economic changes.

At a time when most photographs of Africa were being created by European colonialists, Green picked up the camera and told stories from an African perspective.

Today, his photographs remain some of the earliest visual records of Southern Nigeria, showing everything from traditional rulers and local communities to colonial officials and important historical events.

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Jonathan Adagogo Green came from a respected family. His father, Chief Sunju Okoronkwoye Dublin Green, was a prominent figure, while his mother was Madame Idameinye Green.

After his father died in 1875, Jonathan was raised by his uncle, Uruasi Dublin Green, who played a major role in his upbringing and education.

Green received Western-style education in Lagos and possibly Sierra Leone, which was one of the major learning centres in colonial West Africa at the time.

After gaining photography training, he returned to Nigeria and, at just 18 years old, established a professional photography studio in Bonny in 1891.

From there, his career took off.

He worked across Bonny, Opobo, Brass, and Calabar, building a reputation as one of the most skilled photographers in West Africa.

His camera captured Nigerian chiefs, wealthy merchants, British colonial officers, missionaries, families, ceremonies, buildings, and everyday activities.

Basically, while many people were busy writing about Nigeria’s history, Green was busy saving it in pictures.

During the late 19th century, Bonny was one of the major centres of trade and British activity in the Niger Delta.

Because of his skill, Jonathan Green became highly sought after by British colonial officials, European merchants, and local elites.

His professional relationship with British authorities gave him access to important people and events.

He photographed colonial administrators, military officers, missionaries, and civil servants, but his work went beyond serving colonial interests.

Green also used his camera to document African people with dignity.

Instead of presenting Africans through the limited and often negative views common in many colonial records, his photographs showed people as powerful individuals with culture, wealth, identity, and social status.

His lens became a way for Nigerians to represent themselves during a period when outsiders controlled much of Africa’s story.

One of Jonathan Adagogo Green’s most famous works is the photograph of Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi of Benin aboard the naval ship SS Ivy in 1897.

The image captured the Benin monarch while he was being taken into exile after the British invasion of the Benin Kingdom.

The photograph became one of the most recognised visual records of that historic moment.

Through Green’s camera, a painful chapter in Nigerian history was preserved forever.

At a time when colonial society was heavily influenced by British systems, Green’s name and background helped him navigate different worlds.

Because his name sounded British, he was able to gain acceptance among colonial officials who became some of his major clients.

His family’s influence and connections also helped him access important opportunities.

However, his success was not only because of connections. His photography skills, professionalism, and ability to produce high-quality images made him one of the most respected photographers of his era.

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Jonathan Adagogo Green’s photography career lasted only about 14 years.

He died in 1905 at the age of 32, ending the life of a man who had already created one of the most valuable visual archives of Nigeria’s colonial history.

He was buried in Bonny in an all-marble tomb imported from Belgium.

After his death, British ethnographer Gwilym Iwan Jones acquired many of Green’s photographs and continued reproducing them until the 1990s.

Today, some of Jonathan Green’s works are preserved in international collections, including the British Museum.

More than a century after his death, his photographs still tell stories about Nigeria’s people, culture, and history.

Jonathan Adagogo Green did not just take pictures.

He helped Nigeria remember itself.