A quiet monument to learning, sacrifice, and Nigeria’s intellectual journey
A Bookshop Rooted in History
The CMS Bookshop, located at the intersection of Broad Street and Odunlami Street on Lagos Island, is one of Nigeria’s oldest surviving educational institutions. Established in 1869 by the Church Missionary Society, the bookshop later became known as CSS Bookshop (Church and School Supplies), reflecting its expanded role in supplying educational and religious materials across colonial and post-colonial Nigeria.
For generations of Nigerians, the CMS Bookshop was not merely a retail space. It was a gateway—into formal education, literacy, faith, and social mobility.
Education Bought with Sweat
A deeply personal memory captures the essence of the bookshop’s meaning:
“We have come a long way, son,” my father said. “Let me show you where I spent the first few Nairas I earned by myself.”
As a young labourer, he spent an entire day carrying concrete at a high-rise building on Broad Street. His wages—six naira—were not spent on leisure or comfort. They were spent inside the CMS Bookshop, purchasing an M. Nelkon physics textbook, a book his own father could not afford.
This act, simple on the surface, reflects a larger Nigerian story: education pursued through sacrifice, discipline, and determination. For many families, textbooks from CMS Bookshop represented hope—often bought with money earned the hard way.
A Sensory Archive of Knowledge
Stepping into the CMS Bookshop was an experience etched into memory. The dense scent of paper, ink, and timber-bound volumes created an atmosphere unlike any other:
“The raw smell of acres of trees bound in volumes of knowledge of the ages enveloped me…”
In that moment, past and present collapsed. The son saw the bookshop as his father had decades earlier. The space became more than a building—it became inheritance, memory, and identity. Through that continuity, the CMS Bookshop transformed from a physical location into a living archive of family and national history.
A Cultural and Educational Landmark
Beyond individual stories, the CMS Bookshop played a critical institutional role in Nigeria’s development:
It supplied textbooks for mission schools and government colleges
It supported early teacher training and clerical education
It functioned as a hub for Christian literature, academic texts, and examination materials
It contributed to Lagos Island’s reputation as an intellectual and commercial centre
Its longevity reflects the enduring importance of books in shaping Nigeria’s educated elite—teachers, scientists, clergy, civil servants, and professionals.
Legacy in a Changing City
Today, Broad Street bears the marks of time and transformation, but the CMS Bookshop remains a quiet witness to over a century of learning and aspiration. In an era dominated by digital screens and fleeting content, its presence reminds us that nation-building once happened page by page, book by book.
The CMS Bookshop stands not only as one of Nigeria’s oldest bookstores, but as a symbol of how education was earned, valued, and passed down—sometimes at great personal cost.
The story of the CMS Bookshop is ultimately a story about Nigeria itself: a country where progress often begins with sacrifice, where knowledge is hard-won, and where books have long been instruments of transformation.
What was once six naira spent on a physics textbook echoes across generations—proof that education, once acquired, never truly leaves the family or the nation.
Source & Credit:
Written piece by @jibolaL
Historical reference: CMS / CSS Bookshop, Broad Street, Lagos (est. 1869)
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