 He returned to Nigeria in 1885 and taught at the CMS Grammar School, Lagos until joining the Colonial Civil Service in 1889 as chief clerk in the Secretariat and sub-inspector of schools.He was appointed inspector of schools in 1892 (becoming the first black man to do so) and assistant colonial secretary for native affairs in 1900.In Lagos, Nigeria, he continued to progress doing much work on the Board of Education, serving as director of education between 1906 and 1918, and became the Resident of the Colony of Nigeria in 1918.