He was a Yoruba man, originally from Lagos in what is now Nigeria. He initially became a school teacher. He was educated at the Church Missionary Society Grammar School, and later in the Training Institute for Teachers, at the end of which he graduated as a teacher. For a few years, he taught at a Lagos Primary School. However, in 1884, he entered the colonial service of the Congo Free State as a clerk, rising to the rank of district sub-commissioner and a French-English translator in the office of the governor-general in Boma. Establishing himself at Boma, then the capital, he opened a general store and photographic studio. In 1894, he traveled to Antwerp to attend the Exposition Internationale d'Anvers. Some of his photographs were published in "Le Congo illustré". In 1900 he demonstrated his loyalty to the Congo Free State by supporting the authorities during a mutiny by the Force Publique.