DOCUMENTARY: History of Osapa London and How it got it Name

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 By Victor Olubiye



The Original name of Osapa London was "Osà palóló", meaning "The Lagoon Is Calm." People often call it Osapa Village before it was Jokingly changed to Osapa London.

The story, however, would have been incomplete without making reference to the tussle over ownership of the land which was eventually awarded in favour of Late Chief Gbadamosi Eletu-Odibo clan as against the Ojomo Chieftaincy Family.

It is said that one of the main reasons the Eletu Odibo family annually celebrates Osapa Day, aside being the date they won their land case that consequently turned the entire family into overnight billionaires, is that it is a subtle signal indicating that they deserve to have a king that would rule over them. Originally, the annual festival should have been christened "Ojude Oba" as been done in the ljebu Ode, but they have no crowned king yet.

According to Prince Kazeem Eletu-Odibo, a scion of the Odibo clan, his grandfather used to stay in Itele in Ota. Unfortunately, he had problem with child bearing. It is said that they used to die before they grow up. So one day, he was motivated to consult the oracle, where he was told to go and settle close to a big Lagoon.

That was how he left Itele for Osapa. When he eventually berthed here (Osapa), he met a hunter and his daughter who were the original settlers in Osapa village, a parcel of land given to them by the Ojomu royal family for subsistence farming.

Long story short, the hunter accepted him when he explained what led him to Osapa. As time went by, my grandfather fell in love and got married to the hunter's daughter. Fortunately enough, they started having children. After several years, my grandfather took a second wife.


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