Sagamu or Ishagamu is an agglomeration of thirteen towns in southwestern Nigeria. It is located in

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. It is bordered to the south by Lagos State and the Bight of Benin, to the east by Ondo State, and to the north by Oyo and Osun states while its western border forms part of the national borde ...

along the Ibu River and Eruwuru Stream between

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

and

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the List of Nigerian cities by population, third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano (city), Kano, with a total populatio ...

. It was founded in the mid 19th century by members of the Remo branch of the

Yoruba people The Yoruba people ( ; , , ) are a West African ethnic group who inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo, which are collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute more than 50 million people in Africa, are over a million outsid ...

. The 13 towns are: Makun, Offin, Sonyindo, Epe, Ibido, Igbepa, Ado, Oko, Ipoji, Batoro, Ijoku, Ijagba and Latawa. It is the capital of Remo Kingdom, and the paramount ruler of the kingdom, the ''Akarigbo'' of Remo, has his palace is in the town of Offin. The Sagamu region is underlain by major deposits of

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

, which is used in the city's major industry, the production of

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

. Agricultural products of the region include cocoa and kola nuts. Sagamu is the largest kola nut collecting center in the country. The kola nut industry supports several secondary industries such as

basket A basket is a container that is traditionally constructed from stiff Fiber, fibers, and can be made from a range of materials, including wood splints, Stolon, runners, and cane. While most baskets are made from plant materials, other materials ...

and

rope A rope is a group of yarns, Plying, plies, fibres, or strands that are plying, twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have high tensile strength and can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger ...

manufacturing, which are used to store the kola nuts. The city was founded in the mid-19th century when several small towns united for purpose of defense during the wars brought about by the fall of the Oyo Empire. Sagamu controlled the trade routes between the ports in the

Niger Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitic ...

and the Yoruba mainland until the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

occupied the city at the end of the 19th century. Sagamu has experienced both population and economic growth since the 1950s, due to its position between the cities of

and

. The population in 1995 was 114,300 but 2007 estimates placed it as high as 228,382. The Olabisi Onabanjo University's college of medicine is located in Sagamu. Sagamu (Offin - Ile) is the new seat of the ''Akarigbo'' of Remo ("King" or "Lord" of Remo), the traditional ruler of the

Remo Remo Inc. is an American musical instruments manufacturing company based in Valencia, California, and founded by Remo Belli in 1957. Products manufactured include drum kits, drumheads, drums, and drum hardware, hardware, and various percussio ...

Kingdom. The former seat was located in a farther area of Offin. Four ruling families are eligible to wear the beaded crown of the ''Akarigbo'', all descending from the first ''Oba'', Akarigbo, a prince of the house of Oduduwa. The current ''Akarigbo'' was installed and crowned as King in 2017. Notable areas within Sagamu include Offin, Itunshokun, Sabo, Makun, Ajaka, Makun Station, Isale-oko, Isote, Epe, Soyindo, Surulere, Ijagba, Ewu-Oluwo, Ogijo, Simawa, GRA, Ijokun, Batoro. Ijebu language, a dialect of the

Yoruba language Yoruba (, ; Yor. ) is a Niger–Congo languages, Niger-Congo language that is spoken in West Africa, primarily in South West (Nigeria), Southwestern and Middle Belt, Central Nigeria, Benin, and parts of Togo. It is spoken by the Yoruba people. ...

, is spoken in Sagamu.

Administration

The old Sagamu Local Government has been divided into Three(3) Local Council Development Areas namely Sagamu West LCDA, Sagamu Central LCDA and Sagamu South LCDA. For Administrative convenience, Sagamu Local Government is divided into (15) Fifteen Political Wards, namely. # Ward 1 – Oko, Epe & Itunla 1 # Ward 2 – Oko, Epe Itunla II # Ward 3 – AiyegbamijIjoku # Ward 4 – Sabo 1 # Ward 5 – Sabo II # Ward 6 – Itunsokun Oyebajo # Ward 7 – Ijagba # Ward 8 – Latawa # Ward 9 – Ode-lemo # Ward 10 – OgijojIkosi # Ward 11 – Surulere # Ward 12 – Isote # Ward 13 – Simawa # Ward 14 – Agbowa # Ward 15 – Ibidojitun Alara

Notable people

* Adebayo Ogunlesi, a businessman *

Anthony Joshua Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua (born 15 October 1989) is a British professional boxer. He held the unified champion, unified world heavyweight championship twice between 2016 and 2021. At regional level, he held the British Boxing Board of C ...

, a sportsperson * Gbenga Daniel, a politician. * Babatunde Adewale Ajayi, the current Sagamu king

Photo Gallery of Sagamu

File:AAFIN AKARIGBO TI ILE REMO Sagamu2.jpg, Aafin Akarigo palace File:Akarigbo palace, Sagamu.jpg, Akarigbo Palace File:Methodist Church Nigeria Sagamu-OKO CIRCUIT HQS 3.jpg, Methodist church Nigeria File:Methodist Church Nigeria Sagamu-OKO CIRCUIT HQS.jpg, Methodist church File:SAGAMU CENTRAL MOSQUE 2.jpg, Sagamu central mosque File:St. John church, Sagamu.jpg, St. John church

External links

References

{{Ogun State Local Government Areas in Ogun State Cities in Yorubaland Cities in Nigeria