Books

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A new book on the history of Ogbomoso ties the history of the people to that of Jos city in Plateau State

|  By Ishaya Ibrahim  |  Nov. 19, 2012 @ 01:00 GMT

OLAYINKA Oyegbile, an Ogbomoso man who was born in Jos, never imagined the city of his birth, would later become the epicenter of ethnic and religious strife. His people, the Ogbomosos, predominantly from Oyo State, had a large population in Jos, spanning many generations. Many had never visited their ancestral homes until hell was let loose in that city they had thought was also a home. How has this impacted on the Ogbomoso people whose history is also tied to the city? This and many others were the theme of a book recently launched in Lagos. The book, Home Away From Home, was written by Oyebgile, the deputy Sunday Editor of The Nation Newspaper.

Prominent Ogbomoso sons and daughters were at the launch, held on November 13, at the Multipurpose Hall of Lagos State Television, LTV. Ayo Adeseun, a senator and senate committee chairman on capital market, said the book was one of the rare history accounts of the Ogbomoso people.

“We Yorubas have a terrible knack for not documenting records, especially the Ogbomosos. But since we have individuals like this who took the courage to put these things together, he needs our support”, Adeseun said. He added: “Ogbomoso played a pivotal role in Yoruba history. Of the eight Aare Onakakanfo { wartime Generals } in Yoruba land, Ogbomoso contributed five. Let’s come to recent history. Samuel Akintola did so much for the Yoruba. A lot that we now have was done by him….But there is no written history on what Akintola did.”

Adeseun said the history of Jos is also the history of the Ogbomosos because Ogbomoso people co-founded that city. He said great Ogbomoso sons such as Benjamin Adekunle, popularly known as black scorpion and Sunday Adewusi, former inspector general of police, all joined the military and police respectively using Jos as their state of origin. He thus commended the author for revealing a lot of facts about the Ogbomosos for posterity.

The book, Home Away from Home, was reviewed by Kunle Ajibade, executive editor of TheNews. He said the author showed stamina, diligence and honesty in chronicling the story of his people in Jos. He said the Ogbomosos were not clannish in their dealings with their host, rather, they shared both in their joy and sorrow.

The book has also got commendation from Solomon Lar, first executive governor of Plateau state who recalled that it was Adewusi, an Ogbomoso man, who christened Plateau State as a Home of Peace and Tourism. He recommended the book to all those who wish to have an understanding of why Jos has remained a vital part of the story of the people of Ogbomoso.

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