Wasinmi, Nigeria
Wasinmi or Wasimi (Yoruba: Wáàsimi) is an Egba town located on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway in Ewekoro local government of Ogun State. It is a few miles from Abeokuta. It is home to one of the oldest churches in the area, St. Michael's Anglican Church, and home to Odegbami International College and Sports Academy.[1]
Wasinmi Wasimi | |
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Rural | |
Nickname(s): Wasinmi Olose, Wasinmi Orile, Wasinmi Igbó | |
![]() ![]() Wasinmi Location in Nigeria | |
Coordinates: 6°59′N 3°13′E | |
Country | ![]() |
State | Ogun |
Government | |
• Oniwasinmi of Wasinmi | Oba Emmanuel Bàbátunde Ọṣuntọgun |
Time zone | UTC+1 (WAT) |
Climate | Tropical savanna climate (Aw) |
Website | http://www.ogunstate.gov.ng/ |
History
The name Wasinmi comes from the phrase in the Yoruba language, wáà ṣe isimi, which means come and rest. It was shortened to Wasinmi,[2] and it was founded between the years 1845-1880.[3] It started as a small farming settlement for mostly Egba people of Abeokuta. When the town of Abeokuta was founded in 1830, there were many waves of migrants from all over Yorubaland that arrived in Abeokuta. This included Owu refugees from the Owu-Ibadan Wars, Saros from Sierra Leone that returned after being kidnapped and taken nto slavery, and Christian missionaries. Though the area was occupied by Egba people from Abeokuta already, it served as more of a market place than a permanent place of residence. Many men and women then sought to establish plantations and farms that were unavailable in the mostly urban town of Abeokuta. A certain group of people, who also included Christians seeking a separate place to practice their faith, founded Wasinmi and established several farms and churches.[4][5] Wasinmi is one of the 72 townships under Gbagura. The Egba Gbagura people are one of the 4 subsections of Abeokuta, which includes Oke-Ona Egba, Egba Ake, and Owu, but Wasinmi has a mix of other Egbas besides Gbagura.
The Gbagura people originated from Ile-Ife like many other Yoruba sub-ethnic groups. They then migrated along what is now the Ibadan-Oyo-Offa Road and Ibadan-Owo Road and met the other groups at the Egba Forest outside what is now Abeokuta in 1834.[6]In the early 1900s, the British administration built a train station in the village, which was a major site of the Adubi War in 1918, also known as the Egba Uprising. St. Michael's Anglican Church was the first church built in the village by newly converted natives, most likely in c. 1920.
Odafin Odegbami (c. 1842-1934), ancestor to Amos Tutuola, the Ogunbiyi family, and Odegbami family (including Segun Odegbami and Wole Odegbami) which are very prominent and influential families in Wasinmi, was a spiritual leader and appointed administrator as detailed in Tutuola's book The Palm Wine Drinkard, and was most likely one of the founders of Wasinmi.
![](../I/m/St._Michael's_Anglican_Church_(Ifo_Diocese)_Wasimi%2C_Nigeria.jpg)
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Sections
Each small group of clans in Wasinmi has their own section with its each unique name. Four of these sections are Wasinmi Igbó[2], Wasinmi Oríle, Wasinmi Alaafia, and Wasinmi Ọlọṣẹ.
Future
The Ogun State government has started construction to build an international airport in Wasimi. The construction was due to have finished in March 2019,[7], but President Buhari has continued to commission the former governor's projects[8]. Many local Wasinmi farmers were angry at the confiscation of land and were given monetary compensations.
Famous People
References
- Oriaku, Peter (November 9, 2017). "OBJ, Fashola, Amosun, Ambode To Grace Segun Odegbami's Sports College 10th Anniversary".
- "Either You Like It Or Not JESUS CHRIST IS GOD". Christ Kingdom Corporation – via Google Books.
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/41971356?seq=1
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/41971356.pdf
- https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/files/34504889/511681.pdf
- "Egba Gbagura". www.lisabieliteassociationhouston.org.
- "Governor Amosun says Wasinmi Federal Airport to be ready by March 2019". March 21, 2018.
- "Buhari arrives Ogun to commission Amosun's projects".