A 584-page book chronicling the history, politics, economy, culture, education, traditional institutions and notable personalities of Sagamu, Ogun State, has been launched in the town, with its author, Omoba Deji Adesanya, saying the publication was inspired by the need to properly document the community’s rich history and make it accessible to present and future generations.
Titled ‘A Handbook of Sagamu’, the book was launched and publicly presented on Thursday, August 27, 2026, at the Centenary Hall, Ewusi Street, Sagamu, at an event attended by traditional rulers, community leaders, business personalities, professionals and other distinguished guests.
The book, which explores different aspects of Sagamu’s development and heritage, was described by the Chairman and Father of the Day, Asiwaju S.K. Onafowokan, OON, as an important contribution to preserving the history and identity of the community.
Speaking at the occasion, Onafowokan said the publication was particularly important because “a city or town that does not know its history is like a town without direction.”
He commended Adesanya for undertaking what he described as a painstaking research project, noting the author had interviewed several leaders and engaged in extensive documentation in putting the book together.
According to him, the publication “captures where we came from, the sacrifices of our forebearers, the inevitable wars, our peace bridges and our festivals, heroes and heroines, and how we finally landed where we are as Sagamu indigenes that we are proud of today.”
Onafowokan said the book would be particularly valuable to young people, Sagamu indigenes in the diaspora, researchers and investors seeking to understand the community’s roots, cultural landscape and social development.
He also praised Adesanya for achieving the feat despite not being a professional historian.
“Despite not being a historian, he was able to achieve this milestone, which our historians ought to have preached,” Onafowokan said.
He added the book would provide younger generations with an opportunity to learn about a part of their history that might otherwise have been lost.
“I must commend the book to all the schools, both federal colleges, universities, libraries, homes and those in the diaspora,” he said, urging stakeholders to ensure that the publication becomes a reference material for understanding Sagamu’s history and contributing to its future development.
Representing the Akarigbo and Paramount Ruler of Remo Land, HRM Oba Babatunde Ajayi, CFR, Oba Adewale Adeniji also commended the author for taking the initiative to research and document the history of Sagamu.
“It is good for us to have somebody like Deji Adesanya in the family,” Adeniji said, describing the author’s decision to undertake the project as a welcome development.
One of the notable features of the book is its documentation of accomplished individuals who have contributed to Sagamu’s prominence nationally and internationally.
Some of the notable people chronicled in the book include Emeritus Professor T.O. Ogunlesi, Nigeria’s first Emeritus Professor of Medicine, and Bayo Ogunlesi, Ph.D., a globally accomplished businessman and investment banker; there is also Prince (Dr.) Adegboyega Adedoyin, famed as the first Nigerian to compete in an Olympic Games final, and Falilat Ogunkoya-Omotayo, the first Nigerian to win an individual track and field medal at the Olympic Games.
Others include Nigerian music star Dapo Oyebanjo, popularly known as D’banj; Otunba Gbenga Daniel, former Governor of Ogun State and Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District; Surveyor Ebenezer Ademola Olusesi, Nigeria’s first licensed chartered surveyor; Bola Oyesanya, the first Nigerian to serve as Managing Director and Global Head of the Law Firm Group at JPMorgan; and veteran Nollywood actor Kunle Bamtefa, among other accomplished sons and daughters of Sagamu.
Adesanya, while explaining the inspiration behind the book, revealed that the idea had been in his mind for more than two decades.
According to him, the journey began around 1999 after he came across a newspaper publication titled “Who Is Who of Kwara.”
“I said to myself, okay, why don’t I write Who Is Who of Sagamu, not of the state,” he recalled.
However, the idea later evolved after he came across a book on Ikenne given to him by his mother.
“My mum now gave me a book called A Handbook of History of Ikenne, written by one Soriyan. I looked at it and said, okay, well, yeah, I think I would like something like this,” he said.
What particularly caught his attention, he explained, was the way the Ikennebook went beyond simply recounting historical events.
“In the book, the man now looked at the economy of Ikenne, and then he also did profiles,” Adesanya said.
He also recalled knowing about an earlier book on Sagamu written by Chief Ayodele, but said he wanted to build on the existing historical documentation and examine other dimensions of the community.
“I said to myself, history is nothing, you know, I already have an idea of the history of Sagamu, so why don’t you expand it?” he said.
That decision eventually led him to investigate the politics, economy, governance, education and health practices of the community, among other areas.
“I began to think that, all right, let me look at the economy, look at the politics of Sagamu and then look at the mode of governance,” he explained.
One of the areas that fascinated him during his research was the traditional system of governance that existed before the current post-colonial administrative structure.
Adesanya pointed out that many young people may not realise the extent to which traditional institutions once exercised political and administrative authority within the community.
“Today, in this post-colonial system that we are operating, the local government chairman is the head of any community,” he said. “Then Oba was like the supreme.”
He explained that traditionally, the Oba was both the spiritual and political head, working with structures such as the Oba-in-Council and civic associations.
“The Oba will have the Prime Minister, they will have civic associations, among Osugbo and things like that, to form the Oba-in-Council. So, they will take decisions on behalf of the community,” he said.
Interestingly, Adesanya said aspects of that traditional system remain relevant despite the evolution of Nigeria’s formal judicial and administrative institutions.
“Interestingly, I now find out that actually that practice is still there,” he said, explaining that some people still approach traditional institutions to resolve family disputes, land matters and marriage-related issues.
“They will help them settle the land matter. They will help them settle marriage problems and things like that. They still do it,” he said.
For Adesanya, documenting these aspects of Sagamu’s history was also about educating people about institutions and practices that are gradually becoming unfamiliar to younger generations.
“So, I decided, okay, let me educate people about these things that are there,” he said.
His research also uncovered the significant historical role played by Sagamu in the kola nut trade, a history he believes many people may not know.
“Before, not just in the whole of Nigeria, West Africa, Sagamu was the number one city for kola nuts,” Adesanya said.
“At the peak, they would export kola nuts from Sagamu to Saudi Arabia. But most people didn’t know.”
He explained that the commercial route involved taking kola nuts from Sagamu to Kano, from where they were subsequently traded internationally.
“The merchants first buy it here from the farmer, then take it to the north, in Kano. It’s from Kano [that it was exported],” he said.
For the author, such stories demonstrate why documenting local history requires looking beyond the commonly known narratives and investigating the economic and social systems that connected Sagamu to other parts of Nigeria and the wider world.
The book therefore seeks to present Sagamu not merely as a geographical location, but as a community shaped by centuries of migration, commerce, traditional governance, culture, education, conflict, peace-building and the contributions of individuals.
Adesanya’s professional background is largely in film and television.
An award-winning filmmaker, scriptwriter, producer and director, he studied filmmaking at Cambrian College of Art and Technology, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, and Brooks Institute, Santa Barbara, California, USA.
He honed his cinematography skills at the Television Service of Oyo State, now BCOS TV, Ibadan, and worked on documentaries and international football competitions in countries including Germany, Egypt, Kenya and Senegal.
In 1986, he co-founded A Productions with his brother and, in 1988, co-wrote and directed his debut feature film, Vigilante. His 1992 production, Ose Sango (Sango’s Wand), won the maiden Hubert Ogunde Foundation Award for Best Film of the Year.
In 2010, his documentary, Uncommon Service, won the AFRICAST Award for Best Documentary Film among television broadcast stations across Africa.
Adesanya was also a pioneer lecturer and former Head of Department of Film and Television Production at Wale Adenuga’s PEFTI Film Institute, Lagos, where he retired in 2020.
He has served as a resource person for Film and Multimedia Production for the National Board for Technical Education since 2007.
He is also a public affairs commentator whose articles have appeared in The Guardian, Punch and the defunct Concord newspapers.
With the publication of A Handbook of Sagamu, Adesanya has turned his longstanding interest in his community into a major historical documentation project—one he hopes will serve as a lasting reference for Sagamu’s people and all those interested in understanding where the community came from and where it is headed.
Follow us on:
