River in Nigeria
Ogun RiverOdò Ògùn
Country
Nigeria Source • elevation 530 m (1,740 ft)
Mouth • location
Lagos • elevation
0 m (0 ft) Length 480 km (300 mi) Basin size 23,000 km2 (8,900 sq mi)
[1]
The Ogun River (
Yoruba : Odò Ògùn) is a waterway in
Nigeria that discharges into the
Lagos Lagoon .
[2]
[3]
[4]
Ogun State of Nigeria is named after the river.
Course and usage
The
river rises near the towns of
Sepeteri and
Shaki in upper
Oyo State at coordinates
8°41′0″N 3°28′0″E / 8.68333°N 3.46667°E / 8.68333; 3.46667 and
flows through the rest of the state into
Ogun State and eventually into
Lagos State where it discharges into the
Lagos lagoon at the towns of Isheri and Owode onirin.
[5] The river is crossed by the
Ikere Gorge Dam in the
Iseyin
local government
area of
Oyo State . The reservoir capacity is 690 million cubic metres (560,000 acre⋅ft).
[6] The reservoir abuts the
Old Oyo National Park , providing
recreational facilities for tourists, and the river flows through the park.
[7] The Ofiki River, which also rises near Shaki, is the
Ogun River's chief tributary.[
citation needed ]
[8] The
Oyan River , another tributary, is crossed by the
Oyan River Dam which supplies water to
Abeokuta and
Lagos .
[9] In densely populated areas the river is used for
bathing ,
washing and
drinking . It also serves as a drain for mostly organic wastes from
abattoirs located along the river's course.
[5]
History
In the
Yoruba religion ,
Yemoja is the
divinity of the Ogun River. The
catechist
Charles Phillips , father of the
Charles Phillips who later became
Bishop of
Ondo , wrote in 1857 that the Ogun River was generally
worshipped by the people who live along its banks from its rise until where it empties into the
lagoon .
[10] The river ran through the heart of the old
Oyo Empire . Metropolitan
Oyo was divided into six
provinces with three on the west side of the Ogun River and three to the river's east.
[11] At one time, the river formed an important route for traders carrying goods by canoe between
Abeokuta and the
Lagos Colony .
[12]
Gallery
Ogun river in Abeokuta which is referred to as "Odo Ogun" by the locals.
Ogun river from the top of
Olumo rock in
Abeokuta ,
ogun state
Sunset at Ogun river
Dawn at Ogun river
Bridge over Ogun river
River Ogun bridge entrance
A meat market called Kara by Ogun river
References
^
Fluid Flow Interactions in Ogun River, Nigeria
^
https://litcaf.com/ogun-river/#0
^
"How Each Nigerian State Got Its Name | Zaccheus Onumba Dibiaezue Memorial Libraries" . zodml.org . Retrieved 8 August 2023 .
^
"How unchecked water pollution affects fishing communities in Ogun" . www.premiumtimesng.com . Retrieved 13 September 2023 .
^
a
b A.A. Ayoade, A.A. Sowunmi & H.I. Nwachukwu (2004).
"Gill asymmetry in Labeo ogunensis from Ogun river, Southwest Nigeria" (PDF) . Rev. Biol. Trop . 52 (1): 171–175.
doi :
10.15517/rbt.v52i1.14821 .
PMID
17357414 .
^ L. Berga, ed. (2006). Dams and Reservoirs, Societies and Environment in the 21st Century: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Dams in the Societies of the 21st Century, 22nd International Congress on Large Dams (ICOLD), Barcelona, Spain, 18 June 2006 . Taylor & Francis. p. 314.
ISBN
0-415-40423-1 .
^
"Old Oyo National Park" . Nigeria National Park Service. Archived from
the original on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2010 .
^
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-Ogun-and-Osun-River-Basins-and-the-Adjacent-Basins_fig2_277233312#:~:text=The%20major%20tributaries%20of%20the,season%20between%20April%20and%20October.
^ Nigeria, Guardian (22 September 2022).
"Flood threat: Ogun border community cries out over opening Oyan River dam" . The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News . Retrieved 10 July 2023 .
^ McKenzie, Peter Rutherford (1997).
Hail Orisha!: a phenomenology of a West African religion in the mid-nineteenth century . BRILL. p. 30.
ISBN
90-04-10942-0 .
^ Stride, G.T. & C. Ifeka (1971). Peoples and Empires of West Africa: West Africa in History 1000–1800 . Edinburgh: Nelson. p. 296.
ISBN
0-17-511448-X .
^ Foreign and Commonwealth Office (1859).
British and foreign state papers, Volume 54 . H.M.S.O.
6°44′44″N 3°20′33″E / 6.745589°N 3.34259°E / 6.745589; 3.34259