How Takie Square, Ogbomoso Central Business District, got its name
Femi OGUNLANA
Takie, the Ogbomoso Central Business District, has developed over the years not only to become the centre of the city but also the most important hub, with roads fanning out evenly to other locations within the metropolis. It is the junction connecting directly, cities like Oyo/Ibadan/Lagos, Ilorin/northern cities, Osogbo/eastern cities and Oke Ogun axis/Benin Republic.
It is home to commercial banks, shopping malls, modern eateries, book stores, motor parks and several other business outlets. Adorned with a big roundabout hosting a statue of late Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola GCON (former Premier of Western Region and Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland), no one lives in Ogbomoso who doesn’t have one thing or the other to do with the area or would claim ignorance of the district, often also referred to as Takie Square. One day, the residents hope the roundabout will give way to a deserving overhead bridge in view of the often busy nature of the area in terms of vehicular and human traffic. The head of whichever government that eventually executes the overhead bridge project will forever be cherished and his name earn a place in Ogbomoso Hall of Fame.
Now, how did the area evolve and acquire its name? That is what this article seeks to unravel. The print version of this medium first published a story on it in its edition dated November 15, 2015,
According to findings, the name ”Takie” was the name of the first postmaster of Post & Telegraph (P&T) – later known as Post Office – in Ogbomoso. He had been transferred from Ghana as first postmaster to the famed land of the valiant.
Mr. Takie was a Ghanaian from Accra, today’s federal capital of the former Gold Coast. Hardworking and efficient, the name of this postmaster evolved as the name by which the area is now known.
This insight into the origin of Taki was provided by one Mr. Samuel Ajisope, a retired civil servant, who lived in Accra, Ghana, in his younger days.
Mr. Ajisope left Ghana for Nigeria finally in 1979, and disclosing Mr. Takie was of the popular Takie-Gas tribe in Ghana, he revealed the Gas people are the aborigines of Accra and constitute the royal house of the capital city.
Mr. Ajisope, an indigene of Ogbomoso told The Insight in 2015: “I came on a visit to Ogbomoso sometimes in 1974 but was surprised when I heard people saying ‘Taki,’ ‘Taki,’ knowing it is a Ghanaian name.
“I got an appointment as account officer at Ogbomoso Baptist High School in 1979 after I finally returned to Nigeria. As account officer, I had to frequent members of the then governing board of the school. Chief Peter Ogunranti Ogunniyi was treasurer and so was a signatory to the school account.”
“Unable to contain my surprise in respect of the name Taki in Ogbomoso any longer and as Baba Ogunniyi lived near Takie and had a story building there (Tikatore House), one day, I asked him, ‘Taki, Taki, isn’t it a Ghanaian name?’ He said yes that the person bearing the name was dead but that his grave was in his compound at his Tikatore building at Takie. He showed me the grave when I asked to see it.”
The posting of Mr. Takie to Ogbomoso from Ghana was possible because Nigeria and Ghana were under the same British colonial administration at the time and so, inter-colony transfer was a norm.
Mr. Takie who integrated himself well, having cordial relationships with the natives, lived in the vicinity that now bears his name and where the P & T office was/is, which then was in the outskirts of the town, along the emerging south/north trunk A road. He reportedly built an inn for travelers (usually on foot) to lodge, taking one penny per person per night. He acquired land at Takie where the two-storey Tikatore building of late Baba Ogunniyi now stands.
Baba Ogunniyi, an indigene of Awe near Oyo, Ajisope further informed, later bought the land from Takie’s children (after his death) to construct the Tikatore building..
There was a big tree (odan) in the neighbourhood at the Adiatu junction, under which Mr. Takie used to sit for relaxation in the evening donning his native attires. All day, people thronged him; at office, abode and relaxation joints to dispatch letters or to seek his assistance in writing one. He was so popular that he was indisputably the “lord” of the area. It was no wonder that the area became known by his name. “We are going to Takie, I want to see Takie,” and phrases such as that eventually led to the area being called Takie.
After his children agreed to sell the land to late Baba Ogunniyi (who also died in 1999), they subsequently exhumed his remains for reburial in their hometown – Accra. However, his contributions to the growth and development of Ogbomoso will never be forgotten. His being immortalized with the name of an important area bears testimony to this.
Mr. Ajisope also recalled how in 1981 he was on a trip to Ghana and Baba Ogunniyi sent him with a letter to the relatives of late Mr. Takie in Accra, Ghana. “I met his people in Ghana and they were happy. I met Mr. Takie’s younger brother who on learning that I was from Ogbomoso expressed joy and was enthusiastic and heartily embraced me. He promised to come and visit Baba Ogunniyi but he could not come till Baba passed on.”
Chief Adegboyega Ogunniyi, a son of the late Chef Ogunniyi, confirmed the stories saying his father truly bought the land from Mr. Takie.
