Ogun River

Coordinates: 6°44′44″N 3°20′33″E / 6.745589°N 3.34259°E / 6.745589; 3.34259

Ogun River
Mouth	Lagos
Basin countries	Nigeria
Mouth elevation	0

The Ogun River is a waterway in Nigeria that discharges into the Lagos Lagoon.

Course and usage

The river rises in Oyo State near Shaki at coordinates 8°41′0″N 3°28′0″E / 8.683333°N 3.466667°E / 8.683333; 3.466667 and flow through Ogun State into Lagos State.^[1] The river is crossed by the Ikere Gorge Dam in the Iseyin local government area of Oyo State. The reservoir capacity is 690 million m³.^[2] The reservoir abuts the Old Oyo National Park, providing recreational facilities for tourists, and the river flows through the park.^[3] The Ofiki River, which also rises near Shaki, is the Ogun River's chief tributary.^{[citation needed]} The Oyan River, another tributary, is crossed by the Oyan River Dam which supplies water to Abeokuta and Lagos.^[4] 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.^[1]

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.^[5] 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.^[6] At one time, the river formed an important route for traders carrying goods by canoe between Abeokuta and the Lagos Colony.^[7]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} A.A. Ayoade, A.A. Sowunmi & H.I. Nwachukwu (2004). "Gill asymmetry in Labeo ogunensis from Ogun river, Southwest Nigeria". Rev. Biol. Trop. 52 (1): 171–175. http://www.ots.ac.cr/tropiweb/attachments/volumes/vol52-1/21-AYOADE-171-176.pdf. 
2. ^ 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 0415404231. 
3. ^ "Old Oyo National Park". Nigeria National Park Service. http://nigeriaparkservice.org/oyo/Default.aspx. Retrieved 2010-11-05. 
4. ^ Ikenweirwe, N.b., Otubusin, S.O. and Oyatogun, M.O.O. (March 2007). "Fisheries of Oyan Lake, South West Nigeria and Potential for Ecotourism Development". European Journal of Scientific Research Vol 16 No 3. http://www.eurojournals.com/ejsr%2016%203.pdf. Retrieved 2010-05-22. 
5. ^ McKenzie, Peter Rutherford (1997). Hail Orisha!: a phenomenology of a West African religion in the mid-nineteenth century. BRILL. p. 30. ISBN 9004109420. http://books.google.ca/books?id=BIdITHIAEs0C&pg=PA201. 
6. ^ Stride, G.T. & C. Ifeka (1971). Peoples and Empires of West Africa: West Africa in History 1000-1800. Edinburgh: Nelson. p. 296. ISBN 0-17511-448-X. 
7. ^ Foreign and Commonwealth Office (1859). British and foreign state papers, Volume 54. H.M.S.O.. http://books.google.ca/books?id=q5kAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA381.