Introducing the Documentary: A Road From Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ to Jos

A new historical documentary titled “A Road From Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ to Jos” is set for release, chronicling the story of how generations of Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ indigenes built a second home for themselves in Jos, Plateau State.

The project is the work of two Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́-born culture lovers, Àyánkọ́lá Àyánwuyì and Johnson Akínrìnadé Okùnadé, who began production in 2024 after Akínrìnadé hosted Àyánkọ́lá in Jos. The idea grew out of work both men had separately been doing to document and preserve Yorùbá history. Akínrìnadé, who is from Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́, first became aware of the depth of this connection during his NYSC posting to Jos, where he discovered that almost every Yorùbá person he met in the city, starting with the owner of the organisation he served under, traced their roots back to Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́.

Àyánkọ́lá is the author of “Èṣù is Not Satan,” a book that addresses long-held misconceptions about the primordial being Èṣù. Through his Dundun Centre, formerly known as the AIF Yorùbá Cultural Centre, he has produced numerous documentaries on Yorùbá history and holds the record for producing the highest number of video documentaries on Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ history and culture. His 2022 documentary on the Space-Sitting Prowess of Egúngún Ajómọ́gbódó screened at international festivals and institutions, including Stanford University, and his other diverse cultural work earned him a place among forty international youth delegates at a UNESCO heritage and innovation forum in China in 2025, alongside cultural voices from around the world.

Akínrìnadé, for his part, ran a now defunct Yorùbá culture blog, My Woven Words, through which he researched and documented various strands of Yorùbá history, most of which are still available on his personal blog, and has been a known critic of Yorùbá cultural films that distort historical fact. He also produces content on Yorùbá culture on his YouTube channel. Beyond his cultural works, he is a technology entrepreneur and founder of Morrebs ICT Solutions Limited, a tech company focused on providing innovative cutting-edge ICT Solutions & Trainings. He is also the founder of MorrJobs Limited, an innovative and digital employment platform.

Production on the documentary ran for over two years. As part of their research, the duo attended the Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ Parapo meeting in Jos, which holds every Monday evening, where they engaged members of the association and were directed to key figures, including the president of Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ Parapo, Hon. S.A Aderinto, past presidents of the association, and the adviser to Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ Parapo Worldwide, Barr. Prof. Oyelami. The team also visited First Baptist Church and the Nurudeen Muslim Society, both located on Adebayo Street in Jos, gathering accounts of interfaith cooperation among Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ settlers in the city. Drone and video footage was captured across relevant locations in Jos, and in Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́.

The documentary draws on extensive interviews with Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ indigenes who lived and worked in Jos, as well as returnees, and references the book “Home Away From Home: History of Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ People in Jos” by Olayinka Oyegbile. It traces Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́’s trade ties with Northern Nigeria back to the 19th century, and how the discovery of tin in Jos in the late 1800s drew Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ traders to the emerging city, where their commercial dominance eventually earned the trust of firms such as UAC, UTC and PZ, who extended them goods on credit. The documentary also touches on the role of Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ settlers in Jos’s civic and political history, and on the enduring pull of home felt by many who eventually returned to Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́.

The producers have said the goal of the documentary is to educate and preserve this chapter of Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ history for present and future generations. Ahead of its public release, private screening events are being planned for both Jos and Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ in the first week of September, with official dates and venues to be announced in due course.