The Ogbomoso Progressive Union (OPU) came into existence in 1912, led by Prof. N.D. Oyerinde, the first Nigerian professor. It was quickly embraced by Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ sons and daughters everywhere. By 1950, when it metamorphosed into Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ Parapọ̀ (Ogbomoso Federal Council or Union), it already had branches stretching into Ghana and across several Northern Nigerian cities, with a presence that was especially strong and active right here in Jos, Plateau State.
When I first got to Jos as a corper years back, my boss, Mr Kola Olawale, noticed my passion for Yoruba culture and Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ history. He told me about the Parapọ̀ and how they could answer many of the questions I kept asking, but I never followed up until 2024, when we finally set out to shoot the documentary.
When Àyánkọ́lá arrived in Jos two years ago to begin production on “A Road From Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ to Jos,” our first stop was the Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ Parapọ̀, Jos. He arrived on a Sunday, and by Monday, we were already at the Parapọ̀ meeting. The meeting still holds every Monday at the Parapọ̀ House on Ayeni Street, close to Terminus, while the youth wing meets on Thursdays.
They received us warmly, genuinely excited about the project, and pointed us toward the very people who could help bring the story to life.
Just as the Hausa/Fulani community in Jos looked to the Sarkin Hausawa as their recognised authority, the Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ Parapọ̀ held that same standing for Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ people in the city. They settled disputes and governed community affairs, and under the leadership of their chairman and governing body, every Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ person in Jos saw them as the constituted authority.
It’s worth knowing that the father of the current Soun of Ogbomosoland, Oba Ghandi Afolabi Olaoye, was the Late Prince Oládùńní Ọláoyè, one of Parapọ̀’s strongest founding members, standing alongside Prof. N.D. Oyerinde and a circle of elite “alákọ̀wé” sons and daughters who together brought real, lasting development to Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́.
It was at one of these very Parapọ̀ meetings that Late Pa Oladele Ajao produced the now-beloved “Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ Ajílété ” Anthem. The Parapọ̀ built the Post Office at Takie. Their efforts also birthed Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ Grammar School in 1952, funded in part by wealthy Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ traders resident in the then Gold Coast. Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ Girls’ High School followed in 1959, among other developments.
There’s a tradition at the end of the Jos meetings that I find genuinely fascinating. To take attendance, they call out ancestral areas, Ìsàlẹ́-Àfọ̀n, Òkelérin, Tàràá, Òsùpá, etc., and members whose family house belongs to that area stand as their name is called. It plays out almost like a friendly competition, with whichever area has the most people standing “winning” for the meeting. The final count becomes the attendance record for that meeting.
The picture attached was taken in December 2024, showing a few youths of Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ Parapọ̀ at the Yakubu Gowon Airport, welcoming Ọba Ghandi Afọlábí Ọláoyè to the city of Jos.
The private screenings of our documentary film, “A Road From Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ to Jos,” will hold on Thursday, 10th September, 2026, at the Olúṣeun Onígbìndé Resource Centre, Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́, by 10am and 4pm, and at Mee’s Palace Cinema, Rayfield, Jos, by 12pm.
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