Orisadipe Obasa
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Orisadipe Obasa | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 1863 Freetown, Sierra Leone |
| Died | 15 April 1940 (aged 77) Lagos, Nigeria |
| Occupation | Doctor |
| Known for | Being the co-founder of the People's Union |
| Spouse | Charlotte Obasa |
| Children | 5 |
| Relatives | Richard Beale Blaize (father-in-law) Akinola Maja (son-in-law) Lola Maja (great-granddaughter) |
Orisadipe Obasa,ⓘ (January 1863 – 15 April 1940) was a Nigerian doctor and prince who played a significant role in the politics of Lagos in the first decades of the 20th century.
Orisadipe Obasa was born in January 1863 in Freetown, Sierra Leone, into an aristocratic Saro family. His paternal grandfather was the Oba Elekole of Ikole, Ekiti, and his mother was from the Abeokuta royal family of the Akija of Ikija. As a youth, Obasa moved to Lagos. In 1878, he was admitted as Senior Foundation Scholar to the newly opened Wesleyan Boys High School (now Methodist Boys High School, Lagos) where he excelled academically. He eventually served as first President of the Old Boys Association of his high school.
In 1883, his parents sent him to England to study medicine.[1] He used the name George Stone Smith while in England.[2] He was admitted to King's College, Taunton, where he again was a star pupil, and went on to St Thomas's Hospital Medical School in London. He graduated in 1891 with Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons and the Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians.[1]
Career
In 1892, Obasa returned to Lagos and began a private medical practice. During the Anglo-Ashanti wars, towards the end of the 19th century, he served in an expedition of the Lagos Constabulary in the Gold Coast colony. He was awarded a medal for his services, and in 1900, was appointed Assistant Colonial Surgeon in the Lagos medical service. He played an important role in public health campaigns in the Lagos Colony and the interior of southern Nigeria.