Orisadipe Obasa, was a Nigerian doctor and prince who played a significant role in the politics of Lagos in the first decades of the 20th century.
19 Facts About Orisadipe Obasa
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Orisadipe Obasa was born in January 1863 in Freetown, Sierra Leone, into an aristocratic Saro family.
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Orisadipe Obasa eventually served as first President of the Old Boys Association of his high school.
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Orisadipe Obasa used the name George Stone Smith while in England.
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Orisadipe Obasa 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.
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Orisadipe Obasa graduated in 1891 with Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons and the Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians.
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In 1892, Obasa returned to Lagos and began a private medical practice.
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Orisadipe Obasa was awarded a medal for his services, and in 1900, was appointed Assistant Colonial Surgeon in the Lagos medical service.
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Orisadipe Obasa played an important role in public health campaigns in the Lagos Colony and the interior of southern Nigeria.
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In 1902, Orisadipe Obasa married Charlotte Olajumoke, daughter of the wealthy merchant Richard Beale Blaize, and was given a comfortable house as a wedding present.
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Orisadipe Obasa made useful medical observations on subjects such as yaws, hookworm and inguinal hernias.
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In 1904, Orisadipe Obasa resigned from his position as colonial surgeon so he could spend more time at home.
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Orisadipe Obasa resumed his private practice and plunged into politics.
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Orisadipe Obasa was fluent in speech and writing, at ease with others, and had good family connections.
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Orisadipe Obasa was secretary of the Union, while Randle was president.
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In 1911, Randle and Orisadipe Obasa seem to have travelled to London to make the case against Governor Frederick Lugard's proposal to declare that all lands were government property.
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However, Orisadipe Obasa was nominated in 1921 to the Nigerian Legislative Council, where he was active on various committees.
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Randle died in 1928 and Orisadipe Obasa took leadership of what was left of the People's Union.
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Orisadipe Obasa died, aged 77, in April 1940, at his Lagos home.