Oguntola Sapara
| Oguntola Sapara | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Alexander Johnson Williams 9 June 1861 Freetown, Sierra Leone |
| Died | June 1935 (aged 73–74) Lagos, Nigeria |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Alma mater | St. Thomas's Hospital Medical School |
| Occupation | Medical doctor |
| Known for | Smallpox prevention |
Oguntola Odunbaku Sapara (9 June 1861 – June 1935) was a Yoruba doctor, originally from Sierra Leone, who spent most of his career and life in Nigeria. He was best known for his campaign against secret societies that were spreading smallpox.
Oguntola Sapara was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone on 9 June 1861 and named Alexander Johnson Williams. His father was a liberated slave from Ilesa in Western Nigeria, and his mother was from Egbaland. His brother was Christopher Sapara Williams, who became a prominent Nigerian lawyer.
His family moved to Lagos Colony in 1876, where he attended the Lagos Church Missionary Society Grammar School until 1878. He became an apprentice to a Lagos printer early in 1879, working there for three years.
He served as an assistant dispenser at the Colonial Hospital for three years before founding his own dispensary in Ghana. Sapara travelled to London, England and entered St Thomas's Hospital Medical School in 1888, where he gained honours in midwifery. Moving to Scotland, in 1895 he obtained the L.R.C.P. and L.R.C.S. of the University of Edinburgh, the L.F.P.S. of the University of Glasgow and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Health.
Sapara returned to the Lagos colony. In January 1896 he was appointed an Assistant Colonial Surgeon. He served continuously in different stations for the next thirty-two years. Sapara made many contributions to improving public health. He fought for slum clearance, organised a society for scientifically training midwives, organised the first public dispensary in 1901, and identified causes of an epidemic of tuberculosis in 1918, which included overcrowding, poor ventilation and public ignorance about hygiene.
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