Orisadipe Obasa
| Orisadipe Obasa | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 1863 Freetown, Sierra Leone |
| Died |
15 April 1940 (aged 77) Lagos, Nigeria |
| Occupation | Doctor |
| Known for | Co-founder of the People's Union |
Orisadipe Obasa (January 1863 – 15 April 1940) was a Nigerian doctor and Prince who played a significant role in the politics in Lagos in the first decades of the 20th century.
Prince Orisadipe Obasa was born in January 1863 in Freetown, Sierra Leone, into an aristocratic family. His paternal grandfather was Elekole of Ikole, Ekiti and his mother was from the Abeokuta royal family of 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, where he excelled academically.
In 1883 his parents sent him to England to study medicine. He used the name George Stone Smith while in England. 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.
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.
In 1902 he married Charlotte Olajumoke, daughter of the wealthy merchant Richard Beale Blaize, and was given a comfortable house as a wedding present. In 1903 he visited Ekiti during Governor William MacGregor's smallpox vaccination program. He made useful medical observations on subject such as yaws, hookworm and inguinal hernias.
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