Epe, Lagos State: History
In years past, before this settlement came to be called Epe, the town had earlier been known as Igbo Obo (Forest of Monkeys). Some group of hunters from Ijebu, were led by one Urankaloye or Uraka had visited this part of the world during a hunting expedition in search for animals. Though it later served as the refuge for the forces of Kosoko, the Yoruba king ousted from Eko area of Lagos by the British in 1851. In 1892, Epe was the embarkation point for the military expedition sent by Sir Gilbert Carter, the then Governor of Lagos, to defeat the awujale (the Ijebu political and spiritual ruler) at Ijebu-Ode. Uraka and Aramope which were both hunters then left Ile-Ife on a hunting expedition arriving in Ijebu-Ode, Uraka never knew that he was on a threshold of history.
When Uraka got to Ijebu-Ode, he got a message through an Ifa divination. He was told to move southwards towards the sea and should settle anywhere between his crossing of the sixth and seventh river. After crossing the fifth river called "OTERIN" (Cold Water), he got to a place later identified as 'Poka' where he used his popoka stick to strike the ground. Poka town was derived from his name called Uraka's popoka stick. At Poka, the Ifa oracle was further consulted for direction which led Uraka to proceed and after crossing the sixth river, he finally settled in a place called "ETITA".
Upon settling at Etita, Uraka saw a smoke emanating from a heavily thick forest towards the lagoon. To see things for himself, Uraka traced the source of the smoke where he met some fishermen named Opute, Lugbasa, Alaro and Ogunmodede. Alaro and Ogunmodede were married but childless. Both later became deities and are worshipped in Epe till date, hence all Epe's sons and daughters are referred to as "Omo Epe Alaro Ogunmodede".
Meanwhile Uraka continued his hunting expeditions until he got to a place called Igbo obo (monkey forest), the present site of the Lagos State University, School of Engineering and formerly a military barracks, from where he continued his search for games. He later discovered a place called Oko-Eepe (Forest of black ants). As it turned out, whenever Uraka set his traps for games, he always returned home empty handed. This became a source of worry to him and his wife. Yet he was convinced that Oko-Eepe was home to the biggest games around. He complained to his wife named "PEETA" that the forest was infested with black ants and whenever he tapped his feet to ward off the black ants, animals around would take to their heels. More so, any animal caught by his traps were always eaten up by the ants before he got there.
Each time Uraka sets out for hunting, Peeta would ask if he was still going to Oko-Eepe. Eepe town derived its name from Oko-Eepe in the 15th century and some historians believed Peeta, Uraka's wife, must have played a vital role in the naming of Epe Town. Epe started expanding and in no time, some people settled at Areke or Aleke while others settled at the other side known as "Apakeji". Along the line, an Ijebu prince, son of the fifth Awujale of Ijebu-Ode, Obaloja left Ijebu-Ode and settled in Epe. He took the name Oloja and by 1790, Shagbafara was installed Oloja. As at 1810, Epe was fairly a large town. The town was relatively peaceful but had its own share of inter-tribal war. However, 1848 witnessed the Makun-Omi-Epe war. …