By DADA AYOKHAI
Sabongida Ora is one of the major towns in the Edo North senatorial district. Over the years, the town has grown in leaps and bounds and may also be on the hot pursuit to transform into a cosmopolitan city.
As the administrative and political headquarters of the Owan West local government area, Sabongida Ora serves as the gateway to the upland part of Ondo State, as well as other satellite communities and towns in Edo State
Also, the town hosts one of the famous landmarks noted for giving birth to secondary education in the whole of the Edo North district, the Holy Trinity Grammar School. The school is renowned for having produced eminent personalities who are doing incredible stuff in various vocations across the country.
Today, some of the notable alumni of the Holy Trinity Grammar School, Sabongida Ora, occupy commanding positions in society as governors, lawmakers, business moguls, engineers, and, so on, including a former Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase.
Like some other community Sabongida Ora has undergone name a change. The original name of the community was Evbiobe, before it changed to Sabongida Ora, which has stuck ever since.
Evbiobe is one of the communities that makes up Ora clan in Owan. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Owan West and the seat of Ora-Ekpen and Egua Arelu in Ora clan.
As it was recorded, during the time of Chief Obadan who was then the Chairman of the Ora Native administration.
, Ora was said to have accommodated a good number of Northerners, mostly the Hausa origin who came from Illorin.
Some of whom served as security guards to Chief Obadan with some involved in trading.
Dispute sprung up between the strangers and Ora people which made Chief Obadan to do away with the Northerners attached to him. This led to hostility by the Oras to the hausas.
However, Evbiobe showed compassion and accommodated the strangers, hausas.
Given this development, the Hausa began to call ‘Evibiobe their new home, : “Sabongidda” meaning “new home” in Hausa).
The indigenous people of Evbiobe found the name Sabongidda
fascinating and gradually joined the strangers in calling the name.
This made the name to extend and gain more popularity and acceptance among the people and externals.
When the government officials came and were taking records of names purpose of documentation they approached the Evbiobe
people and requested to know the name of the community.
They erroneous mentioned Sabongida instead of Evbiobe hence sabongida became the official name of the community.
