All Yoruba names of towns and villages reflect the manners or the ways they were founded by the persons believed to be the original founders. The names of places or compounds in the towns or villages indicate the types of idols or gods often worshiped at the time.
The names or titles of the people or worshipers were determined by the idols they worshiped. Such names or titles served as simple or easy means of identification. That is why devout Muslims or Christian still bear names of titles which reflect this ancestral origin, even when they no longer worship these idols that have become extinct.
It is based on the above that Offa derives its name from an oyo prince and son of the Alaafin, Oranmiyan. From birth, he was call Olalomi. Olalomi grew up to be skilled and dexterous in the use of bows and arrows.
Ofa means arrow in the Yoruba language. Ofa is a tool, hunters used to kill wild animals and wage wars.
Over-time, Olalomi became known as Olofa, ‘’a person who owns an arrow’’ which he usually carried around, hung on his shoulder ad side, conspicuously. For even those who did not see him physically, the name gives a mental picture of “ Olofa gangan,’’ reflecting the way he moved around with his bow and arrow and his unrivalled prowess as a marksman in his various hunting expenditures in Yoruba land.
He was to undertake a hunting expedition to a virgin land which was later named Offa after him. The name Offa, was written with ‘’ff, to distinguish it from Ofa, the weapon he used in hunting.
Olofa I s the custodian of the settlement, where ‘’ Offa stands for the place of abode whereas ‘Ofa’ stands for the weapon or arrow. The two words are related but do not mean the same thing mentally and reality.
We differentiate the ordinary (non literal) meaning from the literal meaning of the two words.
Olofa Is the authentic custodian of the settlement called Offa, deriving from his name, Olofagangan, the word which reflect his mastery in the use of weapon.’Ofa’ for hunting and warfare.
