THE HISTORY OF GADA AMITITI

  THE HISTORY OF GADA AMITITI

By Folohunsho Maryam 

As it is being called "GADA AMITITI",a bridge that shake. It is located in Osun the capital of Osogbo. The bridge is built over the Osun River beside the osun groove. The Osun river is a river that is named after a powerful woman called OSUN the goddess of love. According to history,the woman called OSUN transform into a big river and was once seen by a farmer going to the farm. OSUN river was been worshipped yearly every August and since then have become a place where everybody both home and abroad come to witness the occasion, it has become a tourist attraction.

Many hundred years back,the farmers that do go to the farm have no means of going to the other side of the river, there was nothing to use to cross or move to the other side, they then decided to build a bridge over the Osun river to enable the farmers especially those from isale-osun communities connect to oke- Osun to make use of the bridge as a route to carry out their daily activities.

There was a movement to construct the bridge over the Osun river for easy journey but according to history, many attempts were made to construct the bridge but to no avail because each time they construct the bridge it keeps collapsing and they do not know the cause. Then, the traditional leaders therefore consulted the deities to know the cause and how to go about it.

 It was then revealed by the diety that if they want to build the bridge they should not place any thing to support the bridge in the river that they want to construct it over. The instructions was then followed which led to the construction of the bridge in 1930 without any pole standing in the river. The absence of the pole make the bridge shake while people are on it which make people to call it GADA AMITITI in english it means "a bridge that shake".

The construction of the bridge was then successful because they follow the diety instructions. They were able to build the bridge with the help of the colonial masters. GADA AMITITI has been in existence since then and it still exist and it has never fall apart. It has become tourist attention which makes people all over the world to come to Osun - Osogbo groove to see the bridge.

But of recent, people are calling to the government to help them to repair the bridge because the bridge is now weak and without the bridge the farmers will not be able to carry out their daily activities again and the people are scared of passing through it because it may collapse at any time. But the government is insisting that if they are to repair the bridge it will not remain the same. 

But the people want the same AMITITI bridge back because it remains one of the center of attraction to tourist in Osogbo and other people in the world. So they will want the government not to cease it's existence but find a way to repair on it