The Shasha River or Sasa River ( Yoruba: Odo Shasha) is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

Ogun Ogun or Ogoun ( Yoruba: Ògún, Edo: Ògún, Portuguese: Ogum, Gu; also spelled Oggun or Ogou; known as Ogún or Ogum in Latin America) is a Yoruba Orisha that is adopted in several African religions. Ògún is a warrior and a powerful spi ...

and

Osun Osun (; ), is a States of Nigeria, state in South West (Nigeria), southwestern Nigeria; bounded to the east by Ekiti State, Ekiti and Ondo State, Ondo states for 84 km and for 78 km respectively, to the north by Kwara State for 73&nb ...

States in Nigeria. The landscape varies from

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

in the north to

mangrove swamps A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen and remove sal ...

in the south.

Course

The Shasha River is a river in southwestern Nigeria that flows through the states of Osun, Ogun, and Lagos. It originates from Shasha village in the Ife region of Osun State and flows southwest for approximately 50 kilometers before emptying into the

Lekki Lagoon Lekki Lagoon is a lagoon located in Lagos and Ogun states in Nigeria. The lagoon lies directly to the east of Lagos Lagoon and is connected to it by a channel. It is surrounded by many beaches. Real Estate Developments There are two phases in th ...

. The river passes through several towns, including

Ipetumodu Ipetumodu () is a city in Osun State, in the southwestern part of Nigeria. It is the headquarters of the Ife North local government area. The city is under the leadership of traditional ruler with the title of Apetumodu, which means "one who kill ...

Odeomu Ode-Omu is a town in the present Osun State, Nigeria, established in 1909 sequel to implementation of relocation treaty signed between the Ibadan (Oyo) and Ife in 1886. This place is situated in Ayedaade, Osun, Nigeria, its geographical coordinates ...

, and Edunabon, before reaching its mouth at the Lekki Lagoon. Along its course, the Shasha River drains a significant portion of the southwestern Nigerian landscape, including the Osun River basin and the campus of

Obafemi Awolowo University Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal university in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife by the regional government of Western Nigeria, which w ...

. The river also passes through several villages, including Eyentanle, Kinkinyiun, Odeyinka, Ogbaagba, Sunmoge, and others, providing water and supporting the livelihoods of local communities. The river's flow is influenced by the

humid Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depe ...

climate of the region, with the highest

water level Water level, also known as gauge height or stage, is the elevation of the free surface of a sea, stream, lake or reservoir relative to a specified vertical datum. Over long distances, neglecting external forcings (such as wind), water level ten ...

s typically occurring during the rainy season. The Lonely bridge Ipetumodu Osun State Nigeria

The Shasha River, a significant watercourse in the Ogun-Osun River Basin, flows into the Lekki Lagoon at Imobi via Epe. Its tributary, River Opa, connects to the

Osun River The Oṣun River (sometimes spelt Oshun), Yoruba: Odò Ọ̀ṣun, is a river of Yorubaland that rises in Ekiti State and flows westwards into Osun State before turning southwestwards at its confluence with the Erinle River near the town of Ede ...

, while Rivers Owena and Oni converge into the Shasha River before it ultimately empties into the Lekki Lagoon. Environment The region has two distinct seasons: a

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...

and a

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...

. The wet season typically runs from

June June is the sixth and current month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars—the latter the most widely used calendar in the world. Its length is 30 days. June succeeds May and precedes July. This month marks the start of su ...

October October is the tenth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. The eighth month in the old calendar of Romulus , October retained its name (from Latin and Greek ''ôctō'' meaning "eight") after Januar ...

, with the highest rainfall occurring in

July July is the seventh month of the year in the Julian calendar, Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. It was named by the Roman Senate in honour of Roman general Julius Caesar in 44 B.C., being the month of his birth. Before the ...

and

September September is the ninth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 30 days. September in the Northern Hemisphere and March in the Southern Hemisphere are seasonally equivalent. In the Northern hemisphere, the b ...

. The dry season lasts from

November November is the eleventh and penultimate month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 30 days. November was the ninth month of the calendar of Romulus . November retained its name (from the Latin ''novem'' meaning " ...

May May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May in the Southern Hemisphere is the ...

. The river's environment is home to a total of 121 recorded

phytoplankton Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater Aquatic ecosystem, ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek language, Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), mea ...

species, belonging to 13

taxonomic 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme of classes (a taxonomy) and the allocation ...

groups. Bacillariophyta is the most represented group, with 53 species, contributing 43.80% of the total phytoplankton groups. The river's water is contaminated with organic materials, indicating mesosaprobic conditions. This pollution poses a significant threat to the river's ecosystem and the people who depend on it for their livelihood. Despite these challenges, River Shasha remains an essential resource for the people of Southwest Nigeria, supporting agriculture, fishing, and recreation. Its

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

is home to a population of approximately 75,000 people, who rely on the river as their primary source of water for drinking and domestic use.

References

{{reflist Rivers of Nigeria