If you have ever passed through Akpakpava Road in Benin City, from King’s Square (Ring Road) toward Ikpoba Hill, you have travelled along one of the most historically layered roads in Nigeria. What many people do not know is that Akpakpava may not be an Edo word at all.
There is strong oral tradition suggesting the name emerged from Portuguese and early Catholic influence in Benin over 500 years ago. According to accounts preserved by historian and physician Ekhaguosa Aisien, a discussion with the Catholic Archbishop Patrick Ebosele Ekpu pointed to a likely origin from the Latin phrase:
“Papa Via” — meaning “The Pope’s Way” or “The Pope’s Road.”
Over centuries, local pronunciation may have transformed Papa Via into Akpakpava. This theory fits perfectly with known linguistic history. Benin had deep contact with the Portuguese from the late 1400s, and many Edo words today are clearly derived from Portuguese. For example:
Ekuyẹ (spoon) — from colher
Ekalaka (cup/glass) — from caneca
Alimo (orange) — from limo
Potoki — from Português
Ikobo (copper coin) — from cobre
Akpakpava may simply be another example of this cultural exchange.
But the road’s history goes even deeper. In ancient times, tradition says it was called Ode Agbayo Aigbare, (literally translated to “we go together but we do not return together”) a dangerous path that led to the Agbado Market, remembered in Edo folklore for the terrifying monster Osogan, said to have carried people away until it was slain by Evian the Blacksmith, ancestor of the Ogiamien family.
At another time, the road became known as Ikpoba Road, reflecting its direction toward the Ikpoba River. Yet by 1910 colonial maps, the name Akpakpava was already established, proving the word is more than a modern invention.
Today, Akpakpava is one of Benin’s busiest commercial corridors, lined with banks, schools, shops, offices, and transport hubs. It hosts the famous Holy Aruosa Cathedral, a relic of the first missionary outpost in pre-colonial Nigeria, established by Portuguese Catholic priests over 500 years ago and Agbado Market, one of the city’s 4 major open markets.
The photograph here shows its reconstruction during the era of Governor Samuel Ogbemudia, a reminder that the road has continually evolved with the city itself.
So when you say Akpakpava, you may unknowingly be speaking a West African blend of Portuguese or voicing a word shaped by Portuguese traders, Catholic missionaries, ancient Edo markets, folklore and royal history. A single road, five centuries of memory.
Photo credit: Edoworld.net
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