Ogba, Lagos: Area Guide for Renters and Buyers

Ogba is a large, busy residential and commercial district in Ikeja Local Government Area, on the northern Lagos mainland. It lies between Agege and Ifako-Ijaiye on one side and Agidingbi, Alausa and Omole on the other, and it takes in Aguda-Ogba, Ijaiye-Ogba and the Wempco Road business district. It is one of the more affordable addresses inside Ikeja LGA, and it suits people who work in Ikeja, Alausa or Agege and want to live close by without paying central Ikeja rents.

Where is Ogba, and which LGA is it in?

Ogba is in Ikeja LGA. Day-to-day council services come from Ojodu Local Council Development Area, whose secretariat is in Ogba itself. The short answer on which side of the lagoon it is on is in Is Ogba mainland or island?; this guide is about living there.

When people say Ogba they may mean any of these:

• Ogba proper: the area around the Ogba bus stop and the market on Ijaiye Road, and the streets behind it.
• Ijaiye-Ogba: the stretch along Ijaiye Road towards Pen Cinema in Agege and Ifako-Ijaiye.
• Aguda-Ogba: the residential side towards Omole and Ojodu, reached along Isheri Road. It is not the Aguda in Surulere.
• Wempco Road and Acme Road: the business and light-industrial side towards Agidingbi, with factories, warehouses, offices and printing houses.

Its neighbours are Agege, Agidingbi, Alausa, Omole and Ojodu. See the Agidingbi guide, the Alausa guide, the Omole guide and the Ojodu Berger guide.

What is Ogba like?

Ogba is dense and self-sufficient. The main roads are lined with shops, banks, eateries, schools, churches and mosques, and the market and bus stop are busy from early morning until late. Behind them, the residential streets are a mix of older blocks of flats, bungalows, tenement houses and a growing number of newly built blocks, together with a few small gated streets and estates. The Wempco Road side is different again: wide plots, company premises and lorries during the working day, and quiet at night.

• Shopping: Ogba market and the shops on Ijaiye Road cover daily needs, and Ikeja City Mall in Alausa is a short trip away.
• Schools and healthcare: there are many private schools and private hospitals, as you would expect of a long-settled family area.
• Power and water: public electricity is unreliable, so most buildings run a generator or an inverter, and most compounds use a borehole.
• Flooding: some of the lower streets hold water after heavy rain. Check the exact street rather than the main road.
• Traffic and noise: homes on or near Ijaiye Road get the convenience and the noise; the inner closes are calmer.

Indicative annual rents in Ogba

These are indicative ranges for a full year. Renovated and newly built flats with parking, a borehole and a prepaid meter sit at the top; older compound flats on the inner streets can be found below these figures.

• Self-contain or mini flat: ₦300,000 – ₦800,000 per annum
• 2-bedroom flat: ₦1,000,000 – ₦1,500,000 per annum
• 3-bedroom flat: ₦1,800,000 – ₦3,500,000 per annum

Landlords usually ask for a year in advance, and the agency fee, legal fee and caution deposit come on top; move-in costs in Nigeria shows how to add these up before you start viewing. To see what is available now, browse flats for rent in Ogba, houses for rent in Ogba, 2-bedroom flats for rent in Ikeja and 3-bedroom flats for rent in Ikeja.

Buying a house or land in Ogba

Ogba is fully built, so empty land is rare. What comes up is mostly older bungalows and blocks of flats, often bought to renovate or to pull down and rebuild as a block of flats, and units in the new blocks that replace them. Prices are below central Ikeja and well below Ikeja GRA, where 2-bedroom flats indicatively sell from about ₦25,000,000–₦60,000,000, and they depend heavily on the street, the size of the plot and the documents. Compare several asking prices for similar properties before you make an offer.

Titles in Ikeja LGA are generally better documented than on the edge of the city, but do not take that on trust. Have a lawyer search the title at the Lagos State Lands Bureau and confirm that the building has planning approval. Read how to verify a C of O in Lagos and buying a house in Lagos, then browse properties for sale in Ogba.

Getting around from Ogba

• Towards Agege and Ifako-Ijaiye: Ijaiye Road runs from the Ogba bus stop to Pen Cinema in Agege, where roads lead on to Iju-Ishaga, Fagba and the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway. The Agege station of the Lagos Red Line is on this side.
• Towards Agidingbi, Alausa and central Ikeja: the roads through Acme and Agidingbi lead to Lateef Jakande Road, the Alausa secretariat, Ikeja City Mall and Obafemi Awolowo Way, and from there to Allen Avenue and Computer Village.
• Towards Omole and Ojodu Berger: Isheri Road runs through Aguda-Ogba to Omole and out to Ojodu Berger, where it meets the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. This is the way most drivers head for the Third Mainland Bridge and the Island.

Minibuses, tricycles and ride-hailing cover all three directions. Ogba is a short trip from the offices of Ikeja, which is its main advantage. The bus stop, the Pen Cinema end of Ijaiye Road and the Berger end of Isheri Road are the usual bottlenecks. A daily journey to Victoria Island or Lekki is long from here, so travel it at your normal hour before you commit.

Who Ogba suits

• Civil servants and contractors who work at the Alausa secretariat
• Staff of the companies on Wempco Road, Acme Road, Agidingbi and Oregun
• Families who want schools, a market and hospitals within a short distance
• Renters who want an Ikeja LGA address at a lower rent than Allen Avenue, Opebi or Ikeja GRA
• Small landlords and developers rebuilding older houses as blocks of flats

It is less suitable if you want a quiet gated estate; for that, look at Omole or Magodo. To compare Ogba with the rest of this side of the city, see areas on the Lagos mainland.

What to check before renting or buying in Ogba

• The exact street: visit at morning rush, midday and evening; a street can feel very different at each.
• Drainage: ask neighbours what happens after heavy rain, and look at the gutters and the level of the ground floor.
• Power: confirm that the flat has its own prepaid meter, and how generator costs are shared.
• Water: check the borehole and the tank, and run the taps.
• Parking: many older blocks have fewer spaces than flats, and street parking is tight.
• Who you are paying: confirm the landlord's identity and the agent's authority before money changes hands, and insist on a written agreement and receipts.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

Browse the Ogba area guide, the Ikeja area guide and properties in Ikeja. Related guides: Ogba location guide, Agidingbi, Oregun, Ikeja GRA, Agege location guide and renting a house in Lagos. Own a flat or house here? List your property on Cabans.