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Ọ̀gá The word Oga is a widely known term in the “Nigerian English,”otherwise known as “Pidgin English.”

The term Ọ̀gá originates from the Yorùbá language, where it denotes meanings such as "master," "chief," "distinguished performance," or "boss." It has been widely adopted into Nigerian Pidgin and various other indigenous Nigerian languages, retaining these core meanings. The word has been part of the Yoruba lexicon since at least the 19th century, as evidenced by its inclusion in the first published Yoruba dictionary in 1852.

The meaning of Oga could also be explained as one who is “influential”or of “higher status”to the to the other party. 

Etymology and Early Usage

The Yorùbá word “Ọ̀gá” is etymologically derived from the verbal root “ga”, which means “to be tall” or “to be high.” This root is frequently used to form nouns connoting elevation, height, or social superiority. As a result, ọ̀gà evolved to mean “that which is high,” a term symbolically extended to describe individuals occupying positions of authority or elevated status, such as a master, chief, or boss. This explanation is supported by Melville J. Herskovits, who wrote:

“The Yoruba verbal root ‘ga’ which means to be tall or high. Yoruba nouns are formed from verbs. Thus, ‘oga’ means that which is tall or high. The noun ‘oga’ can then be modified by means of another verbal root as a suffix.”— Melville J. Herskovits, The African Background of American Culture (1930), p. 88.[2]

The earliest lexicographic documentation of ọ̀gá appears in the mid‑19th‑century Yoruba dictionaries, which already used the word to denote positions of authority and social rank. Notably:

Samuel Ajayi Crowther (1852) included it in A Vocabulary of the Yoruba Language to denote “brave person”or “distingushed performer”

Rev. Thomas J. Bowen (1858) listed ogá as meaning one who is exalted or hero. He then proceeded to add a derivative— “Oga ogo”: to mean highest or the most high, a sacred term specially reserved for the supreme being—“God.”

The Church Missionary Society Yoruba–English Dictionary (1913) defines ọ̀gà as “brave person,”“chief,” “superior,” or “master.”

These early records confirm that ọ̀gà was firmly established in the semantic field of leadership, authority, and elevated social status long before the 20th century.

Usage in Modern Yoruba

In contemporary Yoruba, ọ̀gà commonly refers to:

A workplace supervisor or boss

A traditional chief or person of authority

A formal mode of address, akin to sir

The meaning has remained semantically consistent from the 19th century into modern usage.

Global Recognition and Lexical Authority

Modern dictionaries of Nigerian and global English affirm the Yoruba origin of oga:

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) defines "Oga" as a Nigerian Pidgin term for “boss” or “chief.”OED's earliest evidence for oga is from 1917, in Journal Royal Anthropological Institute, and traces its etymology to Yoruba.

Kay Williamson's Dictionary of Ọ̀nìchà Igbo, enlarged, revised, and printed in 2013 by Roger Blench, in the entry for the term“Oga”(in page 249) explicitly annotates it as a loanword in Igbo lexicon from Yoruba, arising as a result of inter-ethnic borrowing among the various ethnic groups in Nigeria.

The Nigerian English Dictionary by Roger Blench (2005) also attributes the origin of oga to Yoruba.

My Oga at the top 
The phrase My Oga at the top may be used to show respect to someone in a position of authority.  for example, in a question like this: "When will you pay my debt?", an appropriate reply would be: "My Oga at the top has not paid my salary."  
The phrase is common in Nigeria, used in public and government offices, and became very popular when Channels TV's morning program Sunrise Daily interviewed Obafaiye Shem, the Lagos State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps on the need to know the correct website of the corp to avoid misleading job seekers.    He was asked, "What is the website of the NSCDC?" And he responded, "I cannot categorically tell you one now." He was asked again, "Do you mean that NSCDC has multiple websites?" He responded, "We can't have multiple websites but I cannot tell you one now, and my Oga at the top say is another one and the one we are going to make use of will be made known by my Oga at the top." Nigerians considered his response inappropriate and it went viral.  

On Tuesday, December 19, 2023, ten years after the interview that went viral, Obafaiye Shem made a return to Channels TV's morning program, Sunrise Daily, but this time, in mufti. When asked why he was in mufti, he told the interviewers he was then retired. Among many things during the interview, he also disclosed that his wife patented the "My Oga at the Top" comment with Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, and added that he would demand money from anyone who used it without an express permission from him.
He admitted in the return interview that he didn't know the website of the NSCDC at the time of the first interview, and that, although there was backlash from several quarters, with some expressing embarrassment and seeking his removal, his then boss said he remained one of the best commandants he had. He also admitted that many years after, he watches and laughs over the 2013 interview. 
Meanwhile, the week before the return interview, he was promoted and decorated as Deputy Commandant-General of the NSCDC