Traditional Awori Yoruba folklore tells that Olofin's children, Osolo and Eleidi Atalabi founded Ota after migrating south from Isheri. As the town developed, it eventually came to be locally ruled by a crowned oba, called the Olota, whose ruling privilege came from the Yoruba traditional home of Ile-Ife. Ota soon became important in the production and sale of cocoa. In 1842, the expansion of the Egba nation brought Ota under the control of Abeokuta, however Ota held a semi-independent status within the Egba kingdom, and remained the capital of the Awori people. In the early part of the 1900s, governance and administration of justice were kept by members of the Ogboni secret society, a traditional group that made and enforced the laws. In 1903, modern police crews were introduced, and had almost completely supplanted the traditional enforcement roles of the Ogboni by the 1950s. In 1954, the introduction of a new Federal Government taxation system led to riots in Ota. On February 4, the new tax code was announced. The Aiyepeju Society and the Ota Tax Payers Association began protesting almost immediately. The protests turned violent as aggressive crowds began destroying property. The riots, which came to be known as the "Ponpo Aiyepeju", were eventually put down by the Nigerian police. In the aftermath of the disturbances, Oba Timothy Fadina was removed by the element of Awori Unity on May 11, 1954. Ota began to grow into the industrial city it is today due to the economic development planning and lobbying by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and Chief Bisi Onabanjo, former governor of Ogun State. This led to the official designation of Ota as an industrial town, and the state government began to encourage industries to locate in and around the city.
Sections of the town are dominated by industries including Lagos - Abeokuta rd and Idi-Oroko rd. Beginning in the early 1970s, many businesses began building factories in Ota partly because it was less congested than the industrial estates in Lagos. Businesses with facilities in Ota include:
The indigines are predominantly Yoruba of the Awori dialect group. They trace their ancestry down from Ile-Ife and consider Iganmode as their patriarch. Other Aworis are located in the neighbouring Lagos State. The main occupation of Ota residents is trading and farming. The town's proximity to Lagos and proximity to the border town of Idiroko have led to the creation of two large markets: Kayero Market in Sango and Oba T.T. Dada Market along Idiroko Road. These markets are each so large that they blend together and are more commonly just referred to as Sango-Ota Market.
There have been several confrontations between Owu and Awori residents of the area. In April, 2008, violent clashes left at least six people dead when Awori and Owu fought over the Olowu of Owu's installation of an Oba in Awori land. The governor of Ogun State, Gbenga Daniel, declared a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the Ado-Odo/Ota Ota local government area.
