This exerpt is from http://members.tripod.com/omo_ileosikan/id2.html "Who Is Elegba"?

"In the Yoruba [Nigeria, West Africa] pantheon, Elegba is a deity, the divine messenger of [the Supreme God] Olodumare. Elegba is a guardian, protector and communicator. Through divination, he guides the fate of man. In West Africa and all through the Diaspora he is revered. The Fon call him Legba. He is called Èsú (eshu), Èlegba and Èlegbara among the Yoruba. In Brazil for the practitioners of Candomble, he is Exu. The Lucumi of the New World know him as Eshu Eleggua. These references are sacred praise names or "oriki" for Eshu-Elegbara. Oriki is used to describe the attributes or to recount the adjectives that describe an orisha.

As trickster, Eshu is associated with disorder and destiny in the Yoruba pantheon. As "orisa orita" or "esu orita", orisha of the crossroad or the corners, Elegba represents the transitional or center point of the crossroad where one must make a decision. In this position, Elegba represents all the bewilderment and confusion one faces when attempting to make the proper choice. Once the choice is made, he is involved in the consequences and through his own devices guides us towards and along our proper path.

His ambivalence to orisa and man makes Elegba a complex, neutral force. For those who live in accordance to social and religious law, he is a great benefactor and guardian. Those who choose to live contrary" will meet him on their path as the "law enforcer" or "divine policeman".

The personified characteristics of Elegba are contradictive. For example, he is a loyal friend and very generous. He is the dispenser of punishment and shows loyalty to no one, man or orisa. Practitioners are quick to say "Elegba will lift you up very high with his hands and in the next instance open his hands so that you fall". These contradictive aspects Elegba represent the belief that Olodumare (a descriptive name for God) is all-powerful and not bound by any rules.

All that is good and bad lies within Olodumare's power (àsé). Esu Elegbara as the holder of Olodumare's àsé (the power to make things happen) dispenses it in accordance to the Olodumare's will."

-snip-

Also, see this excerpt from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleggua

"Eshu (other names include Exú, Esu Eleggua, Esu Elegbara, Eshu Elegbara, Elegba, Legba, and Eleda) is an orisha, and one of the most known deities of the Yoruba mythology and related New World traditions.

He has a wide range of responsibilities: the protector of travelers, deity of roads, particularly crossroads, the deity with the power over fortune and misfortune, and the personification of death, a psychopomp. Eshu is involved within the Orisa (also spelt Orisha or Orixa)-Ifá system of the Yoruba as well as in African diasporic faiths like Santeria/Lukumi and Candomble developed by the descendants of enslaved West Africans in the Americas, where Eshu was sometimes identified with Saint Anthony, Saint Michael [1] or Santo Niño de Atocha , depending on the situation or location. He is often identified by the number three, and the colours red & black or white & black, and his caminos or paths (compare: avatar) are often represented carrying a cane, shepherd's crook, as well as a pipe."

-snip-

(italics added by me for emphasis)