The striker, who arrived in the summer, has only been able to play 27 minutes of Premier League football.
He has been used as a sub in the top flight, while he has only been heavily involved in Carabao Cup matches.
Asked about Osula and youngster Lewis Miley, Howe said: "They are very different players of course but with any young player.
“I think you need a degree of patience, that's not just the player, that's the player's representatives, family, friends - you are on a path of development 16, 17, 18, 19 whatever age you are and even sometimes older, the way you are trying to get into the team you've got to develop your game, there's no point standing still.
"You've got to develop your game so when you come into the team, you're able to stay in the team. We encourage development all the time, we work with our players really hard to try and improve them."