Ibadan
Encyclopedia
Ibadan is the capital city of Oyo State
Oyo State
Ọyọ State is an inland state in south-western Nigeria, with its capital at Ibadan. It is bounded in the north by Kwara State, in the east by Osun State, in the south by Ogun State and in the west partly by Ogun State and partly by the Republic of Benin....
and the third largest metropolitan area in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, after Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
and Kano
Kano
Kano is a city in Nigeria and the capital of Kano State in Northern Nigeria. Its metropolitan population is the second largest in Nigeria after Lagos. The Kano Urban area covers 137 sq.km and comprises six Local Government Area - Kano Municipal, Fagge, Dala, Gwale, Tarauni and Nassarawa - with a...
, with a population of 1,338,659 according to the 2006 census. Ibadan is also the largest metropolitan geographical area. At Nigerian independence, Ibadan was the largest and most populous city in the country and the third in Africa after Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
and Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
.
Ibadan is located in south-western Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, 128 km inland northeast of Lagos and 530 km southwest of Abuja
Abuja
Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria. It is located in the centre of Nigeria, within the Federal Capital Territory . Abuja is a planned city, and was built mainly in the 1980s. It officially became Nigeria's capital on 12 December 1991, replacing Lagos...
, the federal capital, and is a prominent transit
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
point between the coastal region and the areas to the north. Ibadan had been the centre of administration of the old Western Region
Western Region, Nigeria
The Western Region was a subdivision of the federation of Nigeria until 1967. Its capital was at Ibadan.It was established in the 1930s under British rule as a subdivision of the Southern Nigeria colony...
since the days of the British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
colonial rule, and parts of the city's ancient protective walls still stand to this day. The principal inhabitants of the city are the Yoruba people
Yoruba people
The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...
, most of whom are Christian
Christianity in Africa
Christianity is now one of the two most widely practised religions in Africa and is the largest religion in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most adherents outside Egypt, Ethiopia and Eritrea are Roman Catholic or Protestant. The presence of Christianity in Africa began in the middle of the 1st century in...
.
History
Ibadan came into existence in 1829. According to local historians, LageluLagelu
Lagelu, Oro a pata maja, was the founder of Ibadan. A military legend and Yoruba's generalisimo from Ile Ife, he founded two of the three cities that eventually became the great and historical city of Ibadan.Eba Odan + Eba'dan = Ibadan The first military commander of Ibadan was Lagelu, a.k.a.,...
, the Jagun (commander-in-chief) of Ife
Ife
Ife is an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria. Evidence of inhabitation at the site has been discovered to date back to roughly 560 BC...
and Yoruba
Yoruba people
The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...
's generalissimo, left Ile Ife with a handful of people from Ife, Oyo and Ijebu to found a new city, Eba Odan, which literally means 'between the forest and plains.' According to HRH Sir Isaac Babalola Akinyele
Isaac Babalola Akinyele
Isaac Babalola Akinyele, OBE, KBE was the first educated Olubadan of Ibadan, and the second Christian to ascend the throne.-Family:...
, the late Olubadan
Olubadan
The Olubadan is the royal title of the king of Ibadan land in Nigeria, now a largely symbolic role. Ibadan was founded in the 16th century, but the present Yoruba people only took control around 1820...
(king) of Ibadan (Olu Ibadan means Lord of Ibadan), in his authoritative book on the history of Ibadan, Iwe Itan Ibadan, printed in 1911, the first city was destroyed due to an incident at an Egungun
Egungun
Egungun is a part of the Yoruba pantheon of divinities. In the indeginous religious system of the West African tribe of that name, the spirit is of central importance...
(masquerade) festival when an Egungun was accidentally disrobed and derisively mocked by women and children in an open marketplace full of people. In Yorubaland
Yorùbáland
Yorubaland, or Yorùbáland , is a cultural region in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo that includes the indigenous territory and cultural reach of the Yoruba people.- History :-Settlement:Oduduwa is regarded as the legendary progenitor of the Yoruba...
, it was an abomination for women to look an Egungun in the eye because the Egunguns were considered to be the dead forefathers who returned to the earth each year to bless their progeny. When the news reached Sango, the then Alaafin of Oyo
Oyo, Nigeria
Oyo is a city in Oyo State, Nigeria, founded as the capital of the Oyo Kingdom in the 1830s and known to its people as 'New Oyo' to distinguish it from the former capital to the north, 'Old Oyo' ) which had been deserted as a result of rumors of war. Its inhabitants are mostly of the Yoruba people...
, he commanded that Eba Odan be destroyed for committing such abominable act.
Lagelu
Lagelu
Lagelu, Oro a pata maja, was the founder of Ibadan. A military legend and Yoruba's generalisimo from Ile Ife, he founded two of the three cities that eventually became the great and historical city of Ibadan.Eba Odan + Eba'dan = Ibadan The first military commander of Ibadan was Lagelu, a.k.a.,...
was by now an old, frail man; he could not stop the destruction of his city, but he and some of his people survived the attack and fled to a nearby hill for sanctuary. On the hill they survived by eating oro fruit and snails; later, they cultivated the land and made corn and millets into pap meals known as oori or eko, which they ate with roasted snails. They improvised a bit by using the snail shells to drink the liquefied eko. Ultimately, Lagelu
Lagelu
Lagelu, Oro a pata maja, was the founder of Ibadan. A military legend and Yoruba's generalisimo from Ile Ife, he founded two of the three cities that eventually became the great and historical city of Ibadan.Eba Odan + Eba'dan = Ibadan The first military commander of Ibadan was Lagelu, a.k.a.,...
and his people came down from the hill and founded another city called Eba'dan.
The new city instantly grew prosperous and became a commercial nerve centre. Shortly afterwards, Lagelu
Lagelu
Lagelu, Oro a pata maja, was the founder of Ibadan. A military legend and Yoruba's generalisimo from Ile Ife, he founded two of the three cities that eventually became the great and historical city of Ibadan.Eba Odan + Eba'dan = Ibadan The first military commander of Ibadan was Lagelu, a.k.a.,...
died, leaving behind a politically savvy people and a very stable community. The newly enthroned Olubadan
Olubadan
The Olubadan is the royal title of the king of Ibadan land in Nigeria, now a largely symbolic role. Ibadan was founded in the 16th century, but the present Yoruba people only took control around 1820...
made a friendly gesture to the Olowu of Owu by allowing Olowu to marry his only daughter, Nkan. Coming from a war campaign one day, the raging Odo Oba (River Oba) would not allow Olowu and his army to cross until a human sacrifice was performed to appease the angry river. The chosen sacrifice was Nkan. The Olubadan
Olubadan
The Olubadan is the royal title of the king of Ibadan land in Nigeria, now a largely symbolic role. Ibadan was founded in the 16th century, but the present Yoruba people only took control around 1820...
was infuriated at hearing of Nkan's death; he sent an emissary to inform the Alafin of Oyo. Yoruba kings and rulers such as Alake of Egba, Agura of Gbagura, Ooni of Ife
Ife
Ife is an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria. Evidence of inhabitation at the site has been discovered to date back to roughly 560 BC...
, Awujale of Ijebu
Ijebu
Ijebu was a Yoruba kingdom in pre-colonial Nigeria. It formed around the fifteenth century. According to legend, its ruling dynasty was founded by Obanta of Ile-Ife...
and others formed a formidable coalition with Eba'dan against the powerful Olowu of Owu. After the defeat of Owu, many of the warriors that participated in the coalition refused to go back to their towns and cities except the Ijebu warriors. They began attacking the neighboring towns and hamlets, and also marauded across Eba'dan thereby making the indigenes fearful of them. Finally, they took over the political landscape of Eba'dan and changed its name to Ibadan, as we have come to know it.
Ibadan was historically an Egba
Egba
The Egba are a clan of the Yoruba people who live in western Nigeria. Many Egba live in the city of Abeokuta, capital of Ogun State.- History :...
town. The Egba occupants were forced to leave the town and moved to present-day Abeokuta under the leadership of Sodeke when the surge of Oyo refugees flocked into the towns as an aftermath of the fall of Oyo Kingdom. Ibadan grew into an impressive and sprawling urban
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
center so much that by the end of 1829, Ibadan dominated the Yorùbá region militarily, politically and economically. The military sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
expanded even further when refugees began arriving in large numbers from northern Oyo following raids by Fulani
Fula people
Fula people or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...
warriors. After losing the northern portion of their region to the marauding Fulanis, many Oyo indigenes retreated deeper into the Ibadan environs.
The Fulani Caliphate attempted to expand further into the southern region of modern-day Nigeria, but was decisively defeated by the armies of Ibadan in 1840.
Colonial Ibadan
In 1893 Ibadan area became a BritishUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
Protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
after a treaty signed by Fijabi, the Baale of Ibadan with the British acting Governor of Lagos, George C. Denton on 15 August. By then the population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
had swelled to 120,000. The British developed the new colony to facilitate their commercial
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
activities in the area, and Ibadan shortly grew into the major trading
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
center that it is today.
Climate
Ibadan has a tropical wet and dry climate (Köppen climate classificationKöppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Aw), with a lengthy wet season
Wet season
The the wet season, or rainy season, is the time of year, covering one or more months, when most of the average annual rainfall in a region occurs. The term green season is also sometimes used as a euphemism by tourist authorities. Areas with wet seasons are dispersed across portions of the...
and relatively constant temperatures throughout the course of the year. Ibadan’s wet season runs from March through October, though August sees somewhat of a lull in precipitation. This lull nearly divides the wet season into two different wet seasons. November to February forms the city’s dry season
Dry season
The dry season is a term commonly used when describing the weather in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which oscillates from the northern to the southern tropics over the course of the year...
, during which Ibadan experiences the typical West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
n harmattan
Harmattan
The Harmattan is a dry and dusty West African trade wind. It blows south from the Sahara into the Gulf of Guinea between the end of November and the middle of March...
.
Education
The first university to be set up in Nigeria was the University of IbadanUniversity of Ibadan
The University of Ibadan is the oldest Nigerian university, and is located five miles from the centre of the major city of Ibadan in Western Nigeria...
. Established as a college of the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
in 1948, and later converted into an autonomous university in 1962. It has the distinction of being one of the premier educational institutions in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. The Polytechnic Ibadan is also located in the city. As at October, 2006, the university has a population of 13,823 undergraduate and 3,480 postgraduate students.
There are also numerous public and private primary and secondary schools located in the city. Other noteworthy institutions in the city include the University of Ibadan Teaching Hospital also known as University College Hospital (UCH) which is the first teaching hospital
Teaching hospital
A teaching hospital is a hospital that provides clinical education and training to future and current doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, in addition to delivering medical care to patients...
in Nigeria; the internationally acclaimed International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture is one of the world's leading research partners in finding solutions to hunger, malnutrition, and poverty. IITA's award-winning research-for-development addresses the development needs of tropical countries...
(IITA); Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER). Also Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), and the Institute for Agricultural Research & Training (IAR&T), all under the auspices of Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria; the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria.
Ibadan and its environs before the dissolution of the Western Region, Nigeria
Western Region, Nigeria
The Western Region was a subdivision of the federation of Nigeria until 1967. Its capital was at Ibadan.It was established in the 1930s under British rule as a subdivision of the Southern Nigeria colony...
was the home of the most sophisticated and liberal scientific and cultural community on the continent
Continent
A continent is one of several very large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents—they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.Plate tectonics is...
of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
; as personified by the immortalized Ibadan School
Ibadan School
The Ibadan School was the first, and for many years the dominant, school in the study of the history of Nigeria. It originated at the University of Ibadan in the 1950s and remained dominant until the 1970s...
.
In 1853, the first Europeans to settle in Ibadan, Reverend Hinderer and his wife, started Ibadan's first Western schools. They built churches and schools and the first two-storey building in Ibadan, which can still be found today at Kudeti. The first pupils to attend an elementary school in Ibadan were Yejide (female) and Akinyele (male) – the two children of an Ibadan high chief.
Transportation
Ibadan has an airport, Ibadan AirportIbadan Airport
Ibadan Airport is an airport serving Ibadan, a city in the Oyo State of Nigeria.-Airlines and destinations:*Overland Airways *Associated Aviation...
, and was served by the Ibadan Railway Station on the main railway line from Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
to Kano
Kano
Kano is a city in Nigeria and the capital of Kano State in Northern Nigeria. Its metropolitan population is the second largest in Nigeria after Lagos. The Kano Urban area covers 137 sq.km and comprises six Local Government Area - Kano Municipal, Fagge, Dala, Gwale, Tarauni and Nassarawa - with a...
. (No longer operating). Poorly-maintained roads are particularly problematic in the rainy season. What are called interstate highways in the United States are called carriageways in Nigeria. There are not many miles of divided highways in Ibadan. The primary routes go from Ibadan to Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
and to Benin City
Benin City
Benin City, is a city and the capital of Edo State in southern Nigeria. It is a city approximately twenty-five miles north of the Benin River. It is situated 200 miles by road east of Lagos...
. Adding to the weather and terrain, roads typically have few or no speed limit
Speed limit
Road speed limits are used in most countries to regulate the speed of road vehicles. Speed limits may define maximum , minimum or no speed limit and are normally indicated using a traffic sign...
signs or warning signs to alert the motorist of curves, hills, intersections or problems with the road itself such as large potholes or eroded road beds.
In-town transportation comes in a variety of forms. Modes of transportation include, taxis, taxi-vans commonly called danfos, private cars that are hired out by the day with a driver, personal family cars, scooters
Scooter (motorcycle)
A scooter is a motorcycle with step-through frame and a platform for the operator's feet. Elements of scooter design have been present in some of the earliest motorcycles, and motorcycles identifiable as scooters have been made from 1914 or earlier...
, and walking. All fares are negotiable depending upon the number in the party and the distance to be traveled. The average taxi is a small car, which seats four people and the driver. A danfo is a van, meanwhile, which seats seven people and the driver. This does not mean that more people will not be accommodated; often both taxis and danfos carry as many passengers as can squeeze into the vehicle. Danfos have an additional staff member. He is the "conductor," who arranges fare agreements and keeps track of delivery points. He is often to be seen holding onto the frame of the van while hanging out the door in order to locate potential fares.
In December 2008 Governor Alao Akala Commissioned 55 brand new buses for interstate transport service which is to be used by Trans City Transport Company (TCTC) Eleyele, Ibadan with a promise to commence intracity transport service very early next year.
Geography
Ibadan is located in southwestern Nigeria about 120 km east of the border with the Republic of BeninRepublic of Benin
The short-lived Republic of Benin, in Nigeria's coastal Bight of Benin, was named after its capital Benin City. It was known as Mid-Western state in Nigeria until August 1967 when it was occupied by Biafra as its forces advanced towards Lagos...
in the forest zone close to the boundary between the forest and the savanna. The city ranges in elevation from 150 m in the valley area, to 275 m above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
on the major north-south ridge which crosses the central part of the city
Population
Until 1970, Ibadan was the largest city in sub-Saharan Africa. In 1952, it was estimated that the total area of the city was approximately 103.8 km2 However, only 36.2 km2 was built up. This meant that the remaining 67 km2 were devoted to non-urban uses, such as farmlands, river floodplains, forest reserves and water bodies. These “non-urban land uses” disappeared in the 1960s: an aerial photograph in 1973 revealed that the urban land-scape had completely spread over about 100 km2. The land area increased from 136 km2 in 1981 to 210–240 km2 in 1988-89 (Areola, 1994: 101). By the year 2000, it is estimated that Ibadan covered 400 km2. The growth of the built-up area during the second half of the 20th century (from 40 km2 in the 1950s to 250 km2 in the 1990s) shows clearly that there has been an underestimation of the total growth of the city. In the 1980s, the Ibadan-Lagos expressway generated the greatest urban sprawl (east and north of the city), followed by the Eleiyele expressway (west of the city). Since then, Ibadan city has spread further into the neighbouring local government areas of Akinyele and Egbeda in particular.Cityscape
Monuments, landmarks, and other locations
There is a museumMuseum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
in the building of the Institute of African Studies
Institute of African Studies
The Institute of African Studies on the campus of the University of Ghana at Legon is an interdisciplinary research institute in the humanities and social sciences. It was established by President Kwame Nkrumah in 1962 to encourage African studies....
, which exhibits several remarkable pre-historic bronze carvings and statues. The city has several well stocked libraries, and is home to the first television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. Dugbe Market is the nerve center of Ibadan's transport
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
and trading network. The best method to move about the city is to use reference points and notable landmarks. The city also has a zoological garden located inside the University of Ibadan, and a botanical garden
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
located at Agodi.
The Bower Memorial Tower to the east on Oke Aàre (Aare's Hill) ("Aare" in Yoruba means commander-in-chief or generalissimo), which can be seen from practically any point in the city; it also provides an excellent view of the whole city from the top. Another prominent landmark, Cocoa House, was the first skyscraper
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. It is one of the few skyscrapers in the city and is at the hub of Ibadan's commercial centre. Other attractions include Mapo Hall
Mapo Hall
Mapo Hall is the colonial style city hall, perched on top of Mapo Hill, in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Mapo Hall was commissioned during the colonial era by Captain Ross in 1929. It was renovated in 2006 amid some controversy....
– the colonial style city hall
City hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...
– perched on top of a hill, "Oke Mapo," Mapo Hill ("oke" is hill in Yoruba), the Trans-Wonderland amusement park
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
, the cultural centre Mokola and Liberty Stadium, the first stadium in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. The first citadel of higher learning, University of Ibadan (formerly the University College of Ibadan), and the first teaching hospital in Nigeria, University College Hospital, UCH, were both built in this ancient but, highly important city. Ibadan is also home to the legendary Shooting Stars FC
Shooting Stars FC
Shooting Stars Football Club is a Nigerian soccer club based in Ibadan.-History:The club was one of the founders of the Nigerian Premier League in 1972, when they were called WNDC Ibadan .The nickname "Shooting Stars" was added with the suggestion of team foundation members the late Jide...
– a professional Football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
Club
Club
A club is an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal. A service club, for example, exists for voluntary or charitable activities; there are clubs devoted to hobbies and sports, social activities clubs, political and religious clubs, and so forth.- History...
. There are some good golf courses: the Ibadan Golf Club is a large 18-hole challenge and the Barracks course has just been extended to 18 holes. The most challenging and exclusive is the IITA Golf Club based on the 1,000 hectare premises of IITA.
Economy
With its strategic location on the non-operational railway line connecting LagosLagos
Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
to Kano
Kano
Kano is a city in Nigeria and the capital of Kano State in Northern Nigeria. Its metropolitan population is the second largest in Nigeria after Lagos. The Kano Urban area covers 137 sq.km and comprises six Local Government Area - Kano Municipal, Fagge, Dala, Gwale, Tarauni and Nassarawa - with a...
, the city is a major center for trade in cassava
Cassava
Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
, cocoa, cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
, timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
, rubber
Rubber
Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
, and palm oil
Palm oil
Palm oil, coconut oil and palm kernel oil are edible plant oils derived from the fruits of palm trees. Palm oil is extracted from the pulp of the fruit of the oil palm Elaeis guineensis; palm kernel oil is derived from the kernel of the oil palm and coconut oil is derived from the kernel of the...
. The main industries in the area include the processing of agricultural products; Tobacco processing and Cigarette (Manufacture); flour
Flour
Flour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...
-milling
Mill (grinding)
A grinding mill is a unit operation designed to break a solid material into smaller pieces. There are many different types of grinding mills and many types of materials processed in them. Historically mills were powered by hand , working animal , wind or water...
, leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
-working and furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
-making. There is abundance of clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
, kaolin and aquamarine in its environs, and there are several cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
ranches, a dairy farm
Dairy farming
Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an animal husbandry, enterprise, for long-term production of milk, usually from dairy cows but also from goats and sheep, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy factory for processing and eventual retail sale.Most dairy farms...
as well as a commercial abattoir in Ibadan.
List of people from Ibadan
- Daniel Ajayi-AdeniranDaniel Ajayi-AdeniranDaniel Ajayi-Adeniran is a Pentecostal pastor from Nigeria. At this time, he is in charge of expanding the African-based Redeemed Christian Church of God in North America....
- Isaac Babalola AkinyeleIsaac Babalola AkinyeleIsaac Babalola Akinyele, OBE, KBE was the first educated Olubadan of Ibadan, and the second Christian to ascend the throne.-Family:...
, the late OlubadanOlubadanThe Olubadan is the royal title of the king of Ibadan land in Nigeria, now a largely symbolic role. Ibadan was founded in the 16th century, but the present Yoruba people only took control around 1820... - Kase Lukman LawalKase Lukman LawalKase Lukman Lawal was born in Ibadan in 1954. He obtained his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Texas Southern University in 1976, and his MBA from Prairie View A&M University, Texas in 1978...
, a U.S.-based chemical engineer and oil tycoon - Raji RasakiRaji RasakiGeneral Raji Alagbe Rasaki is a retired Nigerian military officer who was military governor in turn of Ogun State, Ondo State and Lagos State between 1986 and 1991 during the military administration of General Ibrahim Babangida....
, a retired army general and former military governor of Lagos StateLagos StateLagos State is an administrative division of Nigeria, located in the southwestern part of the country. The smallest in area of Nigeria's states, Lagos State is the most populous state in Nigeria and arguably the most economically important state of the country and west Africa, containing Lagos, the... - Richard AkinjideRichard AkinjideOsuolale Abimbola Richard Akinjide is a Nigerian lawyer, politician and tribal nobleman. Born in the ancient city of Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State in the southwest of the country in the early 1930s to an influential family of warriors, he exhibited extraordinary brilliance while in school and...
, a legal luminary and former attorney general & minister of justice - Tunde NightingaleTunde NightingaleTunde Nightingale, a.k.a., "Western" was a native of Ibadan, the largest city in both Nigeria and Africa. An incredible guitarist with a sonorous voice to boot, he was best known for his unique Jùjú music style, following in the tradition of Tunde King....
, a pioneering jujuJujuA Juju is a supernatural power ascribed to an object.Juju may also refer to:-Geography:* Juju , one of seven districts on the island of Rotuma in Fiji* Juju , a village in the district of Juju on the island of Rotuma-Albums:...
and highlifeHighlifeHighlife is a musical genre that originated in Ghana in the 1900s and spread to Sierra Leone, Nigeria and other West African countries by 1920...
musician - Alhaji Dauda Epo-AkaraAlhaji Dauda Epo-AkaraDauda Akanmu Epo-Akara , a Yoruba musician from the historical city of Ibadan, was the main force behind the popular Yoruba music genre called were music. He started producing SP and LP records under Saliu Adetunji's Omo Aje Records label in Lagos...
, leader of a popular were musicWere musicWere music is an indigenous Yoruba music, which, like ajisari, is a way of using music to arouse the Islamic faithful to pray and feast during Ramadan festival in Yorubaland. Ajiwere or oniwere means "one who performs were music."...
group - Abass Akande ObesereAbass Akande ObesereAbass Akande Obesere, also known as Omo Rapala, is a native of Ibadan, the largest city in Nigeria. A popular Fuji musician, Obesere forced his way into the limelight through his "radical" songs, which openly touch on issues that are considered taboo in the conservative Yoruba community...
, a popular Fuji musicFuji musicFuji is a popular Nigerian musical genre. It arose from the improvisation Ajisari/were music tradition, which is a kind of music performed to wake muslims before dawn during the Ramadan fasting season...
maestro - Alamu AtataloAlamu AtataloAlamu Atatalo was a pioneer of sekere, a type of traditional Yoruba music. A native of Ibadan, he was popular in Yorubaland throughout the 1950s and early 1960s. By the middle of the 1960s, however, his popularity began to wane when he was incriminated, in a criminal frame-up, by his detractors. As...
, a popular sekereSekereThis article is about the musical genre. For the musical instrument, see Shekere.Sekere is a type of traditional Yoruba musical genre that was pioneered and popularized by the one and only "king of sekere," the late Alhaji Alamu Atatalo from Ibadan, Nigeria...
music pioneer - Twin-XTwin-XTwin-X are a Nigerian pop duo made up of identical twin brothers Tywo and Keni Akintoye.-Early life:Twin-X, were born Taiwo and Kehinde Akintoye in Ogun State to a father that worked in the Military, which meant they lived in different parts of Nigeria and attended several Army Children Primary...
Nigerian pop duo made up of identical twin brothers born Taiwo and Kehinde Akintoye - Adegoke AdelabuAdegoke AdelabuGbadamosi Adegoke Adelabu was an important politician from Ibadan in the middle part of the 20th century. He was a self made man born into a humble family, but became an influential figure in Nigerian politics. He attended Government College, Ibadan and eventually became a business man...
, a fearless nationalist and pioneering politician - Bobby OlogunBobby OlogunBobby Ologun is a Nigerian-born TV personality in Japan, and a mixed martial artist. In Japan, he is known simply as . He speaks English, Yoruba and Japanese. He currently lives in Saitama, Saitama Prefecture...
, a K-1K-1K-1 is a defunct world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a formerKyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts...
fighter who is very popular in JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... - OluyoleOluyoleFor the Local Government Area of Oyo State, see Oluyole, Nigeria.Oluyole was a distinguished, dominating army commander from Oyo. He rose to fame as Bashorun, a title he subsequently made famous, and was one of the leaders who contributed immensely to the military and economic development of...
, an ancient military commander - Sade AduSade AduHelen Folasade Adu OBE , is a British singer-songwriter, composer, and record producer. She first achieved success in the 1980s as the frontwoman and lead vocalist of the Brit and Grammy Award winning English group Sade.-Biography:Sade was born in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria...
, frontwoman and lead vocalist of the English group SadeSade (band)Sade is a British smooth jazz band that formed in 1983, named for Nigerian lead singer Sade Adu. Their music features elements of R&B, soul, jazz, and soft rock.... - Toyin FalolaToyin FalolaToyin Omoyeni Falola is a Nigerian Historian and professor of African Studies. He is currently the Frances Higginbotham Nalle Centennial Professor in History at the University of Texas at Austin. Falola earned his B.A. and Ph.D. in History at the University of Ife, Ile-Ife in Nigeria...
, a pre-eminent scholar on Africa and the Frances Higginbothom Nallen Centennial Professor in History at the University of Texas at Austin - Saffron, lead singer of RepublicaRepublicaRepublica are an English alternative rock band formed in 1994. The height of their popularity spanned from 1996 to 1999. The Republica sound was described by the band as "techno-pop punk rock"...
, born Samatha Sprackling in Ibadan - Ken Saro-WiwaKen Saro-WiwaKenule "Ken" Beeson Saro Wiwa was a Nigerian author, television producer, environmental activist, and winner of the Right Livelihood Award and the Goldman Environmental Prize...
(1941–1995), Nigerian author, television producer, environmental activist, studied at the University of IbadanUniversity of IbadanThe University of Ibadan is the oldest Nigerian university, and is located five miles from the centre of the major city of Ibadan in Western Nigeria... - Hugo WeavingHugo WeavingHugo Wallace Weaving is a Nigerian born, English-Australian film actor and voice artist. He is best known for his roles as Agent Smith in the Matrix trilogy, Elrond in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, "V" in V for Vendetta, and performances in numerous Australian character dramas.-Early...
an actor probably best known for his role as Agent SmithAgent SmithAgent Smith is the main antagonist of The Matrix film series and multimedia franchise, mainly played by actor Hugo Weaving and briefly by actor Ian Bliss in the films and voiced by Christopher Corey Smith in The Matrix: Path of Neo.In 2008, Agent Smith was selected by Empire Magazine as number 84...
in The Matrix TrilogyThe Matrix (franchise)The Matrix is a science fiction action franchise created by Andy and Larry Wachowski and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The series began with the 1999 film The Matrix and later spawned two sequels; The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, both released in 2003, thus forming a trilogy...
and ElrondElrondElrond Half-elven is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is introduced in The Hobbit, and plays a supporting role in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.-Character overview:...
in The Lord of the Rings TrilogyThe Lord of the Rings film trilogyThe Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...