Ado Ekiti is the capital city of

Ekiti State, Nigeria Ekiti State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkìtì) is a state in southwestern Nigeria, bordered to the north by Kwara State, to the northeast by Kogi State, to the south and southeast by Ondo State, and to the west by Osun State. Named for the Ekiti peop ...

. It is the headquarter of the Ekiti central senatorial district, southwest, Nigeria.

History

Ado Ewi is an ancient city, founded by Ewi Awamaro the son of Biritikolu. Awamaro (the restless one) left Ile-Ife with his father Ewi Apa Biritikolu and his uncle Oranmiyan to both Ita Orogun and Benin respectively after staying briefly with Oloba in Oba-Ile, in present day Akure. Both Oranmiyan (Oba of Benin) and Biritikolu first settled in Benin forests before disputes among their people led them to separate and Biritikolu sought a new home westward at Utamodi (Oke Papa). Ewi Biritikolu and one of his sons reigned there. It was Ewi Awamaro who migrated to Ilesun (Present day Ado-Ekiti) after staying briefly at Udoani (Ido Ani) and Agbado during the long migration. When Ewi Awamaro left Agbado, some elders remained behind to rest and gave the settlement the name Agba Ado (Elders’ Camp) – Agbado-Ekiti as the town is known today.

Population and demographics

The population in 2006 was 308,621. The people of Ado Ekiti are mainly of the Ekiti sub-ethnic group of the

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

Education

Ado Ekiti City has a State owned

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

- the

University of Ado Ekiti Ekiti State University Ado Ekiti is a state government owned and operated Nigerian university, located in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. It was established as Obafemi Awolowo University, Ado-Ekiti on 30 March 1982 by the administration of Ch ...

now

Ekiti State University Ekiti State University Ado Ekiti is a state government owned and operated Nigerian university, located in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. It was established as Obafemi Awolowo University, Ado-Ekiti on 30 March 1982 by the administration of ...

Ado-Ekiti, a privately owned

Afe Babalola University Afe Babalola University (ABUAD) is a private university located in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. It was founded by a lawyer and philanthropist, Afe Babalola, in 2009. Afe Babalola University offers Academic programs in six Colleges: Science ...

Ado-Ekiti, a

Polytechnic Polytechnic is most commonly used to refer to schools, colleges, or universities that qualify as an institute of technology or vocational university also sometimes called universities of applied sciences. Polytechnic may also refer to: Educatio ...

- the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Federal University Oye, (FUOYE), Oye-Ekiti, privately owned polytechnic Crown polytechnic, Odo, Ado-Ekiti

Media and economy

In Ado Ekiti, there are local

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

and

radio stations Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio sta ...

such as Nigeria Television Authority Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State Television (BSES), and Radio Ekiti. Various commercial enterprises operate in Ado Ekiti. The city is the trade centre for a farming region where yams,

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit ( caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

, and

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

are grown.

Cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

is also grown for weaving.

Traditional leader

The current Ewi, or ruler, of Ado Ekiti is

Rufus Aladesanmi III Rufus Adeyemo Adejugbe Aladesanmi III CON (born 1945) is a Yoruba Oba and the current Ewi of Ado Ekiti. Reign Aladesanmi succeeded Adelabu I as the Ewi of Ado Ekiti in 1990. He serves as the chancellor of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University a ...

, who succeeded Samuel Adeyemi George-Adelabu I in 1990.

Gallery

File:Ado Ekiti king's market 3.jpg Ado Ekiti King's Market, Oja Oba Erekesin.jpg Ado ekiti road.jpg Ado ekiti stadium.jpg Ado ekiti town 3.jpg All saints church iyin ekiti.22.jpg, All saints church iyin ekiti Ayoba fm, Ado-ekiti, Ekiti state.jpg, Ayoba fm, Ado-ekiti Basic Health Centre, Erinfun, Ado-ekiti, Ekiti state.jpg, Basic Health Centre, Erinfun, Ado-ekiti Central bank of Nigeria Ado ekiti. 2.jpg, Central bank of Nigeria Ado ekiti Christus victor house ado ekiti 2.jpg, Christus victor house ado ekiti Delight Suites and Hotel, Ado Ekiti.jpg, Delight Suites and Hotel, Ado Ekiti Welcome to Ado Ekiti. Ekiti state.jpg, Welcome to Ado Ekiti signpost The Cathedral Church of Emmanuel, Ado-ekiti, Ekiti state.jpg, The Cathedral Church of Emmanuel, Ado-ekiti The Anchor event center, Adi-ekiti, Ekiti state.jpg, The Anchor event center, Adi-ekiti, Ekiti state

References

External links

A Panoramic View of Ado Ekiti in the 19th Century
{{Authority control Local Government Areas in Ekiti State State capitals in Nigeria Cities in Yorubaland