Akoko Edo is a

Local Government Area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

Edo State Edo State, Edo, officially known as Edo State, is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South, South-South Geopolitical zones of Nigeria, geopolitical zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. As of 2024, the state was ranked as the List of Ni ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. Its headquarters is in the town of Igarra. It has an area of 1,371 km and a population of 262,110 at the 2006

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

. It consists of the Akoko people, who are split between Ondo and Edo States. Most are recognized as Yoruba and bear names identical to their counterparts in Akoko Ondo. The Benin conquests during the reign of Oba Ozolua (1483–1504) established its first settlements in the region, while other people including the Bida, migrated there in search of fortune. The war which Oba Esigie fought with the Attah of Idah in 1515–1516, would have also contributed to the

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

of the Igbirra and Idah from the north and the east into the area. The

postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or numerical digit, digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, inclu ...

of the area is 312. As of 2016, its

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

is 249.9/km 016/small> The first local government chairman is Chief Joshua B. Mayaki.

Geography

The ancient Akoko-Edo area is situated in the northern part of Edo State in the south of the Niger-Benue confluence. Its dominant geographical and

environmental Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...

features are chains of ancient ridges of rugged rocky hills and a cave, stretching across the length and breadth of what is now known as the Akoko-Edo LGA of the present northern Edo State, located between latitudes 6° 45 and 7° 35 north, and longitudes 5° 55 and 6° 45 east. Akoko-Edo, with a population of about 124,000 by the 1991 census, and 261,567 by the 2006 national population census, occupies a land area of about 1,371 square kilometers or 6.5% of Edo State by landmass and constitutes about 5.70% of the population. The area is described as the ancestral homeland of the Akoko people, whose indigenous language is the

Akoko language North Akoko, usually abbreviated as Akoko and also known as Arigidi, is a dialect cluster spoken in Nigeria. It is a branch of the YEAI ("Yoruba–Edo–Akoko–Igbo") () group of the Niger–Congo languages.Fadọrọ, Jacob Oludare. 2010. ''Ph ...

, which is classified as Akokoid. Akoko-Edo is bounded in the north by the present

Kwara State Kwara () is a state in Western Nigeria, bordered to the east by Kogi State, to the north by Niger State, and to the south by Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo states, while its western border makes up part of the international border with Benin. Its ca ...

and parts of the present

Kogi State Kogi State is a States of Nigeria, state in the North Central Nigeria, North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the west by the states of Ekiti State, Ekiti and Kwara State, Kwara, to the north by the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, Fe ...

, in the north-west by the present

Ondo State Ondo () is a States of Nigeria, state in Points of the compass, southwestern Nigeria. It was created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State (Nigeria), Western State. Ondo borders Ekiti State to the north, Kogi State to the northeast fo ...

, in the south-east by both Etsako west (Auchiclans) and Etsako north (Okpella), and in the south-west by Owan.

Climate

Akoko Edo, situated at an elevation of 97.65 meters (320.37 feet) above sea level, falls under the classification of tropical wet and

dry climate Aridity is the condition of geographical regions which make up approximately 43% of total global available land area, characterized by low annual precipitation, increased temperatures, and limited water availability.Perez-Aguilar, L. Y., Plata ...

or savanna (Aw).

Towns

The towns include Egl 1, Egbigere 2, Atte, Igarra, Enwan, Aiyegunle, Ugboshi-Ele Ugboshi-Afe, Ekpesa, Ibillo, Ikiran-Ile, Ikiran oke, Ekor, Somorika, Lampese, Imoga, Ojah, Uneme-Akiosu, Ososo, Akuku, Ojirami-Dam, Imoga, Eshawa, Ojirami-Peteshi Ojirami-Afe, Dagbala, Makeke, Ekpe, Ekpedo, Bekuma, Okpe, Ogbe, Onumu, Akpama, Anyonron, Ogugu, Ikakumo, Ijaja, Oloma, Okunese, Uneme-Nekhua, Uneme-Erhurun and Ikpeshi.

Languages

Due to unrestrained migrations and conquests, the people of Akoko Edo speak eight distinct languages that have overlapping occurrences. The indigenous language of the people is the

, which is closely related to the

Yoruba language Yoruba (, ; Yor. ) is a Niger–Congo languages, Niger-Congo language that is spoken in West Africa, primarily in South West (Nigeria), Southwestern and Middle Belt, Central Nigeria, Benin, and parts of Togo. It is spoken by the Yoruba people. ...

and a subset of the YEAI. Before the British conquest of Nigeria, most people in the region adopted

as a primary language.Fadoro, J. O. (2012). Towards Akokoid Orthographies. However, the

Pidgin English Pidgin English is a non-specific name used to refer to any of the many pidgin languages derived from English. Pidgins that are spoken as first languages become creoles. English-based pidgins that became stable contact languages, and which have ...

has become the primary language of the people, but many in the region still adopt Yoruba names like their counterparts in Ondo state, the Akoko Ondo. Other languages and dialects in the region include the Ojiramis (Group II), who understand their neighbours, Akuku (Group III) and Enwan (Group I), but not the people in the other villages and settlements.

Notable people

Notable people from Akoko Edo include: * Olu Ajayi, a Nigerian professional artist, painter, cartoonist, and art reviewer, with over 40 years experience in studio practice and art administration. * Taiwo Akerele, a Nigerian policy economist, author, and politician. * Peter Akpatason, Hon. Member Representing Akoko-Edo Constituency I (2023–2027). * Domingo Alaba Obende, a businessman and politician. * Akogun Babatunde, Majority Leader House of Representatives, National Assembly, (2007–2011). * Joseph Babatunde L., Member House of Representatives, National Assembly Akoko-Edo, (1999–2003). * Omobayo Godwins, a Nigerian politician and deputy governor of Edo State in 2024. * Emmanuel Omoladun Agbaje, Member House of Assembly Akoko-Edo (2019–2023). * Idaiye Yekini Oisayemoje, Member House of Assembly Akoko-Edo (2019–2023). * Donald Ojemeh Okogbe, former commissioner in Edo State, and Member House of Representatives, National Assembly Akoko-Edo Constituency II (2023–2027). * Prof Iyabode Omolara Akewo Nwabueze, Professor of English (Language), Dean, Faculty of Arts, National Open University of Nigeria, Abuja, Nigeria (2020–2024). * Modupe Ozolua, a Lebanese-Nigerian-American philanthropist and entrepreneur. * Robert O. Peters, a Nigerian film producer, director, cinematographer, actor, and occasional voice-over artist.

References

{{Authority control Local Government Areas in Edo State Local Government Areas in Yorubaland