Ijebu Igbo ( Yoruba: Ìjẹ̀bú-Igbó) is a town in

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. It is bordered to the south by Lagos State and the Bight of Benin, to the east by Ondo State, and to the north by Oyo and Osun states while its western border forms part of the national borde ...

, Nigeria. It is the headquarters of

Ijebu North Ijebu North is a Local Government Area in Ogun State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Ijebu Igbo at . It has an area of 967 km2 and a population of 284,336 at the 2006 census. The postal code of the area is 120. The local g ...

Local Government Authority of Ogun State, Nigeria. It is approximately a 15-minute drive north of

Ijebu Ode Ijebu-Ode is a town in Ogun State, South Western geopolitical zone in Nigeria, close to the A121 highway. The city is located 110 km by road Northeast of Lagos; it is within of the Atlantic Ocean in the eastern part of Ogun State and po ...

History

The term Ijebu-Igbo (Ijebu + forest) is a reference to the forested nature of this area of Ijebu. The Ijebu-Igbo area is made up of five distinct towns: Okesopin, Ojowo, Atikori, Oke-Agbo, and Japara. It is said that the founder was a great hunter who hunted the northern parts of Odo-Oluiwa; the present

, where he was a

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

. Following the sudden demise of his father and the subsequent controversial accession to the throne of his younger brother, the Ofiranoye while Onayelu was away hunting, he decided to migrate from

to settle permanently on the large expanse of land where he had been hunting and known today as Ijebu Igbo. Ijebu Igbo forest reserve which is called the Omo forest reserve is among the 12 biggest forest reserves in Nigeria among which are: * Ijebu Igbo Forest Reserve * Queen Elizabeth forest reserve * J1 forest reserve * J2 forest reserve * J3 forest reserve * J4 forest reserve * Apoje forest reserve and many more.

People

The town's primary economic activities are

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

, cocoa, and exploitation of mineral resources and it is home to many

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

s and also a developed quarry. Like all other Ijebus, the people of Ijebu Igbo speak the Ijebu dialect, which is a dialect of 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. ...

Classification

Ijebu Igbo is divided into five clans; Oke-Sopin, Oke-Agbo, Ojowo, Atikori, and Japara. An Oba (king) is enthroned to govern each of these clans. These Obas are classified as "second-class" and they all submit to the headship of the Orimolusi of Ijebu-Igbo. The Orimolusi is a first-class Oba and he is the supreme head of Ijebu-Igbo.

Traditional Rulers in Ijebu-Igbo and its Environment

* The Orimolusi of Ijebu-Igbo * The Ebumawe of

Ago-Iwoye Ago-Iwoye is a city in Ogun State, Ogun, Nigeria of the Ijebu Kingdom. It is located in the Ijebu North Local Governmental Area and the main town comprises seven contiguous districts: Ibipe (considered the leading settlement), Isamuro, Idode, Odo ...

* The Limeri of Awa * The Alaporu of Ilaporu * The Oloru of

Oru-Ijebu Oru-Ijebu is a semi-urban town located in Ijebu North local government area of Ogun State, South-Western Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the n ...

* The Sopenlukale of Oke Sopin * The Bejeroku of Oke-Agbo * The Olokine of Ojowo * The Keegbo of Atikori * The Abija Parako of Japara * The Lowa of Asigidi.

Government

Orimolusi is the traditional ruler of Ijebu Igbo land and presides over four local government areas and 10 Local Community Development Area (LCDA) in Ogun state Nigeria, which is the largest kingdom in Ogun state in term of land mass with more than 300 villages.

Local Government Areas

* Ijebu North local government * iIebu North East local government * Ijebu East local government * Ogun Waterside local government

Local Community Development Areas

The local governments and LCDA are all under the authority of the Orimolusi of Ijebu Igbo( Oloja Igbo). The last Orimolusi of Ijebu-Igbo was late Oba Samuel Adetayo Onasanya (Ikupakude IV), who died in 1994. * Ijebu East Ogbere * Ijebu East Central Ojowo * Ijebu North Ijebu Igbo * Ijebu North Central Oru * Ijebu Igbo West Ojowo * Ago Iwoye Ibipe * Ijebu North East Atan * Yemoji Ilese

Geography

Ijebu Igbo is the second largest town in Ogun State and the largest among Ijebus in terms of land mass, there are arable land for farming. Also there are hundreds of villages and hamlets under Ijebu Igbo. The town is bordered by

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the List of Nigerian cities by population, third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano (city), Kano, with a total populatio ...

Ikire Ikire is a town in Osun State, in south-western Nigeria, and is the headquarters of Irewole Local Government Area. It is a place where local cash crops (cocoa, palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish ...

, and Ondo.

High Schools and Colleges

Ijebu Igbo boasts of many

secondary schools A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

, amongst which are two of the foremost secondary schools in Nigeria, Molusi College & Abusi Edumare Academy, founded on January 28, 1949 and January 1971 respectively. Ijebu Igbo is also home to some higher institutions such as Abraham Adesanya Polytechnic (AAPOLY), established in 2004 and owned by Ogun State government, and Nigeria Prison Service Academy, a first of its kind institution in

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

Notable People from Ijebu Igbo

Mike Adenuga Chief Michael Adeniyi Agbolade Ishola Adenuga Jr (born 29 April 1953) is a Nigerian billionaire businessman, and the fifth richest person in Africa according to Forbes. His company Globacom is Nigeria's second-largest telecom operator and a ...

(born 1953), businessman *

Abraham Adesanya Chieftain, Chief Abraham Aderibigbe Adesanya (24 July 1922 – 27 April 2008) was a Nigerian politician, lawyer, activist, welfarist, and liberal progressive. He was a member of the Action Group (Nigeria), Action Group, on whose platform h ...

(1922–2008), politician and lawyer * Olabiyi Durojaiye (1933–2021), politician * Buruji Kashamu (1958–2020), politician

References

{{Yoruba topics Populated places in Ogun State Towns in Yorubaland