Omuo-Ekiti is an ancient town in the eastern part of

Ekiti State Ekiti () is a state in southwestern Nigeria, bordered to the North by Kwara State for 61 km, to the Northeast by Kogi State for 92 km, to the South and Southeast by Ondo State, and to the West by Osun State for 84 km. Named for the Ekiti ...

in western

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, ...

, and the seat of the Ekiti-East local government. Being inside

Yorubaland Yorubaland () is the homeland and cultural region of the Yoruba people in West Africa. It spans the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Togo and Benin, and covers a total land area of . Of this land area, 106,016 km2 (74.6%) lies within Niger ...

, its population and that of Ekiti State are mainly the Yoruba It is located on the border of the state of Ondo.

Administration

Omuo-Ekiti is the headquarters of Ekiti East Local Government. The traditional ruler of Omuo kingdom is the "Olomuo", currently Oba Noah Omonigbehin, Okinbaloye II. His supporting high chiefs include the Olisa of Ilisa, Chief Olatunbosun Orojo. Ilisa is the royal center of Omuo-Ekiti which comprises Oke-Iloro, Egunje, Omodowa, Apoge, Adumari, and more villages. Other high chiefs in Omuo Ekiti include Odofin of Iludofin, Ajero of Ijero and Alawe of Iworo. Other chiefs administer Ekurugbe, Ahan, Oya, Oruju, Edugbe and Araromi.

Geography and demographics

Omuo-Ekiti is about 75 km away from

Ado Ekiti Ado Ekiti is the capital city of Ekiti State, Nigeria. It is the Headquarters, headquarter of the Ekiti central senatorial district, Points of the compass, southwest, Nigeria. History Ado Ekiti is an ancient city, founded by Ewi Awamaro the ...

, the Ekiti state capital. The town is located in the Yoruba cultural region, and has many

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

residents as well as

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co- ...

es and

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

s. Islam was brought to Omuo Ekiti by Balogun Usthman (a.k.a. DODO-NDAWA), the warlord that defended Omuo-Ekiti from slavers during the early days of the settlement. In 2001, the town's population was over 6000.

Climate and vegetation

Omuo-Ekiti enjoys a

tropical climate Tropical climate is the first of the five major climate groups in the Köppen climate classification identified with the letter A. Tropical climates are defined by a monthly average temperature of or higher in the coolest month, featuring hot te ...

with two distinct seasons: the rainy season, between April and October, and the dry season, between November and March. The temperature ranges from 21 °C to 29 °C with high humidity. The wind tends to be south-westerly in the rainy season, while the northeast trade winds (

Harmattan The Harmattan is a season in West Africa that occurs between the end of November and the middle of March. It is characterized by the dry and dusty northeasterly trade wind, of the same name, which blows from the Sahara over West Africa into th ...

) are predominant in the dry season. Omuo-Ekiti has tropical forests and savannas. The town is a trading point for the production of

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

and

sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its sizeable, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable, which is a staple food in parts of ...

in the surrounding areas, which aids their further development.

Education

Omuo is home to various schools, including the Polytechnic Omuo, the Omuo Comprehensive High School, the Omuo Ore Secondary School, the Amunnu Comprehensive High School, the Omuo Community Grammar School, and other government and private-owned primary and secondary schools.

Markets

Omuo is one of the chief commercial towns in Ekiti state, with several industries and markets, including Oja-Obadore Market and Omuo Community Market Kota.

Ethnic relationships

Although primarily a Yoruba community, Omuo is home to members of other ethnic groups, including

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a t ...

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also ...

Ebira The Ebira people are an ethnic-linguistic group of North central Nigeria. Most Ebira people are from Kogi State and Nasarawa State. Their language is usually classified as Nupoid and within the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language fami ...

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, ...

and

Ijaw Ijaw may refer to: *Ijaw people The Ijaw people, also known as the Izon people, are an ethnic group found in the Niger Delta region in Nigeria, with primary Population, population clusters in Bayelsa State, Bayelsa, Delta State, Delta, and River ...

Festivals

Omuo has a rich cultural heritage with many festivals. The Ayan festival in Iludofin draws in many residents to celebrate. Omuo is a secular town, but it celebrates Islamic festivals such as

Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second of the two main festivals in Islam alongside Eid al-Fitr. It falls on the 10th of Dhu al-Hijja, the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar. Celebrations and observances are generally carried forward to the ...

Eid al-Fitr Eid al-Fitr () is the first of the two main Islamic holidays, festivals in Islam, the other being Eid al-Adha. It falls on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic calendar. Eid al-Fitr is celebrated by Muslims worldwide becaus ...

, and Eid Kabir,

festivals such as Christmas and Easter, and New Year's Day. Omuo Ekiti celebrates its yam festival on the seventh of July every year.

References

External links

Google Maps location
* * * * * {{coord, 7, 45, 46.85, N, 5, 43, 28.98, E, display=title Populated places in Ekiti State Towns in Yorubaland