Oyo, Oyo State Explained

Official Name:Ọ̀yọ́
Other Name:Ọ̀yọ́ Àtìbà, Òyó Aláàfin
Native Name:Jàbàtá Òyó
Settlement Type:City
Motto:Ajíse Bí'Ọ̀yọ̀ Làárí
Pushpin Map:Nigeria
Pushpin Label Position:bottom
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Nigeria
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Nigeria
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Oyo State
Leader Title:Alaafin
Leader Title1:Local Government Chairman of Oyo East
Leader Title2:Local Government Chairman of Atiba
Leader Title3:Alaafin
Leader Name3:Vacant
Established Date:1830s
Area Total Km2:2,427
Population As Of:2006
Population Total:428,798
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone:WAT
Utc Offset:+1
Coordinates:7.8417°N 3.9306°W
Blank Name:Climate
Blank Info:Aw
Ọ̀yọ́
Blank Name Sec1:National language
Blank Info Sec1:Yorùbá

Oyo[1] is a city in Oyo State, Nigeria. It was founded as the capital of the remnant of the historic Oyo empire in the 1830s, and is known to its people as 'New Oyo' (Ọ̀yọ́ Àtìbà) to distinguish it from the former capital to the north, 'Old Oyo' (Ọ̀yọ́-Ilé), which had been deserted as a result of the Yoruba Revolutionary Wars. Its inhabitants are mostly of the Yoruba people, and its ruler is the Alaafin of Oyo.

History

See also: Oyo Empire. Due to the dominant position that the Oyo empire had in medieval West Africa, the members of the Oyo clan of the Yoruba people were commonly thought of as being the tribe's ruling elite. This was true to such an extent, in fact, that the Yoruba historian Samuel Johnson reported that the Egbas - who began as an Oyo offshoot - once determined social rank within their clan by way of whether or not an Egba could trace his or her descent back to Oyo.

Education

Oyo is home to five higher institutions; these are the Federal College of Education (Special), Ajayi Crowther University, Emmanuel Alayande University of Education (Erelu Campus and Isokun Campus), Federal School of Surveying (The only school of surveying in Sub-sahara Africa), and Atiba University.

It houses numerous public and private secondary schools such as Oke-Olola Community Schools, Olivet Baptist High School, School of Science, Saint Benardine Girls Grammar School, Ladigbolu Grammar School, Oranyan Grammar School, Emmanuel Alayande Model High School, Aatan Baptist Comprehensive High School, Shepherd's Field International College, Golden Valley Academy, Nesto College, SPED International College etc.

There are numerous primary schools both private and public with new crop of alleged "mushroom" private schools.

Commerce

The major markets in the city include the Akesan market, the Ajegunle market, the Owode market, the Saabo market, Oparinde (Oja-Oke) market and the Irepo market.

Oyo houses branches of different banks such as GT Bank (Owode), First bank, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, Eco Bank, United Bank for Africa etc and some other microfinance banks and cooperatives. It also has grocery stores and supermarkets such as the Ace Supermarket, Joba Pharmacy and Stores, Labake Stores, Jara Supermarket etc. The city is the home of many hangout spots such as the Old Oyo National Park which contains a museum(holding artifacts from the ancient Òyó Empire) and a few animals. Some hotels in Oyo include Labamba Hotel, Tees resort and bar, Begonia hotel, Adesh Hotel, Gold N Rock Hotel, Galaxy Hotel etc.

Local governance and location

The city has four LGAs viz: Atiba LGA, headquartered at Offa-Meta; Oyo East LGA, headquartered at Kosobo; Oyo West LGA, headquartered at Ojongbodu and Afijio LGA, headquartered at Jobele.

The city is centrally located on the dual carriage A1 expressway from Lagos which links it from Ibadan all the way to Ilorin.

Popular culture

Death and the King's Horseman, a play by the Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, is based on an incident that happened in Oyo in 1946.[2] The Palace Owner, a praise poem by Basit Ajibade is based on the prowess of Oyo kings.

Notable people

Notes

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ifa, wandeabimbola.com Home. www.wandeabimbola.com. 2017-09-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20170915225007/http://www.wandeabimbola.com/. 2017-09-15. dead.
  2. Author's Note