The struggle for the creation of Osun started as early as 1950. At that time, the present senatorial districts namely Osun West, Central and part of Osun East were subordinate towns under the administration of Ibadan District Native Authority but in their determination to get independence, traditional rulers and citizens of Osun Area submitted a petition to the British Colonial Administration in Nigeria demanding autonomy for Osun Division, with Oshogbo proposed as the headquarters.
To realise their aim, they pursued this agenda further in 1951, when a Commission Of Inquiry was set up the Colonialists, headed by H.L Butcher primarily saddled with investigating the crisis in Ibadan District Native Authority between Chief Salami Agbaje and Olubadan-in-Council. At this commission, named H.L Butcher Commission of Inquiry, a representation was made by people of Osun Area reiterating their resolve for autonomy. This demand was granted on March 17th 1951, thus recommending autonomy for Osun District Towns on April 1st 1951.
The resilience and doggedness of the founding fathers and crusaders for the creation of Osun was rewarded on August 27th 1991, when the administration of Gen Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida created nine states with Osun created out of Oyo State with Osogbo as the capital. It was a dream fulfilled and hope achieved.
Osun emboldens the history of a people whose quest for freedom, self-actualization, determination and hope for a better tomorrow fought and won the battle for its creation. It was a dream fulfilled and hope achieved.
Osun State, Nigeria, came into existence on 27th August, 1991. The State which is one of the then nine newly created States was carved out of the old Oyo State by the General Ibrahim Babangida‘s administration. It is one of the 36 States which make up Nigeria. The 1991 census puts the population of the State at 2.2million. There are more than 200 towns, villages and other settlements in the State. The state has a considerable number of highly urbanized settlements. Some of the major towns are Osogbo. Ile-Ife, Ilesa, Ikirun, Iwo, Ede, Ila-Orangun and Ikire. Others include Ipetumodu, Ejigbo, Ilobu, Gbongan, Okuku, Inisa, Ijebu-Ijesa, Ipetu-Ijesha, Ifon-Osun etc.
Location:
It is located in the heart of the Yoruba Kingdom(found in Nigeria and the republic of Benin). Osun State is bounded in the West by Oyo State, Ondo and Ekiti States in the East, Kwara State in the North and Ogun in the South.
Tourist Centres:
The state has a rich cultural heritage which shows in their music, art, dances, dresses and cultural festivals. They are well known for their talking drums and bata music. They are also known for excellent works of art.
Some tourist attractions in the state of Osun include:
(1). The famous Ife bronze, (Ile-Ife)
(2). The Oranmiyan Staff which is believed to be the fighting stick of Oranmiyan, the son of Oduduwa who was a great warrior(Ile-Ife)
(3). The popular Osun-Osogbo cultural festival. (Oshogbo)
(4). The Ife Museum (Ile-Ife)
(5). Obafemi Awolowo University Zoological gardens, Ile-Ase. (Ile-Ife)
(6). Yeyemolu Shrines and Oduduwa groove, (Ile-Ife.)
(7). Osun Osogbo Sacred Groove - venue of the internationally recognized Osun Osogbo festival and a UNESCO, world heritage site (Oshogbo)
(8). Adunni Susan Wengers Centre, (Oshogbo)
(9). Genesis Arts Gallery
(10). Nike Arts Gallery (Oshogbo)
(11). Jalumi War Site, (Inisa)
(12). The Olumirin Water-Falls, (Erin-Ijesa)
(13). Igbo-Sango (Ede)
(14). Ayikunugba Water- Falls (Oke-Ila)
Natural Resources:
Osun State is blessed with vast mineral resources. These include gold, clay, limestone, kaolin and granite. It also has many agricultural resources.
Osun State's 30 Local Government Areas are listed below with their headquarters in parentheses:
Aiyedaade (Gbongan)
Aiyedire (Ile Ogbo)
Atakunmosa East (Iperindo)
Atakunmosa West (Osu)
Boluwaduro (Otan-Ayegbaju)
Boripe (Iragbiji)
Ede North (Oja Timi)
Ede South (Ede)
Egbedore (Awo)
Ejigbo (Ejigbo)
Ife Central (Ile-Ife)
Ife East (Oke-Ogbo)
Ife North (Ipetumodu)
Ife South (Ifetedo)
Ifedayo (Oke-Ila Orangun)
Ifelodun (Ikirun)
Ila (Ila Orangun)
Ilesa East (Ilesa)
Ilesa West (Ereja Square)
Irepodun (Ilobu)
Irewole (Ikire)
Isokan (Apomu)
Iwo (Iwo)
Obokun (Ibokun)
Odo Otin (Okuku)
Ola Oluwa (Bode Osi)
Olorunda (Igbonna, Osogbo)
Oriade (Ijebu-Jesa)
Orolu (Ifon-Osun)
Osogbo (Osogbo)
Culture:
Every year, adherents and non-adherents of Osun, one of the Orisa (the traditional deities of the Yoruba people), travel from all over the world to attend the annual Osun-Osogbo festival in August. Visitors include nationals of Brazil, Cuba, Trinidad, Grenada, and other nations in the Americas with a significant Yoruba cultural heritage. Annual traditional festivities and invocations of the Osun goddess are held along the banks of the river bearing her name into which - according to Yoruba Oratory traditions - she transformed.
Population:
Osun has a population of about 3,423, 535 inhabitants, representing 2.45% of Nigeria’s total population according to 2006 national census. Osun has 1,740,619 male and 1,682,916 female
Osun consists of four (4) Yoruba sub-groups
The Oyo sub-group (who are the majority), the Ife subgroup, the Ijeshas and the Igbominas
Towns under each subgroup found in Osun:
Oyo subgroup
Oshogbo
Ede
Ejigbo
Eko-Ehinde
Eko-Ajala
Gbongan
Modakeke
Iwo
Ikirun
Iragbiji
Iree
Inisha
Ikire
Ilobu
Okuku
Ada
Orowuwo
(Oyo town in Oyo state is the sub-group capital of the Oyo people)
Ife subgroup
Ile-Ife(Sub-group capital)
Ipetumodu
Ifetedo
Ijesha subgroup
Ilesha(Sub-group capital)
Ibokun
Ijebu-Ijesha
Ilashe
Ipetu-Ile
Ifewara
Imesi-ile
Erin-Ijesha
Esa-oke
Esa-Odo
Igbomina subgroup
Ila-Orangun(Sub-group capital)
The rests are located in Kwara state.
Oshogbo, city, southwestern Nigeria, the capital of the State of Osun, about 80 km (about 50 mi) northeast of Ibadan. Oshogbo is located on the main rail line from Lagos to the northern states. It is a market center for cocoa, palm products, tobacco, and cotton. Farmers in the surrounding area grow vegetables, corn, yams, and cassava. Factories in Oshogbo produce steel, textiles, and plastics. In 1840 Oshogbo was the site of a critical battle in which Yoruba forces repelled an invasion by the Fulani of Ilorin. It grew rapidly in the mid-19th century. The city has become a leading center for the revival of traditional Yoruba culture, with shrines and ceremonies dedicated to the river goddess Oshun.
Ede, city in southwestern Nigeria, in Osun State. The city is located on the Oshun River, northeast of Ibadan, between Iwo and Oshogbo. Ede is on Nigeria’s main railroad connecting Lagos and Kano. Cotton, cacoa, yams, cassava, and corn are grown in the area. Local industries include cotton weaving, cottonseed milling, and cacoa and palm processing. The city is the home of the Timi of Ede, an important Yoruba chief.
Ife (city, Nigeria), also called Ile-Ife, city in southwestern Nigeria, in Osun State. Cacoa, oil palm, yams, cassava, and corn are grown in the surrounding area. The chief industries in Ife include cocoa and palm processing, cotton weaving, and sawmilling. Obafemi Awolowo University (1961), a museum of Yoruba art, and the museum of the Institute of African Studies are located here.
Ife is the spiritual capital of the Yoruba people. According to legend, it was founded by Oduduwa, the creator of humankind. From as early as the 12th century, the city’s artisans crafted fine, naturalistic cast-bronze and terra-cotta heads that are world-renowned for their beauty. Ife is the site of the palace of the Oni, one of the chief leaders of the traditional Yoruba religion. The city was destroyed in 1849 and rebuilt in 1882.
Ikire, city in southwestern Nigeria, located in Osun State. The city is located on the Oshun River, 32 km (20 mi) east of Ibadan. Economic activities in Ikire include cotton weaving, timber processing, and cocoa and palm oil production. Ikire is also the site of the Asejire Dam development project, which produces hydroelectric power for the surrounding area. The city lies in the Yoruba cultural region. It became an important destination for displaced inhabitants of other Yoruba towns when the Fulani people of northern Nigeria began to expand their empire farther south in the 1800s. Ikire was conquered by the Yoruba kingdom of Ibadan in the late 1800s.
Ikirun, town in southwestern Nigeria, in Osun State. Ikirun’s economy is based on agriculture, crafts, and trade. Food crops include yams, cassava, maize, peanuts, pumpkins, beans, and okra. Livestock includes dwarf cattle, goats, sheep, and poultry. Ikirun is both a trading center for food crops as well as a collection point for cash crops such as cotton and tobacco. Grinding stones (stones used for grinding maize, beans, peas, and soup condiments) are also sold here. Ikirun is also a center for weaving, leather work, and pottery. The town is on the rail line extending northward from Lagos and is connected to Oshogbo, Offa, and other cities by highway.
Ikirun was founded by Yoruba warriors from the city of Ibadan as a base for military advances against the settlements of their enemies, such as the city of Ilorin.
Ila Orangun, city in southwestern Nigeria, located in Osun State. The city is close to both the Lagos and Ibadan metropolitan areas and is connected by road to both cities. Agricultural products include cocoa and cassava. The Ila Orangun area is also known for its cloth weaving and wood sculpting. Ila Orangun is located in the Yoruba cultural region. According to Yoruba mythology, Ila Orangun was settled by a son of Oduduwa, the king of Ile-Ife (a city to the south of Ila Orangun). Problems within the Ile-Ife kingdom forced the sons of the king to scatter and establish their own kingdoms. Ila Orangun remained an independent kingdom within Yoruba territory until the British colonized Nigeria in the 1800s.
Ilesa, also known as Ilesha, city in southwestern Nigeria, in Osun State. It is a commercial and processing center in a region in which cacoa, palm products, and yams are grown and gold is mined. Ilesa is one of the oldest Yoruba towns, founded in about 1600. It is the capital of the Ijesu people, a subgroup of the Yoruba. It was a major military center during the Yoruba civil wars of the 19th century. It was captured by the British in 1893.
Ilobu, Located along a tributary of the Oshun River, Ilobu is an agricultural trading center for the surrounding region. Products traded include plantains, citrus fruit, yams, cassava, sorghum, beans, okra, peppers, and gourds. Cash crops such as cocoa, cotton, tobacco, palm oil, and palm kernels are collected and sold at Ilobu. Livestock, including dwarf cattle, goats, sheep, chickens, ducks, and guinea fowl, are also an important part of the town’s economy. Weaving and dyeing are the prominent traditional crafts. Ilobu is connected by road to Ogbomosho and Oshogbo.
Inisa, city located in southwestern Nigeria, located in Osun state. The city is a trading center for the cocoa produced in the surrounding areas. Inisa lies in the Yoruba cultural region. In the late 1800s it was the only town in southwestern Nigeria not to suffer great losses in population in the struggle among various Yoruba kingdoms to control the area. This was mostly because Inisa was located too far south to be effectively controlled by the emirate at Ilorin, a powerful Fulani-controlled Yoruba city to the north. Subsequently, outposts were set up by the Yoruba of Inisa to curtail the power of the Fulani at Ilorin.
Iwo, city in southwestern Nigeria, in Osun State, northeast of Ibadan. It is a center for the production of cacao and traditionally dyed cotton textiles. Iwo became the capital of a Yoruba kingdom in the 17th century and grew rapidly when many refugees from the Yoruba civil wars of the 19th century settled here.
Universities:
(1). Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife. (Federal government).
(2). Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Oshogbo. (Oyo and Osun state government).
(3). Osun state University (UNIOSUN), Oshogbo, Ikire, Okuku, Ifetedo. (Osun state government)
(4). Bowen University (of the Nigerian Baptist Convention), Iwo. (Private)
(5). Kings University (KICC), Ode-Omu. (Pastor Ashimolowo- Private)
(6). Fountain University (Islamic society), Oshogbo. (Private)
(7). Adeleke University, Ede. (The Adelekes- Private)
(8). Oduduwa University (OU), Ile-Ife. (Private)
(9). Joseph Ayo Babalola University(JABU), (CAC-Private)
(10). Redeemers University (Redeemed Christian Church of God), Relocating from Lagos-Ibadan Express way to a permanent site at Ede, Osun state. (Private)
Polytechnics:
(1). Federal Polytechnic, Ede. (Federal Government)
(2). Osun state Polytechnic, Iree. (Osun state government)
(3). The Polytechnic, Ile-Ife. (Private)
(4). Igbajo Polytechnic, Igbajo. (Private)
(5). Interlink Polytechnic, Ijebu-Ijesha. (Private)
Colleges of Education:
(1). Osun state college of Education, Ila-Orangun. (Osun state government)
(2). Osun state college of Education, Ilesha. (Osun state government)
(3). Osun state college of Technology, Esa-Oke. (Osun state government)
Teaching hospitals:
(1). Obafemi Awolowo teaching hospital (OAUTH), Ile-Ife. (Federal Government)
(2). Ladoke Akintola teaching hospital Osogbo. (Osun & Oyo state government)
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