Ibadan (UK:/ɪˈbædən/,US:/ɪˈbɑːdən/;[5]Yoruba:Ìbàdàn[ì.bà.dã̀]) is thecapital and most populous city ofOyo State, inNigeria. It is thethird largest city by population inNigeria with a total population of roughly 3,649,000 as of 2021[citation needed], and nearly 2 million within itsmetropolitan area[citation needed]. At 3,080 square kilometres it is the country's largest city by land area. At the time of Nigeria's independence in 1960, Ibadan was the largest and most populous city in the country, and the second-most populous inAfrica behindCairo. Ibadan is ranked one of the fastest-growing cities insub-Saharan Africa, according to the UN Human Settlements Program (2022).[6] It is also ranked third inWest Africa in the tech startups index. Ibadan joined theUNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities in 2016. During the 19th century, Ibadan was the capital of theIbadan Republic, one of the most powerful states of contemporaryYorubaland.
Oyo State Secretariat located in Ibadan
Ibadan is located in southwestern Nigeria, 120 kilometres (75 mi) inland northeast of Lagos and 440 kilometres (270 mi) southwest ofAbuja, the federal capital. It is a prominenttransit point between the coastal region and areas in the hinterland of the country as well as one of Nigeria's most important commercial and research centres. Ibadan was the administrative centre of the oldWestern Region since the early days ofBritish colonial rule, and parts of the city's ancient protective walls still stand to this day. The principal inhabitants of the city are theYoruba people, as well as various communities (notablyIgbo,Hausa, Edo,Ebira,Igede,Igala,Ibibio etc.) from other parts of the country.
Ibadan, coined from the phrase "Eba-Odan",[7] which literally means 'by the edge of the meadow', came into existence in 1829, during a period of turmoil that characterizedYorubaland at the time.[8] It was in this period that many old Yoruba cities such asOld Oyo (Oyo-ile),Ijaye and Owu disappeared, and newer ones such asAbeokuta,New Oyo (Oyo Atiba) and Ibadan sprang up to replace them.[9] According to local historians,Lagelu founded the city, and was initially intended to be a war camp for warriors coming from Oyo,Ife andIjebu.[10] As a forest site containing several ranges of hills, varying in elevation from 160 to 275 meters, the location of the camp offered strategic defense opportunities. Its location at the fringe of the forest (the origin of the city's name) promoted its emergence as a trade center for traders and goods from both the forest and grassland areas.[11]
Ibadan thus had initially begun as a military state and retained its martial character until the last decade of the 19th century. Between the 1860s and 1890s, thecity-state became the center of an empire extending over much of northern and eastern Yorubaland. It was appropriately nicknamedidi-Ibon or "gun base", because of its unique military character.[12]
While most Yoruba cities practiced hereditary forms of kingship, Ibadan has been described as amilitary republic by historians. The city was administered by four 'chiefs': three of whose offices were attainable by all freeborn males, and one of which was reserved for female residents. The warrior 'class' were the dominant population of the city, as well as the most important economic group,[13] and military success offered significant opportunity for individual progression. Ibadan's unusual organization earned it the derision of other Yorubas.
Ibadan grew into an impressive and sprawlingurban center, such that by the end of 1829, Ibadan dominated the Yoruba region militarily,politically andeconomically.[14] The militarysanctuary expanded even further whenrefugees began arriving in large numbers from northern Oyo following raids byFula warriors.[citation needed] After losing the northern portion of their region to the maraudingFulas, many Oyo indigenes retreated deeper into the Ibadan environs. TheSokoto Caliphate attempted to expand further into the southern region of modern-day Nigeria, but was decisively defeated by thearmies of Ibadan in 1840, which eventually halted their progress. In 1852, theChurch Missionary Society sent David andAnna Hinderer to found a mission. They decided to build the mission and a church in Ibadan when they arrived in 1853.[15]
The colonial period reinforced the position of the city in the Yoruba urban network. After a small boom in rubber business (1901–1913), cocoa became the main produce of the region and attracted European andLevantine firms, as well as southern and northern traders from Lagos, Ijebu-Ode andKano among others. The city became a major point of bulk trade.[citation needed] In 1893, the Ibadan area became aBritishProtectorate after a treaty signed by Fijabi, the Baale of Ibadan with the British acting Governor ofLagos Colony,George C. Denton on 15 August.[16]
Its central location and accessibility from the capital city ofLagos were major considerations in the choice of Ibadan as the headquarters of the Western Provinces (1939) which ranged from the northernmost areas ofOyo State toEkeremor,Bomadi and Patani, which were regions transferred from the old Delta province in the Old Western region and later Mid-west to the old Rivers state and later Bayelsa, in the redistricting of Nigeria carried out by theYakubu Gowon administration shortly before theNigerian Civil War.[17]
Ibadan is located in southwestern Nigeria in the southeastern part ofOyo State at about 119 kilometres (74 miles) northeast ofLagos and 120 kilometres (75 miles) east of the Nigerian international border with the Republic ofBenin. It lies completely within the tropical forest zone but close to the boundary between the forest and the derived savanna. The city ranges in elevation from 150 m in the valley area, to 275 m abovesea level on the major north–south ridge which crosses the central part of the city.
The city of Ibadan is naturally drained by five rivers with many tributaries: Ona River in the North and West; Ogbere River towards the East;Ogunpa River flowing through the city and Kudeti River in the Central part of the metropolis.Ogunpa River, a third-orderstream with a channel length of 12.76 km and a catchment area of 54.92 km2. Lake Eleyele is located at the northwestern part of the city, while theOsun River,Asejire Lake bounds the city to the east and the fifth rivers boundary Ibadan with other Oke-Oguns towns, witch callOdo-ogun Rivers acrossLagos State,Ogun State,Osun State,Iseyin Town andEruwa Town boundary to Ibadan.
Ibadan has atropical wet and dry climate (Köppen climate classificationAw), with a lengthywet season and relatively constant temperatures throughout the year. Ibadan's wet season runs from March through October, though August sees somewhat of a lull in precipitation. This lull divides the wet season into two different wet seasons. November to February forms the city'sdry season, during which Ibadan experiences the typicalWest Africanharmattan. The mean total rainfall for Ibadan is approximately 1,230 millimetres or 48 inches, falling over about 123 days. There are two peaks for rainfall, June and September. The mean daily temperature is 26.46 °C or 79.63 °F, the mean minimum 21.42 °C or 70.56 °F, and the relative humidity 74.55%.
There are 11local governments in the Ibadan metropolitan area, consisting of five urban local governments in the city and six semi-urban local governments. Local governments at present are institutions created by the military government but recognised by the 1999 constitution, and they are the third tier of government in Nigeria. Local government councils consist of the Executive Arm made up of the Executive Chairman, the Vice Chairman, the Secretary and the Supervisory Councillors.[21]
The former Executive Governor of Oyo State, SenatorIsiaka Abiola Ajimobi, created some Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) out of some of the existing local government areas in Oyo State. From the Ibadan Urban Local Government areas, the following LCDAs were created:
- Out of Ibadan North Local Government area, Aare Latosa LCDA and Irepodun LCDA were created. - Out of Ibadan North East Local Government area, Ibadan East LCDA was created. - Out of Ibadan North West Local Government area, Oke'Badan North LCDA was created. - Out of Ibadan South East Local Government area, Ibadan South LCDA was created. - Out of Ibadan South West Local Government area, Ibadan West LCDA was created.[22]
From the Ibadan Semi-urban Local Government areas, the following LCDAs were created. - Out of Akinyele Local Government area, Akinyele South LCDA and Akinyele East LCDA were created.
Until 1970, Ibadan was the largest city inSub-Saharan Africa by surface area.[9] In 1952, it was estimated that the total area of the city was approximately 103.8 km2.[23] However, only 36.2 km2 was built up. This meant that the remaining 67 km2 were devoted to non-urban uses, such as farmlands, river floodplains, forest reserves and water bodies. These "non-urban land uses" disappeared in the 1960s: an aerial photograph in 1973 revealed that the urban landscape had completely spread over about 100 km2. The land area increased from 136 km2 in 1981 to 210–240 km2 in 1988-89 (Areola, 1994: 101). By 2000, it is estimated that Ibadan covered 400 km2.[24] The growth of the built-up area during the second half of the 20th century (from 40 km2 in the 1950s to 250 km2 in the 1990s) shows clearly that there has been an underestimate of the total growth of the city. In the 1980s, the Ibadan-Lagos expressway generated the greatesturban sprawl (east and north of the city), followed by the Eleiyele expressway (west of the city). Since then, Ibadan city has spread further into the neighbouring local government areas of Akinyele and Egbeda in particular.
It is one of the few skyscrapers in the city and is at the hub of Ibadan's commercial centre. The Cocoa house is the headquarters for the Oodua Investment Company co-owned by all southwestern states.[28] Other tall buildings around Dugbe axis include Femi Johnson glass house, CBN building, United Bank for Africa,[29] Oxford building, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria's Building, among others.
TheBower's Tower, built in 1936, is to the east onOke Aàre (Aare's Hill) ("Aare" in Yoruba means commander-in-chief or generalissimo), which can be seen from practically any point in the city; it also provides an excellent view of the whole city from the top. It is named afterRobert Lister Bower,[30] and is sometimes called"Láyípo"- a testament to the spiral staircase in the monument.[30]
Other buildings includeMapo Hall[31] – the colonial stylecity hall – perched on top of a hill, "Oke Mapo", Mapo Hill ("oke" is hill in Yoruba, thecultural centre Mokola and theObafemi Awolowo Stadium (formerly Liberty Stadium). The first citadel of higher learning, University of Ibadan (formerly the University College of Ibadan),[32] the Obafemi Awolowo Hall in the University of Ibadan is said to be one of the tallest and largest hostel[33] in West Africa. The first teaching hospital in Nigeria, University College Hospital,[34] were both built in this ancient city.
Ibadan is host to Nigeria's premier higher institution of learning, theUniversity of Ibadan. Established as a college of theUniversity of London in 1948, and later converted into anautonomous university in 1962. Other higher educational institutions in the city includeThe Polytechnic, Ibadan,Lead City University, First Technical University, Kola Daisi University,[35] Federal college of Animal health and Production Technology,[36] Federal College of Forestry,[37] Highland College of Technology,[38] Samonda, Federal School of Statistics, Federal Cooperative College, Tower Polytechnic,[39] Ibadan, Ibadan City Polytechnic,[40] Citigate Polytechnic, NIIT University among others.
In 1853, the first Europeans to settle in Ibadan, Reverend David andAnna Hinderer, started Ibadan's first Western schools.[citation needed] They built churches and Anna taught at the new school.[15] They built the first two-storey building in Ibadan, which can still be found today at Kudeti. The first pupils to attend an elementary school in Ibadan were Yejide Olunloyo (female) and Akinyele Olunloyo (male) – the two children of an Ibadan high chief.
Ibadan is the capital city ofOyo State, the third largest state economy in Nigeria, after Lagos State and Rivers State respectively,[43] and the second largest non-oil state economy in Nigeria afterLagos state. With its strategic location on therailway line connectingLagos toKano,[44] the city is a major centre for trade incassava,cocoa,cotton,timber,rubber, andpalm oil. The city and its environs is home to several industries such as Agro allied, Textile, Food processing, Health Care and Cosmetic, Tobacco processing and Cigarette manufacturing, Leatherworks and furniture making Etc. There is abundance ofclay,kaolin andaquamarine in the city environs, and there are severalcattleranches, adairy farm as well as a commercialabattoir in Ibadan. There are dozens of banks and Insurance firms spread out across the cityscape that service the city's millions of inhabitants.
The main economic activities engaged in by the Ibadan populace include Agriculture, Trade, Public service employment, Factory work, Service sector/Tertiary production, Etc. The headquarters of theInternational Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) have extensive grounds for crop and agricultural research into key tropical crops such as bananas, plantains, maize, cassava, soybean, cowpea and yam.[45] According to a report, Ibadan is the 3rd cheapest Nigerian city to live in.[46]
There are various sport centres and facilities within the city limits of Ibadan. The Ibadan recreational club established 1902 in the Sabo area of the city is one of the oldest of such clubs in the country.[47] It offers a swimming pool, tennis courts, basketball courts, snooker, squash courts, darts corner, and a relaxation bar. The city is also host to dozens of football academies where soccer talents are groomed. The Agodi Gardens of Oyo State has been completely refurbished to contain a Botanical Garden, Zoo, Swimming pool, Guest house, Bar and Restaurants. In addition, there are the Ibadan Polo Club at Eleyele and the Ibadan Golf Club[48] in the Onireke reservation Area.
The city of Ibadan is a major Nigerian transport hub with freeways linking it withLagos in the South South West,Ijebu Ode andShagamu in the South,Abeokuta in the West,Oyo,ogbomosho,Offa andIlorin in the North,Ife,Ado Ekiti,Osogbo,Ilesha,Akure,Okene,Auchi and other cities towards the East. The city is also served by an airport, theIbadan Airport, which operates daily flights to Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Ilorin etc. through major airlines in Nigeria. The city is a major terminusrailway station on themain railway line linkingLagos withKano in the North of the country. Nearly all the major roads are dualized (Double carriage roads), such roads include the Ojoo-Sango-Mokola road that passes in front of the University of Ibadan, others include Ring road-Orita-Challenge-New Garage ways and the recently completed Dugbe-Eleyele-Jerico Road. There are various roundabouts, intersections and flyovers within the city, the latest being the Mokola flyover built to reduce persistent traffic gridlock being experienced in the Mokola axis of the city.[47]
Modes of transport include cabs & taxis, taxi-vans commonly calledDanfos, and in more recent times mass-transit buses have commenced operations to reduce the hardship of students and workers commuting from various suburban areas to the city centre, private/personal/family cars,scooters commonly known asOkadas, Coach (bus) services, more commonly known locally as "luxurious busses", such asAlakowe Bus,ABC Transport,Cross Country ltd Etc., which operate To and Fro services linking Ibadan and all other major destinations in the country and beyond, as well as pedestrian walking.
Since 2021, there is a new railway connection (standard gauge), which brings passengers to Lagos in less than three hours. It leaves at 8:00 and 16:00 every day (on time).[50] The new railway line came with a new railway station.
Phase 1 of the Ibadan circular road, a 110 km road that encircles Ibadan, as at April 2023 is under construction[51][52]
Short Oral history of Ibadan in Ibadan language by a native speaker
The city hosted the first TV station in Africa, NTA Ibadan, which was established as Western Nigeria Television (WNTV) in 1959. The oldest surviving Nigerian newspaper is the Ibadan Tribune, which was founded by chiefObafemi Awolowo, the Premier of Western Nigeria. The first private TV station, Galaxy TV in Oyo State, also started in the city. As at 2014 the city is home to several media outlets including
Multichoice Africa owner of DStv and GOTV satellite company has an office in the Jericho area of the city providing subscribers with numerous international and local TV and radio.
Star times
DaarSat
The radio stations in Ibadan are increasing in number compared to 5–10 years ago,[when?] when only 3 operated.Today, there are:
There are also online communities of Ibadan residents such as CONNECTIBADAN, Ibadan247, IBpulse and WhatsupIbadan. They help the public connect with news, event and people in Ibadan and Oyo State as a whole.
^"Klimatafel von Ibadan / Nigeria"(PDF).Baseline climate means (1961-1990) from stations all over the world (in German). Deutscher Wetterdienst. Retrieved14 July 2016.
^Areola, O. "The Spatial Growth of Ibadan City and its impact on the rural Hinterland" in M.O. Filani, F.O. Akintola and C.O. Ikporukpo edited Ibadan Region, RexCharles Publication, Ibadan, 1994 page 99.
^Onibokun, P. and Faniran A., Urban research in Nigeria. IFRA and CASSAD, Ibadan, 1995
^J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann,Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, ABC-CLIO, USA, 2010, p. 2107
'On Education' – Page 69; 'Seventeen Years in the Yoruba Country: Memorials of Anna Hinderer (wife of the Rev. David Hinderer, C.M.S. Missionary in Western Africa).
