Oyo State

Ọyọ State
State
Nickname(s): Pace Setter State

Location of Ọyọ State in Nigeria
Coordinates: 8°00′N 4°00′E / 8.000°N 4.000°E / 8.000; 4.000Coordinates: 8°00′N 4°00′E / 8.000°N 4.000°E / 8.000; 4.000[1]
Country  Nigeria
Established late 14th century[1]
Date created 3 February 1976
Capital Ibadan
Government
 • Governor[2] Abiola Ajimobi (ACN)
 • Representatives List
Area
 • Total 28,454 km2 (10,986 sq mi)
Population (2006)[3]
 • Total 5,591,589
 • Estimate (2007) 6,617,720
 • Density 200/km2 (510/sq mi)
GDP
 • Year 2007
 • Total $16,12 billion[4]
 • Per capita $2,666[4]
Time zone WAT (UTC+01)
ISO 3166 code NG-OY
Website oyostate.gov.ng

Ọyọ, usually referred to as Oyo State to distinguish it from the city of Oyo, is an inland state in south-western Nigeria, with its capital at Ibadan. It is bounded in the north by Kwara State, in the east by Osun State, in the south by Ogun State and in the west partly by Ogun State and partly by the Republic of Benin.

Geography

Oyo State covers approximately an area of 28,454 square kilometers and is ranked 14th by size. The landscape consists of old hard rocks and dome shaped hills, which rise gently from about 500 meters in the southern part and reaching a height of about 1,219 metre above sea level in the northern part. Some principal rivers such as Ogun, Oba, Oyan, Otin, Ofiki, Sasa, Oni, Erinle and Osun river originate in this highland.

Oyo State contain a number of natural features including the Old Oyo National Park. In this location there was earlier habitat for the endangered African wild dog, Lycaon pictus;[5] however, this canid is thought to have been locally extirpated at the present.

The Climate is equatorial, notably with dry and wet seasons with relatively high humidity. The dry season lasts from November to March while the wet season starts from April and ends in October. Average daily temperature ranges between 25 °C (77.0 °F) and 35 °C (95.0 °F), almost throughout the year.

History

It was formed in 1976 from Western State, and included Ọsun State, which was split off in 1991. Oyo State is homogenous, mainly inhabited by the Yoruba ethnic group who are primarily agrarian but have a predilection for living in high-density urban centers. The indigenes mainly comprise the Oyos, the Oke-Oguns, the Ibadans and the Ibarapas, all belonging to the Yoruba family and indigenous city in Africa, south of the Sahara. Ibadan had been the centre of administration of the old Western Region, Nigeria since the days of British colonial rule.

Other notable cities and towns in Ọyọ State include Ọyọ, Ogbomọsọ, Isẹyin, kishi, Okeho, Saki, Eruwa, Iroko, Lanlate, Oje-Owode, Sepeteri, Ilora, Awe, Ilero, Igbeti, Igboho and Igbo-Ora, Otu.

Records, landmarks and 'firsts'

The first university in Nigeria is the University of Ibadan (established as a college of the University of London when it was founded in 1948, and later converted into an autonomous university in 1962). The other universities in the state are: Lead City University, Ibadan, Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo and the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso. The Polytechnic, Ibadan is located in Oyo State.

There are 324 secondary schools and 1,576 public primary schools in the state. Other noteworthy institutions in the city include the University College Hospital; the first teaching hospital in Nigeria and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (lITA).

Cocoa House was the first skyscraper built in Africa.

The state is home to NTA Ibadan, the first television station in Africa, and the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, a stadium with a capacity of 35,000.

Other major tourist attractions located in the state include: Agodi Botanical Garden, Ado-Awaye Suspended lake, Mapo Hall, University of lbadan Zoological Garden, Ido Cenotaph, Trans-Wonderland Amusement Park, Old Oyo National Park located in the historical site of the ancient capital of the famous old Oyo Empire, Iyamopo and Agbele Hill in Igbeti, Bowers Tower and the Cultural Centre, Mokola.

Government and politics

Under the Nigerian 1999 constitution[6] the government of Oyo State, and those of the other 35 Nigerian States, is divided into three branches to be in line with the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which is also three tier: the executive branch, the legislative branch and the judiciary. The executive branch of Oyo State government is headed by an elected executive governor who presides over the State Executive Council made up of appointed cabinet members. The present governor of Oyo State is Senator Abiola Ajimobi with Chief Moses Alake Adeyemo as deputy governor. The legislative branch is headed by an elected Speaker of the House of Assembly. The current Speaker is Michael Adeyemo Adeyemi. And lastly, the judiciary is headed by the Chief Judge of Oyo State High Court. The present Chief Judge of the state is Muktar Abimbola.

Education

Presently the State has 2,004 public schools, 971 private nursery/primary schools, 969 public secondary schools including 7 schools of Science and 57 private secondary schools. Also in the State, there are five government technical colleges at Oyo, Ogbomoso, Ibadan, Saki and Igbo-Ora with enrolment of 2,829 students in the 2000/2001 academic session.

Historically prominent secondary schools include St Anne's School Ibadan (1896), Wesley College (1905), Ibadan Grammar School (1913), Government College Ibadan (1927), St Theresa's College Ibadan (1932), Ibadan Boys' High School (1938), Olivet Heights Oyo (1945), Queens School Ibadan (1952), Loyola College Ibadan (1954), St. Bernadine's Oyo (1957), St Patrick's Grammar School Ibadan (1962) and several others. It's also home to Africa's leading fountain of knowledge, the iconic University of Ibadan (The University was originally instituted as an independent external college of the University of London, then it was called the University College, Ibadan[7]).

Two new technical colleges located at Ado-Awaye, Iseyin Local Government area and Ikija in Oluyole Local Government area were established in the 2001/2002 academic session. A college of education, Oyo State College of Education, Oyo. There is a Polytechnic, The Polytechnic, Ibadan, with 2 satellite campuses at Eruwa and Saki, and a State-owned University, The Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso which is jointly owned by Oyo and Osun State Governments. The federal premier university The University of Ibadan, is also located in State capital. There is a vocational Institute in Saki West Local Government named: The Kings Poly, Saki.

There are also the Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology, Ibadan; Federal College Education (Special), Oyo, the Federal School of Surveying, Oyo; Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), Agricultural Institute for Research and Training (AIR&T), the Nigerian Institute of Science Laboratory Technology (NISLT), the Federal School of Forestry and the Nigeria Institute for Social and Economic Research (NISER), all in Ibadan.

Similarly, there are 15 Nomadic schools in the State. They are Gaa Jooro and Gaa Baale, both in Kisi (Irepo Local Government); Baochilu Government; Arin-Oye, Abiogun, Okaka and Baba-Ode (Itesiwaju Local Government); Iganna (Iwajowa Local Government); Igangan and Ayete (Ibarapa North Local Government Gaa Kondo and Igbo-Ora, Ibarapa Central Local Government) and Sepeteri (Saki East Local Government). There are 213 continuing education centres spread all over the State.

15 special primary schools and 8 special units in secondary schools cater for handicapped children. There are 11,732 teaching staff in the state public secondary schools and 2,789 non-teaching staff.

The Agency for Adult and Non-formal Education (AANFE) caters for illiterate adults who had no opportunity of formal education. The agency has 455 classes in existence in the 33 Local Government areas of the State, while 200,000 illiterate adults and over 80,000 post-illiterate adults have been trained recently.

List of universities in Oyo State

List of polytechnics in Oyo State

List of registered private polytechnics in Oyo State

List of current public officials

Commissioner/Officer Ministry/Office
Abiola Ajimobi Governor
Moses Alake Adeyemo Deputy Governor
Michael Adeyemo Adeyemi Speaker of the State House of Assembly
Ismael Alli Secretary to the State Government
Deolu Akande Chief of Staff
Bimbo Adekanmbi Deputy Chief of Staff
Alhaji Tajudeen O. Aremu Head of Service
Ajiboye Omodewu Commissioner for Local Government & Chieftaincy Affairs
Bayo Ojo Attorney-General & Commissioner for Justice

Agriculture

Agriculture is the main occupation of the people of Oyo State. The climate in the state favours the cultivation of crops like maize, yam, cassava, millet, rice, plantains, cocoa, palm produce, cashew etc. There are a number of government farm settlements in Ipapo, Ilora, Eruwa, Ogbomosho, Iresaadu, Ijaiye, Akufo and Lalupon. There is abundance of clay, kaolin and aquamarine. There are also vast cattle ranches at Saki, Fasola and Ibadan, a dairy farm at Monatan in Ibadan and the statewide Oyo State Agricultural Development Programme with headquarters at Saki. A number of international and federal agricultural establishment are located in the state.

Local Government Areas

Oyo State consists of thirty-three (33) Local Government Areas. They are:

List of current Local Government Area Chairmen.[8]

Notable Oyo State people

References

  1. 1 2 The Encyclopedia of African-American Heritage by Susan Altman , Chapter O, page 183
  2. ↑ See List of Governors of Oyo State for a list of prior governors
  3. ↑ State overview
  4. 1 2 "C-GIDD (Canback Global Income Distribution Database)". Canback Dangel. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  5. ↑ C. Michael Hogan. 2009. Painted Hunting Dog: Lycaon pictus, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
  6. ↑ Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (accessed 20 September 2008)
  7. ↑ University of Ibadan
  8. ↑ http://www.oyostate.gov.ng/ministries-departments-and-agencies/local-government-and-chieftaincy-matters/local-government-chairmen/

External links

Kwara State
 Benin Osun State
   Oyo State  
Ogun State
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