WHAT HAPPENED IN IBADAN? A MUST READ STORY BY TOMILOLA
Ìbàdàn (Ìlú Ẹ̀bá-Ọ̀dàn) aka Ile Oluyole,
Ilu Ogunmola
Meaning: "Between the
forest and plains"
Ibadan - Running splash of
gold and rust flung among seven hills, like broken china in the sun - J.P
Clark.
Location of Ibadan in Nigeria
Ibadan, surrounded by
seven hills, is located in south-western Nigeria. It is the capital of Oyo
State, and is reputed to be the third largest indigenous city in Nigeria after
Kano and Lagos respectively. It is populated dominantly by the Yorubas. It was
founded in the 18th Century.
According to local historians, before the
existence of Ibadan, Oyo kingdom, a then very powerful
However, the first city formed in Ibadan was
destroyed due to an incident which
occurred at an Egungun (masquerade) festival when an Egungun was accidentally
disrobed and mocked by women and children in an open marketplace full of
people. In Yorubaland, it is an abomination for women to look an Egungun in the
eye because the Egunguns are considered to be the dead forefathers who returned
to the earth each year to bless their progeny. When the news reached the then
Alaafin (ruler) of Oyo, he commanded that Eba Odan be destroyed for committing
such an abominable act. At that time, Lagelu had become an old, frail man which
meant he could not stop the destruction of his city, but he and some of his
people were able to survive the attack and flee to a nearby hill for sanctuary.
On the hill they survived by eating fruits and snails they could gather. They
later began to cultivate the land and made corn and millets into pap meals
known as eko, which they ate with the roasted snails. They further went ahead
to improvise a bit by using the snail shells to drink the liquefied eko. It is
this eating habit that has now formed part of the Oriki (ancestral praise) of
Ibadan people today. Inevitably, Lagelu and his people were able to come down
from the hill after the passage of some time and founded another city at the
same spot which it had been formed before. That city was called Eba'dan or
Ibadan as it is now called. The city then became a refugee center. Various
people such as warriors, war escapees, escaped slaves, people in exile and so
on from various parts of other yoruba cities, came to settle there. Thus the
city began to expand. The city developed more flexible laws as a result of the
diversity of people. The growth of the city was so rapid that by the end of
1829, Ibadan dominated Yorubaland militarily, economically nd politically. The
military arm expanded even further when refugees began arriving in large
numbers from northern part of Oyo Kingdom following raids by Fulani warriors.
After losing the northern portion of their region to the marauding Fulanis,
many Oyo indigenes retreated deeper into the Ibadan environs. In 1893, Ibadan
became a British protectorate after a treaty signed by Fijabi, the then Baale
of Ibadan with the British Acting Governor of Lagos, George C. Denton. The
British developed the new colony to facilitate Ibadan's commericial activities
and thus the city grew into the major trading center it is today. This is a
city that was greatly believed in by the late Obafemi Awolowo.
Monuments and landmarks
Located at Dugbe is the Cocoa House, which
is Nigeria's first skyscraper. It is one of the few skyscrapers in the city and
is at the hub of Ibadan's commercial centre. Cocoahouse is the headquarters for
the Oodua investment company co-owned by all southwestern states. The city also
occupies the The Bower Memorial Tower to the east on Oke Aàre (Aare's Hill)
which can be seen from practically any point in the city. The tower, in turn,
also provides an amazing view of the whole city from the top.
Ibadan city can also be said to be home to
several pioneer landmarks as it occupies the first citadel of higher learning
in Nigeria, University of Ibadan (formerly the University College of Ibadan).
The Premier Univerisity in turn boasts of the Obafemi Awolowo Hall which is
said to be the tallest and largest hostel in West Africa. The first teaching
hospital in Nigeria, University College Hospital, was also built in this
ancient city. Not to be left out is the fact that the ancient city is also home
to the first television station in Africa.
Other
attractions in Ibadan include Mapo Hall – the colonial style city hall – perched on top of a
hill, "Oke Mapo," Mapo Hill ("oke" is hill in Yoruba), The
Trans-Wonderland amusement park, The cultural centre, Mokola and the Obafemi
Awolowo Stadium which is a major stadium.
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