Ajowa-Akoko Ajowa | |
---|---|
Town | |
Coordinates: 7°41′05″N5°54′28″E / 7.684819°N 5.907643°E | |
Country | Nigeria |
State | Ondo State |
Local Government Area | Akoko North West |
Government | |
• Chairman, Council of Obas | The Elefifa of Efifa Oba Benson Ayodele Adebiy |
Population | |
• Total | 60,000+ |
Time zone | UTC+1 (WAT) |
Ajowa-Akoko is a town located in Akoko North West Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria. It is known for its governance structure involving eight autonomous kings and is considered a boundary town between Ondo and Kogi States. The town has been in peaceful coexistence considering it setup, was officially established in 1955. Ajowa has a rich cultural heritage and significant educational institutions.
Ajowa-Akoko originated as an amalgamation of eight independent communities: Uro, Efifa, Ora, Ojo, Iludotun, Ibaram, Daja, and Esuku. The union was facilitated by P. A. R. A. Olusa, a regional representative at the Ibadan Conference in 1954, to unify smaller villages for enhanced development and representation before the then Western Region government. [1]
The town's name, "Ajowa," translates to "We Come Together" in Yoruba, reflecting the consensus-driven establishment. Despite their unity, each community retains its traditional ruler, cultural practices, and original land holdings. [2]
Ajowa-Akoko operates a confederal system, where the eight communities are ruled by their respective kings:
The kings govern their individual domains autonomously while collaborating on issues affecting the entire town.
Ajowa-Akoko is home to numerous educational institutions, including the FESTMED College of Education, Ajowa-Akoko, which offers various programs in education. [3] Public and private primary and secondary schools serve the town's population.
Ajowa-Akoko has produced notable individuals, including:
The town has faced security challenges, including incidents of kidnapping along major roads and within the community. For example, in 2022, a monarch from Oso-Ajowa was abducted and later released after a ransom was reportedly paid. [4] Efforts are ongoing to improve safety in the area.
Despite challenges, Ajowa-Akoko residents celebrate their diverse traditions while fostering a spirit of peace, love, and progress. [2] The young people are united by organizations such as National Union of Ajowa Students (NUAS), Ajowa Progressive Youth Network (APYN). The kings are in a council of Obas headed currently by The Elefifa of Efifa Oba Benson Ayodele Adebiyi, Preceded by Oba Kayode Olusa of Iludotun
Ondo Town is the second largest town in Ondo State, Nigeria. Ondo Town is the trade center for the surrounding region; commercial crops such as yams, cassava, grain, tobacco and cotton are grown, the latter of which is often used to weave a culturally significant cloth known as Aso Oke fabric, which is commonly used to make clothing amongst the local population. Ondo Town is the largest producer of cocoa products in the region.
Ondo is a state in southwestern Nigeria. It was created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. Ondo borders Ekiti State to the north, Kogi State to the northeast for 45 km, Edo State to the east, Delta State to the southeast for 36 km, Ogun State to the southwest for 179 km, Osun State to the northwest for 77 km, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The state's capital is Akure, the former capital of the ancient Akure Kingdom. The State includes mangrove-swamp forest near the Bight of Benin.
Ekiti is a state in southwestern Nigeria, bordered to the North by Kwara State for 61 km, to the Northeast by Kogi State for 92 km, to the South and Southeast by Ondo State, and to the West by Osun State for 84 km. Named for the Ekiti people—the Yoruba subgroup that makes up the majority of the state's population—Ekiti State was carved out from a part of Ondo State in 1996 and has its capital as the city of Ado-Ekiti.
Osun, is a state in southwestern Nigeria; bounded to the east by Ekiti and Ondo states for 84 km and for 78 km respectively, to the north by Kwara State for 73 km, to the south by Ogun State for 84 km and to the west by Oyo State, mostly across the River Osun. Named for the River Osun—a vital river which flows through the state—the state was formed from the southeast of Oyo State on 27 August 1991 and has its capital as the city of Osogbo.
Ikare is a city in the northern senatorial part of Ondo State, Nigeria.
The Akoko are a large Yoruba cultural sub-group in the Northeastern part of Yorubaland. The area spans from Ondo State to Edo State in southwest Nigeria. The Akokos as a subgroup make up 20.3% of the population of Ondo State, and 5.7% of the population of Edo State. Out of the present 18 Local Government Councils it constitutes four; Akoko North-East, Akoko North-West, Akoko South-East and Akoko South-West, as well as the Akoko Edo LGA of Edo State. The Adekunle Ajasin University, a state owned university with a capacity for about 20,000 tertiary education students and more than 50 departments in seven faculties is located in Akungba-Akoko. A state specialist hospital is situated at Ikare Akoko, while community general hospitals are located in Oka-Akoko and Ipe-Akoko.
Oba-Igbomina, is an ancient Igbomina town in northeastern Isin Local Government Area of Kwara State. It is one of the five related Yoruba towns named "Oba", the others being
Ijebu-jesa is the capital of Oriade Local Government area in Osun State of Nigeria.
Akpes (Àbèsàbèsì) is an endangered language of Nigeria. It is spoken by approximately 7,000 speakers in the North of Ondo State. The language is surrounded by several other languages of the Akoko area, where Yoruba is the lingua franca. Yoruba replaces Akpes in more and more informal domains and thus forwards a gradual shift from Akpes towards Yoruba. Akpes is generally attributed to the Volta-Congo Branch of the Niger-Congo phylum.
Akoko Edo is a Local Government Area in Edo State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Igarra. It has an area of 1,371 km2 and a population of 262,110 at the 2006 census. It consists of the Akoko people, who are split between Ondo and Edo States. Most are recognized as Yoruba and bear names identical to their counterparts in Akoko Ondo. The Benin conquests during the reign of Oba Ozolua (1483–1504) established its first settlements in the region, while other people including the Bida, migrated there in search of fortune. The war which Oba Esigie fought with the Attah of Idah in 1515–1516, would have also contributed to the migration of the Igbirra and Idah from the north and the east into the area.
Akoko North-West is a local government area in Ondo State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Okeagbe.
Okitipupa is in Nigeria and part of the Ikale-speaking nation in Ondo State. Okitipupa Government headquarter is located in Okitipupa Major town with a university, Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology (OAUSTECH) which commenced academic sessions in 2010–11.
The Akure Kingdom is a traditional state with headquarters in Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. It is the successor to an ancient Yoruba city state of the same name. The ruler bears the title "Deji of Akure".
Dr. Oba Adesimbo Victor Kiladejo Adenrele Ademefun Kiladejo, or Jilo III, was appointed the 44th Osemawe, or traditional ruler of the Ondo Kingdom in Nigeria on 1 December 2006. He was crowned on 29 December 2008 at a ceremony attended by dignitaries including the Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Agagu, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade, and the leader of Afenifere, Chief Reuben Fasoranti.
Robert Ajayi Boroffice is a Nigerian politician who was Senator for Ondo North from 2011 to 2023.
Olowo Adekola Ogunoye II was a traditional ruler of Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria, who reigned between February 1968 to November 1992 before Sir Olateru Olagbegi II was reinstated in 1993. One of his sons, Oba Ajibade Gbadegesin Ogunoye III, was later enthroned as the Olowo of Owo, in 2019.
Akungba is a town in Ondo State located in southwestern Nigeria. The town is situated close to Ikare-Akoko. The people of Akungba had occupied their current abode about a century ago, and were under the control of Owo before the entire Akoko land of Ondo State united. The town was not popular and scarcely populated before the advent of Adekunle Ajasin University, formally Ondo State University in the year 1999.
The Ekiti people are one of the largest historical subgroups of the larger Yoruba people of West Africa, located in Nigeria. They are classified as a Central Yoruba group, alongside the Ijesha, Igbomina, Yagba and Ifes. Ekiti State is populated exclusively by Ekiti people; however, it is but a segment of the historic territorial domain of Ekiti-speaking groups, which historically included towns in Ondo State such as Akure, Ilara-Mokin, Ijare, and Igbara-oke. Ogbagi, Irun, Ese, Oyin, Igasi, Afin and Eriti in the Akoko region, as well as some towns in Kwara State, are also culturally Ekiti, although belong in other states today.
Isinkan is a Nigerian traditional state. It is based in a town of the same name in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State. It is contiguous to the Akure Kingdom, and shares such a close proximity to that kingdom that visitors may not know that both are traditionally distinct entities.
Ugbe Akoko is a town in Ondo State, southwestern Nigeria, about 105 km from the state's capital city Akure. Traditionally, the town has a ruling monarch.