Ibadan

Ibadan is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is one of the largest cities by population in Nigeria with a population of 4.3 million within its metropolitan area. 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 in Africa behind Cairo. Ibadan is ranked one of the fastest-growing cities in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the UN Human Settlements Program. It is also ranked third in Nigeria and fifth in West Africa in the tech startups index. Ibadan joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities in 2016. During the 19th century, Ibadan was the capital of the Ibadan Republic, one of the most powerful states of contemporary Yorubaland.
Ibadan is located in southwestern Nigeria, inland northeast of Lagos and southwest of Abuja, the federal capital. It is a prominent transit 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 old Western Region since the early days of British colonial rule, and parts of the city's ancient protective walls still stand to this day. The principal inhabitants of the city are the Yoruba people, as well as various communities from other parts of the country.

History

Ibadan, coined from the phrase "Eba-Odan", which literally means 'by the edge of the meadow', came into existence in 1829, during a period of turmoil that characterized Yorubaland at the time. It was in this period that many old Yoruba cities such as Old Oyo, Ijaye and Owu disappeared, and newer ones such as Abeokuta, New Oyo and Ibadan sprang up to replace them. According to local historians, Lagelu founded the city, and was initially intended to be a war camp for warriors coming from Oyo, Ife and Ijebu. 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 promoted its emergence as a trade center for traders and goods from both the forest and grassland areas.
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, the city-state became the center of an empire extending over much of northern and eastern Yorubaland. It was appropriately nicknamed idi-Ibon or "gun base", because of its unique military character.
While most Yoruba cities practiced hereditary forms of kingship, Ibadan has been described as a military 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, 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 sprawling urban center, such that by the end of 1829, Ibadan dominated the Yoruba region militarily, politically and economically. The military sanctuary expanded even further when refugees began arriving in large numbers from northern Oyo following raids by Fula warriors. After losing the northern portion of their region to the marauding Fulas, many Oyo indigenes retreated deeper into the Ibadan environs. The Sokoto Caliphate attempted to expand further into the southern region of modern-day Nigeria, but was decisively defeated by the armies of Ibadan in 1840, which eventually halted their progress. In 1852, the Church Missionary Society sent David and Anna Hinderer to found a mission. They decided to build the mission and a church in Ibadan when they arrived in 1853.
The colonial period reinforced the position of the city in the Yoruba urban network. After a small boom in rubber business, cocoa became the main produce of the region and attracted European and Levantine firms, as well as southern and northern traders from Lagos, Ijebu-Ode and Kano among others. The city became a major point of bulk trade. In 1893, the Ibadan area became a British Protectorate after a treaty signed by Fijabi, the Baale of Ibadan with the British acting Governor of Lagos Colony, George C. Denton on 15 August.
Its central location and accessibility from the capital city of Lagos were major considerations in the choice of Ibadan as the headquarters of the Western Provinces which ranged from the northernmost areas of Oyo State to Ekeremor, 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 the Yakubu Gowon administration shortly before the Nigerian Civil War.
In 2024, Ibadan was the site of a failed coup attempt by Yoruba separatists.

Geography

Ibadan is located in southwestern Nigeria in the southeastern part of Oyo State at about northeast of Lagos and east of the Nigerian international border with the Republic of Benin. 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 above sea 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-order stream 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 the Osun River, Asejire Lake bounds the city to the east and the fifth rivers boundary Ibadan with other Oke-Oguns towns, witch call Odo-ogun Rivers across Lagos State, Ogun State, Osun State, Iseyin Town and Eruwa Town boundary to Ibadan.

Climate

Ibadan has a tropical wet and dry climate, with a lengthy wet 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's dry season, during which Ibadan experiences the typical West African harmattan. The mean total rainfall for Ibadan is approximately, falling over about 123 days. There are two peaks for rainfall, June and September. The mean daily temperature is, the mean minimum, and the relative humidity 74.55%.

Government Administration

There are 11 local 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.

Local government areas

Ibadan Urban – LGA Chairman

Ibadan North – Adebayo Adegoke
Ibadan North-East – Lekan Afuye
Ibadan North-West – Mojeed Bosun Ajuwon
Ibadan South-East – Abimbola Omiyale
Ibadan South-West – Adeleke Taoreed Bolaji

Ibadan Semi-Urban – LGA Chairman

Akinyele – Taoreed Jimoh Adedigba
Egbeda – Akeem Akintunde
Ido – Sheriff Aderemi Adeojo
Lagelu – Oyesanmi Toriola
Ona Ara – Ogundele Biliaminu
Oluyole A yodeji Abass Aleshinloye
Local Council Development Areas

The former Executive Governor of Oyo State, Senator Isiaka Abiola Ajimobi, created some Local Council Development Areas 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.

From the Ibadan Akinyele LGA in the Semi-urban LGAs, the following LCDAs were created.

Akinyele South LCDA.
Akinyele East LCDA.
Demographics

Until 1970, Ibadan was the largest city in Sub-Saharan Africa by surface area. In 1952, it was estimated that the total area of the city was approximately 103.8 km². 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. By 2000, it is estimated that Ibadan covered 400 km². The growth of the built-up area during the second half of the 20th century shows clearly that there has been an underestimate of the total growth of the city. In the 1980s, the Ibadan-Lagos expressway generated the greatest urban sprawl, followed by the Eleiyele expressway. Since then, Ibadan city has spread further into the neighbouring local government areas of Akinyele and Egbeda in particular.