The dialect generally has similarities with Ijesha speech towards the west beyond the Effon ridge, and into Igbomina in the north and northwest around the Ekiti speaking people of Ekan meje and Iloffa towards Omu Aran, both of which still fall within the Central Yoruba Continuum.

Towards the northeast, away from the town of Oke ako, Itapaji and Omuo, the dialect gradually fades into the Yagba and Gbedde/Adde Yoruba types respectively.

It lies on an area underlain by metamorphic rock, and is generally an undulating country with a characteristic landscape that consists of old plains broken by steep-sided outcrops that may occur singularly or in groups or ridges.

This lasted until a rebellion in 1876 followed by a prolonged war between the Yoruba states,[8] in which the Ekitis combined forces with the Ijeshas and some Akoko towns as a clan confederation known as the Ekiti Parapo[9] to resist Ibadan rule, led by Chief Fabunmi of Oke-Imesi and Chief Ogedengbe of Ijeshaland.

Towards the end of the 19th century, the British, based on their Lagos Colony, had established a protectorate over the area, although they ruled through "native" administrations.

[10] In looking at the creation of Native Authorities at Oke-Imo, Ilesa in 1900 by Major Reeve Tucker and the re-organization of North East District in December, 1912; the separation of Ijesa, Ekiti and other areas on 1 January 1913, and the creation of Ekiti Native Authority with its headquarters at Ado-Ekiti, conflicts and agitations for local autonomy had pervaded politics of traditional institutions in Ekitiland.

[citation needed] The heightened struggle did not give credibility to the fact that Ado-Ekiti which was eventually picked was already the official and major administrative capital of Ekitiland since 1 January 1913, nor did it occur to the agitators that it had over time become a second home for all Ekiti people irrespective of their hometown or place of origin.

Hence, the struggle for relevance and supremacy which continued to rear its head is worth a fuller study and understanding is required if lasting solutions are to be found.

The attempt by the British colonists to impose a sole native authority in Ekitiland in pursuit of their indirect rule policy failed because of the rejection of the supremacy theory among Ekiti Obas.

Under this treaty, Ekiti, Ondo and Edo were considered part of his traditional areas of influence and would be free of Oyo territorial incursions, while the Alaafin of Oyo would have the Western and Northern Yoruba territories, including parts of the non-Yoruba speaking neighbours like the Nupe, Ibariba and Aja in Dahomey (now the Republic of Benin).

[12] Samuel Rowe, the Governor of the Gold Coast Colony, documented some useful hints concerning the pre-eminence of the Oore of Otun on May 29, 1883, when he wrote: "Ekiti Parapo is a name given to the confederation of "Efon tribes".

An example of this is the fact that the Ewi remained in Ado, and only left it when his town relocated temporarily due to the Benin horde's invasion.

The meetings were regarded as being of a lesser importance, except for mobilizing the coalition of warriors and hunters for the Ekiti war of liberation spearheaded by Fabunmi.

According to Babatola, the fact that a school of Yoruba history regarded the Oore as a prince of Ile-Ife, while others referred to him as a follower of Obatala, whom Oduduwa deposed as king upon his arrival at Ife, is enough reason to ask more questions.

On the other hand, Falegan insisted that the Oore could not claim any supremacy or superiority that he did not enjoy in Ekitiland prior to colonial rule.

Though the damage done is reversible through the harmonization of different traditions of Ekiti people to expose his delicacies of concoction and false claims, Atolagbe attempted most likely to also score a point against Ekiti Obas who opposed Oore’s listing ahead of them at Oke-Imo meetings in finding a medium of restoring Oore pre-eminence that was gained at the close of Kiriji and early years of British colonial rule in Ekitiland."

Despite the fact that the number of autonomous communities in Ekitiland was 104 in 1955 (with some of these towns eventually transferred to neighboring Ondo, Kogi and Kwara States), the number of autonomous local communities in present Ekiti state in 2014 has increased to 134 due to official interventions and government proclamations.

Another possibility is that other issues resulted in their differences, which in turn caused their demands for separation from the time of British colonial rule until now.