Ekiti State

On World Forest Day 2022, Governor Kayode Fayemi announced that Obeche (Triplochiton scleroxylon) had been chosen as State Tree owing to its local prominence and environmental, economic and cultural significance.

From 1877 to 1893, the Confederacy fought the Kiriji War led by Fabunmi Okemesi alongside other Eastern Yoruba groups against the Ibadan Kingdom and other Western Yoruba groups; the war ended in a British-brokered stalemate before the area was colonized and incorporated into the British Southern Nigeria Protectorate which later merged into British Nigeria in 1914.

[4] Economically, Ekiti State is partially based on agriculture, mainly of yams, rice, cocoa, and cassava crops.

The Ekiti people as a nation and districts of the Yoruba race trace some of her progeny to Oduduwa, the father and progenitor of the Yoruba race even though good reason appears to establish the existence of aboriginal people in Ekiti region prior to the influx of royalty from present-day Ile Ife as that kingdom grew and abound.

The story goes that the Olofin, one of the sons of Oduduwa had 16 children and in the means of searching for the new land to develop, they all journeyed out of Ile-Ife as they walked through the Iwo-Eleru (Cave of Ashes) at Ijare and had stopped over at a place called Igbo-Aka (forest of termites) closer to Ile-Oluji.

Among the elders he met in the town were Agbonniregun [Stetillu], Obatala, Orelure, Obameri, Elesije, Obamirin, Obalejugbe just to mention a few.

[13] Nobody can give accurate dates to these events due to the lack of written sources, but people have lived in Ekiti for centuries.

"The term Ekiti denotes a "Mound", and is derived from the rugged mountainous feature of that part of the country.

Among the elders he met in the town were Agbonniregun [Stetillu], Obatala, Orelure, Obameri, Elesije, Obamirin, Obalejugbe just to mention a few.

The following are the minor Ekiti kings: — (5) Alara of Aramoko, (6) Alaye of Efon Alaye, (7) Ajanpanda of Akure, (8) Ologotun of Ogotun, (9) Olojudo of Ido, (10) Attah of Aiyede, (11) Oloja Oke of Igbo Odo, (12) Oloye of Oye, (13) Olomuwo of Omuwo, (14) Onire of Ire, (15) Arinjale of Ise and (16) Onitaji of Itaji.

While the non-Ekiti part of the region largely dominated geographically, Akure which was then regarded as an Ekiti town was the headquarters of Ondo province.

It is generally an undulating part of the country with a characteristic landscape that consists of old plains broken by step-sided out-crops that may occur singularly or in groups or ridges.

Such rocks out-crops exist mainly at Aramoko, Efon-Alaiye, Ikere-Ekiti, Igbara-odo- ekiti and Okemesi-Ekiti.

Slight differences are noticeable in the Ekiti dialects of the Yoruba language spoken by the border communities to other states.

The communities influenced by their locations include Otun (Moba land) which speaks a dialect close to the one spoken by the Igbominas in Kwara State.

The people of Oke-Ako, Irele, Omuo speak a similar dialect to that of Ijesas of Osun State.

446,475 Catholics (2021) in the Diocese of Ekiti (1972 as Ado-Ekiti), a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Ibadan, with 63 parishes under Bishop Felix Femi Ajakaye (2010).

[24] The State Ministry of Education coordinates the registration and maintenance in both private and public schools from basic to the secondary level as it is applicable all over Nigeria.

“Studies have shown that Ekiti has the largest number of educated people per square kilometre in the black world”.

They are largely deposited in different towns and villages of Ijero, Ekiti West, Ado-Ekiti, Ikole, Ikere, Ise-Ekiti and other local government areas.

The Land is also blessed with water resources, some of its major rivers are Ero, Osun, Ose, and Ogbese.

The state of hills is also blessed with a variety of tourist attractions abound in the state namely, Ikogosi Warm Springs; Arinta Water Falls; Olosunta and Orole hills of Ikere; Erin-ayonugba River at Erijiyan Ekiti; Fajuyi Memorial Park of Ado - Ekiti and so on.

The spring is at present, being processed and packaged into bottled water for commercial purposes by a private company - UAC Nigeria.

The land is also known for its forest resources, notably timber, and in March 2022, Obeche (Triplochiton scleroxylon) was adopted as a State Tree due to its prominence and economic significance.

[8] Because of the favourable climatic conditions, the land enjoys luxuriant vegetation, thus, it has abundant resources of different species of timber.

Food crops such as yam, cassava, and also grains like rice and maize are grown in large quantities.

View from the top of one of The Iworoko Mountains in Ekiti State.
Lake in Ekiti State