Ibadan was created in 1829 and was initially intended to be a camp for warriors coming from Oyo, Ife and Ijebu but it has grown into an impressive urban center.
Here are some facts you probably don’t know about Ibadan.
1. Ibadan became a British protectorate in 1893 after a treaty was signed by Fijabi, the Baale of Ibadan with George C. Denton, the acting Governor of Lagos colony.
2. Ibadan lies completely within the tropical forest zone but it shares close boundaries between the forest and derived savanna.
3. Ibadan has 11 local government areas consisting of five urban local government in the city and six-semi urban local government in the lesser city.
4. Ibadan is the second largest non-oil state economy in Nigeria and the fourth largest state economy
5. Ibadan is a major trade center for cassava, cocoa, timber, cotton, palm oil and rubber. It has an abundance of aquamarine, clay and kaolin.
6. Ibadan has the first tallest building in Africa which is the Cocoa House. The cocoa house was built in 1952.
7. Ibadan as a city, has over twenty printing press companies e.g Ibadan university press.
8. The first stadium in Nigeria was built in Ibadan. The Obafemi Awolowo Stadium originally known as Liberty Stadium was opened in 1960.
9. As at 2021, Ibadan has a total population of 3,649,000, making it the third-largest city by population in Nigeria.
10. Ibadan was Nigeria largest and most populous city at the time of independence.
11. Ibadan was the administrative centre of the old western region since the days of the British colonial rule.
12. Ibadan was coined from the phrase “Eda Odan” which means “by the edge of the meadow”.