State: Ekiti

Ekiti State sits in Nigeria’s southwest, with Ado Ekiti as its capital. It was carved out of Ondo State on 1 October 1996.

The state borders Kwara to the north, Kogi to the northeast, Ondo to the south and southeast, and Osun to the west.

The Ekiti people, a Yoruba subgroup known for their distinct dialect, make up most of the population, along with smaller Akoko Yoruba and Yagba Ekiti Yoruba communities near the state’s edges.

Farming still anchors much of the economy, with yams, rice, cocoa, and cassava grown across the state. Ekiti was once a major cocoa producer for the old Western Region, at one point supplying well over 40 percent of the region’s cocoa output, and logging and tourism add smaller but steady income today.

The Ikogosi Warm Springs, where a warm spring and a cold spring meet and flow side by side without mixing, is Ekiti’s best known natural attraction. The Arinta Waterfall near Ipole Iloro and the hills around Efon Alaiye and Ikere Ekiti draw hikers and day visitors from across the southwest.

Ekiti has produced a striking number of well known Nigerians for its size: singer Sade Adu, musicians Falz and Yinka Ayefele, actors Odunlade Adekola and Sola Sobowale, legal scholar Femi Falana, and former governors Kayode Fayemi and Ayo Fayose.