State: Oyo

Oyo State sits in Nigeria’s southwest, with Ibadan, the country’s third most populous city, as its capital. It was created on 3 February 1976, out of the old Western State.

The state borders Kwara to the north, Osun to the southeast, and Ogun to the south, with an international border against Benin Republic to the west.

Nearly everyone in Oyo is Yoruba, drawn from subgroups such as the Oyos, Oke Oguns, Ibadans, and Ibarapas, each associated with a different part of the state.

Farming remains the main occupation for most residents, with cassava, cocoa, and tobacco grown widely. The Shaki area in the state’s north is often described as its breadbasket, supplying food to Ibadan and beyond.

The University of Ibadan, Nigeria’s first, has trained generations of the country’s professionals, and Cocoa House, once Africa’s tallest building, still stands as a symbol of the cocoa wealth that built much of the city. Old Oyo National Park protects savanna and forest that once formed the heart of the old Oyo Empire.

Oyo has produced Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, actor David Oyelowo, and Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank, among many other prominent Nigerians.