Ekiti State
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ekiti State State nickname: Fountain of Knowledge |
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| Location | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Statistics | ||
| Governor (List) |
Olusegun Oni (PDP) | |
| Date Created | 1 October 1996 | |
| Capital | Ado Ekiti | |
| Area | 6,353 km² Ranked 31st |
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| Population 1991 Census 2005 estimate |
Ranked 29th N/A 2,737,186 |
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| ISO 3166-2 | NG-EK | |
Ekiti State is a state in southwest Nigeria, created on October 1, 1996 alongside five other new states by military dictator General Sani Abacha. The state, created out of the territory of Ondo State, covered the former twelve local government areas that made up the Ekiti Zone of old Ondo State; however, on creation, it took off with sixteen (16) Local Government Areas (LGAs), having had an additional four carved out of the old ones. Ekiti State is one of the thiryt-six states (including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja) that constitute the Nigeria.
Following a prolonged political crisis, President Olusegun Obasanjo imposed a military administrator (General Tunji Olurin) on Ekiti State in October 2006. On April 27, 2007 Olurin was replaced by Tope Ademiluyi.[1]
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[edit] History
Ekiti was an independent state prior to the British conquest. It was one of the many Yoruba states in what is today Nigeria.
The modern Ekiti state was formed from part of Ondo in 1996.[2]
[edit] Geography
The State is mainly an upland zone, rising above 250 meters above the sea level. It lies within the area underlain by metamorphic rock of the basement complex. It has a generally undulating land surface with a characteristic landscape that consists of old plains broken by step-sided out-crops dome rocks that may occur singularly or in groups or ridges. Such rocks out-crops exist mainly at Efon-Alaaye, Ikere-Ekiti and Okemesi-Ekiti. The State is dotted with rugged hills. The notable ones among them are Ikere-Ekiti Hills in the southern part, Efon-Alaaye Hills in the western boundary and Ado-Ekiti Hills in the central part.
[edit] Climate and vegetation
The State enjoys tropical climate with two distinct seasons. These are the rainy season (April-October) and the dry season (November-March). Temperature ranges between 21° and 28°C with high humidity. The south westerly wind and the northeast trade winds blow in the rainy and dry (Harmattan) seasons respectively. Tropical forest exists in the south, while Savannah occupies the northern peripheries.
[edit] Towns and administrative divisions
The people of Ekiti State live mainly in towns. These towns include: Ado, Efon-Alaaye, Aramoko, Ikole, Ikere, Ijero, Ayetoro, Ipoti, Igogo, Ise, Itapa, Otun,usi, Ido, Emure, Iyin, Igede, Ilawe, Ode, Oye, Omuo[Ilasa], Ilupeju, Ikoro, Ikun, Iye, Ijesa-Isu, Ayedun, Aisegba, Okemesi, and Igbara-Odo.
[edit] Local Government Areas
Ekiti State includes 16 of Nigeria's 774 Local Government Areas. They are:
- Ado-Ekiti
- Aaye
- Efon
- Ekiti-East
- Ekiti-South-West
- Ekiti-West
- Emure
- Gbonyin
- Ido-Osi
- Isin-Bode
- Ijero
- Ikere
- Ikole
- Ilejemeje
- Irepodun/Ifelodun
- Ise/Orun
- Moba
- Oye
- Ayetoro
[edit] Demographics
The Ekiti, whose ancestors migrated from Ile-Ife as a people, form one of the largest ethnic groups in Yorubaland. Ekitis are culturally homogeneous and they speak a dialect of Yoruba language known as Ekiti. The homogeneous nature of Ekiti confers on the state some uniqueness among the states of the federation. Slight differences are noticeable in the Ekiti dialects of the Yoruba language spoken by the border communities to other states. For example, the people of Ado local government area do not speak exactly the same dialect with the people of Ijero Local government area, while the people of Ikole area speak something different from the people of Ikere area. The communities influenced by their locations include Otun (Moba land) that speaks a dialect close to the one spoken by the Igbominas in Kwara State. The people of Oke-Ako, Irele, Omuo-Oke speak a similar dialect to that of Ijesas of Osun State. However, part of the uniqueness of the Ekitis is that where ever is your own part of the state, you will understand well, when the other Ekiti man/woman speaks, in spite of the dialectal variations. In addition, all towns in Ekiti State take a common suffix, “Ekiti,” after their names. The main staple food of the people of Ekiti is pounded yam with vegetable soup.
[edit] References
- ^ "Ekiti: Fayose, Olujimi, Aderemi Lose Out", Nigerian Tribune Online, African Newspapers of Nigeria Plc., 2007-04-28. Retrieved on 2007-05-02.
- ^ Cohen, Saul B., ed. The Columbia Gazeteer of the World (New York: Columbia University Press, 1998) vol 1, p. 915
[edit] External links
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