Ilesa

Ilesa
Ilesa Location in Nigeria
Coordinates: NG 7°37′0″N 4°43′0″E / 7.61667°N 4.71667°E / 7.61667; 4.71667
Country	Nigeria
State	Osun State
Population (2007)
• Total	305.480
• Estimate ()	647.500
	(metropolitan area)

Ilesa (Yoruba: Iléṣà) is a city located in the Osun State, south west Nigeria; it is also the name of a historic state (also known as Ijesha or Ijesa) centered on that city.^[1] The state was ruled by a monarch bearing the title of Owa Obokun Adimula of Ijesaland.^[2] The state of Ilesa consisted of Ilesa itself and a number of smaller surrounding cities.^[3]

The Ijesa, a term also denoting the people of the state of Ilesa, are part of the present Osun State of Nigeria, Osun State was part of old Oyo state.^[4] Some of the popular towns of the Ijesa are Ibokun, Erin Ijesa, Ipetu Jesa, Ijebu Jesa, Esa-Oke, Ipole, Ifewara, Ijeda,Iloko, Iwara, Iperindo, Erinmo, Iwaraja, Idominasi, Ilase, Igangan, Imo, Eti-oni,Ibokun, Ibodi and many others.^[5]

The Ilesa Monarchs

The state of Ilesa (Ile ti a sa which means a homeland we chose), Traditional Headquarters of Ijesaland and the capital of the first Local Council in Nigeria (Ijesa/Ekiti Parapo Council) named by the British Colonial Administrator on 21 June 1900 comprising the present day Ondo and Ekiti States of Nigeria. Founded c. 1350 by Owaluse, a grandson of Ajibogun Ajaka (Ubiquitous Warrior)Owa Obokun Onida Arara, the most accomplished son of Oduduwa, the progenitor of the Yoruba race of South-Western Nigeria and Benin Republic. The city described by Rev. Williams Howard Clark in 1854 as: For its cleanliness, regularity in breath and width, and the straightness of its streets, the ancient city of Ilesa far surpasses any native town I have seen in black Africa. POPULATION: 310,000 There are four royal houses amongst which accession to the throne is supposed to be rotated: Biladu, Bilagbayo, Bilaro and Bilayirere. Rulers have been as follows:

Notable people

• T. M. Aluko OBE OON
• Samuel Olatunde Fadahunsi, Commander of the Order of Niger, CON and President of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN)
• Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, Former Nigeria's Minister of Foreign Affairs and a Professor of Political Science
• Moses Olaiya, (aka Baba Sala) a frontline Comedian
• Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Governor of Osun State

Coordinates: 7°37′N 4°44′E / 7.617°N 4.733°E / 7.617; 4.733

References

External links

• Ijesa Network