Ayetoro Gbede (Ayetoro-Gbede) is a town along the Ilorin – Kabba federal highway in

Ijumu Ìjùmú is a Local Government Area in Kogi State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Iyara. Other towns in the local government include Ayetoro Gbede, Iyah-Gbede, Ayegunle Gbede, Araromi Gbede, Ayere, Ayeh Gbede, Okoro Gbede, Odokoro Gb ...

, a kingdom and local government area in

Kogi state Kogi State is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the west by the states of Ekiti and Kwara, to the north by the Federal Capital Territory, to the northeast by Nasarawa State, to the northwest by Niger State, to the s ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. Ayetoro Gbede is located in central Nigeria, approximately 420 kilometers northeast of

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

, while it is 315 kilometers away from

Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...

, the nation's capital. It is 21 kilometers away from Kabba Town. It is in the Kogi west senatorial district and Kabba/Ijumu federal constituency. The town was established over ninety-one years ago. The inhabitants of the town speak their local dialect of Okun and Gbede, which is a

Yoruba dialect Yoruba (, ; Yor. '; Ajami: ) is a language spoken in West Africa, primarily in Southwestern and Central Nigeria. It is spoken by the ethnic Yoruba people. The number of Yoruba speakers is roughly 50 million, plus about 2 million second-language ...

. The current traditional ruler is Oba Sunday Ehindero. The first house in Ayetoro Gbede was built beside the old market and was owned by the founder, Oba Ajileye Daniel Alaa Bello. Ayetoro is also blessed with cashew seed, cocoa, vegetables, palm wine, and farming influence. The first community high school in Ayetoro gbede was established in September 1979.

History

Ayetoro-Gbede was founded in 1927 by Oba Ajileye Daniel Alaa Bello who ruled as the first Oba from 1927 until his death on March 27 1964. Oba Alaa was a Christian and as such, used his influence with the missionaries to found the first church in Ayetoro-Gbede - Church Mission(ary) Society (CMS), where he was the Baba Ijo (Church Patron). Oba Alaa founded the town and persuaded many of the smaller neighboring Gbede settlements to join so they could create a bigger town with better economic opportunities and more effective protection from Slave Raiders (a practice that was prevalent at the time). The town consists of 10 communities and is believed to be the largest in the Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State. Unlike many other Okun-Yoruba speaking communities, Ayetoro is one of the few towns with no known traditional festivities or deities being worshipped by the people. This is most likely due to its Christian origins.

Notable people

Shola Ameobi Foluwashola Ameobi (born 12 October 1981) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He spent 14 years at Newcastle United, making 397 official appearances and scoring 79 goals, and received a winner's medal when the ...

, an Ayetoro Gbede born English footballer, plays for

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

as a striker. *

Dino Melaye Dino Melaye (born 7 January 1974) is a Nigerian politician, a former senator and was a member of the 8th Nigerian National Assembly, representing Kogi West Senatorial district. He is from Ayetoro Gbede in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi St ...

, a former Senator of the Federal Republic representing Kogi west constituency. * Olushola Akanmode, former deputy Chief-of-Staff to President Olusegun Obasanjo. * Eniola Bello, Managing Director, ThisDay *

John Obaro John Tanimola Obaro is a Nigerian technology entrepreneur, public speaker, and founder of SystemSpecs Nigeria Limited. Early life and education John Obaro is from Kogi State. He is of the Okun tribe in Nigeria, and was born April 19, 1958. He ha ...

, Founder Systemspecs.

References

Towns in Nigeria {{Kogi-geo-stub