Obadan is a small town located in

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 ...

, about east of

Benin City Benin City is the capital and largest city of Edo State, Edo State, Nigeria. It is the fourth-largest city in Nigeria according to the 2006 census, after Lagos, Kano (city), Kano, and Ibadan, with a population estimate of about 3,500,000 as of ...

Edo State Edo, commonly known as Edo State, is a state located in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. As of 2006 National population census, the state was ranked as the 24th populated state (3,233,366) in Nigeria, However there was controversy ...

. The town dates from before the second period of the

Benin Empire The Kingdom of Benin, also known as the Edo Kingdom, or the Benin Empire ( Bini: ') was a kingdom within what is now southern Nigeria. It has no historical relation to the modern republic of Benin, which was known as Dahomey from the 17th c ...

in about AD 1200 and is a village with hereditary chiefs (or ''enigie''). The traditional language of the town is

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

, and Obadan arts and culture reflect typical Benin traits.

History

Obadan came to prominence during the reign of King Akenzua I around 1713 AD. During one of the wars fought to extend the Oba's rule to the far north of Benin City, Ezomo was made the chief commander of a brigade which camped out under shade trees called "Obadan." The ''enogie'' of Obadan was made platoon commander. Thus the name Obadan comes from that shade tree where the warlords' camp was based, the base eventually becoming Obadan village and the present site of Obadan Village today.

References

* {{cite book, title=A Concise History of Obadan, last=Odia, first=D. E.

External links

Obadan people
Populated places in Edo State