Omuo-Ekiti is an ancient town in the eastern part of

Ekiti State Ekiti State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkìtì) is a state in southwestern Nigeria, bordered to the north by Kwara State, to the northeast by Kogi State, to the south and southeast by Ondo State, and to the west by Osun State. Named for the Ekiti peo ...

in western

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 ...

, and the seat of the Ekiti-East local government. Being inside

Yorubaland Yorubaland () is the homeland and cultural region of the Yoruba people in West Africa. It spans the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Togo and Benin, and covers a total land area of 142,114 km2 or about 60% of the land area of Ghana. Of this ...

, its population and that of Ekiti State are mainly the

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

It is located on the border of the state of Ondo.

Administration

Omuo-Ekiti is the headquarters of Ekiti East Local Government. The traditional ruler of Omuo kingdom is the "Olomuo", currently Oba Noah Omonigbehin, Okinbaloye II. His supporting high chiefs include the Olisa of Ilisa, Chief Olatunbosun Orojo. Ilisa is the royal center of Omuo-Ekiti which comprises Oke-Iloro, Egunje, Omodowa, Apoge, Adumari, and more villages. Other high chiefs in Omuo Ekiti include Odofin of Iludofin, Ajero of Ijero and Alawe of Iworo. Other chiefs administer Ekurugbe, Ahan, Oya, Oruju, Edugbe and Araromi.

Geography and demographics

Omuo-Ekiti is about 75 km away from

Ado Ekiti Ado Ekiti is the capital city of Ekiti State, Nigeria. It is the headquarter of the Ekiti central senatorial district, southwest, Nigeria. History Ado Ewi is an ancient city, founded by Ewi Awamaro the son of Biritikolu. Awamaro (the restles ...

, the Ekiti state capital. The town is located in the Yoruba cultural region, and has many

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

residents as well as

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ev ...

es and

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

s. Islam was brought to Omuo Ekiti by Balogun Usthman (a.k.a. DODO-NDAWA), the warlord that defended Omuo-Ekiti from slavers during the early days of the settlement. In 2001, the town's population was over 6000.

Climate and vegetation

Omuo-Ekiti enjoys a

tropical climate Tropical climate is the first of the five major climate groups in the Köppen climate classification identified with the letter A. Tropical climates are defined by a monthly average temperature of 18 °C (64.4 °F) or higher in the cool ...

with two distinct seasons: the rainy season, between April and October, and the dry season, between November and March. The temperature ranges from 21 °C to 29 °C with high humidity. The wind tends to be south-westerly in the rainy season, while the northeast trade winds (

Harmattan The Harmattan is a season in West Africa that occurs between the end of November and the middle of March. It is characterized by the dry and dusty northeasterly trade wind, of the same name, which blows from the Sahara over West Africa into the ...

) are predominant in the dry season. Omuo-Ekiti has tropical forests and savannas. The town is a trading point for the production of

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

and

sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the Convolvulus, bindweed or morning glory family (biology), family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a r ...

in the surrounding areas, which aids their further development.

Education

Omuo is home to various schools, including the Polytechnic Omuo, the Omuo Comprehensive High School, the Omuo Ore Secondary School, the Amunnu Comprehensive High School, the Omuo Community Grammar School, and other government and private-owned primary and secondary schools.

Markets

Omuo is one of the chief commercial towns in Ekiti state, with several industries and markets, including Oja-Obadore Market and Omuo Community Market Kota.

Ethnic relationships

Although primarily a

community, Omuo is home to members of other ethnic groups, including

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a ...

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also * ...

Ebira The Ebira also known as Egbira people are an ethno-linguistic group of central Nigeria. Most Ebira people are from Kogi State, Nasarawa State. Until the separation of Kogi State from Kwara State, Okene was seen as the administrative centre of the ...

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...

and

Ijaw Ijaw may refer to: *Ijaw people *Ijaw languages The Izon languages (), otherwise known as the Ịjọ languages, are the languages spoken by the Izon people in southern Nigeria. Classification The Ijo languages were traditionally considered a ...

Festivals

Omuo has a rich cultural heritage with many festivals. The Ayan festival in Iludofin draws in many residents to celebrate. Omuo is a secular town, but it celebrates Islamic festivals such as

Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second and the larger of the two main holidays celebrated in Islam (the other being Eid al-Fitr). It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to Allah's co ...

Eid al-Fitr , nickname = Festival of Breaking the Fast, Lesser Eid, Sweet Eid, Sugar Feast , observedby = Muslims , type = Islamic , longtype = Islamic , significance = Commemoration to mark the end of fasting in Ramadan , dat ...

, and Eid Kabir,

festivals such as Christmas and Easter, and New Year's Day. Omuo Ekiti celebrates its yam festival on the seventh of July every year.

References

External links

Google Maps location
* * * * * * {{coord, 7, 45, 46.85, N, 5, 43, 28.98, E, display=title Populated places in Ekiti State Towns in Yorubaland