Ìlá Òràngún (or Ila) is an ancient city in
Osun State
Osun State (; yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Ọ̀ṣun), occasionally known as the State of Osun by the state government, is a state in southwestern Nigeria; bounded to the east by Ekiti and Ondo states, to the north by Kwara State, to the south by Og ...
,
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 ...
, that was capital of an ancient city-state of the same name in the Igbomina area of Yorubaland in south-western Nigeria. Ìlá Òràngún is the more populous sister-city (and sister-kingdom) of
Òkè-Ìlá Òràngún, located about 7.5 miles (12 km) to the north-east. The latitude and longitude coordinates of Ila Orangun are 8.019116 and 4.901962 respectively. According to the information obtained from GeoNames geographical database, the population of Ila Orangun in Osun State, Nigeria is 179,192.
It is the headquarters of the
Ila Local Government Area. In addition to Ila Orangun, the other towns and villages in
Ila Local Government Area include Abalagemo, Aba Ododo, Ajaba, Alagbede, Ayetoro Obaaro, Edemosi, Ejigbo-Orangun, Gaa Fulani, Oyi Ayegunle and so on.
The people of Ila speak the distinctive dialect of the
Yoruba language
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-languag ...
called
Igbomina (or Igbonna). A common traditional profession of the indigenes of the town is palm-wine tapping. This profession is referenced in one of the most popular songs and common sayings about the town of Ila. The proverb means "Ila has no special medicine or magical preparations other than
palm-wine". A folk song also says , which translates into English as "I am a citizen of Ila, my profession is very easy; if I am on top of a palm tree, I feel like I am upstairs in a multi-storey building."
Ila-Orangun is the home of the Oyo (now Osun) State College of Education. The
African Heritage Research Library was established in 1988.
The ancient town also has a Police Mobile Training School
The name of present king (Oba) of Ila Orangun is Oba Abdul Wahab Olukayode Oyedotun Bibiire I. Amongst the prominent clergy men (Muslim) in the town are Alhaji Jamiu Keuyemi, Alhaji Imam Hammed Solahudeen.
Prominent Ila Orangun indigenes include Alh Bisi Akande, Former Osun state Governor, Tafa Balogun, former IGP Nigeria,Group Captain Atolagbe Adediji Pioneer Nigerian Airforce spokesman,Aisha Olajide amongst others. Among the town's prominent sons are chief
Bisi Akande, former Governor of Osun state during the first tenure of chief
Olusegun Obasanjo
Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its presid ...
, Tafa Balogun, former Inspector General of the Nigerian Police Force, many professionals in science, arts and in academia.
There are more than 197 compounds in the Ancient town.
References
{{Authority control
Populated places in Osun State
Towns in Yorubaland