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Efon-Alaaye is a town in the
Ekiti State Ekiti () is a state in southwestern Nigeria, bordered to the North by Kwara State for 61 km, to the Northeast by Kogi State for 92 km, to the South and Southeast by Ondo State, and to the West by Osun State for 84 km. Named for the Ekiti ...
of southwestern
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
, inhabited by
the ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
Yoruba people The Yoruba people ( ; , , ) are a West African ethnic group who inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo, which are collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute more than 50 million people in Africa, are over a million outsid ...
. The population in 1983 was over 100,000. It belongs to Efon
Local Government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...
, one of the largest
local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...
s in Ekiti State.


Demographics

Efon Alaaye people are predominantly farmers, they grow cash crops like kolanuts, cocoa, and palm trees; they are also known to be a major producers of yam,
rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...
,
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, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...
,
maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...
, and many fruits. The people of Efon Alaaye are subject to their king the Alaaye of Efon assisted by the six high chiefs of six major districts called "the iwara mefa" People in Efon Alaaye are predominantly Christian, and by the 1930s, there had been a widespread acceptance of Jesus Christ, resulting in a revolution that left the town with several cathedrals. The major denominational groups are
Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
, Anglicans, and
Christ Apostolic Church Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) is the first Pentecostal church present in Nigeria. It arose in the first half of the 20th century, in the then-British Empire. It was founded in Ijebu-ode named Precious Stone Society in 1918 but was formally esta ...
, and very recently the Pentecostals have gained ground, including the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which has been established to make its presence felt among these very religious people.


History

Efon Alaaye dates back to 1200 A.D. In accordance with the historical facts, the founder and the first Alaaye (the title of Efon Alaaye Kings) of Efon Alaaye was Obalufon Alaayemore who was the third king or Ooni (title of Ile Ife kings) of Ile Ife, the cradle of Yoruba race. His father was the founder and father of the Yorubas and is known as Oduduwa or Odua. Obalufon Alaayemore installed his son Adudu Oranku to reign after him when he departed Efon Alaaye to go and ascend the throne in Ile Ife. The founder of Efon Alaaye was about the only known king who reigned over two kingdoms with one of the kingdoms twice in his lifetime. He first ruled as the third Ooni of Ile- Ife having succeeded his father Obalufon Ogbogbodirin but vacated the throne on the advice of the Ile- Ife king makers for his uncle the Ife War Hero, ORANMIYAN who became the fourth
Ooni The Ooni of Ile-Ife (Ọọ̀ni of Ilè-Ifẹ̀) is the traditional ruler of Ifẹ, Ilé-Ifẹ̀. The Ooni dynasty existed before the reign of Oduduwa which historians have argued to have been between the 7th-9th centuries A.D. After the de ...
of Ife. Obalufon Alayemore thereafter went and founded the kingdom of Efon Alaaye after vacating the Ile-Ife throne. He was called back to Ile- Ife by the king makers to become the fifth Ooni after the death of Oranmiyan. He thereafter left the throne of Efon Alaaye to his son whose lineage reigns in Efon Alaaye till today. There are three ruling houses in Efon Alaaye that produces the Oba/King rotation. The ruling houses and the order of rotation are: - Ogbenuote, Obologun and Asemojo respectively. The reigning king on the throne is His Royal Highness Oba (Dr.) Emmanuel Aladejare Agunsoye II; he is the 46th Alaaye of Efon Alaaye. He holds a masters degree from University of Manchester, and a
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
from University of Shefield and a former lecturer of the Obafemi Awolowo University. He comes from the Ogbenuote ruling house. And there are six high Chiefs who are heads of six Quarters that constituted the town. The six Heads are:- High Chief Obanla of Aaye Quarter High Chief Obaloja of Obalu Quarter High Chief Peteko of Isaja Quarter High Chief Oisajigan of Ejigan Quarter High Chief Alaayo of Emo Quarter High Chief Ojubu of Ikagbe Quarter The town has a President General called the Aare of Efon Alaye who currently is Chief Dr Kunle Olajide from the Olajide Family of Asemojo Ruling House. Topography Efon Alaaye is a town full of hills, it has a relatively rough terrain.


External links


Efon-Alaiye at Encyclopædia Britannica
* http://www.efonalaaye.com


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Efon-Alaaye Populated places in Ekiti State Towns in Yorubaland