Ibadan,
running splash of rust
and gold – flung and scattered
among seven hills like broken
china in the sun.

John Pepper Clark

Ibadan (the city of brown roofs) is the capital of Oyo state and located in the South-Western region of Nigeria. It is one of the oldest of the Yoruba kingdoms founded in 1829 by Lagelu – a Yoruba Warlord and Generalissimo. It is Nigeria’s largest city by geographical area and second in Africa after Cairo and its vast proportion of land is equivalent to a population size of about 3million people. It was one of the earliest cities in Nigeria to embrace educational invention, evidence of that being the erection of the first Nigerian University in the city – University College of Ibadan (later known as University of Ibadan) in 1948.

Asides this, it is also regarded as the City of Many Firsts, some of which include: first sky scraper in Africa (Cocoa House), first stadium in Africa (Liberty Stadium), first television station in Africa (Nigerian Television Authority), first teaching hospital in Nigeria (University College Hospital) and so much more.

Ibadan is the fourth largest state economy in Nigeria and the second largest non-oil state economy in Nigeria, the city is a major centre for trade in cassava, cocoa, cotton, timber, rubber, and palm oil. The city is home to several industries such as Agro allied, Textile, Food processing, Health Care and Cosmetic, Tobacco processing and Cigarette manufacturing and Leatherworks and furniture making.

What Ibadan lacks in aquatic splendour is well compensated for by the majesty of its rolling scenery. The landscape is alluring with the hills and valleys, all beautifully intertwined. Some of the tourist attractions include: Agodi Gardens, Mapo Hall, Museum of National Unity and lots more.

What to do in Ibadan