Ijero Ekiti is a city in Ekiti State

Ekiti State

Ekiti State is a state in southwest Nigeria, created on October 1, 1996 alongside five other new states by military dictator General Sani Abacha...

 of Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

. The main language spoken by the indigenes of Ijero Ekiti is Ekiti dialect and the Yoruba language

Yoruba language

Yorùbá is a Niger–Congo language spoken in West Africa by approximately 20 million speakers. The native tongue of the Yoruba people, it is spoken, among other languages, in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo and in communities in other parts of Africa, Europe and the Americas...

. Ijero-Ekiti is the headquarter of Ijero Local government Area (Ijero LGA) which consists of other towns such as Ikoro Ekiti, Ipoti-Ekiti, Ara-Ekiti, Epe-Ekiti, Idao-Ekiti, Ilokun-o Ekiti and others. In 2006 it had a population of 221,405.

Agriculture is the main traditional occupation of the Ijero community. This is supplemented by petty trading by the womenfolk. The farmers cultivate a wide range of food crops including yam

Yam (vegetable)

Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea . These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania...

s, cassava

Cassava

Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...

, maize

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

, rice

Rice

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

, plantain

Plantain

Plantain is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa. The fruit they produce is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana...

 and banana

Banana

Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....

.

The seven day Ogun festival is held once a year around August, a festival which involves local masquerades such as O’sun and Ako-Eegun.

Ijero contains a number of churches including a Catholic Church, Christ Church Cathedral, Christ Apostolic Church, Redeemed Christian Church of God and Winner’s Chapel.

Literature

• Ijero Kingdom in Yoruba History by J.Wellington Alufa
• Tell Ijeroism by Femi Alufa (2003)
• Ajero Oyiyosoye and the Ekitiparapo War by Leke Oyebade

External links

• Map library