Ogun State

Ogunis astatein southwesternNigeria. As a Nigerian state, Ogun is the second most industrialised state after Lagos, with a focus on metal processing. It has good road and rail connections to theharbours in LagosandLekki.Wole Soyinka, winner of theNobel Prize for Literature1986, lives in Abeokuta, Ogun.
Abeokutais both Ogun State's capital and most populous city and the capital of Egba Kingdom; other important cities in the state includeIjebu-Ode, the capital of theIjebu Kingdom, andSagamu, the capital of the Remo Kingdom and Nigeria's leading Kola nut grower. Ilaro, the capital of Yewa South Local Government Area (Yewa Kingdom).Ogun state is covered predominantly by rain forest and has wooden savanna in the northwest.Ogun State had a total population of 3,751,140 residents as of 2006,making Ogun State the 16th most populated state in Nigeria.In terms of landmass, Ogun State is the24th largest State in Nigeria with land areaof 16,762 kilometer square.
Ogun State is predominantlyYoruba,with theYoruba Languageserving as thelingua francaof the state. The dominant religions in Ogun State are majority Islam and minority Christianity although a certain amount of traditional religion is still practiced.Ogun State is noted for being the almost exclusive site ofOfada riceproduction. Ogun is also home to many icons in Nigeria in particular and Africa in general.
In pre-colonial times, today's Ogun western portion which is now inhabited by the Egba and Yewa people belonged to thekingdom of Oyo, which sank intocivil warmid 1800s. South of Ogun, on the tiny island ofLagos, the British had a naval base near which the town of the same name grew rapidly.
Until theBerlin Congo Conferencein 1885, Great Britain had focused on a few strategically placed bases for its merchant fleet and navy, such as Lagos andCalabar, and was not interested in the communities developing there.
After the European colonial powers had staked out their spheres of interest 1885 inBerlin(these were only valid if another power had not previously brought the area in question under its control) theUnited Kingdomquickly expanded thusly its territory in the assigned Niger region. Today's Ogun became part of the "Protectorate of Lagos" (as opposed to theColonyof Lagos; the border between these two is identical to the modern border betweenLagos Stateand Ogun State - inhabitants of a colony were treated as fully entitled subjects of the British crown, those in protectorates were not) in 1893 and later of the "Protectorate of Yorubaland", in 1906 of the "Protectorate of Southern Nigeria" and in 1914 of the whole of Nigeria. In 1899 it received a railway connection to Lagos, the "Boat Express" ran through Ogun toApapaand thus connected the region with the wider world. In 1899, it was several years earlier in this than other regions in West and Central Africa that were not connected to the coast.
In the 1930s, Ogun was a centre of theNigerian women's movementunder the leadership ofFunmilayo Ransome-Kuti(Fela Kuti'smother). Democracy in colonial Nigeria after 1922 only existed in Lagos and Calabar; Nigerians could not participate politically elsewhere (seehere).
During the 1940s, food was strictly rationed in Nigeria. The transport of food from the more agrarian Ogun to the hungry metropolis of Lagos was severely penalized (Pullen Scheme, seehere).
In the first elections in Ogun, 1954, the semi-socialist "Action Group" (AG) underỌbáfẹ́mi Awólọ́wọ̀became the strongest party in the Western Region, to which Ogun also belonged.
After independence in 1960, theYorubaregion, and Ogun in particular, was engulfed in conflict between theỌbáfẹ́mi Awólọ́wọ̀andSamuel Ládòkè Akíntọ́láfractions of the AG party ("Operation Wetie", seehere). In July 1966, the then ruler of Nigeria,Johnson Agulyi-Ironsi, was assassinated inAbeokutain the second coup of the year, which was the prelude to theBiafra War.
The state was formed on 3 February 1976 from part of the former "Western" state.
Ogun State borders the Republic ofBeninto the West for about 185 km,Oyo StateandOsun State(for 84 km) to the North,Ondo Stateto the east,Lagos Stateto the South for about 283 km, and has 31.6 km of coastline on the Bight of Benin to the south, Araromi beach belongs to Irokun land in Ogun Waterside (Ijebu province) local government but insistently claimed by Ondo state due to the influx of Ilaje migrants from neighbouring communities and due to no attention given to this area by the Ogun state government.
Ogun State consists of twentylocal government areas. They are:
Ogun has a Tropical wet and dry or savanna climate. The city's yearly average temperature is 29.34 °C (84.81 °F) and it is -0.12% lower than Nigeria's averages. Ogun receives about 141.58 millimeters (5.57 inches) of precipitation and has 224.18 rainy days (61.42% of the time) annually.
The state has a very high concentration of industries (the second most industrialized afterLagos State) and has one of the lowest incidences ofextreme poverty(around 5% of the population against a national average of 31%) according toWorld Bankdata from 2018.
Major companies in Ogun include theDangote Cementfactory in Ibese,Nestle,Lafarge Cement factoryinEwekoro, Memmcol in Orimerunmu,Coleman Cables inSagamuandArepo,Procter & GambleinAgbara.In September 2024, The Ogun State Government announced the establishment of a $5 million battery recycling plant by a British company.
Mining and agriculture are among the most important economic sectors in Ogun.Limestone,chalk,phosphateandgravelare mined andgrain,rice,maize,cassava,yams,bananas,cocoa,kola nuts,rubber,palm oilandpalm kernelsare harvested. The state is the largest producer of kolanut in Nigeria.
The following are the mineral resources in Ogun State:
Ogún is also the name of the god (Orisha) for metalworking in the local Yoruba nature religion, similar to the GreekHephaestusor the Roman godVulcan(since the ancient world had trade relations with present-day Nigeria, this may not be entirely coincidental). The state lives up to this name by being the Nigerian centre for metalworking. Here are two examples:
Ogun also producestimber, ceramic products, bicycle tyres, carpets, adhesives and other products.
The State government is led by a democratically elected governor who works closely with members of the state's house of assembly. The capital city of the state is Abeokuta.
The governor of the state is selected using a modified two-round system. To be elected in the first round, a candidate must receive the plurality of the vote and over 25% of the vote in at least two -third of the State local government Areas. If no candidate passes threshold, a second round will be held between the top candidate and the next candidate to have received a plurality of votes in the highest number of local government Areas.
The current governor isPrince Dapo Abiodun, a member of theAll Progressives Congress (APC), who heads theExecutive Council of Ogun State.On Wednesday 29 May 2019, Dapo Abiodun was sworn in as the fifth Governor of the State at theMKO Abiola Stadium, Kuto, Abeokuta.He was re-elected for a second term in office by March 2023.
Ogun State is divided into three senatorial districts:
The main ethnic groups in Ogun State are theẸgba,Ijebu, Remo, Egbado,Aworiand a minority Egun people. There are also sub groups like the Ikale, the Ketu, the Ohori and the Anago.
Mainly Muslim and Christian, some traditional Yoruba animism.
TheAnglican Province of Lagoswithin theChurch of Nigeriaincludes the ten Dioceses ofAworiled by BishopJohnson Akin Atere(2009),Egba(1976) led by BishopEmmanuel Adekunle(2009),Egba West(2007) led by BishopSamuel Oludele Ogundeji(2010),Ifo(2007) led by BishopNathaniel Oladejo Ogundipe(2012),Ijebuled by BishopPeter Rotimi Oludipe(2020),Ijebu-Northled by BishopSolomon Kuponu(2005),Remoled by BishopMichael Fape(2004, Archbishop of Lagos 2016-21),Yewa, formerly Egbado led by BishopMichael Adebayo Oluwarohunbi(2014), andIjebu-South Westled by BishopBabatunde Ogunbanwo(2009).
179,014 Catholics (2020) in the Dioceses ofAbeokuta(1997) with 60 parishes under BishopPeter Kayode Odetoyinbo(2014) andIjebu-Ode(1969) with 40 parishes under BishopFrancis Obafemi Adesina(2019), both suffragans of theArchdiocese of Lagos.
Ogun state has three federal secondary schools; Federal Government Girls' College, SagamuandFederal Government College, Odogboluand Federal Science and Technical College, Ijebu-Imushin.
Ogun state has one Federal University; theFederal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) and one Federal college of education, FCE Osiele (both at Odeda Local government area), one state government college of education, named after the late Nigerian educationist of international repute Augustus Taiwo Solarin in 1994 as Tai Solarin College of Education (TASCE), (formerly known as Ogun State College of Education, Ijagun, Ijebu-Ode, one Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro). One is named after late Nigerian business mogul and winner of 12 June 1993 election, Basorun Moshood Kasimawo Olawale Abiola asMoshood Abiola Polytechnic(MAPOLY), formerly known as Ogun State Polytechnic, Ojere, Abeokuta, Another Gateway Polytechnic Saapade,Remo (GAPOSA), Abraham Adesanya PolytechnicIjebu-Igbo (Aapoly) (formerly known as 'The Polytechnic Ijebu-Igbo) it was name afterChief Abraham Aderibigbe Adesanyawho was a Nigerian politician, lawyer and activist.
Two state government universities:Olabisi Onabanjo University,Ago Iwoye(formerly known as Ogun State University), and theTai Solarin University of Education(TASUED)Ijebu Ode.
Ogun State has a total of nine registereduniversities, the highest of any state in Nigeria. It has fiveprivate universities.Amongst which areChrisland University,Hallmark Universityin Ijebu-itele, AbeokutaBells University of TechnologyinOta,Covenant UniversityandBabcock Universityin Ilisan-Remo, which was the first private university in the country.
The state has two major government hospitals: theFederal Medical Centerat Abeokuta, and theOlabisi Onabanjo University Teaching HospitalinSagamu. TheNational Youth Service Corps(NYSC) Permanent Orientation Camp is located at Sagamu Local Government area of the state.
Ogun state government has begun the itele road.
Ogun benefits from its proximity to the metropolis ofLagosand the newdeep-sea harbourand the newDangote refineryin Lekki (as of 2024). The planned airport Lagos-Epe will be located next to the border to the state of Ogun.
Ogun benefits from the Lagos-Abeokuta-Ibadanstandard rail link since 2021.
The plannedApapa-Kajola Expresswill connect the centre of the state with the Lagos port.
Abeokuta also is connected with Lagos by 77 km of theWestern Railway(built in 1899), which still is used for freight trains.
The terminus of the "Red Line" of the Lagos suburban railway is located in Agbado, which is part of the Lagos agglomeration but belongs to the state of Ogun in administrative terms. This is why the trains and carriages of Lagos State will be parked, cleaned and maintained in Ogun.
Federal Highways are:
Three roads to the Republic ofBenin:
Other major roads include: