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Ogun State

State of Nigeria

  • 14 min read
  • 9 chapters
the city of abeokuta from the top of olumo rock
Obibillion1 · CC BY-SA 4.0

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Through Human Development Index

Of the 36 states in the country, Ogun is the 24th largest in area but among the top fifteen most populous, with an estimated population of about 6.4 million as of 2020. Geographically, the state lies primarily in the tropical Nigerian lowland forests ecoregion, although parts of the state's north transition into the Guinean forest–savanna mosaic and some of the coastal south reach the Central African mangrove ecoregion. The Ogun and Yewa rivers are the state's major waterways while the Omo Forest Reserve in the southeastern part of the state is one of the most important conservation areas in the country—home to a variety of bird species along with some of Nigeria's last remaining Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee and African forest elephant populations.

Demographically, the Yoruba people are the largest ethnic group in the state—particularly the Awori, Egba, Ijebu, and Yewa subgroups, as well as smaller groups like the Ketu, Ohori, Ilaje, Ikale and Anago. Additionally, there are ethnic minorities of non-indigenous groups in urban areas and indigenous Egun people along the border with Benin. In terms of religion, the majority of the state's population are Christian with a significant Muslim minority.

Historically, parts of modern Ogun State were included in several kingdoms, including the Benin, Ijebu, and Oyo states. In the late nineteenth century, British expeditions took control of the area and Abeokuta became a major center of missionary activity and education. During the early colonial period, the area was part of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate, which later merged into colonial Nigeria. After independence in 1960, the region was part of the Western Region until the creation of Ogun State in 1976 from the old Western State.

Economically, Ogun State is a major industrial hub with a growing base of factories and companies, especially along the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway corridor. Agriculture remains vital in rural areas, with key crops including cassava, cocoa, and maize along with the indigenous Ofada rice. The state is also known for its cultural heritage, crafts, and textile traditions along with the arts. Ogun ranks in the mid-range in Human Development Index and has the eighth highest GDP in the country.

History

In pre-colonial times, today's Ogun western portion which is now inhabited by the Egba and Yewa people belonged to the kingdom of Oyo, which sank into civil war mid 1800s. South of Ogun, on the tiny island of Lagos, the British had a naval base near which the town of the same name grew rapidly.

Until the Berlin Congo Conference in 1885, Great Britain had focused on a few strategically placed bases for its merchant fleet and navy, such as Lagos and Calabar, and was not interested in the communities developing there.

After the European colonial powers had staked out their spheres of interest 1885 in Berlin (these were only valid if another power had not previously brought the area in question under its control) the United Kingdom quickly expanded thusly its territory in the assigned Niger region. Today's Ogun became part of the "Protectorate of Lagos" (as opposed to the Colony of Lagos; the border between these two is identical to the modern border between Lagos State and 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 to Apapa and 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 the Nigerian women's movement under the leadership of Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti (Fela Kuti's mother). Democracy in colonial Nigeria after 1922 only existed in Lagos and Calabar; Nigerians could not participate politically elsewhere (see here).

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, see here).

In the first elections in Ogun, 1954, the semi-socialist "Action Group" (AG) under Ọbáfẹ́mi Awólọ́wọ̀ became the strongest party in the Western Region, to which Ogun also belonged.

After independence in 1960, the Yoruba region, and Ogun in particular, was engulfed in conflict between the Ọbáfẹ́mi Awólọ́wọ̀ and Samuel Ládòkè Akíntọ́lá fractions of the AG party ("Operation Wetie", see here). In July 1966, the then ruler of Nigeria, Johnson Agulyi-Ironsi, was assassinated in Ibadan in the second coup of the year, which was the prelude to the Biafra War.

The state was formed on 3 February 1976 from part of the former "Western" state.

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