Ogbomosho

Ogbomosho (also Ogbomoṣo) is a town in Oyo State, South West Nigeria, with a population of approximately 245,000 according to the 2006 census.

Ogbomosho may be visited for its historical relics including the long-living tortoise, commonly referred to as "Alagba," which was believed to have been existing for centuries from about the year 1675. Though the tortoise is reportedly late in October 2019, it was usually tagged as the oldest tortoise in Africa and plans have been made to preserve its body for more years to come.

Understand
According to an early missionary, Ogbomosho was a walled town as of 1891, and the gates were closely watched and secured day and night. It was an ancient town that developed as and remained a minor outpost of the old Oyo Empire until the Muslim Fulani conquest of Oyo in the early 19th century. By surviving the Fulani onslaught due to its walled boundary, the town attracted many refugees from other Oyo settlements and became one of the largest Yoruba settlements.

The town is believed to be founded in the mid-17th century and since then, it has remained a minor security post of the Yoruba Oyo empire till the beginning of the Muslim Fulani vanquish of Oyo in the early 19th century. By surviving the Fulani onslaught, The guarded town pulled many Oyo refugees and thus became one of the largest Yoruba settlements because they outlived the Fulani attack.

The traditional rulers in Ogbomosho retained control over the refugees in the area even though the new population were never given any political right or privilege. Subsequently, as a result of Ibadan’s victory in 1840 over the Fulani at Oshogbo, a neighbouring community, the area changed its commitment from Oyo to Ibadan.

The main street of the town is the Oyo-Ilorin road. Ogbomosho is inhabited mainly by Yoruba farmers, artisans and traders and it is now one of the country's largest urban midpoints.

Some of the crops that are grown in the area for export to the cocoa-producing areas of Yorubaland to the south include: yams, cassava, maize, and sorghum. Teak and tobacco is also cultivated for cigarette factory at Ibadan about 93 kilometres  (58 miles) south-southeast of Oyo state. The area also cultivates locally grown cotton which is used for weaving Aso oke, a notable traditional Yoruba cloth.

Ogbomosho lies on the plainland of Yorubaland precisely in Oyo state. It situated in an area of savanna and farmland at the junction roads from Oyo, Ilorin, Oshogbo, and Ikoyi. The area has an elevation of 1,200 feet (366 m).

As at the year 2005, the area has an estimated population of 941,000 and has continued to grow ever since then.

Alagba origin
According to myth, Alagba was born in 1675 in the ancient city of Oyo, known as Ogbomosho. It is said that Ogbomosho's third son, Oba Kumoe, who ruled from 1770 to 1797, was taken out of the forest. Given his age, he is called Alagba, which means "elder" in Yoruba. In Ogbomosho, where legendary turtles roam the grounds of the king's palace, calling Alagba a mere turtle is almost sacrificed. Turtles have welcomed many monarchs at Ogbomosho in the past.

People
Ogbomosho is mainly inhabited by Yoruba-speaking people, the majority of whom are farmers, traders and artisans. It is a multicultural and multi-religious town comprising of devotees of Christianity, Islam and the traditional religion.

Neighbourhoods
The Omosin area is where you can find the popular Central Mosque with its aesthetically pleasing architectural features.

is a sleepy rural town near Ogbomoso that hosts the Egungun Festival of the Yoruba people in November.

Climate
Ogbomosho is characterized by a warm, oppressive, and overcast wet season and a hot, muggy, and partly cloudy dry season. Throughout the year, the temperature typically varies from to  and is rarely below 58°F or above 97°F.

The hot season usually lasts from about January to March, with an average daily temperature above 90°F. The hottest period of the year is usually February with an average temperature range of between 92°F and 70°F. The cool season lasts through June to December, with the coldest period being December.

Get in
Ogbomosho is a city in Oyo State, South-Western, Nigeria. It is bordered to the north by Ilorin (Kwara State) and to the South by Oyo town (Oyo State). Several bus companies like Agofure, God Is Good Motors, ABC Transport, Ifesinachi and The Young Shall Grow offer daily services from almost all major cities around the country as well as international destinations in West Africa. While buses usually are quite comfortable, journey times are very long.

Get around
If touring around Ogbomosho, be sure to be accompanied by a tourist guide who is familiar with the routes. In most areas in Ogbomosho, there are street signs on every single street corner making it easy to locate places and landmarks. If you are going out at night, be sure to go in groups, and stick to known routes. The major means of transportation within Ogbomosho are taxi and motorcycle.

If you are not on a tight budget, you should hire a taxi which usually comes with a driver, usually available from most of the major hotels. The price varies from driver to driver, but it should be around ₦200-400 per hour, you will be expected to haggle (negotiate). Talk to the drivers and find one you think will be easy to communicate with, as they will be able to tell you things about the places as you ride by.

Motorcycle riders offer more of a drop-off service, and it is not the best option for someone touring the town with the expectation for the rider to talk about various location history. The service charge is around ₦100-150 per trip (drop-off) depending on the location you are going to.

See
There are some interesting places to visit in Ogbomosho. Notable among them include:
 * Visit the Baptist Seminary. This institution was started by an American missionary, Charles Edwin Smith. He wanted to help train preachers and thus created a class for them. In 1948, the Seminary was officially affiliated to the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, United States of America.


 * See the Central Mosque. The central mosque Ogbomosho is a famous landmark in Ogbomosho town of Oyo State. The Central Mosque towers above the traditionally walled compounds of private houses and the parts of the old wall that remains. The architectural beauty of the old central mosque is amazing. The indigenes of this region take religion as seriously as their lives. If you’re a Muslim visiting Ogbomosho you can go to the community prayer ground to experience this deep level of devotion from these people, On the other hand, people from other religions can also visit the Central Mosque and admire the beautiful architectural aesthetics which is actually striking.


 * A notable landmark in Ogbomosho is the Great Square Tower of the Central Mosque. This tower rises above the traditional walled compounds of both private houses and the remaining parts of the old wall although the town has other mosques and numerous churches. This place can be a fun site for visitors to behold.


 * The town has a rubber and shoe factory.
 * There is a Recreation Club sited along Ogbomosho Road, Sabo Ogbomosho.


 * A Nigeria Training Centre for the Blind in also situated at Ogbomosho


 * Ogbomosho is notable for the skill of carving woods, for its early wood artifacts and for its unique koso drums even though the production of the craft has dwindled.



Do
There are a couple of festivals and amazing places that may catch the fancy of visistors and tourists in Ogbomosho. Prominent among them are:
 * Take a tour of Ladoke Akintola University. This university, popularly called LAUTECH, was named after the former premier of old Western Nigeria, Samuel Ladoke Akintola. It was formed on April 23, 1990, and was named the best state university in 2003 and 2004. LAUTECH is a degree-awarding institution with a focus on engineering, technology, science, medicine. The university enrolls 25,000 students and employs more than 3,000 people. Visitors are allowed to take a tour around the school, albeit the security personnel would have to be briefed about your purpose of being within the school premises.
 * Take a tour of Ladoke Akintola University. This university, popularly called LAUTECH, was named after the former premier of old Western Nigeria, Samuel Ladoke Akintola. It was formed on April 23, 1990, and was named the best state university in 2003 and 2004. LAUTECH is a degree-awarding institution with a focus on engineering, technology, science, medicine. The university enrolls 25,000 students and employs more than 3,000 people. Visitors are allowed to take a tour around the school, albeit the security personnel would have to be briefed about your purpose of being within the school premises.

Buy
The town serves as a layover and market point  for cattle probably because it has a government livestock station. Ogbomosho local trade is basically on substantive crops such  as palm oil, fruits, kola nuts, beans, as well as cotton.

There are a good number of markets and supermarkets in the nooks and crannies of Ogbomosho that meet the daily needs of both visitors and inhabitants of the area. Prominent among them include:



Sleep




Connect
All major mobile phone service networks are available in Ogbomosho but with varying degree of reliability and usability. Often times, it is customary to experience network outage for all or some of the mobile phone service providers. Such situation is particularly common in some remote areas of the town. And it is also common for different networks to be more stable and reliable in different locations at different times.

Since you can't tell which will be more stable and reliable at a time in your location during your visit, it is preferable if you are planning a visit to this city to plan on having multiple SIM cards that cut across all the mobile service providers. And if you will risk not having any of them, you might be better off not risking the MTN network, because, from indications, it seems to perform well than the others, though its rates may be high and its offers and services might be stringent, but you are less likely to be concerned of erratic voice and data connection compared to others. The various broadband cellular networks available include 2G, 3G, and 4G networks, but the coverage of the 4G network is not widespread.

Of the service providers is Glo (or Globacom), which boasts of fast network speed for internet browsing activities, but that might not be enjoyable in many locations in Ogbomosho. Airtel is fairly satisfactory for all you might need to connect to the world, including rates and network stability. And for 9mobile, it usually also performs well in internet browsing speed but not without locational limitations.

Go next

 * Ilorin
 * Kwara
 * Oyo
 * Ibadan
 * Lagos