Nigeria’s second largest city, Ibadan is located in south-western Nigeria, 78km inland from Lagos. Ibadan is a major commercial, industrial and administrative hub and is an important transit point between the coastal region and areas to the north.

Many large corporations have offices here. Industries represented in the area include cocoa, tobacco, electronics, plastics, chemicals, motor vehicle assembly and furniture manufacturers. There is a thriving craft industry particularly noted for weaving, dyeing and pottery.

Lagelu, the Chief or “Jagun” of the Yoruba left Ife-Ife in 1750 with a handful of people to found his own city. That city was originally called Eba Odun which literally means “between the forest and the plains”. It grew rapidly as a defensible site during the struggles among the Yoruba people. Part of the city’s ancient wall still stands today.

Ibadan holds the distinction of having several Nigerian and African “firsts”. It is home to Africa’s first television station, stadium and skyscraper (Cocoa House). The first university to be set up in Nigeria was the University of Ibadan (established by the University of London in 1948). The Polytechnic Ibadan was the first Technical Institution in Nigeria and is still considered the finest. The University College Hospital is the first teaching hospital in Nigeria.

Visitors can spend time wandering through the pre-historic bronze carvings and statues exhibition at the museum in the Institute of African Studies. The Bower Memorial Tower provides an excellent vantage point from which to view the entire city. Ibadan has a zoological garden located inside the University and a botanical garden at Agodi.