Oyo EmpireThe Oyo Empire was a Yoruba empire in West Africa. It was located in present-day eastern Benin and western Nigeria (including the South West zone and the western half of the North Central zone). The empire grew to become the largest Yoruba-speaking state and rose through the outstanding organizational and administrative skills of the Yoruba people, wealth gained from trade, and its powerful cavalry.
Yoruba peopleThe Yoruba people (Ìran Yorùbá, Ọmọ Odùduwà, Ọmọ Káàárọ̀-oòjíire) are a West African ethnic group who mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by the Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute more than 52 million people in Africa, are over a million outside the continent, and bear further representation among members of the African diaspora.
YorubalandYorubaland (Ilẹ̀ Káàárọ̀-Oòjíire) is the homeland and cultural region of the Yoruba people in West Africa. It spans the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Togo and Benin, and covers a total land area of 142,114 km2 or about 60% of the land area of Ghana. Of this land area, 106,016 km2 (74.6%) lies within Nigeria, 18.9% in Benin, and the remaining 6.5% is in Togo. Prior to European colonization, a portion of this area was known as Yoruba country. The geo-cultural space contains an estimated 55 million people, the majority of this population being ethnic Yorubas.
IlorinIlorin is the capital city of Kwara State located in the North Central region of Nigeria. As of the 2006 census, it had a population of 777,667, making it the 7th largest city by population in Nigeria. Surrounding the historic central district with its traditional single-story red-mud houses with thatched straw roofs and numerous mosques, all protected by a mud wall, the modern city is an industrial, commercial, and educational centre. Ilorin Emirate Ilorin was founded by the Yoruba, one of the three largest ethnic groups in Nigeria, in 1450.