Focus Heritage

  In the Iwoye-Ketu community of the Imeko/Afon Local Government Area in Ogun State, Nigeria, the use of umbrellas for rain or sun protection is strongly discouraged. This long-standing tradition can be traced back to the 1700s and has remained unchanged despite the influence of Christianity and Islam, which have altered many other customs in the region. The Iwoye-Ketu community is home to eight distinct ethnic groups, including the Egun, Hausa, Igbo, Fulani, Igede, Ohoi, and the Yorubas. The town shares a rich history with other ancient Yoruba towns like Oyo and Ile-Ife in Osun State. According to local legend, one of the community's earliest settlers, named Olumu, migrated from Ile-Ife to Iwoye-Ketu with three significant items: a crown, a staff known as Opa Ogbo, and his deity called Orisa Oluwa. It is believed that the deity Orisa Oluwa specifically forbids the use of umbrellas in both Iwoye-Ketu and the smaller community of Wasinmi, which falls under Iwoye-Ketu's authority...

The burial site of the mythological and biblical Queen of Sheba, also known as Bilikisu Sungbo among Yoruba people, has been transformed into a tourist destination and place of worship in Nigeria. Every year, millions of people travel from all over the world to join in the mystery surrounding the corpse turned shrine of Bilikisu Sungbo in Oke-Eri, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, Nigeria.    According to legend, the legendary queen Bilikisu Sungbo journeyed all the way from Ethiopia to Ijebu-Ode, where she passed away and was buried. Strong and well-known assertions about the identity of the contentious Bilikisu Sungbo are made by the residents of Ijebu-Ode.   They asserted that she was the wise king Solomon's visitor, the Queen of Sheba, who was described in the Bible during the height of his reign. Additionally, they asserted that the person who paid king Sulaiman a visit was Bilikisu Sungbo, the Quranic Queen Baliqs of Ethiopia (from whom the name Bilikisu was derived). Accordin...

 Ijebu Itele is a town in Ogun State, Ijebu-East LGA. It is considered a traditional state because it is headed by a king (Oba) with the royal title of Moyegeso, a part II Oba as stated in the official gazette in 1990 of the Ogun State Government. The incumbent is Oba Mufutau Adesanya Kasali Iboriaran I. The town is known to have produced notable individuals amongst which are; Otunba Adedoyin Olaide Ogunde, a past president of ICAN and a partner at KPMG Peat Marwick Ani Ogunde &co., one of the top chartered accountants in Nigeria, was born in the town. Alhaji Chief, a previous deputy governor of Ogun State. Rafiu Ogunleye was from the Itele neighborhood of Agbodu. Prof. Samuel O. Onakomaiya, a late educationist and previous deputy vice chancellor at what is now Olabisi Onabanjo University (formerly Ogun State University), was from Itele. Late Chief Mrs. Opeoluwa Solanke-Ogunbiyi (Nee Obisanya), who was well-known as Mama WASU in the United Kingdom in the 1940s and 1950s, was a...

  AGEMO        The Ijebu people are the ‘omo alagemo merindinlogun” (children of the sixteen Agemo masquerades).  The Agemo Deity is one of the traditional festivals that unite the Ijebu annually. It is celebrated between the month of July and August when the Agemo priests converged at Ijebu-Ode to offer prayers, sacrifice and felicitate with one another for witnessing another year. The 16 Agemo come out every July and they all meet at Ijebu-Ode before moving to Agbala Imosan, for parts of the rites. The Agemo of Ijebu-Isiwo is the LEADER of all AGEMO in IJEBU LAND. Women are forbidden from seeing the Agemo on their way to Ijebu-Ode. A public announcement is made on radio and television to inform everyone the exact time Agemo will be moving.  There are sixteen prominent Agemo masquerades of Ijebuland who have priestly duties along with dancing at Agbala Imosan and Ijebu Ode. The Agemo are:  Tami (Odogbolu), Olumoro (Imoro), Serefusi (Ig...

 In 1891, the Ijebu tribe, dwelling between 50 and 60 miles north-east of Lagos on the Magbon river, set a blockade on the trade route from the interior into Lagos, which was a crown colony, and charged customs dues which served as their income. The Awujale, the traditional ruler of Ijebu, closed down the Ejirin market, cutting off Lagos from a source of up-country trade.  Colonel F.C. Scott C.B. led the roughly 450-man British expeditionary force in what is also known as the Battle of Imagbon. The skipper and his crew, which included a few carriers, sailed along the Lagos Lagoon on May 12 before landing at Epe. They recruited an additional 186 soldiers when they arrived in Lekki. 8,000 men with outdated firearms were enlisted to oppose the British on the Ijebu side. The Brits struggled to enter the interior of the Ijebu kingdom because they underestimated the Ijebus' fighting skills. The British took and set ablaze four Ijebu-held villages on the first day of combat, inflicti...

 According to tradition, the names "AJEBU" and "OLODE", who were prominent as leaders of the early settlers and founders of the town, were combined to form the name "Ijebu-Ode." According to legend, "OLODE" was related to "OLU-IWA", the first ruler of Ijebu. It is difficult to say for sure which of them—"AJEBU" and "OLODE"—came first, but according to history, Ajebu, Olode, and Ajana met on this territory, which at the time was unoccupied and covered in a dense forest. To establish the precise location on which each person should set up residence, they visited the Ifa Oracle. Ajebu was instructed by the Oracle to travel to and make his home in a location now known as "IMEPE". "OLODE" and "AJEBU" will stay in the same location together known today as "ITA AJANA"  A tomb built by Ajebu's relatives at Imepe, close to Oyingbo market on the Ejinrin Road, still stands as a memori...