Just like the spring of a large river, Ile-Ife has always maintained a mysterious posture in history. Being the headquarter of the ancient Ife Kingdom, situated in the south west of modern Nigeria, stretching over 200km from the Niger-river in the East North to the borders of modern day Benin in the west, it is believed to be the cradle of modern civilization.,
Ile-Ife, the headquarters of the defunct Oranmiyan Local Government Areas, becomes the headquarters of Ife Central Local Government Area in May 1989. With the creation of Ife East out of Ife Central local Government in 1996, Ajebamidele became the headquarters of the New Ife Central Local Government. The Chief industries in Ife include Cocoa and palm processing, Sawmilling, Vocational practices, trading, Civil Services, Arts Lumbering e.t.c.
Ife (Kingdom) was an historic kingdom in West Africa, earliest of the Yoruba kingdoms, situated in the south-west of modern Nigeria, famous for its terracotta and “bronze” (actually copper-based alloy) sculptures. The origins of Ife are not entirely clear, but by the 11th century there was evidence of substantial town at the site now occupied by the modern city of Ife and between about the 12th and 15th centuries this town became the capital of an important kingdom stretching over 20km (125 miles) from the Niger river in the east and north to the borders of modern day Benin in the west. History has it that Ife was initially a kingdom of sixteen principal towns, each with its own Oba. Evidence of this fact abound in the palace of the Ooni of Ife as reflected in the sixteen principal chiefs addressed as Oba.
The economics basis of the kingdom was agriculture, but regional and long distance trade were also important. Items for export included manufactured glass beads and probably kola nut, salt, dried fish, ivory, and some slaves. Among possible imports from the north were horses and the raw materials for Ife’s decorative metalwork. There was also evidence of a flourishing ironworking industry and the manufacturers of iron weapons may have contributed to Ife’s military and political expansion. At the end of the 15th century, the whole region was destabilized by the Fulani incursions and the collapse of the Oyo Empire. Ife was further weakened by the rise Ibadan, a powerful new city state to which it eventually lost its independence. A century of upheaval was brought to an end in 1893 by the imposition of British rule, but for the city of Ife, this proved to be the beginning of a period of recovery.
Ife has a special place in Yoruba culture, it embodies the Yoruba concept of orirun; it is held to be the place of the world’s creation and the final resting place of soul after death. From this concept of orirun flow other important beliefs such as that Ife is the ‘Father kingdom’ of all other Yoruba kingdoms. As a sacred capital, Ife was and still is a religious and ceremonial center
Ife’s sacredness lies at the heart of its long survival, and has ensured its continued importance to the Yoruba people.
The local government area is thickly populated by the Yoruba speaking people of south west zone of Nigeria and other ethnic groups like Hausa, Igbo and foreigners are also living in the local Government. The 1991 census put the population of the local Government at 96,580 while the estimated population for the year 2004 is 138,818. While waiting for the details of the 2006 census result, the 2004 estimates is being used for planning
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