Ile-Ife: Places to Visit

Ile-Ife is mostly populated by the yorubas or ifes; they are also regarded as Omo Oduduwa. Oduduwa is the descendant of the Yoruba race. Although Ile-Ife is, a medium size city considering the population and land mass but the tourist attractions play a vital role in its consideration as a place to visit. Ife is indeed a place of interest because of the cultural history that surrounds it.

Yearly, visitors visit the city of Ile-Ife in thousands to catch a sight, commend the merits of the magnificent sites, and have facts of the mysteries that the ancient city is compresses. There are numerous tourist attractions in great city of ile-ife, but the follows are just few of the place to visits.

 

  • Ooni 's Palace (Ile Oduduwa)
  • The Ooni’s palace has been in existence for centuries, as far back as 500 BC and is located at the centre of a city called Enuwa in Ile-Ife. The palace is home to not only the Ooni but also to his Oloris (wives) and his children. Besides being the abode of members of the royal family, it is also the location of a meeting hall for the high chiefs of Ile-Ife.
    Until a few decades ago, the Ooni’s palace was constructed with a mud wall but since the demolition of those buildings, modern buildings built with cement have been erected. The palace is a well-landscaped home of treasures.

    The five main sections of Ile Ife flow from three major roads that meet at an orita (intersection) called Enu Owa (meaning “mouth of the king”, and from which Enuwa is derived). In Yoruba traditional belief, an orita is not just a place where three roads meet, but a place where sacrifices may be offered to spirits and messages maybe conveyed to the gods or other spiritual realms.

  • Ooni Palace
Ife Museum

A visit to the Ooni of Ife’s Palace is incomplete without stopping next door at the Ife Museum, which is also in Enuwa Square, Ile-Ife The history museum is dedicated to the preservation of antiquities that were found in Ile Ife, including many bronzes and terracotta sculptures dating back to the 13th century

. Ife Museum

 

Opa Oranmiyan

Opa Oranmiyan stands over five meters tall in Moopa area of the town within a fenced wall.  It is believed that it was the place where the great Yoruba warrior, Oranmiyan spent the later years of his life and the spot where the granite is standing today was where he planted his staff in the ground and immediately turned into stone.

Opa Oranmiyan

 

Natural History Museum (OAU)

In January, 1974, the idea of establishing a Natural History Museum and that which will be a leading natural history museum in the west coast of Africa was midwived this was to be an autonomous unit starting with the collection of the then zoology Department as a nucleus. 


Apart from Institut Fundamental Afrique Noir in Dakar, Senegal, this natural history museum was the only one in West Africa. The museum has a herbarium which contains about 20,000 fully identified plants. 5,150 bird varieties, specimens and minerals of south western Nigeria. There are about a collection of over 6,000 archaeological artifacts like the famous Ife terracotta, ife glass beads, crucible and ancient tobacco pipes, potsherd pavements. In conclusion, it has the archaeological, zoological, geological and botany exhibitions.

Natural Museum

 

 

 

 

Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU)

The Obafemi Awolowo University is a comprehensive public institution established in 1962 as The University of Ife. The University is situated on a vast expanse of land totaling 11,861 hectares in Ile-Ife, Osun State, southwest of Nigeria.

The Obafemi Awolowo University is a complete public institution established in 1962 as The University of Ife. The University is situated on a vast expanse of land totalling 11,861 hectares in Ile-Ife, Osun State, southwest of Nigeria.
A tour of the AOU campus is sufficient, as you will see a wide diversity of incredible architecture that the university possesses. Some of these buildings are the Amphi theatre, the spider; civil engineering department building, animal zoo and so on.

OAU

 

Oduduwa Statue

Oduduwa statue in Enuwa Square is Well-designed structure found inside Afewonro Park at the Enuwa square in Ile-Ife just in front of the Ooni’s palace.

The structure stands tall among every other structure around it, which gives it the visibility it requires. The structure is made of metal and it shows the legendary king in a single garment wrapped around his left shoulder. His face is covered with beaded crown, “Are” and a clutching staff in his right hand.

Oduduwa

 

Ife Anthem
1.   Ilé-ifè ni orí’run ayé
      Ìlú Oòduà baba Yorùbá
      Èdùmàrè tó dá wa sí’fè
      Kó máse ba ’fe jé mó wa l’órí
      K’Olúwa kó maa ràn wá se.
2. Refrain
       Ifè Oòyè, E jí gìrì
       E jí gìrì, k’e gbé Ifè ga
       Olórí aye ni’fè Oòyè
       K’á múra láti tè s’íwájú
       Òràmfè On’ílé iná
       Oòduà a wèriri jagun
       Òkànlén’írún irúnmolè
       E gbé ’fè lé’kĕ ’sòro gbogbo

 

3.  Ilé-ifè b’ojúmó ti mó wá
       Ìlú àsà on ìlú èsìn
       Gbogbo Yorùbá e káre ’fè
       Ká lo w’ohun àdáyébá t’ó jo’jú
       Ilé Oòduà Ifè l’ó wà
       Opá Òràn’yàn; Ilé-Ifè ni.
’      Boji Morèmi Ilé-Ifè ni
       Ará, e káre ’fè Oòdáyé.

 

4. Repeat Refrain