Ife was founded around 500 B.C. and is the oldest Yoruba city. It is presently part of Osun State and has an estimated population of 501,000 people. Ife is a prominent regional agricultural center for a surrounding area that produces vegetables, grain cacao, tobacco, and cotton. Ife is home to the Natural History Museum of Nigeria, and Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), one of the leading academic institutions in West Africa, named in honor of Chief Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo (1909-1987), eminent nationalist, and one of modern Nigeria’s distinguished founders.
