Abeokuta

Abeokuta
City
Abeokuta Location in Nigeria
Coordinates: 7°9′39″N 3°20′54″E / 7.16083°N 3.34833°E / 7.16083; 3.34833
Country	Nigeria
State	Ogun State
Population  (2022)
• Total	735,000

Abeokuta is the capital city of Ogun State in southwestern Nigeria.^[1] It sits on both sides of the Ogun River. The city was founded in about 1830. Most people who live there speak Yoruba.

Abeokuta was begun around 1830 by the Egba, a group of Yoruba people. They settled near a large rock called Olumo Rock to protect themselves from slave raiders from Dahomey during a period of war in the region.^[2]In 1851, the Egba fought off an attack by the army of Dahomey. They fought them off again in 1864.^[3]In 1867, the Egba kicked out British missionaries and traders from the city after disagreements with British officials in Lagos.^[4]In 1893, the ruler of the Egba signed an agreement with the British, which created the Egba United Government based in Abeokuta.^[5]In 1914, the British made Abeokuta the capital of a province within the colony of Nigeria.^[6]In 1918, people in Abeokuta rose up against British taxation in what became known as the Adubi War.^[7]In the 1940s, women in Abeokuta organised against unfair taxes set by the colonial government. This was called the Abeokuta Women's Revolt.^[8]In 1976, Abeokuta became the capital of the newly created Ogun State.^[9]

Abeokuta is located about 77 kilometres north of Lagos. The Ogun River runs through the city. The land around the city includes areas of wooded savanna and granite rock formations.^[10]

The city trades in palm oil, cocoa, rubber, yams, rice, cotton, and kola nuts. Local industries include food processing, brewing, and timber production.^[11]

A railway line connects Abeokuta to Lagos. The line was completed in 1899. In 2021, a new standard gauge railway between Lagos and Ibadan began operating and includes a stop at Abeokuta.^[12]

• Olumo Rock – a large rock formation that was used as a place of shelter during past wars
• Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library – a museum about the life of former president Olusegun Obasanjo
• Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta – a university established in 1988

• Moshood Abiola – businessman and politician^[13]
• Fela Kuti – musician^[14]
• Olusegun Obasanjo – President of Nigeria 1999 to 2007
• Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti – women's rights activist^[15]
• Wole Soyinka – Nobel Prize-winning writer^[16]
• Ernest Shonekan – businessman and former head of state

• Media related to Abeokuta at Wikimedia Commons