A Brief History of Idanre

Idanre the City on the Rocks

Idanre the city on the rocks, lies 20 kilometres from Akure, the capital of Ondo State. ldanre, a historic Yoruba town, is famous for its rich cultural tradition with a population of over 1 million people with a common boundary with Benin city. It covers an area of over 600 square miles including 200 square miles of forest hills. ldanre is surrounded by a chain of rocks which forms a natural protection around the city.

It is an accepted fact that ldanre like other Yorubas migrated from the East under the able leadership of ODUDUWA who was the founder of Yoruba Kingdom. ldanre is the largest cocoa producer in Nigeria more than $10 Million USD in revenue every year. Unfortunately, there is little to show for this in terms of investment and infrastructures. (ldanre Cultural Association intends on changing that). Some of our resources are as follows:

• Cocoa beans from ldanreland rank among the best in the world.
• Wood and forest potentials: ldanre has the largest forest reserves producing the largest tonnage of timbers in Ondo State.
• ldanre hill citadel presents prolific tourism potentials. Serving as attractive tourist centres are:
• Topographic features of the towering chains of volcanic rocks
• The wonderful AGBOGUN footprint on Aghagha rock which will fit anybody's feet
• Ala Forest Reserves is a potential natural zoo

The New ldanre at the foot of the hills was planted less than sixty years ago and is divided into six zones, Atoshin, Alade, Ala Odode and Oniserere. The ancient palace is preserved at Oke-ldanre together with a few other state houses for the preservation of the ancient crown, works of arts, and other things of fame in ldanre. IDANRE is a potential tourist centre in southern Nigeria.

A pilgrims' rest beneath Idanre Hill

The wine-girl, dazed from divine dallying

Felt wine-skeins race in fire-patterns within her

Her eyes queried, what then are you? At such hour

Why seek what on the hills?

 

Wole Soyinka - in Idanre and other poems.

!