Effon-Alaiye

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Effon-Alaiye
Effon-Alaiye Location in Nigeria
Coordinates: 7°40′48″N 4°48′54″E
Country	Nigeria
State	Ekiti State

Effon-Alaiye^[1] or Efon-Alaaye is a town in the Ekiti State of southwestern Nigeria, inhabited by Yoruba people. The population in 1983 was over 100,000.

Demographics

Efon Alaaye people are predominantly farmers, they grows cash crops like kolanuts, cocoa, palm tree, they are also known to be a major producers of yam, rice, cassava, maize and lots of fruits.
Efon Alaaye are subject to their king the Alaaye of Efon assisted by the six high chiefs of six major districts call "the iwara mefa"

Efon alaaye people are Christian and widely accepted christ by the 1930 major revival that caused a revolution that left the Town with several cathedrals. The major denominational groups are Catholics, Anglicans, Christ Apostolic Church, and very recently the Pentecostals are gaining grounds, including the Seventh-day Adventist Church which has been established to make its presence felt among this very religious people.

Efon Alaaye is located on Longitude 4.8 degrees – East and Latitude 7.6 degrees – North. It is situated on an elevation of about 500 metres above sea level. It is a very large town covering several hills, hill sides, plains and valleys, hence we talk of areas like Oke Imolekere, Oke Iloja, Oke Are, Oke Ojabalu, Oke Ahun, Odo Ijao, Odo Ibete, Odo Ejigan, etc. The prefix Oke means (hills) and Odo means (Valley). There are many streams flowing round the town but none passes through the town. The topography of the town is mountainous and the hills were claimed to be of advantage to the people of the town during the days of the inter-tribal wars. The hills made invasion of Efon difficult for invaders, hence, the saying “Oke lo mu Alaaye tile ogun” – (the mountain emboldens the Alaaye to wage war). “Omo-Oloke lomoke gun” – It is the son of the soil that can climb the hills with ease.

The effect of this unique topography is that it has produced a sort of sturdy and determined people capable of fighting against the forces of nature for their existence. This can be seen in the way Efon people are building fantastic structures despite the topography of the town – These hills which gave security advantage to the early settlers are now a cause of serious erosion problems to the people of the town. With development and destruction of the vegetation for the purpose of expansion and construction, soil erosion has now created a lot of gullies in the town.

History

Efon Alaaye dates back to 1200 A.D. In accordance with the historical facts, the founder and the first Alaaye (the title of Efon Alaaye Kings) of Efon Alaaye was Obalufon Alaayemore who was the third king or Ooni (title of Ile Ife kings) of Ile Ife, the cradle of Yoruba race. His father was the founder and father of the Yorubas and is known as Oduduwa or Odua. Obalufon Alaayemore installed his son Adudu Oranku to reign after him when he departed Efon Alaaye to go and ascend the throne in Ile Ife.
There are three ruling houses in Efon Alaaye that normally produce the Oba/King rotation. The ruling houses and the order of rotation are: - Ogbenuote, Obologun and Asemojo respectively. The reigning king on the throne is His Royal Highness Oba (Dr.) Emmanuel Aladejare Agunsoye II; he is the 45th Alaaye of Efon Alaaye. He comes from the Ogbenuote ruling house. And the kingmakers are the six high Chiefs who are heads of six Quarters into which the town is divided. The six kingmakers are:-

High Chief Obanla of Aaye Quarter
High Chief Obaloja of Obalu Quarter
High Chief Peteko of Isaja Quarter
High Chief Oisajigan of Ejigan Quarter
High Chief Alaayo of Emo Quarter
High Chief Ojubu of Ikagbe Quarter