Ijebu Ode, city in southwestern Nigeria, located in Ogun state. The forests in the area support sawmills and the manufacture of wood products. Bicycle manufacturing and fruit and juice canning are also important. Ijebu Ode is also an agricultural trade center specializing in kola nuts, cassava, cocoa, and palm oil. It was one of the first centers for the cocoa industry, which subsequently spread across southern Nigeria. The city has grown rapidly since the 1950s due to its proximity to both the Lagos and Ibadan metropolitan areas.
Ijebu Ode lies in the Yoruba cultural region and became the capital of the Ijebu kingdom (named for the local Yoruba people) in the 15th century. Yoruba towns were usually surrounded by mud walls and moats. Ijebu Ode had a 130-km (80-mi) rampart surrounding the city. In some places the walls were 6 m (20 ft) high accompanied by a moat 8 m (25 ft) deep. Only traces of these mud walls remain today. The territory was seized by Britain in 1892 while the city was engaged in ongoing Yoruba civil wars. The British then bargained with the Ijebu Ode inhabitants to open a trade route to Ibadan and farther north. Ijebu Ode has a substantial Muslim population and has numerous mosques and Muslim organizations. Population (1995) 152,500.
