Oyo, city, southwestern Nigeria, in Oyo State, near Ibadan. Oyo is a textile center with cotton-weaving and tobacco-processing industries. Artisans also make leather goods and carve shells of the calabash gourd. Tobacco, cocoa, cotton, grains, palm products, and cassava are traded here, and tin and gold are found in the vicinity. The Oyo Empire, established by the Yoruba people, controlled a wide area between the Volta and Niger rivers by the mid-17th century. The capital of the state was moved here from Old Oyo (Katunga) in the 1830s, and the Alafin (leader) of Oyo still resides in the city. Population (1995 estimate) 250,100.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
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