Majority of people I believe will say that this is a small settlement with a slow African life somewhere away from big cities and their noises. However, the town is popular all over the world for something else!

Let’s take a look at the history of the place where Igbo Ora town is located now.

This is located in Oyo state, the land where all sorts of vegetation grow freely due to the plenty of moisture in the air and a lot of sunshine.

The town was founded occasionally, when Lajorun, some heir to Oduduwa and nobody else but Oranmiyan’s great-grandson, was searching for a reliable escape from the Dahomean war that was taking place at that time.

The trouble was one of those conflicts between different ethnic groups, which had already become usual through a good hundred of years. This is how Lajorun found this place and later it grew into the present Igbo Ora.

Once discovered by Lajorun, the place attracted many other people who were seeking a safe nook to get away from the skirmish.

Eventually, a settlement began to form up in this place. The ancient people had their sacred places where they worshiped their ancient gods. One was dedicated to praying for rains and another to praying for the birth of twin babies. It was considered that twins were sent by god to give their parents luck.

Through the centuries, as the entire Igbo Ora was conquered by colonialists, the traditional beliefs were replaced with Christianity and Islamic traditions. Many years have passed since that time and after the slavery abolition, Africa began to recover slowly.

Colonialists went away but left their cultural heritage which now mingles with the local one. The religion, life, and customs of today’s Igbo Ora are different from the ones of their ancestors but still carry a trace of the ancient times.

Even now, in the 21st century, Igbo Ora is not chasing the rest of the world trying to catch up with the progress. This is a peaceful land with perfectly amiable dwellers who are not rich but very friendly. They have their small town that looks more like a village, especially to foreign guests.

The population of the town grows very quickly and there’s a natural reason to it. In the entire world, the town of Igbo Ora is known as a birthplace of more twins than anywhere else in the world. There’s no family here that does not have at least a single set of twins.

Some households have up to five twin sets. Researchers claim that the reason for this phenomenon is in a certain chemical found in the soil and transmitted into the cassava and yam local people eat in big quantities. This chemical causes multiple ovulation in women and causes the conception of twins practically each time a woman gets pregnant.

At present, the town is ruled by a distant ancestor of the famous Lajorun. The town is quite poor because there’s no big industry or a university or something else that would attract finance.

Local people live out of what they can grow in their gardens and farms. The majorities are employed in civil services or do some petty trading to make ends meet.

Some of the locals who have trucks are engaged in the transportation of charcoal from the nearby natural deposit. This is the most prestigious occupation. Anyhow, they are happy to welcome and accommodate everyone, even a perfect stranger, with a lot of love and friendliness. A perfectly peaceful place is Igbo Ora town in Nigeria.

Wow! It’s a place to visit.