ILOBU

town, Osun state, southwestern Nigeria. It lies along a tributary of the Oshun River and on the road from Ogbomosho to Oshogbo. Ilobu is a trade centre for the yams, corn (maize), cassava, oil palms, pumpkins, beans, and okra grown in a savanna area mainly inhabited by the Yoruba people. It also serves as a collecting point for locally produced cash crops (cotton, tobacco, and cocoa). Cotton weaving is a traditional local industry; but the town of Oshogbo, 8 miles (13 km) southeast, is the area's most important textile centre. Pop. (1991 est.) 175,600.