OGUN

state, western Nigeria, created in 1976 and comprising former Abeokuta and Ijebu provinces of former Western state, the latter carved out of former Western region in 1967. Ogun is bounded by Oyo and Osun states to the north, Lagos state to the south, Ondo state to the east, and the Republic of Benin to the west. It is covered predominantly by tropical rain forest and has wooded savanna in the northwest. Sodeke (Shodeke), a hunter and leader of the Egba refugees who fled from the disintegrating Oyo empire, founded about 1830 a principality at Abeokuta in what is now the north-central part of the state. Most of the inhabitants of Ogun state are members of the Egba and Egbado subgroups of the Yoruba people. Agriculture, the economic mainstay of Ogun, produces rice, corn (maize), cassava, yams, plantains, and bananas. Cocoa, kola nuts, rubber, palm oil and palm kernels, tobacco, cotton, and timber are the main cash crops. The Aro granite quarries near Abeokuta, the state capital, provide building material for much of southern Nigeria. Mineral resources include limestone, chalk, phosphates, and clay. Industries produce cement, canned foods, foam rubber, paint, tires, carpets, aluminum products, and plastics. Abeokuta, an important market centre, is a terminus of the roads and railways coming from Lagos and other parts of the country. Major tourist attractions are Olumo rock, which according to tradition provided refuge for early Egba settlers; the Ake, the residence of the alake (the traditional ruler of Egbaland), built in 1854 and noted for its collection of antiquities and relics; and the Centenary Hall, all in Abeokuta. There are teacher training colleges in the state and a university of agriculture at Abeokuta. Area 6,472 square miles (16,762 square km). Pop. (1991) 2,338,570.