Local history
A town that is still arranged around its rock
Egba refugees settled under Olumo in the 1830s because it could be defended. Everything since has been built outward from that decision.
South-West
Abeokuta
Ogun State
7.1557° N, 3.3451° E
A city founded in the shelter of a rock, and still arranged around it.
About this place
The name means 'under the rock', and it is literal: Egba refugees settled beneath Olumo in the 1830s because the outcrop could be defended. The rock is still the centre of the town in every sense. Abeokuta produced an unusual concentration of people who changed the country — and the Ogun river below it has been the town's boundary and its laundry for two centuries.
Everything from Abeokuta
2 stories, newest first.
Food
Jollof, and the argument that will not be settled
The rice dish that every West African country claims, cooked over wood, at scale, for a crowd.
Food in Abeokuta
Food
Jollof, and the argument that will not be settled
The rice dish that every West African country claims, cooked over wood, at scale, for a crowd.
History in Abeokuta
Local history
A town that is still arranged around its rock
Egba refugees settled under Olumo in the 1830s because it could be defended. Everything since has been built outward from that decision.
Where to go next
Editorial adjacency rather than distance — somewhere it makes sense to go from here.
