Kwara State is a state in Western Nigeria that you would enjoy visiting and touring. Located within the North Central geopolitical zone, commonly referred to as the Middle belt, Kwara has its capital in Ilorin. There are sixteen Local Government Areas of Kwara which are; Asa, Baruten, Edu, Ekiti, Ifelodun, Ilorin East, Ilorin South, Ilorin West, Irepodun, Isin, Kaiama, Moro, Offa, Oke Ero, Oyun and Pategi. The people are majorly Yoruba while there are significant numbers of Nupes, Baribas and Fulanis. If you are a music lover, then on your tour you have to listen to legendary fuji artist, Ayinla Kollington also known as ‘Kebe n Kwara’.
TRANSPORT
There are several roads leading to the state famous for the presence of Islamic clerics and Imams. The Nigerian Railway Corporation extends services from Lagos through the state to the northern part of the country. If you are visiting through the air route from any part of the world, your destination is the Ilorin Airport. It is a major center for both domestic and international flights.
PLACES TO VISIT
One of the tourist centers in Kwara is the Esie Museum, located in Esie, Kwara State, Nigeria. The museum was the first to be established in Nigeria in 1945. It once housed over 1000 tombstone figures or images representing human beings. It is reputed to have the largest collection of soapstone images in the world. The museum in present day is now a center of religious activities and hosts a festival in the month of April every year.
You don’t have to travel wide before you see the beauty of nature in waterfall. Owu Waterfalls is a waterfall located in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara, Nigeria. It is 120m above the water level and cascades 330 feet down an escarpment, with rocky cut crops to a pool of ice cold water below. You have to come with your family as well as clothes to have a nice time here.
Kainji National Park is a place you have to visit. The park is situated in both Niger and Kwara States, Nigeria. The national park covers an area of 5,341km square. The park includes three distinct sectors. They are; the Kainji Lake in which fishing is restricted, the Borgu Game Reserve and the Zugurma Game Reserve.
If you are a sport lover, football scout or football fanatics, then you have to visit the Kwara State Stadium located in Ibrahim Taiwo Road, Ilorin, Kwara State. It is a multi-purpose sporting arena currently used mostly for football matches. It is the stadium of Kwara United FC and ABS FC just as the San Siro Stadium in Italy is shared by Inter Milan and Ac Milan. The Kwara State Stadium has a capacity of 18,000. There you would see the best of sporting activities especially from the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL).
