The Akoko people belong to a cultural sub-group among the Yoruba tribe. They are found in the Northeastern part of Yoruba land, majorly in Ondo State and some parts of Edo State, Nigeria. The map of Ondo State reveals several places marked ‘Akoko’. Akoko land covers a large percentage of the local government areas in Ondo State.
There are four Akoko local government areas in Ondo State and one in Edo State. They are Akoko Northeast, Akoko Northwest, Akoko Southeast, Akoko Southwest, and Akoko Edo respectively. The total population of the Akoko people in Ondo State is 815, 360 (according to the 2011 population).
Major Occupation
The predominant occupation of the community is large scale farming and teaching. The people cultivate crops such as cocoa, coffee, yam, and cassava which is locally processed to ‘Garri’ as it is called.
In contemporary time, military, policing and paramilitary is the common denominator of all Akoko communities. This is clearly seen in the fact that every Akoko constituency produced in the last two decades at least a commissioner of police or equivalent in the other military or paramilitary agencies.
Language
Asides the main Yoruba language that is spoken in the land, Akoko is one of the few Yoruba clans with no distinctive local dialect of their own. Language differs in the various towns in the area.
Geography
Akoko comprises about 40 small towns, predominantly situated in Rocky areas of Ondo State. Major Akoko settlements include Oka, Ikare, Oba, Ikun, Arigidi, Ogbagi, Okeagbe, Ikaram, Ibaram, Iyani, Akungba, Erusu, Ajowa, Akunu, Isua, Gedegede, and Auga. Others are Ikakumo, Supare, Epinmi, Ipe, Ifira, Ise, Iboropa, Irun, Iye Afin, Igushi, Sosan, Ipesi, Etioro, Ayegunle, and Oyin.
Ikare Akoko is the biggest city in the Akoko area. It is a commercial city with an I.C.T resource center where its people have the opportunity to connect and communicate with other individuals across the country and worldwide.
One of the most populous towns in Akoko is Akungba-Akoko. This is popular as a result of the situation of the state-owned university, Adekunle Ajasin University, in the area.
Leadership
The Akoko communities are led majorly by Chiefs, however, the Paramount ruler in Akoko land is the monarch, Olukare of Ikare-Akoko. The current Olukare is Oba Akadiri Momoh. Another top monarch is the Olubaka of Oka land.
Notable People
There are famous and renowned people from Akoko-land who had contributed in one way or the other to the growth of Nigeria in their various fields. Notable among them are Chief Adebayo Adefarati (former governor), Bamidele Aturu (lawyer and human rights activist), Roy Chicago (highlife musician), Sunday Ehindero (former Inspector General of Police), Pastor T.B Joshua (clergy and philanthropist), Adetokunbo Ademola (former minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation), Joseph Sanusi (former governor, Central Bank of Nigeria), Moses Orimolade (founder of the Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim), Professor Robert Ajayi-Borofice (politician & scientist) and several others.
Do you know that?
Akoko is known as the Home of Education. It has the second largest number of Professors in the country after Ekiti State, Nigeria.