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– Ile Ife in central Yorubaland is the only scientifically proven indigenous centre for glass production in Sub Saharan Africa. It is now known in the global academic community as HLHA Glass or ‘Yoruba Glass’.
– The first Nigerian Medical Doctor was Nathaniel Thomas King. His father was Rev Thomas King who assisted Bishop Ajayi Crowder in translating the Bible to Yoruba language. Dr King lived from 1847 to 1884.
– Atakpame in Togo is the most western major town in Yorubaland, while Felele in Oworo district, Lokoja, Kogi state is the most eastern town in Yorubaland.
– The first Nigerian to release a music album was Canon Josiah Jesse Ransome-Kuti, Fela Anikulapoβs grandfather and Wole Soyinkaβs great grandfather. He released it in 1878 and his last album was released in August 1921. His works are still kept at the British Museum.
-The first Newspaper in Nigeria was in the Yoruba Language: ‘Iwe Irohin fun awon ara Egba ati Yoruba’ was published periodically in Abeokuta c.1859
– The Yoruba language is the Niger-Congo language with the largest number of native speakers in the world, 47 million people speak Yoruba language natively in 2022 according to Ethnologue.
– The first Nigerian Lawyer was Chief Sapara Williams. A Yoruba man who became a Lawyer in 1879. He was the Lodifi of Ilesa.
– The oldest human/hominid fossil ever discovered in West Africa is the ‘Iho Eleeru’ (Cave of Ashes) skull from Isharun near Akure, Ondo State dating to around 11,000BC.
– The Nigerian Tribune published in Ibadan, Nigeria and established in 1949 by Obafemi Awolowo is the oldest running private Nigerian newspaper.
– WNTV Ibadan was the first TV station in Nigeria and Africa. The first broadcast was aired on October 31, 1959. The government of Yorubaland were visionary enough ensuring their denizens had access to mass audiovisual media before countries like; Egypt: 1960, New Zealand: 1960, Israel: 1966 & South Africa: 1976. The station played a significant role in beaming taped Yoruba traveling theatre productions to households all over the old Western region.
– Around one third (33%) of the total maritime coastline of Nigeria is situated in the seashore of Yorubaland.
– In 1894, Olayinka Herbert Macaulay became the first trained Nigerian Engineer. He also trained in England as an Architect. He was a Civil Engineer. He later ventured into politics and formed the first political party in Nigeria, Nigeria National Democratic Party, NNDP in 1923 and later the NCNC, the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroons. He was also a Journalist and a Surveyor. He is widely considered as the founder of Nigerian Nationalism.
– The first Nigerian woman to qualify and practice law was Stella Thomas, a Yoruba woman who became a Lawyer in 1935 and also became the first female magistrate in Nigeria in 1943.
– The first high rise building in Nigeria was the Cocoa House in Ibadan built by the administration of Chief Awolowo in the old Western Region. It has 25 storeys.
– Dr Elizabeth Abimbola Awoliyi nee Akerele was the first female physician in Nigeria. She became a Medical Doctor in 1910.
– Folake Solanke was the first female Senior Advocate in Nigeria. She was also the first Nigerian female lawyer to wear the silk gown as Senior Counsel.
– The first indigenous Chief Justice of Nigeria was Sir Adetokunbo Ademola. He was also the longest serving Chief Justice of Nigeria between 1958 and 1972.
– Jamiu Mosobalaje Olaloye Oyawoye from offa, Kwara State is the first Professor of Geology in Nigeria and Africa. He obtained his PhD in 1959.
– The Yoruba language and culture is one of the most influential on the African continent and in the Americas. The Yoruba are also one of the best researched ethnicities in Africa.
– Chief Akintola Williams was the first Chattered Accountant in Nigeria who qualified in 1919 and also the first Nigerian to form a private accounting firm, Akintola Williams and Co in 1952.
– Ekundayo Adeyinka Adeyemi from Ekiti state is the first professor of Architecture in Nigeria and Sub Saharan Africa.
– The first woman to drive a car in Nigeria was Mrs Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, the mother of Olikoye, Fela and Beko.
– The Yoruba people have the highest spontaneous rate of twin births in the world- About 1 in 20 births. Twins were traditionally revered and highly sought after in Yoruba society. There is an Orisha that protects them.
– Emmanuel Olatunde Odeku (born, Emanuel Olatunde Alaba Olanrewaju Odeku from Awe in Oyo state 1927, Lagos, Nigeria β died, London, 1974) was the first African neurosurgeon trained in the United States who also pioneered neurosurgery in Africa.
– The Western region of Nigeria was the most educationally and economically advanced of Nigeria’s regions in the first republic before the civil war. it has the most people in secondary and tertiary institutions, and the largest commodity exchange bourse/stocks.
– Chief Hubert Adedeji Ogunde and Moses Olaiya are regarded as the pioneers and patriarchs of Nigerian theatre and movie industry. Ogunde was an actor, playwright, theatre manager, and musician who founded the first contemporary professional theatrical company in Nigeria, the African Music Research Party, in 1945.
– The Nigerian embassy in London, UK was originally owned and built by the Western Region of Nigeria (Government of Yorubaland).
The ‘Abuja house’, another mansion in Kensington, London which is now owned by Nigeria also belongs to the old Western Region under Awolowo as a place of refuge for Yoruba when in the UK.
– The first bank in Nigeria was established in Lagos in 1894, 10 years before amalgamation. Its second branch was opened in Calabar in 1912 and it was facilitated by King Jaja of Opobo. It had its first northern branch in Zaria. It is First Bank Nigeria.
– The Yoruba homeland, based majorly in the Southwestern part of Nigeria, is home to more than 70% of Nigeria’s industrial capacity and is also host to the backbone of Nigeria’s entertainment industry.
– In 1986, Professor Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka, the great grandson of Canon Josiah Jesse Ransome-Kuti became the first African to win a Nobel Laureate in the field of Literature.
– In 1976, Shooting Stars Sports Club 3SC of Ibadan formerly known as WNDC Ibadan (Western Nigeria Development Company), and were later called IICC (Industrial Investment and Credit Corporation) won the African Winnersβ Cup thereby becoming the first Nigerian club side to win continental honour for Nigeria.
– The first Nigerian to score a World Cup goal was Rashidi Yekini. He was a Yoruba man from Kwara state. He scored it against Bulgaria at USA β94.
– The area of Yorubaland covers approximately 145,000 kmΒ² of land. Were it to be an independent country, it would be physically bigger than Greece, Hungary, Serbia, South Korea, Portugal, Ireland, Sierra Leone and many more countries.
– The first university in Nigeria is University of Ibadan. Today, the Southwestern part of Nigeria also has the highest number of private universities in Nigeria.
– The Yoruba are a people with a historical propensity for living in large urban centres. Yoruba cities have always been among the most populous in Africa. Today, around 11.5% of all West Africans are ethnic Yoruba
– Yorubaland contains more than 30% of all Nigerian cities with over 100,000 people. They have been described as the most Urban African ethnic group by various ethnologists, sociologists and anthropologic writers and researchers.
– CMS Grammar School, Lagos is the oldest secondary school in Nigeria. It was established in 1859.
– The first known primary school in Nigeria was Nursery of the Infant Church established in 1843 in Badagry. It moved to its permanent site and was renamed St Thomas Primary School in 1845.
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