Ilesa (also spelt Ilesha) is a city with a population of 371,000 in Osun State, South West Nigeria. It lies at an intersection of roads leading to Ile Ife, Akure and Osogbo. It is the headquarters of Ijeshaland and has the largest township.
Understand
[edit]Ilesa was founded in 12th century by Owaluse, a grandson of Ajibokun Ajaka Owa Obokun Onida Arara, a descendant of Oduduwa, the progenitor of the Yoruba race. Ilesa is the largest town and the capital of Ijesha (Ijesa) kingdom in Osun State.
Get in
[edit]By bus
[edit]Several bus terminals are scattered around the area. Two major ones are Ojota and Oshodi, which is often called Motor Park. The fare from Lagos is about ₦3,000 and the journey lasts 4 hours.
By car
[edit]This option helps in management of time if you are able to bear the traffic on the expressway and the constant delays. The journey saves you a good hour as against the bus ride. Estimated journey is around 3 hours.
By plane
[edit]The possibility of going by air is not limited to one location. The options of Lagos via Ibadan Airport to Ilesha, Lagos via Ilorin Airport to Ilesha and Lagos via Akure to Ilesa are all available.
By train
[edit]Ilesa by train from the terminus at Iddo through Ibadan happens twice a week and the option via Osogbo, once a week. The fare depends on the class, with third to first ranging from ₦2,500-6,000
Get around
[edit]
By taxi
[edit]Taxis are safe and the drivers are courteous. Prices vary from ₦70-100
See
[edit]- 1 Erin Ijesa Waterfalls (Olumirin). These waterfalls are in Erin-Ijesha, Oriade local government. The waterfalls were discovered in 1140 AD by one of the daughters of Oduduwa. This is where the Owa Obokun the monarch of Ijeshaland is initiated and taken before he ascends the throne.
- Erinimo Hills, Erinmo Ilesa. Erinmo is bounded in the east by Efon Alaaye, in the west by Iwaraja, in the north by Ijeda and in the south by Omo. The town which covers an area of over 3000 km² is sited on fairly elevated plain area and almost surrounded by mountains.
Erinmo according to history is said to have their roots Ile Ife and are direct descendants of Oduduwa. An Ooni of Ife Alayemore was said to have fled Ife with his loyalists for fear due to a mis-understanding with his brother.
While running ,when it seemed that his warriors were getting tired he will encourage them with the words “Erin” “Erin” “Erin” meaning “Walk” “Walk” “Walk”. They decided to stop and relax after sometime. Here they used palm fronds called “Imo” in Yoruba to make houses hence the name Erin- Imo which is now known as the present day Erinmo. - 2 Owa Obokun Adimula Palace, Ereja Square Roundabout. 9AM-5PM. The Palace of the Monarch of Ijesha people houses monuments and artefacts. It holds the history of the Ijesha people.
- 3 Obokungusi Town Hall, Adimula Palace Ilesa. The Obokungusi town hall is the meeting place where the monarch Owa Obokun sits and meets with his people to discuss things pertaining to the city. Grievances and social, political matters are also brought to his attention for example if the prices of amenities are too expensive. It was built by the present monarch's grandfather and it is being renovated by him.There is an ancient wall clock in the hall which draws a lot of attention.
- 4 Statute of Owa Obokun, Ereja Square in front of Adimula's Palace. It is a statue has the story of how the young son of a King was sent on a quest to look for a certain kind of water that would heal his blind father.
That young man was that talks about the story of a blind King whose son was asked to go and get water of life for his father to regain his sight.
The father bequeathed him a sword and a crown what was left of his possession, which he handed over to his son who later became the Owa of Ilesha land.
The statue today serves as a reference to the world about how the Ilesha king was crowned. In the statue the sword he raised represent defense which he uses to fight every battle in the land and the calabash represent the water he went to fetch for his father. The king was named after the named after the water he went to fetch that is the Owa obokun of Ijesha land.
Do
[edit]Buy
[edit]- 1 Atakumosa Market (Central Market), Near Adimulas Palace (a stone's throw from Obas palace). The centuries-old market where most food items are fresh and affordable.
- Fola Safeway Chemist and supermarket., Ilesa Grammar School, Ball Okesa st Opposite gate, Imo Rd, ☏ +234-806-878-1682. M-Sa 8AM-9PM. In-store shopping.
- Iya Dupe Food store, Ilesa, ☏ +234-706-101-9587. In-store shopping.
- 2 Niglobal International Electronics. Electronic shop to fulfill any emergency needs.
- Pick and smile Supermarket, Oke Eso/Okesa roundabout. M-Sa 7AM-9PM. In-store shopping. In-store pickup. Delivery.
Eat
[edit]- Bukateria, Adelegan Omol,ilesa. Daily 8AM-10PM. Delivery. Takeaway. Dine-in.
- 1 Captain Cook. 8AM-10PM. Fast food and restaurant.
- Segbol Bar & Restaurant, F141 Ayeso Rd, ☏ +234-703-096-8898. M-Sa 8-10PM, Su 24 hr. Dine-in. Drive-through. No-contact delivery.
- Solace Area Restaurant, B177 Okesa st, ☏ +234-813-690-1134. Daily 24 hr.
- 2 Tasteful Kitchen and Bakery. 8AM-10PM. Fast food and restaurant, a cool place to hang out, clean and serene environment.
- Stomach care Restaurant and Bar, Ayeso Road ilesa, ☏ +234 803 237 5098. 7AM-11PM. Menu:Fish pie,amala, jollof rice, sausage roll, fried rice, eba, pounded yam assorted meat smoked fish and different kinds of local cuisines.
Services;Dine_in Takeaway and no contact Delivery. ₦. - Da sioni foods, Ife expressed ilesha, ☏ + 234 903 997 2026. 9AM-9PM daily. Menu; for different delicacies local dishes continental dishes and also African dishes.
Services: Dine in.take away.delivery fast. ₦₦. - Captain Cook, ilesha (RICO WHITE), Oshogbo ilesha rd,, ☏ +234 807 805 3146. 8AM-10PM. When you see white rice chicken hot dog amala fried rice jollof rice porridge yam egg sauce and any other kind of fast food they also offer services like dining do contact delivery and takeaway. ₦₦.
Drink
[edit]Sleep
[edit]- Albertville Luxury Hotel, 5,Moses Adejuyishe st (Balm specialist Hospital area), Oke-opo, GRA, ☏ +234-906-650-4887. Check-in: noon, check-out: 10AM. Free parking. Free breakfast. ₦27,500.
- 1 Groove Hill Suite, Oke Opo Community Primary School, 10, GRA. Clean, well-kept hotel with courteous staff.
- Ibis Diamond hotel, House 3, Olusade Ogunwale close, ☏ +234-817-571-6668. Restaurant, free breakfast.
- 2 Sambeaz Hotel and suites. Spacious, serene environment. Well managed guest house and courteous staff.
- 3 Zenababs Half Moon Resort, Prince Oladele Olashore Way, Ilo Aiyegunle, ☏ +234 8035907424, +234 8037148212, +234 8183003007, zenababs@yahoo.com. A 4-star hotel resort surrounded by natural beauty, nearby hills, with over 25 acres of lush grounds, providing a luxurious and tranquil environment. Wi-Fi Internet Access is available in the whole resort. Facilities include: 30 fully furnished chalets (2 rooms per chalet) with satellite TV in each room; games lounge with table tennis, billiards and an array of board games; darts hall and bar; health and fitness club; a well-equipped gymnasium and 2 squash courts; wildlife park with exotic birds and other species; a boating lake: a large conference hall with stage and full audiovisual facilities, breakout rooms and conference support; a large swimming pool; tennis courts; basketball and volleyball courts; and a children’s playing ground.
- 4 Royal Park International Hotel & Resort, Oba Oladele Olashore Way, Iloko Ijesa Ijesa, Osun State NG, 233362, Iloko, ☏ +234 903 002 3587.
Connect
[edit]For most locations in Ilesa, you would most likely find coverage of the 2G/3G/4G mobile networks. Signal strength might diminish further away from the town center, and you might occasionally experience network outage for all or some of the mobile phone service providers in the remote areas of the town. Different networks tend to be more stable and reliable in different locations of the town at different times.
MTN, 9Mobile, Airtel (Zain) and GLO are all available service providers. So if you are planning a visit to Ilesa, like you would do for many other places in Nigeria, you should probably consider having multiple SIM cards, preferably for all the mobile service providers, since you can't tell which will be more stable and reliable at a time in your location during your visit. And if you will risk not having any of them, you might be better off not risking the MTN network, because, from indications, it seem to perform well than the others, though its rates may be high and its offers and services might be stringent, but you are less likely to be concerned of erratic voice and data connection compared to others.
Airtel is another service provider which is fairly satisfactory for all you might need to connect to the world, including rates and network reliability. Of course, Glo (or Globacom) boasts of fast network speed for internet browsing activities, only that you might not be able to enjoy the privilege in some locations. And 9Mobile (formerly Etisalat) usually also performs well in internet browsing speed too but with locational limitations as well, plus data rate is fairly higher.