HISTORY OF EDIDI IN KWARA STATE
Edidi is one of the ancient Igbomina communities in today's Isin Local Government Area of Kwara State, Nigeria.
A Yoruba town, it is situated between Oro and Oke-Onigbin communities on Ilorin - Omu-Aran trunk road, being some fifty six kilometers from Ilorin and some eighteen kilometers to Omu-Aran.
Long before the advent of the Europeans to the shores of what today is called Nigeria, a man named Aruwa had left Ile-Ife, the traditional origin of the Yoruba, with his family, in the 17th century, for Oyo Ile, as a result of a chieftaincy tussle.
Oyo Ile (the Old Oyo) itself was located at a place north-west of Ilorin, Kwara State.
It was about fifty kilometers before the River Niger and was sand-witched between the Nupe and Baruba territories.
Old Oyo, of course, was the headquarters of the Oyo kingdom, about the most powerful among the kingdoms in yoruba land. Othe kingdoms up to 1800 included Owo, Ijebu, Ketu, Igbomina and Ekiti.
As a prince in the royal family at ile-Ife, Aruwa, having lost contest for a chieftaincy title, decided to leave Oyo for an independent abode. At Oyo, he settled with his family to become a hunter-farmer.
However, for want of better prospects, Aruwa moved again from Oyo and came to settle about 1670 A.D. at Ikaara, which was a site near the present Oke-Ola, Oro, on Ilorin-Omu Aran road.
For reasons best known to him, and probably in search of fertile land for easier access to drinking water and for a place of greater security,Aruwa was on the move again, apparently to the astonishment of his own people.
This time he landed at a forest now called Igbo-Obaruwa at Edidi.
In the meantime, because of his dynamic leadership, Aruwa was well respected by both his children and the other people accompanying him wherever he moved.
It was not surprising then that he easily assumed the position of a great father and subsequently an Oba or king amongst his people.
Thus when Aruwa and his people finally settled in the forest at Edidi, the forest was called 'Igbo Obaruwa', meaning king Aruwa's forest.
In effect, at Edidi today, Igbo Obaruwa is a sacred place to all the indigenes.
It must not be assumed that Aruwa's movements with his household from Ile-Ife to Edidi were as straight forward as they now seem, with all the modern roads and bridges already in place.
No, there were no such roads in those days.
The people had wandered from place to place, through forests and grasslands, and on the hills and in the valleys, crossing rivers and streams, and engaging in farming and hunting, over the years.
Traditionally, we are told, Aruwa had three sons', namely, Ogboningbonin who was the eldest, Ojobotolo and Okinniye who was the youngest.
Both Ogboningbonin and Ojobotolo were of the same mother, we are told while Okinniye was of a different mother. It was said that apart from these sons, Aruwa had also daughters like Laade and Awobejo.
The three brothers farmed and hunted with their father but when they were old enough to start being on their own, their father allocated farmlands which they could maintain as their own areas of authority.
Each of them had his base in the place allocated him.
The eldest, Ogboningbonin settled at the present Oke-Ona', Ojobotolo settled at Idoro (now called Idera), while the youngest, Okinniye, had his base at Oja. Thus since those by-gone days, we have had the three constituents of Edidi as Oke-Ona, Idera and Oja.
Since that time too, Edidi has shared boundaries with her neighbouring communities as follows: with Ile-Olusin, Ijara Isin, Edidi has her boundary at Omi-Eran stream, some two kilometers from Oke-Onigbin.
Also with Ile-Olusin, Ijara-Isin, Edidi shares boundary at the last stream to Oke-Oyi, while her boundary with Igbesi is at Apata. Westwards, Edidi shares boundaries with Ijomu-Oro, Otun-Oro and Esie, respectively.
With Ijomu-Oro, Edidi has her boundary at 'Idi-Odu' at the market centre of Ijomu-Oro', with Esie, the boundary is at the Osin river. The boundary between Edidi and Otun-Oro is at the Agbaa stream.
However, during the reign of Oba Aretujoye 1, at the beginning of the twentieth century, one of his daughters got married to the Aro family from Otun-Oro. This daughter was childless.
In order that she did not become too worried for not having children of her own, her father leased to her the land from the Olokin stream to Idi-Iya-Olorogun meta (the present site of Notre Dame Girls Secondary School).
She was to use the land for farming. The woman adopted her husband's children and allowed them to farm on the land, knowing too well that her father had merely loaned the land to her only to farm there.
On the way to Alla, Edidi shares her mutual boundary at the outskirts of Alla traditionally called Tasoro.
In the case of the boundary between Ijomu and Edidi, Obaruwa gave the land between 'Idi Odu' in the center of Ijomu and Aasan River to Ijomu people on loan so that they could expand their settlement there when necessary.
The land from Aasan River to Edidi, however, Obaruwa re-affirmed belonged to him and his descendants for ever.
Obaruwa allowed Ijomu people to also farm on this land but his descendants would harvest token crops as royalty from each farm each year to show their ownership of the land
Thus, till today, Edidi people go to Ijomu people's farms on the land each year to harvest yams and other crops.
The annual royalty of farm products obtained on Edidi land is not limited to that received on Ijomu farmlands.
Edidi obtains royalty farm products each year on Edidi land stretching from Edidi-Ijomu junction on Edidi-Otun Oro main road to farms around the Notre Dame Girls Secondary School Oro, and those across to the boundary between Edidi and Esie.
On each occasion the harvesting takes place, Edidi people make a round trip from Edidi on Edidi- Otun-Oro main road and emerge at a place by the old traditional track on Edidi- Esie road.
They bring in all the products like yams and maize they have collected from farms of whosoever have cultivated them on Edidi land