Ede

Ede, town, Osun state, southwestern Nigeria. It lies along the Osun River at a point on the railroad from Lagos, 112 miles (180 km) southwest, and at the intersection of roads from Oshogbo, Ogbomosho, and Ile-Ife. Ede is one of the older towns of the Yoruba people. It is traditionally said to have been founded about 1500 by Timi Agbale, a hunter and warlord sent by Alaafin (Alafin; “King”) Kori of Old Oyo (Katunga), capital of the Oyo empire, to establish a settlement to protect the Oyo caravan route to Benin (127 miles [204 km] to the southeast). Ede is a local trading centre for cotton, palm produce, yams, corn (maize), cassava (manioc), pumpkins, okra, and kola nuts, and it has been a major exporting point for cocoa and palm oil and kernels since the construction of the railway from Lagos in 1906. Ede is also the site of a teacher-training college. Pop. (2006) local government area, 159,866.