Ijebu-Ode [key], town (1991 est. pop. 138,000), SW Nigeria. It is a commercial town and a collection point for cacao, kola nuts, and palm products. Manufactures include textiles, metal and clay products, processed timber and plywood, canned fruit and juice, and milled rice. Ijebu-Ode was the capital of the Yoruba Ijebu kingdom that was founded by the 15th cent. Long opposed to foreign contacts, the Ijebu kingdom remained closed to Europeans until 1892, when the British seized it in retaliation for the Ijebu's closing of the trade routes to the north during the Yoruba civil wars. The Ogun State College of Education and teachers colleges are there.
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