New York City and Ibadan City

By
Augustine Togonu-Bickersteth
London, England

There are some interesting developments common between New York State and  Old Oyo State comprising now  Oyo State  and Osun State. New York City in New York State is the largest city in the United States of America while Ibadan City in Oyo State, the largest city in Nigeria. 

   New York has a mayor presently in the person of  Bill  de  Blasio and   Ibadan has instead, the traditional title basorun currently being held by Chief Kola Daisi, founder, Kola Daisi University, Ibadan.

  In addition to this   basorun  title, mention must be made of Iyalode of Ibadanland   which could be translated as the matriach of Ibadan city. The Iyalode - elect of Ibadan City is High Chief  (Mrs.) Theresa  Laduntan Oyekanmi .

New York City is the cultural capital of the U.S. and Ibadan City used to be the cultural capital of Nigeria. New York City is the publishing capital of the U.S. and Ibadan the publishing     capital of Nigeria.        In New York,  you have a well known monument to liberty – The Statue of Liberty. In Ibadan was also a well known monument to liberty – The Liberty Stadium (now Obafemi Awolowo Stadium). Over 60 million people visit New York every year. What about  Ibadan City?. Why not Ibadan city?

New York State and Oyo State have the best places for agricultural research of their respective countries.
In the U.S., it is the Cornell University, Ithaca, and in Oyo State, it is the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).       At Ibadan, precisely University of Ibadan we have the best programme in History in Nigeria also known as the Ibadan school of History. In New York City, precisely at Columbia University is the best programe in History in the U.S.    State University of New York, the largest in New York State, was founded in 1948 and 1948 also saw the founding of University of Ibadan, the largest university in Oyo State.
In New York State and Oyo State, we had Franklin Delano Roosevelt and James Ajibola Ige respectively. Roosevelt was Governor of New York State and Ige was Governor of Old Oyo State. Both of them served as governor for four years.

Roosevelt became President of the United States while Ige was a presidential aspirant. Franklin Roosevelt’s father, James Roosevelt, invested in the railway business whereas Bola Ige’s father, Solomom Ige, was a railway officer.

Roosevelt and Ige both studied at the premier degree-awarding institutions of their respective countries: Harvard College Cambridge and University College, Ibadan, respectively. Roosevelt and Ige were both lawyers. They both have been described as orators. What is more, they both died in office.

The seat of the Office of the Governor of New York is at Albany whereas the seat of the Office of the Governor of Oyo State is at Agodi. Indeed, what interesting coincidences!