Of New York State and Oyo State

There are some interesting developments common between New York State and Oyo State. New York City in New York State is the largest city of the United States of America while Ibadan City in Oyo State used to be the largest city in Nigeria.

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).

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).

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. Rooosevelt was Governor of New York State and Ige was Governor of Old Oyo State. Both of them served as governors 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

Latest Posts

Olayemi Cardoso: Steering Nigeria’s Macro Economy as Governor of the Central Bank

Since assuming office as Governor of the Central Bank...

Still on Osun and the election that was! (1)

With allegations about yet another killing, the never-ending saga...

Peter Obi’s Wife: Let’s Talk About Her Handbag

It is difficult to argue that many Nigerians are...

The Professor Who Gave Me Rehabilitation

A human being can save your life without your...

Don't miss

Nigerian Men and their Foreign Wives

Culturally, Nigerian men are overbearing, controlling, and paternalistic.  They relate to their fathers and mothers differently. They believe it is “a man’s world” and so they have the tendency to relegate women to subservient roles. I am stunned by the transformation Nigerian men, married to non-Nigerian women, have gone through in the United States...

Is Genevieve Nnaji Nigeria’s First Movie Superstar?

What is this Nnaji mystique that has her audience colliding heads so joyfully, crawling, craving some time in her sun? Star quality is what it is. The amount of talent dripping from her little finger is more than many of our other female leading ladies have combined...

Why Do African Men Go Home to Marry?

The African male is perplexing. He can be enigmatic. He can be everything and sometimes, nothing. He can be sweet and loving and caring and benevolent and at the same time oppressive. His life is full of contradictions. In so many ways, he is a wounded animal as a result of his historical past...

Mobil’s Oily Battle Over Intellectual Property Rights

The eight-year long battle between Commandclem Nigeria Limited and Mobil Producing Nigeria Limited, over ownership of patent and intellectual rights to a chemical invention for offshore drilling seems in sight…

Lost in a Sea of Hair Weaves

One can understand some black women wearing wigs for the same reasons that some white women do; because they are losing or have lost their hair. One can even make allowances for wigs being worn for the occasional change of look. But how to explain young women with full heads of hair who will never be seen dead with their natural hair?
Augustine Togonu-Bickersteth
Augustine Togonu-Bickersteth
Augustine Togonu-Bickersteth contributes from London, England.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here