Saki

Nigeria

Also known as: Shaki

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Also spelled:: Shaki

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Saki, town, Oyo state, western Nigeria. It lies near the source of the Ofiki River (the chief tributary of the Ogun River), about 40 miles (60 km) from the Benin border. Originally part of the Oyo empire, Saki became a Yoruba refugee settlement after the destruction in 1835 of Old Oyo (Katunga), 70 miles (113 km) east-northeast, by Muslim Fulani conquerors. By the early 1860s the Yoruba Mission had established an Anglican church in the town.

Modern Saki is an exporter of cotton, swamp rice, teak, and tobacco. The flue curing of tobacco has been important in the area since 1940. Indigo is grown in the area for local dyeing, and the town is a traditional centre of cotton weaving. Yams, cassava (manioc), corn (maize), sorghum, beans, shea nuts, and okra are grown for subsistence. Cattle raising is increasing in importance, and there is a government livestock station. Saki has a government hospital. A 1,600-foot (488-metre) inselberg (isolated hill) rises above the surrounding savanna. Pop. (2006) local government area, 388,225.

This article was most recently revised and updated by John M. Cunningham.