Igbo Ora, the capital town of Ibarapa Central Local Government Area of Oyo State is adjudged to be the twins capital of the world. To clinch this title, the town is prominent for having 50 multiple births in every 1,000 births, according to available records. This surpasses the world average of 12 per 1,000.
Igbo Ora is surrounded by Idere, Ayete, Tapa, Igangan, Eruwa and Lanlate and it is located 80 kilometers away from Lagos. The sleepy town is mostly made up of farmers and traders and takes pride in eating okra leaves soup with amala. This staple food, popular among natives and people in surrounding communities is believed to be the twins-making potent of the Igbo Ora people.
A gynaecologist, Dr. Kudirat Aminu, said identical twins are formed when a single fertilised egg randomly divides into two separate embryos, resulting in genetically identical siblings.
She added that non-identical twins, also known as fraternal twins, are conceived when the mother releases two separate eggs simultaneously, and both are fertilised by different sperm, producing siblings with unique genetic profiles.
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Experts say that twinning rates have risen globally as compared to the 1980s due to the preponderance of fertility treatments and InVitro Fertilisation options. However, multiple births in Igbo Ora are said to be natural and uninfluenced. In the town, the majority of the twins are non-identical consisting of the same genders or mixed.
The traditional ruler of the town, Olu of Igbo-Ora, Oba Jimoh Olajide Titiloye confirmed to Weekend Trust that all houses and families in the town have two or more twins. While debunking the assumption that he is also a twin, he affirmed that he has twins as children and as siblings.
During a tour round the town, Weekend Trust noticed the commonality of twins within households, shops and along the streets. Two elderly female twins who said that they had more than 20 twins from their maternal families and 20 more from their fraternal background spoke with Weekend Trust. One of the twins, Mrs Kehinde Oladosu, said, “We have more than 20 twins within our maternal family. The same applies to our father’s family too. Our parents are indigenes of this town. My husband is a twin too. We don’t have twins, but our children will soon start birthing twins.” She said.
The 49-year-old twins attributed the prominent birth of twins to the consumption of a particular vegetable; okra leaf (Yoruba: Ilasa) which they usually eat with yam flour swallow (Amala). They also mentioned two species of yam; Dioscorea rotundata (kòkòrò) and wateryam; Dioscorea alata (Ewura in Yoruba) as a nutritional contribution to the birth of twins in the town. This, they said is according to oral tradition passed down from their forefathers. They added that God gives their children twins because it is a divine grace for those who have twins in their lineage to birth twins.
Asked why they are always together, the other twin, Mrs. Taiwo Ipadeola replied, “We do the same work that is why you will always see us together. It is nice to have someone like you as a twin, we don’t leave one another.”
Taiwo Omowale, also an indigene of the town, said neighbouring towns who eat the same staple foods do not record the number of multiple births like Igbo Ora. This, he attributed to divine grace and the mysterious soil of the Igbo Ora, which, according to him, distinguishes the yams and okra leaves from the same species planted elsewhere.
Another indigene, also a twin, Mr. Hassan Okunade, who is a retired Permanent Secretary, noted that to be a twin is a gift from Allah and a subject strictly founded on genetics. There is no empirical proof to show that our choice of meals is influencing the birth of twins. He added that there is no mystery behind the birth of twins whatsoever.
He added, “I am the second set of twins because my mother had three sets of twins. Truly, there is no compound in Igbo Ora, where you won’t get at least two or more sets of twins. We are very proud of this record. There has been historical evidence to support this. The Rockefeller Foundation conducted some research in the 60s and they concluded that Igbo Ora has the highest frequency of multiple births in the country. That has been sustained since then.
“The Oyo State government recognises this and celebrates with us every October 2nd, when we hold our annual Twins Festival. There is a standing committee responsible for that. All the 33 LGAs in Oyo State are usually represented in the festival. It has great potential of becoming better.”
The Olu of Igbo Ora also noted that the University of Ibadan is currently coordinating research to unravel the circumstances surrounding the prominent birth of twins in the town.
“We hope that the status of the community as the twin capital of the world would translate to better tourism and economic potential. Presently, we celebrate the annual Twins Festival every October, the state governor is always present and we hope this festival and other potentials of this town expand and attract the global community to our town,” he said.
Dr. Eniola Usman, a general practitioner explained that other causes of the popularity of multiple births in a particular race or ethnicity are not known. The only explanation is that genetics plays a great role. “Multiple births have been recorded to be common among black people. As for Igbo Ora, the indigenes probably have a long-standing history of multiple births in their lineages. Also, the particular genetic composition responsible for multiple births must be very dominant there. Whoever marries from such lineage is prone to having twin children.” She said.
Weekend Trust gathered that twins in Yorùbá land are presumed to be prestigious personalities of great cultural and spiritual value. While the culture of worshipping the twin goddess is effacing, many are still involved in the cultural rituals of annual twinning festivities, praise singing of twins, pampering of twins and showering them with attention. In the last ten years, Igbo Ora has been celebrating its annual Twins Festival, which was initiated by Taiwo and Kehinde Oguntoye; popularly known as Twins Tourism. According to them, the World Twins Festival was birthed to promote the uniqueness of multiple births and to showcase the tourism potentials of the land of twins and to celebrate the town’s heritage among the locals.
“We initiated the festival that can celebrate the uniqueness of twins and multiple births over a decade ago. It started as the Naija Twins Festival in Ibadan (2009) and we designed Twins Pilgrimage, which is a special pilgrimage to the land of Twins, Igboora. The festival has grown into a world-class event; World Twins Festival.
“The contributions of the festival include creating global awareness for the town. Year in and year out, there is patronage of businesses in the town. We have grown the festival to attract the attendance of the state governor and many dignitaries every year. The festival has demonstrated that twins are to be celebrated and not to be killed.
“No doubt, our experiences as twins have influenced our interests in this regard. We have been celebrated across the world. It is a great experience to be the first set of twins in the world to be celebrated by the world’s busiest airport in the USA and to be recognised by the Oyo State Government. Indeed it has been a blessing. Twins are unique beings that create natural attraction and interests,” Taiwo said.
While the town continues to bask in the euphoria of holding the highest world record of twin births, researchers are preoccupied with empirical explanations as to the cause. A takeaway from the encounter with the Igbo Ora people is that in addition to their homely and hospitable nature, they profess such optimism and assurances that they will always birth twins, irrespective of the race or ethnicity to which they get married.
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