Vol. 15, No. 1, June - December 2023

The location of the Ilorin as a frontier Emirate gave it ample opportunity to mediate between the North and South of Nigeria. The town is a mixed grill of both Yoruba and Northern Nigerian ethnic groups who were generally refer to as “Hausa” even though, there are others like; Nupe, Kanuri, Kembari, Baruba, Arewa among others who settled in Gambari Quarters of Ilorin. The vegetation also provided another advantage for the people of Ilorin Emirate in terms of agricultural practices. It is a mixture of both forest and savannah vegetations. Geographically, it is located in Guinea savannah. The major characteristic of the Guinea Savannah is moderate rainfalls that occur from March to October. This allows for extensive agriculture activities in both crop production and animal husbandry. These identified features of Ilorin Emirate (Location, Multiple ethnicity and vegetation) contributed to its economic growth, transformation especially agricultural boom under the colonial rule. It is as a result of the foregoing that this paper intends to historicize the process of economic transformation during the colonial period using agriculture as a case study. This is to further demonstrate the agricultural endowment of Ilorin Emirate which can be explored by the governments at all levels to address food insecurity.

Keywords: colonial rule, economy transformation, Ilorin Emirate, agriculture