IGBO-O̩RA, O̩YO̩ STATE HAS THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF TWINS IN THE WORLD.
By Taiwo Abio̩dun
Twins, the birth of two offspring from the same pregnancy, is a relatively uncommon phenomenon, and as such, twins are often regarded as special.
Worldwide, the birth rate of twins varies by region and country. Latin America and South East Asia have the lowest rates, with only about 9 sets of twins per every 1,000 births.
In Europe, the figure is about 16 twins for every 1,000 births, and in the United States, it is about 33 for every 1,000 births.
In the central Africa region, that number raises to around 18 to 30 sets of twins for every 1,000 births.
However, the Yoruba people of south West Nigeria boast the highest number of twin births in the world, with about 50 sets of twins for every 1,000 live births.
In Yoruba land, one town in particular appears to take the prize for the highest number of multiple births in the world.
Igbo O̩ra, a sleepy agrarian town 80 kilometers from Lagos, is easily the twin capital of the world, confirmed estimates from the town say it boasts a mind-blowing 158 sets of twins for every 1,000 live births.
At the entrance to the town, visitors are welcomed with a large plinth, which proudly celebrates its reputation as “the land of twins.”
While there is no empirical reason for the high incidence of twin births in the town, around Yoruba land, fertility experts say a possible explanation for the high incidence of multiple births in the area could lie in the consumption of a specific type of yam containing a natural phytoestrogen, which is thought to stimulate a woman’s ovaries to release eggs from each side.
The locals and residents of Igbo O̩ra, however, say the secret of their multiple births lie in their staple, which consists of the leaf of an okro plant and yam.
In a 2013 interview, a community leader said, “We eat a lot of the okro leaf or Ilasa soup. We also eat a lot of yam and these diets influence multiple births.”
Hardly could one get to a household at Igbo O̩ra in O̩yo̩ State, without seeing a set of twins. The indigenes believe that a kind of okro leaves, locally known as Ewe Ilasa, is capable of making women who use it give birth to twins.
Taiwo Abio̩dun who visited the town writes on this phenomenon.
At the mere mentioning of Taiye or Kęhinde in the public place could trigger a simultaneous response from more than four people.
In other words, the names, being what twins are called (the former for the one who came first and the latter for the one who followed) in Yoruba land, unusually have more than one claimant in this land.
