Obafemi Awolowo University is a federal university in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife by the regional government of Western Nigeria, which was led by Samuel Ladoke Akintola. In August 1975, the Federal Government of Nigeria took over the University and in 1987 renamed it after Chief Obafemi Awolowo, a frontline Nigerian Statesman and one of the University's founding fathers.
The University is situated on a vast expanse of land of 11,861 hectares in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Southwest of Nigeria. The Vision of the founders of the University was to establish an institution dedicated to the promotion of learning and culture.