This archive report was first published on 16 October 2019.
Located in southwest Nigeria, the town of Igbo-Ora is a unique place where the highest concentration of multiple births can be found anywhere on the planet.
As of 2019, the town hosts an annual festival to celebrate its self-proclaimed title, which draws hundreds of sets of twins from around the country.
During the festival, twins, both old and young, including newborns, sang and danced in their traditional clothes and costumes, entertaining an admiring audience.
"We feel elated that we are being honoured today," said Kehinde Durowoju, a 40-year-old twin, as he hugged his identical brother Taiwo.
"With this event, the whole world will better appreciate the importance of Ibeji (twins) as special children and gifts from God," he added.
According to population experts, the Yoruba-speaking southwest has one of the highest twinning rates in Nigeria, with an average of 45 to 50 sets of twins per 1,000 live births in the region, as recorded by British gynaecologist Patrick Nylander between 1972 and 1982.
Residents in Igbo-Ora claim that almost every family has some twins, and traditional leader Jimoh Olajide Titiloye, who is a twin himself, said that there is hardly any household in the town that does not have at least a set of twins.
While twins are seen as a blessing by many today, it has not always been the case in parts of southern Nigeria, where twins were often regarded as evil and were either banished to the 'evil forest' or killed in pre-colonial times.
