Oduduwa was a Yoruba divine king, legendary founder of the Ife Empire and a creator deity (orisha) in the Yoruba religion. His earthly origins are from the village of Oke Ora According to tradition, he was the holder of the title of the Olofin of Ile-Ife, the Yoruba holy city. He ruled briefly in Ife, and also served as the progenitor of a number of independent royal dynasties in Yorubaland.
The Ijaw people, also spelled Ịjọ, are an ethnic group found in the Niger Delta region in Nigeria, with primary population clusters in Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers. They are also have significant population clusters in Edo, Ondo and small parts of Akwa Ibom occupying six Nigerian states. Many are found as migrant fishermen in camps and settlements in Benue, and Kogi states and as far west as Sierra Leone, Ghana and as far east as Gabon. As of 2023, Nigeria's Ijaw population is estimated at over 15 million, accounting for around 6.9% of the country's 223 million people, positioning them as the fourth largest ethnic group in Nigeria. The Ijaws are the most populous tribe inhabiting the Niger Delta region, and one of the world's most ancient peoples.
The culture of Nigeria is shaped by Nigeria's multiple ethnic groups. The country has 527 languages, seven of which are extinct. Nigeria also has over 1,150 dialects and ethnic groups. The three largest ethnic groups are the Hausas that are predominantly in the north, the Yorubas who predominate in the southwest, and the Igbos in the southeast. There are many other ethnic groups with sizeable populations across the different parts of the country. The Kanuri people are located in the northeast part of Nigeria, the Tiv people are in the north central, and the Efik-Ibibio are in the south South. The Bini people are most frequent in the region between Yorubaland and Igboland.
The Itsekiri are an ethnic group who mainly inhabit Nigeria's Niger Delta area. They speak a Yoruboid language and can be found in Ondo, Edo and Delta State. The Itsekiris presently transcends a population of over 1 million people and live mainly in parts of Ondo, Edo and majorly in the Warri South, Warri North and Warri South West local government districts of Delta State on the Atlantic coast of Nigeria.
The Awori is a subgroup of the Yoruba people speaking a dialect of the Yoruba language. The Awori people are the original inhabitants of Lagos State and some parts of Ogun State, namely Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State. The Awori people are landowners, farmers and fishermen.
The Yoruba people are a West African ethnic group who mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by the Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute more than 50 million people in Africa, are over a million outside the continent, and bear further representation among members of the African diaspora. The vast majority of the Yoruba population is today within the country of Nigeria, where they make up 20.7% of the country's population according to Ethnologue estimations, making them one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa. Most Yoruba people speak the Yoruba language, which is the Niger-Congo language with the largest number of native or L1 speakers.
The Eastern Apoi tribe of the Ijaw people is located in central Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The Eastern Apoi tribe is small and geographically isolated. Apoi settlements include: Keme-ebiama, Kolokologbene, Ogboinbiri, Sampou, Gbaran, Kassama, and Azama. Migrants from the Eastern Apoi clan established the Western Apoi clan in Ondo State hundreds of years ago. Also, the Arogbo tribe traces its origins to a migration from the Apoi town of Gbaran.
The Arogbo Izon People "are a Clan or Sub-ethnic group of the larger Izon Nation in Nigeria. Izon Nation is one of the largest Ethnic Groups in the Niger Delta Natural Region. They are very valiant and courageous folks. They are domiciled in the Southeastern part of present-day Ondo State from about the 9th Century A.D. The Arogbo Izon Ibe covers over One Hundred And Twenty (120) Izon Towns and Villages with headquarters at AROGBO TOWN.
The Engenni people live in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. They are among the many sub Ijaw groups but they speak a language which linguistic scholars have described to be Edoid. They live in close proximity with other Ijaw people. They primarily live in Ahoada west local government area of Rivers state, Nigeria. Although they consider themselves to be Engenni, the Engenni speak an Edoid language. Alagoa (2003) said: “---The penetration of the Niger-Delta by Edoid groups extends to the Epie-Atissa and Engenni of the central and Eastern Niger-Delta----The Epie, along with the Ogbia and other groups of the central and eastern Niger-Delta, are historically united with the Ijaw.” The other groups of the central and eastern Niger-Delta which Professor Ebiegberi Alagoa said that were historically united with the Ijaw, include the Engenni, as shown from his narrative above. The Engenni have close relations with neighbouring Ijaw tribes such as the Zarama and Epie-Atissa.
Okitipupa is in Nigeria and part of the Ikale-speaking nation in Ondo State. Okitipupa Government headquarter is located in Okitipupa Major town with a university, Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology (OAUSTECH) which commenced academic sessions in 2010–11.
Ese Odo is a Local Government Area in Ondo State, Nigeria, populated by the Ijaw (Izon) ethnic sub groups of the Western Apoi tribe and the Arogbo tribe. Its headquarters are in the town of Igbekebo and its one of the LGA with crude oil in Ondo State. The biggest towns within this Local Government Area are Kiribo, Arogbo, Igbobini, Igbotu,and Igbekebo.
Irele is a local government area in Ondo State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Ode-Irele. It was originally part of the old Ikale LGA, which was split into Irele and Okitipupa LGAs. It has an area of 939.6 square kilometres (363 sq mi) and had a population of 144,136 at the 2006 census.
Ìlàje is a Local Government Area in Ondo State, South-West Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Igbokoda. The Ilajes are a distinct migratory coastal linguistic group of Yoruba peoples spread along the coastal belts of Ondo, Ogun, Lagos and Delta states and originally made up of four geo-political entities, namely: Ode Ugbo, Ode Mahin, Ode Etikan and Aheri. While most towns and villages in the Mahin kingdom are distributed on arable lands, the towns and villages in the other three polities of Ugbo, Aheri and Etikan kingdoms are spread out along the beaches and swampy terrain of the Atlantic Ocean coast.
The Itsekiri language is a major branch of the Yoruboid group of languages, which as a group, is a key member of the Volta–Niger sub-family of the Niger–Congo family of African languages. Itsekiri is spoken by nearly 1,000,000 people in Nigeria as a first language and by many others as an additional language notably in the Niger Delta and in parts of Edo and Ondo states of Nigeria. The other key members of the Yoruboid group are Yoruba and Igala along with the various Yoruba dialects spoken in Benin and Togo.
Ado-Odo is the metropolitan headquarters of the ancient kingdom of Ado, renowned for its Oduduwa/Obatala temple, the ancient fortress of the traditional practice of Ifá. Oodu'a is also regarded by traditionalists as the mother of all other deities. All of these made Ado an inviolate territory in western Yorubaland—the same "father-figure" status accorded to Ile-Ife. Unlike the other kingdoms, which had at one time or the other engaged in the internecine wars that ravaged Yorubaland in the nineteenth century, Ado stood out as an unconquered sanctuary city-state throughout the period.
Izon, also known as (Central–Western) Ijo, Ijaw, Izo and Uzo, is the dominant Ijaw language, spoken by a majority of the Ijaw people of Nigeria.
Asarama is a riverine city in Andoni, Rivers State, Nigeria. It borders Bori to the north, Nkoro to the east, Ngo to the south, and Bonny and the Kalabari Kingdom to the west.
The Ọwọrọ ethnic nationality represents a group of people around the Niger-Benue confluence speaking a Yoruba dialect called Oworo. They are generally classified as part of Northeast Yoruba (NEY) of the Yoruba people.
The Okun people are the Yoruba speaking people found majorly in Kogi, but with settlements in Kwara, Ekiti, and Ondo states of Nigeria. Their dialects are generally classified in the Northeast Yoruba language (NEY) grouping. They are collectively called "Okun", which in Okun dialects could mean "Sorry", "Well-done", or as an all-encompassing greeting. Similarly, this form of greeting is also found among the Ekiti, Ijesha and Igbomina groups of Yoruba people.
Ode Usen, also known as Ufe kekere and Ode Awure is the name of a small town in Edo state, Nigeria. It also doubles as the name of a Yoruba subgroup consisting of culturally related villages situated between Ofosu in the west and Ogbese in the east. Usen is surrounded on all sides by smaller villages and farmsteads known in the local Yoruba dialect as Egunre. some of the villages under the authority of Usen include; Arere, Oladaro, Arekpa, Ogunweyin, Ogidigbo, Ilorin (Ulorin), Ukankan, Ajegunle, Obome, Aghakpo, Leleji, Ofaran, Okeodo, Adeyanba. These villages were all founded by people from Usen and speak the same dialect of the Yoruba language. There are also other communities that speak the same dialect of the Yoruba language as Usen, such as; Egbeta, Utese and Igue Ogho between Ekiadọlọ and Usen.
