Ilaje
|
Ilaje Ayemafuge |
|
|---|---|
| LGA and Sub Tribe | |
| Ilaje Omuro | |
| Motto: Ayemafuge | |
| Country |
 Nigeria
|
| State | Ondo State |
| Elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| Time zone | WAT (UTC+1) |
Ilaje is a Local Government Area in Ondo State, 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coastal linguistic group of Yoruba peoples spread along the coastal belts of Ondo, Ogun, Lagos and Delta states, and originally made up of four geo-political entities namely: Ode Ugbo, Ode Mahin, Ode Etikan and Aheri.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 (Ode Mahin) are distributed on arable lands, the towns and villages in the other three geo-polities of Ugbo, Aheri and Etikan kingdoms are spread out along the beaches and swampy terrains of the Atlantic Ocean coast.
Some Ilajes were said to have left Ile Ife, their original ancestral home in the 10th century. They mainly occupy the Atlantic coastline of Ondo State of Nigeria while a large population of them settles on land in the hinterland. The area they occupy today is Ondo State, an outlet to the sea.
Ilaje land has an area of 1,318 km² and a population of 290,615 at the 2006 census although the population can be said to have been under enumerated due to the riverine nature of the area, and lack of accessibility by road/land. Towards the western reaches, the Aheri and Etikan share border with the Ijebus. The Ikale to the north bound the Mahins, the Itsekiri people who the Ilajes consider their cousins, share the eastern border with the Ugbos, the Yoruba speaking Apoi and Arogbo Ijaws are located to the north east in Ese Odo LGA, and the Atlantic ocean is situated on the southern boundary. The Ilajes are one of the most dynamic and enterprising people in Nigeria. Their aquatic skill, coupled with their ability to adapt enabled them to conquer their harsh geographical environment and turn it to their advantage. Consequently, they were able to build large communities like Ugbonla, Aiyetoro, Zion PePe and Orioke. Aiyetoro for example in its hey-days had the highest per capita income in the whole of Africa due to its early discovery of crude petroleum, and attracted visitors, tourists and researchers from all over the world.
Apart from petroleum found in the area, other mineral raw materials available in Ilajeland include glass sand, salt, Tar sand/Bitumen, quartz and clay. Agricultural products include: Fish, Poultry, piggery, Maize, Palm oil, Vegetables, Timber, Rafia, Poultry, Copra, cocoyam, Bananas and Cassava. The natural environment of Ilajeland is particularly suitable for the development of large scale rice plantations and the salt industry. The occupational activities of the Ilajes include fishing, canoe making, lumbering, net making, mat making, launch building, farming and trading. Fishing however remains the major agricultural preoccupation of the Ilaje. This is underscored by the fact that the Ilaje’s geographical sphere has one of the longest coastlines in Nigeria. Ilaje’s fishing dexterity is underlined by a popular saying among the Ilaje that:
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Wikipedia