Tribal bigots ruined the other thread for us, so I made this one because I wish to educate others on how we Yoruba Ijaws came to be.



Ondo State is unique because we are a lot like the mid-belt region of Nigeria.

There are so many tribes in Ondo state that it is ridiculous, and many believe this is why the ekitis could leave the state so easily.

I'm not here to talk of other tribes though, I'm here to talk about the Ijaw Apois and ijaw arogbo.

these two groups are the indigenous ijaw groups of Ondo state.

l myself am from Gbekebo, and I'm an Ijaw apoi by extraction.

From the way my father described it to me, we migrated from one of the ijaw state to the Lagos coastal areas hundreds of years ago.

During the slave trade era however, a lot of us moved to the Ondo coastal areas to escape capture and to farm.

those farms gradually built-up as more family members moved in and we eventually occupied what is today recognized as Apoi land. This is why we speak a dialect of Yoruba with a mix of our original ijaw dialect.

I hear the Ijaw arogbos however migrated directly from bayelsa to start living with us apois once our community was prospering. which is why they still retain their original dialect from bayelsa.

Keep in mind that this is a guess, but I'll say we make about 7-12% of Ondo state's population.

this is a ridiculous percentage when you consider that there are over 15 recognized tribes in Ondo state alone.

We don't control the state because the Ondo, Ilaje, and owo people wield more influence than us. we are however the fourth most influential group in the region.

the only reason Akeredolu even became governor is because his deputy is an ijaw man. By the normal arrangements, the next governor will come either from us, the akure people, or from the Ikales.

the majority of us see ourselves as just another Yoruba tribe because of how long we've stayed there, but recognize our own uniqueness enough to distinguish ourselves.

To the average Ondo ijaw man, we are both Yoruba and Ijaw.

Ondo state is a yoruba state....qed..

No addition no deduction.

Thanks young man.
Am more enlightened now.
NOTE first time i am reading a thread of a reply about Ijaws and there is no threat of violence. Sorry to say i was disappointed because i was expecting the usual Ijaw threat that follows all their threads here on nairaland.

MelesZenawi:
Ondo state is a yoruba state....qed..


No addition no deduction.

That is not quite right, I happen to be from the state.

While we can and do claim to be Yoruba, we're more of a grey area.

Ondo and Ekiti are the two southwest states that have more than 40% non-oduduwa groups.

I have sometimes told people not to call Mr Yoruba when I feel like laying claim to either my ijaw or my unique Apoi heritage.

No one ruined the other thread, we just gave you afonjas a dose of your own medicine. You like to divide other people especially Igbos in SS. Now when they do it to you, you go mad.

Mcreloaded:
Thanks young man.
Am more enlightened now.
NOTE first time i am reading a thread of a reply about Ijaws and there is no threat of violence. Sorry to say i was disappointed because i was expecting the usual Ijaw threat that follows all their threads here on nairaland.

Thanks
I've witnessed it a lot myself and I'm always embarrassed.
my people are too violent

Success1020:
No one ruined the other thread, we just gave you afonjas a dose of your own medicine. You like to divide other people especially Igbos in SS. Now when they do it to you, you go mad.

the problem with that is that instead of sharing knowledge, it becomes like hearing 5-year olds argue.

I'm also guilty of slinging mud myself sometimes, but I've always swung it politely

raybaba97:


That is not quite right, I happen to be from the state.

While we can and do claim to be Yoruba, we're more of a grey area.

Ondo and Ekiti are the two southwest states that have more than 40% non-oduduwa groups.

I have sometimes told people not to call Mr Yoruba when I feel like laying claim to either my ijaw or my unique Apoi heritage.

Is absolutely light. You can't just wake up and say u not yoruba..

You speak, u dress, culturally infact every every u like them...even raybaba as moniker...and you decide to come up with this.

I don't agree or try to enforce Ignorance.


Ondo is a Yoruba state and you are a Yoruba man.

MelesZenawi:




Is absolutely light. You can't just wake up and say u not yoruba..

You speak, u dress, culturally infact every every u like them...even raybaba as moniker...and you decide to come up with this.

I don't agree or try to enforce Ignorance.


Ondo is a Yoruba state and you are a Yoruba man.

that's what I'm trying to get at.

Our culture is not the same. we do a lot of things differently and we have different gods. we have oborowe and some others here not Ogun and the rest of their ilk.

we have different cultural dresses, our marriage ceremonies differ, and more.

we're guilty of being Yoruba by association and not by origin.

we're too different to be core Yoruba even though a lot of us see ourselves that way.

I'm not being political or anything like it, I'm just trying to establish certain facts which is that we are a different type of Yoruba

raybaba97:


that's what I'm trying to get at.

Our culture is not the same. we do a lot of things differently and we have different gods. we have oborowe and some others here not Ogun and the rest of their ilk.

we have different cultural dresses, our marriage ceremonies differ, and more.

we're guilty of being Yoruba by association and not by origin.

we're too different to be core Yoruba even though a lot of us see ourselves that way.

I'm not being political or anything like it, I'm just trying to establish certain facts which is that we are a different type of Yoruba

Different type of yoruba as far as it ends you been Yorubas is still okay and acceptable.

raybaba97:


That is not quite right, I happen to be from the state.

While we can and do claim to be Yoruba, we're more of a grey area.

Ondo and Ekiti are the two southwest states that have more than 40% non-oduduwa groups.

I have sometimes told people not to call Mr Yoruba when I feel like laying claim to either my ijaw or my unique Apoi heritage.

Ekiti does not have any history of Oduduwa, check your records.

Ondo state is a Yoruba state..

Relocating/migrating to New York does not make one New Yorkers

Charleys:

Ekiti does not have any history of Oduduwa, check your records.

I suspected but wasn't sure

helinues:
Ondo state is a Yoruba state..
Relocating/migrating to New York does not make one New Yorkers

it does if you've been there over a century.
it also doesn't if you maintain your culture

raybaba97:


it does if you've been there over a century.

it also doesn't if you maintain your culture

Are you a confusionists?

helinues:


Are you a confusionists?

I'm trying to say it's not straightforward
it isn't a yes or no question

raybaba97:


I'm trying to say it's not straightforward
it isn't a yes or no question

It is.. If you are not an indigene of a place, you might not have full access to some certain things..

Charleys:


Ekiti does not have any history of Oduduwa, check your records.

What about Yoruba civil war that involved Ibadan, war lord and Ijeha Ekiti warlords (Ekitiparapo) and also consider that Ekit worship the same gods ifa, ogun, osun etc

lekan208:



What about Yoruba civil war that involved Ibadan, war lord and Ijeha Ekiti warlords (Ekitiparapo) and also consider that Ekit worship the same gods ifa, ogun, osun etc

I was talking of Oduduwa.

raybaba97:


I'm trying to say it's not straightforward
it isn't a yes or no question

Bro how can you be 7% to 10% when you only occupy tne the least occupied local government area in Ondo state.

You are not even the only ones in Ese Odo, there are some Ilaje amongst you.

Finally, can you mention the other tribes in Ondo state.


Please also tell me how the Deputy governor Aboola Ajayi is an Ijaw as you alleged

And you migrated from Bayelsa state not Lagos. Please don't twist history

Iamgrey5:
Bro how can you be 7% to 10% when you only occupy the one the least occupied local government area in Ondo state.

You are not even the only ones in Ese Odo, there are some Ilaje amongst you.

Finally, can you mention the other tribe in Ondo state.


Please also tell me how the Deputy governor Aboola Ajayi is an Ijaw as you alleged

He's from my local government (An Ijaw Apoi from Kiribo).

Ondo state has a lot of tribes and you'll find that the ones with the highest population don't form more than 15% of the population.

Ijaws are indigenous to one local government, but we've spread to most major towns and cities in Ondo south to central.
From ore, oppa, Ondo, Akure etc.

I don't know much about ekiti history beyond our split though, so I can't comment much.
maybe some of our ekiti members can enlighten us.

I know of akoko, ilaje, ikale, apoi, arogbo, Ondo, ekiti, issua, owo, but I've heard there are more.

Once you realize that most of these tribes exceed 7% population, my statistics start making sense to you.

Understood. Happy Sunday!

Bleep whatever...... Ondo state is a yoruba state period anyone who don't wanna respect us should pack is fucking bags out..

raybaba97:


He's from my local government (An Ijaw Apoi from Kiribo).

Ondo state has a lot of tribes and you'll find that the ones with the highest population don't form more than 15% of the population.

Ijaws are indigenous to one local government, but we've spread to most major towns and cities in Ondo south to central.
From ore, oppa, Ondo, Akure etc.

I don't know much about ekiti history beyond our split though, so I can't comment much.
maybe some of our ekiti members can enlighten us.

Bro you are still lying here

Tell me the other tribes in Ondo.


Mention them !

And while you might have migrated to other regions in small numbers. You only dominate Ese odo LGA hence you can not be more than 5% in Ondo.


And No, the current Deputy governor is not Ijaw.

raybaba97:
I know of akoko, ilaje, ikale, apoi, arogbo, Ondo, ekiti, issua, owo, but I've heard there are more.

when you realize that most of these tribes exceed 7% population, my statistics start making sense to you.

Ilaje, ikale, issua ekiti, owo are all part of the Yoruba ethnic group.

Like Oyo and Egba, Egbado, Ijebu etc.

So what is your point.

Ok

Iamgrey5:
Ilaje, ikale, issua ekiti, owo are all part of the Yoruba ethnic group.

Like Oyo and Egba, Egbado, Ijebu etc.

So what is your point.

Thanks for this response to op, in addition, I am an Ekiti man from Oye LG. We are not a separate tribe, but a sub group of Yoruba culture. And yes, we originated directly from Oduduwa. So please don’t try to throw confusion with history here. Migrating through the riverine areas does not make you a native to other people’s land. If you like a dual identity as you claimed, just go back to your ancestral land and do that there. For example, I am fourth generation Lagosian, but my ancestral land can never be Lagos, and I cannot claim to sometimes be Awori and sometimes Ekiti when it suits me. That’s just pure and undiluted garbage. Thanks.

Iamgrey5:
Ilaje, ikale, issua ekiti, owo are all part of the Yoruba ethnic group.

Like Oyo and Egba, Egbado, Ijebu etc.

So what is your point.

I'd like you to tell that to someone from that tribe and hear their reply.

My mum is from issua ekiti by the way.

Iamgrey5:
Ilaje, ikale, issua ekiti, owo are all part of the Yoruba ethnic group.

Like Oyo and Egba, Egbado, Ijebu etc.

So what is your point.

I'd like you to tell that to someone from that tribe and hear their reply.

My mum is issua ekiti by the way.

rosebowl01:


Thanks for this response to op, in addition, I am an Ekiti man from Oye LG. We are not a separate tribe, but a sub group of Yoruba culture. And yes, we originated directly from Oduduwa. So please don’t try to throw confusion with history here. Migrating through the riverine areas does not make you a native to other people’s land. If you like a dual identity as you claimed, just go back to your ancestral land and do that there. For example, I am fourth generation Lagosian, but my ancestral land can never be Lagos, and I cannot claim to sometimes be Awori and sometimes Ekiti when it suits me. That’s just pure and undiluted garbage. Thanks.

ours was a different case. the land was just wilderness when we migrated there and owned by nobody.

we cleared it, developed it, and had lived there for more than 10 generations before Nigeria was even conceived.
we've even been winning court cases over it.
it's our land alright.

I'm not saying we are not Yoruba, I'm saying we can only be called Yoruba by location and diffusion of culture.

we're the farthest from the Yoruba's in everything cultural and origin compared to other tribes.

raybaba97:


I'd like you to tell that to someone from that tribe and hear their reply.

My mum is from issua ekiti by the way.

Bro not a single Yoruba dialect does not not have variation.

I am tempted to think you are not from Ondo, otherwise you should know this perfectly.

Most people from outside Yorubaland believe the Oyo-Youruba dialect is the only Yoruba dialect that exist.

What unites Yourubas is our cultural heritage i.e our Religious believes, names, societal norms. etc.