Ajegunle, popularly known as "AJ City" or simply "AJ", is a neighbourhood located in the heart of
Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...
,
Lagos State
Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 states, it is both the most populous and smallest in area. Bounded to the south by the Bight of Benin and to the west by the international border with Ben ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
. It is located in the
Ajeromi-Ifelodun local government area of Lagos. Ajegunle in the
Yoruba language
Yoruba (, ; Yor. '; Ajami: ) is a language spoken in West Africa, primarily in Southwestern and Central Nigeria. It is spoken by the ethnic Yoruba people. The number of Yoruba speakers is roughly 50 million, plus about 2 million second-languag ...
means "A place where riches dwells."
It is bordered on the west by
Apapa Wharf and
Tincan
Celestine Cruz Gonzaga-Soriano (; born January 20, 1984), better known as Toni Gonzaga, is a Filipino singer, host, actress, producer, vlogger and entrepreneur. She is the former lead host of long-running reality show, ''Pinoy Big Brother''. To ...
, two of Nigeria's biggest sea ports through which over 70 percent of imported goods come into the country. Ajegunle has a population of about 550,000 residents from many of the
ethnic groups in Nigeria
Nigeria is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa, with approximately 218.5 million people in an area of , and is also the country with the largest population in Africa and the sixth largest population in the world.
Approximately ...
.
The community was subject to the
Ijaw Ijaw may refer to:
*Ijaw people
The Izon people or Izon Otu, otherwise known as the Ijaw people due to the historic mispronunciation of the name ''Izon'', are an ethnic group majorly found in the Niger Delta in Nigeria, with significant populatio ...
/
Ilaje
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, ...
conflict that became an inspiration for the album ''CRISIS,'' released in 2007 by
African China.
Notable residents
It has produced notable
footballers and musicians, including
Samson Siasia
Samson Siasia (born 14 August 1967) is a Nigerian former professional football striker and the former head coach of the Nigeria national team from 2010 to October 2011. He was reappointed in 2016.
On 16 August 2019, FIFA banned Siasia from all ...
, former coach of the
Nigeria national team,
Biodun Upe Obende, who plays in Finland, former
Manchester United striker
Odion Ighalo
Odion Jude Ighalo (born 16 June 1989) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Saudi Professional League club Al Hilal and the Nigeria national team.
After starting his career at Nigerian clubs Prime and Julius Ber ...
,
former
Super Eagles defender
Taribo West,
Chinwendu Ihezuo of the
Nigeria women's national team, and
Emmanuel Amuneke
Emmanuel Amunike (born 25 December 1970) is a Nigerian professional football manager and former professional football player who played as a winger. and is currently the assistant coach of Nigeria national team.
Playing career
He played fo ...
, former
African Footballer of the Year
African or Africans may refer to:
* Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa:
** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa
*** Ethn ...
.
Ajegunle was brought to limelight by the popular musician
Daddy Showkey
Daddy Showkey is a veteran Nigerian galala singer. His genre of music is called ghetto dance or simply ghetto. He was popular in Ajegunle in the late 1990s. He was born as John Odafe Asiemo but is known as Daddy Showkey all over the Ghetto. He ha ...
in the late 1990s.
References
{{Coord missing, Nigeria
Neighborhoods of Lagos
Slums in Nigeria