Idiroko is a town in

Ipokia Ipokia is the metropolitan headquarters of Anago kingdom. It is an ancient kingdom in old Oyo empire. Unlike the other kingdoms, which had at one time or the other engaged in the internecine wars that ravaged Yorubaland in the nineteenth century, ...

local government of

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. Ogun State borders Lagos State to the south, Oyo State and Osun State to the north, Ondo State to the east, and the Republic of Benin to the ...

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 situated along the Nigeria-

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

border and has been an official border crossing point since at least the 1960s. The town is surrounded by many other towns and villages including Oniro, Oke Odan, Ilase,

Ita Egbe Ita Egbe is a village located in Ipokia , Ipokia Local Government Area of Ogun State with the population of 1776 as of 1963 according to the Nigeria Population Census, it is noted for its extensive agricultural activities around the area and by be ...

, Ajilete amongst others. Due to the location of an official cross-border post and as a result of cross-border trading activities within the frontier town, Idiroko has grown from a village to become a town. The residents of Idiroko are multilingual because of their mixed culture due to cross-cultural contact and intermarriages.

Geography and environment

Idiroko is located on the Nigeria-Benin border along the Lagos-

Badagry Badagry (traditionally Gbagli) also spelled Badagri, is a coastal town and Local Government Area (LGA) in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is quite close to the city of Lagos, and located on the north bank of Porto Novo Creek, an inland waterway that con ...

Porto Novo Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of Gu ...

highway. The area is about 55 meters above sea level and along the West African coastal plain. The average annual rainfall is between 1500 mm and 2000 mm. The weather pattern follows those of nearby communities with a rainy season from May to October.

People

The indigenous people of Idiroko are the

Yorubas The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

, the Anago and the

Egun The Gun people, also rendered Ogũ, Ogun and Egun, are an ethnic group located majorly in Lagos and Ogun State in southwestern Nigeria, and Ouémé Department in the southeast of the Republic of Benin, who speak the Gun language. The Ogu accoun ...

and languages spoken by residents include Nigerian Pidgin, French, English and Yoruba. Idiroko also has a large transient population as a result of cross border trading. Historically, the people of Idiriko and the town of Igolo were one community until the partitioning of the area in the nineteenth century by the French who took Igolo and the British who claimed Idiroko. The present area known as Idiroko is a combination of various settler wards including Ikolaje, Eti-koto, Itaoba, Sale, Idiroko, Kajola and Ajegunle.

Economy

The area surrounding the town has a thick vegetation which provides timber logs for surrounding communities. Apart from lumbering, farming and trading of food produce is another major activity of residents of Idiroko. Though farming is largely used for subsistence living, it sometimes provides stock used by women for produce trading in the town.

Smuggling

Due to the location of the town along the Nigeria-Benin border, an illegal smuggling trade exists within the settlement. Illegal cross-border trade is carried out by settlers and transient populations using knowledge of the local population to create alternative routes within the border. Among the goods smuggled are petrol, poultry, tyres, motor parts, drugs, cars and electronics. There exist at least six illegal entry points in the area. The frontier post is also used by human traffickers to carry young girls and boys from the Republic of Benin into Nigeria. Sometimes, the underage children are leased by their parents to work in Lagos for a stipulated time frame. Most of the children are taken from Benin to serve as maid or house helps in Nigerian households.

Government

Idiroko is located in Ipokia local government. Because it is a border town, it has administrative units of the

Nigerian police The Nigeria Police Force is the principal law enforcement and the lead security agency in Nigeria. Designated by the 1999 constitution as the national police of Nigeria with exclusive jurisdiction throughout the country, as at 2016 it has a s ...

, army,

customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

and immigration stationed in the town. Traditionally, the town is ruled by the Oba, the Oniko of Idiroko, who is aided by a council of chiefs.

References

Sources

****{{coord missing, Nigeria Populated places in Ogun State