Ijora is a settlement in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

, Nigeria.

History

Ijora was originally a swampy and water-logged village where residents coming from Lagos Island could reach their homes with the use of canoes. The establishment of a

railway terminus A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

at Iddo, a nearby settlement boosted the importance of Ijora. In 1919, the colonial government commissioned a coal wharf at Ijora to unload coal for the use of the Nigerian Railway and the Ijora Thermal Station. In 1923, the government constructed the Ijora Thermal Station to generate electricity for the railway and the environs close to Ijora. In the 1960s, the

Lagos State Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West (Nigeria), southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, states, it is both the List of Nigerian states by population, most populous and List of Nigerian state ...

town planning authority and the Federal Government of Nigeria decided to zone tracts of land in the area for industrial use The new zoning led to the draining and further reclamation of land. The industrial estate used to be a base for the firms: K Maroun, Incar cars and West African Cold Storage. The Ijora

wharf A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring locatio ...

also functioned as an offloading point for frozen food.

Sections of Ijora

Other neighborhoods in Ijora include Ijora Oloye, Ijora-Badia and Ijora Olopa. Majority of these places are slums. Alleged members of

Boko Haram Boko Haram, officially known as ''Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād'' ( ar, جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد, lit=Group of the People of Sunnah for Dawah and Jihad), is an Islamic terrorist organization ...

were arrested at Ijora Oloye in 2013 and in 2016. Ijora-Olopa is a major frozen food market in Lagos. Ajeloro Fish Market in Ijora Coal Wharf is located in this neighborhood. Ijora-Badia is one of Lagos' under-serviced but high density areas. Many early inhabitants of Ijora-Badia are resettlers from Oluwole Village, when the village was acquired by the government for the construction of the National Theatre. Since the resettlement the neighborhood has grown with large number of people living close to the railway tract.

Transportation

Eko Bridge Eko Bridge is one of three bridges connecting Lagos Island to the mainland, the others are the Third Mainland and Carter bridges. The bridge was built in 1975 and is the shortest of the three bridges linking Lagos Island to mainlaind. Eko bridg ...

also known as the second mainland bridge starts from Ijora linking

Lagos Island Lagos Island (''Ìsàlẹ̀ Èkó'') is the principal and central local government area (LGA) in Lagos, it was the capital of Lagos State until 1957. It is part of the Lagos Division. As of the preliminary 2006 Nigerian census, the LGA had a pop ...

. The Ijora Causeway is a major route to

Apapa Apapa is a Local Government Area in Lagos, located to the west of Lagos Island. Apapa contains a number of ports and terminals operated by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), including the major port of Lagos State and Lagos Port Complex (LPC ...

Wharf. While the

Oshodi - Apapa Expressway Oshodi-Isolo (Yoruba: ''Oṣòdì-Ìsọlọ̀'') is a Local Government Area (LGA) within Lagos State. It was formed by the second republic Governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande, also known as 'Baba Kekere' and the first Executive ...

passes through Ijora. The proposed Blue Light Rail Project from

Okokomaiko Okokomaiko is an area in the town of Ojo, located in Lagos State, southwest Nigeria, along the Lagos- Badagry Expressway. The Lagos State government, under the leadership of the former governor Akinwunmi Ambode stretched the importance of this rout ...

to Marina has a stop close to Ijora.

Economy

The creation of an industrial estate in Ijora led to the establishment of industries in the area. Seven Up Bottling of Nigeria has a factory in the area. Ijora is also close to the Iganmu Industrial Estate and Iddo terminal. Cummins West Africa/Cummins Nigeria, a division of

Cummins Diesel Cummins Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, filtration, and power generation products. Cummins also services engines and related equipment, including fuel systems, controls, air ...

, is headquartered in Ijora.Home
Cummins West Africa/Cummins Nigeria. Retrieved on August 29, 2017. "Cummins West Africa. 8, Ijora Causeway, Ijora, Lagos"

References

{{coord, 6.467, 3.368, type:city_region:NG, display=title Neighborhoods of Lagos