The Ìjẹ̀bú people are a sub-ethnic group hailing from

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 ...

. They are a part of the broader

Yoruba people 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 constitut ...

who are native to south-central

Yorubaland Yorubaland () is the homeland and cultural region of the Yoruba people in West Africa. It spans the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Togo and Benin, and covers a total land area of 142,114 km2 or about 60% of the land area of Ghana. Of this ...

, located in the southwest of the country. The Ijebu people speak the Ijebu language, a dialect of 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 ...

Description

The Ijebu share boundaries on the north with the

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...

, on the west with the Egba and on the east with the

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, ...

, all of which are other subgroups of the

Yoruba 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 Ijebus are one of the most populous of all of the sub-ethnic groups of the broader Yoruba ethnic group. and were allegedly the first Yoruba sub-ethnic group to establish relations with the Europeans in the 15th century. The Ijebus, though split into various divisions (including

Ijebu Ode Ijebu-Ode is a town in Ogun State, South Western geopolitical zone in Nigeria, close to the A121 highway. The city is located 110 km by road north-east of Lagos; it is within of the Atlantic Ocean in the eastern part of Ogun State and p ...

Ijebu Igbo Ijebu Igbo ( Yoruba: Ìjẹ̀bú-Igbó) is a town in Ogun State, Nigeria. It is approximately a 15-minute drive north of Ijebu Ode. Ijebu Igbo, also written as Ijebu-Igbo, is the headquarters of Ijebu North Local Government Authority of Ogun St ...

Ijebu Imushin Ijebu may also refer to: People * Ijebu Kingdom, Yoruba kingdom in pre-colonial Nigeria *Ijebu people, an ethnic subtribal group from Nigeria Places * Ijebu, Owo, a local government area of Ondo State, south-western Nigeria * Ijebu Diocese of the ...

Ijebu Ife Ijebu may also refer to: People * Ijebu Kingdom, Yoruba kingdom in pre-colonial Nigeria *Ijebu people, an ethnic subtribal group from Nigeria Places * Ijebu, Owo, a local government area of Ondo State, south-western Nigeria * Ijebu Diocese of the ...

and

Ijebu Ososa Ijebu may also refer to: People * Ijebu Kingdom, Yoruba kingdom in pre-colonial Nigeria *Ijebu people, an ethnic subtribal group from Nigeria Places * Ijebu, Owo, a local government area of Ondo State, south-western Nigeria * Ijebu Diocese of the ...

), see themselves as united under the leadership and authority of the monarchical

Awujale Awujale is the royal title of the king of the Ijebu Kingdom. The holder is addressed as the Awujale of Ijebuland. The present Awujale is Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona Ogbagba II. He is from the House of Anikinaiya. By the declaration made under secti ...

, who is seated in Ijebu Ode. The Ijebu people are known for the trade and production of

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

flakes (popularly known as

Garri In West Africa, ''garri (also known as gari, galli'', or ''gali)'' is the flour of the fresh starchy cassava root. In the Hausa language, ''garri'' can also refer to the flour of guinea corn, maize, rice, yam, plantain and millet. Fo ...

). They are industrious and known to be thrifty. Many industrialists in Nigeria are of Ijebu stock. This include Chief Adeola Odutola, Senator Jubril Martins-Kuye, Chief Okusanya Okunowo, Mike Adenuga. The paramount ruler and leader is Oba Sikiru Adetona, the Awujale of Ijebuland who has been on the throne for 61 years. He ascended the throne at the age of 25.

References

Indigenous peoples of West Africa Yoruba subgroups {{Nigeria-ethno-group-stub