Ijora is a settlement in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

, 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, railroad station, or railway station is a Rail transport, railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passenger train, passengers, freight rail transport, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one railwa ...

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 (, ) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West, Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, Nigerian states, Lagos is the second List of Nigerian states by population, most populous state but the List of Nigerian states by area, smallest ...

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 ( or wharfs), 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 Berth (mo ...

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 Jama'at Ahl al-Sunna li al-Da'wa wa al-Jihad (), is a self-proclaimed jihadist militant group based in northeastern Nigeria and also active in Chad, Niger, northern Cameroon, and Mali. In 2016, the group spli ...

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 being the Third Mainland and Carter bridges. The bridge was built in 1975 and is the shortest of the three bridges linking Lagos Island to mainland. It was ...

also known as the second mainland bridge starts from Ijora linking

Lagos Island Lagos Island () is the principal and central Local government areas of Nigeria, Local Government Area (LGA) in Lagos, Nigeria. It was the capital of Lagos State until 1957. It is part of the Lagos Division. As of the preliminary 2006 Nigerian ce ...

. The Ijora Causeway is a major route to

Apapa Apapa is a Local Government Area in Lagos, Nigeria 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 Co ...

Wharf. While the Ikorodu - Western (Funsho Williams) Avenue - Apapa Expressway passes through Ijora. The proposed Blue Light Rail Project from Okokomaiko 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, 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 Apapa Neighbourhoods of Lagos