The Ilajes are a distinguished, distinct linguistic group of the Yoruba stalk made up of four geo-political entities namely Ugbo Mahin Etikan and Aheri
GEOGRAPHY
ILAJELAND is bounded by the Ijebus to the West, the Ikale to the North, the Itsekiri to the East. The APOI and Arogbo Ijaw to the North East, while the Atlantic ocean formed the southern boundary. No doubt, the Ilajes are one of the most dynamic and enterprising people in Nigeria. Our aquatic skill, coupled with their high adaptational ability enable us to conquer the harsh geographical environment and turn it to a big advantage. Consequently, we were able to build large communities like Ugbonla, Aiyetoro, Zion PePe and Orioke. Aiyetoro for example in it's hey-days had the highest per capital income in the whole of Africa and attracted visitors, tourists and researchers from all over the world especially Europe, Canada, and America.
Ilajes can also be found in cohesive diasporic communities in Douala (Cameroon), Sapele/Warri (Delta), Asejire (Oyo) and parts of Lagos State. According to the 2006 census statistics, we have a population of about 290,615 people.
Igbokoda, the Ilaje local government headquarters is fast becoming an international trade center as it popular market attracts traders not only from other part of Nigeria, but, also from other African countries especially Togo Benin, Ghana, Cameroon and Gabon
OUR ORIGIN
We were said to have left ILE-IFE our original ancestral home/settlement in the 10th century. We mainly occupy the Atlantic coastline of Ondo State of Nigeria while a large population of them settles on land in the hinterland. The area we occupy today remains the Ondo State of Nigeria only outlet to the sea.
According to our dethroned Olugbo Oba Mafimisebi "we were the aboriginal Yoruba that was displaced from Ife". He and Oba of Benin agreed up to this point. Olugbo claimed this is why Ugbo and Benin have similar chieftaincy titles: Lema, Ashogbon, Oliha, Ojomo, Yasere among others. They were the Obalufon, Obamakin, Obalufe, Obawinrin, etc whose Yoruba language were originally spoken, including the lingua fraca in Benin palace.
According to Ben Omowafola Tomoloju, popularly known as ‘Pappy Ben’, a culture activist, author of books and the Aremo Onipopo of Ilaje Land, the Ilajes were members of the ancient communities that existed in Ile-Ife before the advent of Oduduwa in the the 10th century A.D. Upon the arrival of Oduduwa in Ife, he seized power from the incumbent ruler and assumed monarchical authority over the land.
Tomoloju said: “The ancestors of the Ilajes detested the Oduduwa take-over and, therefore, migrated through the forest of Oke Mafunrangan to a place near Esinmirin River from where they invaded Ile-Ife over a long period, carting away spoils and capturing slaves". This invasion was what motivated the legendary Ife Queen, Moremi, to embark on a heroic espionage quest that led to the eventual defeat of the marauding aborigines.
The coastal town, Ugbo, under the paramount ruler, Olugbo, is a major settlement of the protesting migrants. Its full meaning is ‘Mo r’ubo gbo ni.’ (I have a place to stay.) Ugbo is primary setting in the Moremi legend, which people sometimes mistake for Igboland in South-eastern Nigeria.
“Another major town, Mahin, comes under the paramount rulership of the Amapetu. Ugbo, Mahin and other towns like Atijere, Obe-Nla and Igbo-Egunrin reflect a degree of cultural mix which suggest some form of historical kinship between the Ilaje, Itsekiri and the Edo.
PRIMARY OCCUPATION
Being riverine by nature, our primary occupation is fishing. An average Ilaje person knows which fish is gotten from the fresh water and which fish is gotten from the salt water. There are also seasons when the water in the Lagoon turns to salt water, this is between April and July, when we have heavy rainfall. despite fishing across several villages at a time, there is no occasion where any Ilaje fisherman loses his way on the high sea. This, he said is due to the fact that, when you are on the sea, there is a way you picture yourself and there are landmarks you will identify to tell you the distance from home. The weather condition, the direction of the wind, the position of the sun by day and the position of the moon by night, all contribute to forming part of your compass and a forewarning for straying off the normal route. A very few of the Ilaje, who live outside the water, known as the Ilaje Igbo (that is, Ilaje on land) try their hands on farming, but some people jocularly state that, nature never conferred farming on them but fishing, as a result they have not been able to produce beyond subsistence level as the lands are said not to be fertile enough for agriculture. So, they majorly depend on the Ikale and Apoi people for enough farm produce. Another occupation of ours is timber logging. Though the wood logging occupation in Ilaje land suffers some kind of setback due majorly to the absence of a sawmill, we still manage to use our canoe to ferry the woods to Igbekun, a neighbouring towns in the hinterland.
The pre-colonial ilajes were also salt miners due to our closeness to the Atlantic ocean which contains a lot of salt water.
RELIGION