Ijaw people

Ijaw (also known by the subgroups "Ijo" or "Izon") are a collection of peoples indigenous mostly to the forest regions of the Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers States within the Niger Delta in Nigeria. Some are resident in Akwa-Ibom, Edo, and Ondo states also in Nigeria. Many are found as migrant fishermen in camps as far west as Sierra Leone and as far east as Gabon along the Western Africa coastline and the Dakolo Family that migrated from Ghana notable from the family is Timi Dakolo.

The Ijo population is estimated to be over 10 million people. They have long lived in locations near many sea trade routes, and they were well connected to other areas by trade as early as the 15th century. The former President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, is an Ijaw.

Language

The Ijaw speak nine closely related Niger–Congo languages, all of which belong to the Ijoid branch of the Niger–Congo tree. The primary division between the Ijo languages is that between Eastern Ijo and Western Ijo, the most important of the former group of languages being Izon, which is spoken by about ten million people.