Isoko people are an ethnolinguistic group that inhabits the Isoko region of Delta State

Delta State

Delta State may refer to:*Delta State, a state in southern Nigeria.*Delta State , a Canadian animated television series.*Delta State University, a public university located in the U.S. state of Mississippi....

, Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

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Isoko Land

The Isoko Land is one of the most densely populated areas in Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

, with about 300 persons per square kilometre compared with the average of 198 for Delta State and 130 for Nigeria. The consequence has been a shortage of farmland which is accentuated by oil exploration activities in the region. Many of the estimated over 475,000 Isoko people are migrants to other parts of the country, residing in Ughelli

Ughelli

Ughelli is a town in Delta State, Nigeria. The city of Ughelli has an 'Ovie', which is the traditional ruler. The indigenes of Ughelli town have a yearly celebration festival called 'Omanuku'...

, Warri, Sapele

Sapele

Sapele , also known as Sapelli or Aboudikro, is a large tree, Entandrophragma cylindricum, up to 45 m high and native to tropical Africa. The leaves are deciduous in the dry season, alternately arranged, pinnate, with 5-9 pairs of leaflets, each leaflet about 10 cm long...

, Benin

Benin

Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...

, Ijebu Ode

Ijebu Ode

Ijebu Ode is a Local Government Area and city located in south-western Nigeria, close to the A121 highway. The city is located 110 km by road north-east of Lagos; it is within 100 km of the Atlantic Ocean in the eastern part of Ogun State and possesses a warm tropical climate.With an...

, Ondo

Ondo

Ondo is the name of:* Ondo , a style of Japanese folk music* Ondo, Hiroshima, a town in Japan* Ondo City in Nigeria* Ondo State in Nigeria* Ondo Phone in Europe...

, Lagos

Lagos

Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...

, Kano

Kano

Kano is a city in Nigeria and the capital of Kano State in Northern Nigeria. Its metropolitan population is the second largest in Nigeria after Lagos. The Kano Urban area covers 137 sq.km and comprises six Local Government Area - Kano Municipal, Fagge, Dala, Gwale, Tarauni and Nassarawa - with a...

 and predominately in the rural agricultural land areas of Benin, Ondo and Ijebu-Ode. Also, some 300,000 Isoko people are permanent indigenes of Ndokwa East of Delta State and Sagbama Local Government area of Bayelsa state.
Isoko Land is essentially rural with no urban and semi-urban centres. Isoko land is within the economic shadow of the vibrant industrial, commercial Warri metropolis and the result has been largely of backlash effects, with most of the young men and women in addition to available capital in Isoko land graduating to Warri sub-urban area. The residual population is mainly involved in agriculture, small-scale commercial and industrial enterprises. Against this background of the petty economic activities, massive unemployment of youths is very high, the quality of life is low and below the standard of living recommended by the United Nations Development Organization and poverty is rife in Isoko Land.

Language

The Isoko ethnic group is one of the smallest minority ethnic groups in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria in West Africa, occupying an area of about 1,200 square kilometres, with a residual population of over 750,000 by 2001 census. The language spoken by the Isoko people is the Isoko language

Isoko language

The Isoko language is spoken in the Isoko region, Nigeria, by the Isoko people. It is linguistically similar to the neighboring Urhobo language, Epie atissa language of Bayelsa state and Engenni language of Rivers state.Michael A...

. It is linguistically similar to that spoken by the neighboring Urhobo

Urhobo language

Urhobo is one of the Edoid languages and is spoken by the Urhobo people of southern Nigeria.-Phonology:Urhobo has a conservative consonant inventory for an Edoid language...

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Origins

While some people believe that the Isoko people originated from the Benin Kingdom, others, like Professor Obaro Ikime, believe this to be untrue. Ikime states "If there is any aspect of the history of the various peoples of Nigeria about which no one can speak with any exactitude, it is that which deals with the origins of our peoples." The belief that most of the Isoko groups are of Benin origin were views held and expressed in the 1960s and 1970s. These views were "decidedly simplistic and were based on British Intelligence Reports of the 1930s" and Ikime's field work of 1961-1963.

Religion

The Isoko people are predominantly Christians. Traditional worship still thrives despite the strong onslaught of Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

principles. Oghene is the word for God.