Ijaw People as adapted from Wikepedia
Niger Delta
The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is typically considered to be located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South-South geopolitical zone, one state from South West geopolitical zone and two states from South East geopolitical zone. All the states in the Niger Delta region are majorly oil producing states except Cross River state which is not an oil-producing state. The people of the Niger Delta region are mainly referred to as “Ijaw people” but the linguistically or natively called Izon people. .
Ijaw People (also known by the subgroups "Ijo" or "Izon")
The Ijaw people is the fourth largest ethnic nationality with a population from the range of 13 million to 15 million and individuals indigenous to the Niger Delta in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. They are inhabitants majorly in the Southern, West Central, and Eastern part of Nigeria in the states of Akwa-Ibom, Abia, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Ondo, and Rivers who are endowed with enormous human and natural resources. One of their major trade is fishing which has resulted to them travelling and migrating as far west as Sierra Leone and as far east as Gabon as Fishermen in Africa.
Languages
Izon (Ịzọn), also known as (Central–Western) Ijo, Ijaw, Izo and Uzo, is the dominant Ijaw language, spoken by majority of the Ijaw people of Nigeria. There are about thirty dialects, all mutually intelligible, of which the most important are Gbanran, Ekpetiama and Kolokuma. Kolokuma is the language of education.
There are two prominent groupings of the Izon language. The first, is Central Ijaw language which consists of Western Ijaw speakers made up of the Tuomo Clan, Egbema, Ekeremor, Sagbama (Mein), Bassan, Apoi, Arogbo, Boma (Bumo), Kabo (Kabuowei), Ogboin, Tarakiri, and Kolokuma-Opokuma. The second prominent groups of Ijaw languages consists of Nembe, Brass and Akassa (Akaha), also Buseni and Okordia dialects which are considered Inland Ijaw dialects are all representing Southeast Izon are the major groups in Bayelsa State.
The other major Ijaw linguistic group is Kalabari, considered an Eastern Ijaw language that resides on the eastern side of the Niger-Delta consisting Abonnema, Buguma, Bakana, Degema etc., and the Andoni, Okrika, Ibani (natives of Bonny, Finima and Opobo) and Nkoroo are other major group in Rivers State, and are neighbours to the Kalabari people.
Other related Ijaw subgroups which have distinct languages but very close kinship, cultural and territorial ties with the rest of the Ijaw are the Epie-Atissa, Engenni (also known as Ẹgẹnẹ), and Degema (also called Udekama or Udekaama). The Ogbia clan, as well as residents of Bukuma