The Isoko

Where the Isoko live

The Isoko region lies in the south of Delta State and reaches into Bayelsa. It is divided into two local government areas: Isoko North, with its headquarters at Ozoro, and Isoko South, with its headquarters at Oleh.

The Isoko are organised in 19 clans, among them Uzere, Ozoro, Emede, Igbide and an Isoko Okpe clan, which is separate from the Okpe kingdom near Sapele.

Language and neighbours

The Isoko language is close to Urhobo, and the two peoples share much of their culture. Isoko culture is also related to the Ijaw and Anioma cultures around it. Colonial officials grouped the Isoko and Urhobo together under the name Sobo, a label both peoples rejected.

Most Isoko histories trace migrations from the Benin Kingdom, and Isoko culture shares much with the Edo as well as with the peoples of the Delta.

Farming, fishing and oil

Isoko communities have long lived by farming, fishing and producing palm oil and palm kernels. Today the region produces a large share of Delta State's oil and gas. The Isoko Development Union, with its national secretariat at Oleh, speaks for Isoko communities on issues such as power supply and health care. Abroad, the Isoko Association of North America brings Isoko people in the United States and Canada together at its conventions.

Each Isoko clan keeps its own account of where it came from. Where accounts differ, we say so.

Read next

• The Urhobo
• Oil and gas in the Delta
• Isoko associations