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PEOPLE & CULTURE

The people, not the numbers.

Hundreds of languages, kingdoms and communities share one map. Pick a state to meet the people who call it home.

Explore a state

State by state

Languages, peoples and stories

Choose a state to meet the cultural groups found there, then read the state profile behind them.

Groups are listed A–Z. Pick a state to read its institutions and profile.

Cultural groups in Lagos

Homelands map →

  • Awori

    5 documented LGA areas · 2 states

    medium

    Awori Yoruba sub-group of Lagos and south-western Ogun, indigenous to much of the Lagos mainland and Ota.

    Ethnic makeup

    Awori (Yoruba) · dominant

    Present in: Lagos, Ogun

    On map →

  • Egun (Badagry)

    1 documented LGA areas

    high

    Egun (Gun/Ogu) coastal people of Badagry, a community that continues across the border into Benin Republic; Badagry was a major slave-trade port.

    Ethnic makeup

    Egun (Gun) · dominantAwori

    Present in: Lagos

    On map →

  • Eko (Lagos Island and Mainland)

    3 documented LGA areas

    medium

    Historic core of Lagos: the Eko settlement, seat of the Oba of Lagos and the Idejo (White Cap) chieftaincy, with Awori and returnee-descended communities.

    Ethnic makeup

    Eko (Yoruba) · dominantAworiAguda and Saro

    Present in: Lagos

    On map →

  • Lagos Ijebu (Ikorodu, Epe, Ibeju-Lekki)

    3 documented LGA areas

    medium

    Ijebu-related lagoon-side communities in the eastern non-metropolitan part of Lagos State; Awori communities are also present in Ibeju-Lekki.

    Ethnic makeup

    Ijebu (Yoruba) · dominantAwori

    Present in: Lagos

    On map →

Showing 4 of 4 documented groups in Lagos (A–Z).

Cultural institutions · Lagos

  • The Oba of Lagos rules from the Iga Idunganran palace on Lagos Island alongside the Idejo (White Cap) chiefs, the land-owning chiefly houses of old Eko.

Lagos state details

Selected state

Lagos

Centre of Excellence

South West
Capital
Ikeja
Created
1967

Lagos is a state in Nigeria's South West geopolitical zone.

Languages spoken

Major cities

Lagos Island · Ikeja · Lekki · Surulere

What to explore · learn

  • Lagos's nickname reflects its status as Nigeria's commercial and cultural capital, though no longer the political capital since 1991.

  • Lagos was Nigeria's federal capital from independence in 1960 until Abuja formally took over in 1991.

  • Lagos is widely regarded as Africa's most populous urban agglomeration, with a metropolitan population estimated well above 15 million.

Major celebrations

  • irregularLagos Island

Metro areas

  • Lagos Metropolis

    The sixteen metropolitan LGAs of Lagos State, Nigeria's largest city and commercial capital, built around the historic Eko settlement on Lagos Island and its lagoon-side mainland.

Open the full Lagos profile

Source: Cultural group catalogue · state general profiles · Updated Repository catalogues

Celebrations

Festivals & cultural gatherings

The recurring festivals that mark Nigeria's calendar year, across every state in the catalogue.

  • jan—

    Afan National Festival

    Kaduna · Kagoro

    Festival

    The Afan festival of the Kagoro (Gworok) people is held on 1 January at the Chief of Kagoro's palace in Kaura LGA. It marks the end of the farming season and the start of hunting, and is said to be around 400 years old.

    On map →
  • JUN13

    Aguleri Festival

    Delta · Aguleri, Delta State

    Heritage & Ritual

    Ijaw fishing and masquerade festival on the Niger Delta waterways.

    On map →
  • SEP2–7

    Argungu Fishing & Cultural Festival

    Kebbi · Matan Fada River, Argungu

    Heritage & Sport

    Competitive freshwater fishing on the Matan Fada River alongside Argungu town's horse and cattle festival.

    On map →
  • feb/

    Argungu Fishing Festival

    Kebbi · Argungu

    Festival

    Kebbi hosts the Argungu International Fishing and Cultural Festival, one of Nigeria's most famous traditional festivals. Its main event is a bare-hand and net fishing contest on the Matan Fada River, and it was created to mark the end of old hostilities between the Sokoto Caliphate and the Kebbi Kingdom.

    On map →
  • DEC27–31

    Calabar Carnival

    Cross River · Calabar, Cross River State

    Carnival & Heritage

    Cross River's long-running street carnival of bands, masquerade and dance over the festive season.

    On map →
  • dec—

    Calabar Carnival

    Cross River · Calabar

    Carnival

    Calabar hosts a December carnival billed as Africa's biggest street party, drawing large domestic and diaspora crowds.

    On map →

Showing 6 of 33 festivals (A–Z).

Language

Languages by state

The headline languages recorded in each state profile.

Languages spoken, by state
StateLanguages
AbiaIgbo
AdamawaFulfuldeHausaBuraMumuye
Akwa IbomIbibioAnnangOro
AnambraIgbo
BauchiHausaFulfuldeSayawa
BayelsaIjaw (Izon)Ogbia
BenueTivIdoma
BornoKanuriShuwa ArabicHausa
Cross RiverEfikEjaghamBekwarra
DeltaUrhoboIgbo (Anioma)IjawIsokoItsekiri
EbonyiIgbo
EdoEdo (Bini)EsanAfemai
EkitiYoruba (Ekiti)
EnuguIgbo
Federal Capital TerritoryGbagyi (Gwari)Hausa
GombeHausaFulfuldeTangale
ImoIgbo
JigawaHausaFulfulde
KadunaHausaFulfuldeAtyap
KanoHausaFulfulde
KatsinaHausaFulfulde
KebbiHausaFulfuldeKambari
KogiIgalaEbiraYoruba (Okun)
KwaraYorubaNupeBaruba
LagosYoruba
NassarawaHausaEggonTiv
NigerNupeHausaGbagyi
OgunYoruba (EgbaIjebuRemo)
OndoYoruba
OsunYoruba
OyoYoruba
PlateauBeromHausaNgas
RiversIkwerreIjawOgoniKalabari
SokotoHausaFulfulde
TarabaFulfuldeHausaMumuyeJukun
YobeHausaKanuriBade
ZamfaraHausaFulfulde

Language lists are the headline languages recorded in each state profile, not an exhaustive count of every language spoken within it.

Source: State general profiles · Updated Repository dataset

Geopolitical intelligence

Homelands map

Cultural groups

Homelands map

Where the documented cultural groups live, state by state.

Go to homelands map
Zone context

Zones map

The six geopolitical zones, one colour each.

Go to zones map

What this hub does not cover

No layer

Homeland polygons on the map

The atlas can highlight states and LGAs, but it has no drawn homeland boundaries to render — cultural areas are not administrative units, and the dataset stores state and LGA references rather than geometry. The homelands card therefore links to a map of the states involved, not of borders we do not have.

Group boundaries and confidence ratings are reproduced from the catalogue. Descriptions are summaries of documented sources, not claims about who belongs to a group.

Source: Cultural group catalogue · state general profiles · Updated Repository catalogues