Ijede — Lagoon-Side Town and Fishing Community

Ijede is a town on the shore of the Lagos Lagoon, now organized as a Local Council Development Area (LCDA) within the wider Ikorodu area, with its administrative headquarters at No 1, Madan Street, overlooking the lagoon. The town is bordered to the east by Imota, to the north by Ikorodu North LCDA, and to the west by Ikorodu Central and Igbogbo-Bayeku.

An Eventful Administrative History

The earliest records of Ijede's local administration date to 1937, in the form of a Native Authority headed by a District Officer. In 1952, the Ijede Local Council was officially gazetted under the western regional administration led by Chief Obafemi Awolowo. It was later merged into Ikorodu Local Government under the military government of General Olusegun Obasanjo, before regaining, decades later, its own distinct LCDA status as part of Lagos State's broader administrative reorganization.

An Economy Built Around Fishing

Residents of the wider Ikorodu division, which includes Ijede, are mostly traders and farmers, but fishing remains a significant economic activity along the Lagos Lagoon shoreline, particularly around the Ikorodu lake waterfront (known locally as Cradoo Lake) and Ipakodo, home to a Nigerian Ports Authority Lighter Port Terminal. Ijede is one of several waterfront towns, alongside Igbogbo, Baiyeku, Ipakodo, Ebute, and Majidun, where Ikorodu's traditional jetties are located, serving as departure and arrival points for fishing canoes and cargo boats.

Local Identity and Heritage

Ijede's name is also tied to a local natural spring, Ijede Spring, which has inspired various initiatives around drinking water and the local Ijede Spring Water brand, a reminder of how central the area's hydrography remains to its identity. Ijede thus retains an identity strongly bound to water, both as a source of livelihood through fishing and as a founding element of its landscape and recent administrative history.

Daily Rhythm

Life in Ijede still follows the rhythm of the lagoon: early-morning departures for fishing canoes, the daily unloading of catches at the jetties, and a steady flow of small cargo boats connecting the town with neighboring waterfront communities such as Majidun and Ebute. This waterfront economy coexists with a more conventional trading and farming base inland, giving Ijede a dual identity as both a lagoon town and a mainland community within the greater Ikorodu area.

Sources: Ijede — Wikipedia, Ikorodu — Britannica, Ijede Spring — Wikipedia

Administrative context

This neighbourhood is part of the Ikorodu LGA, which covers 345 km² and had 536,619 inhabitants at the 2006 census. These figures cover the whole LGA, not the neighbourhood alone, and the 2006 census is disputed. See the Ikorodu LGA page and Wikipedia.