in camps that are as far west as Sierra Leone and as far east as Gabon. With a population of over ten million, the Ijaws are arguably the most populous tribe inhabiting the Niger Delta section and arguably the fourth largest ethnic group in Nigeria occupying about 10% of Nigeria's population. From a historical perspective, it is almost impossible to give a precise and accurate account as to when and where the Ijaws originated, numerous different accounts have been given by many historians regarding this issue but what is certain is that the Ijaws are one of the world's most ancient peoples. The Ijaw people are said by some to be the descendants of the autochthonous people of Africa known as the (H) ORU. The Ijaws were originally known by this name (Oru); at least it was what their immediate neighbours assumed them to be. Although this was a very long time ago, the Ijaws have, however, kept the ancient language and culture of the Orus. Being the first to find a settlement in the Lower Niger and Niger Delta, it is possible that they may have started inhabiting this region as far back as 500 BC. Language and cultural studies suggest that they are related to the founders of the Great Nile Valley civilization complex (and possibly the lake Chad complex). They immigrated to West Africa from the Nile Valley during antiquity. The Ijaw culture of the South has been influenced greatly by its location on the coast and the interaction with foreigners that it necessitated. Its members amassed great wealth while serving as middlemen, and the preponderance of English names among them today is a testament to the trade names adopted by their ancestors at this time. Yoruba culture The Yoruba people are said to be one of the three largest ethnic groups in Nigeria, alongside the Igbo and the Hausa-Fulani peoples. They are concentrated in the southwestern section of Nigeria, much smaller and scattered groups of Yoruba people live in Benin and northern Togo and they are numbered to be more than 20 million at the turn of the 21st century. The Yoruba people have always shared a common language called the Yoruba language and the same culture for hundreds of years now but they were less likely to be a single political unit. The Yoruba people are believed to have migrated from the east to their