A CRITICAL STUDY ON THE PATTERNS OF INTERGROUP RELATIONS IN OGUN STATE: A STUDY OF EGBA, IJEBU AND REMO UP TO 2012

Abstract and Figures

Trading interaction has fostered social and economic exchanges significant to intergroup relations among the coastal peoples and beyond since the last millennium. Existing studies on Yoruba coastal communities have isolated trading relations among the Ilaje and Ijebu waterside communities from other active coastal communities participating in fishing, salt, and canoe manufacturing trade that is peculiar to the region. This paper, therefore,explores the trading activities between the Ilaje and the Ijebu waterside communities, using historical method of data collection and analysis as a contribution to historical studies on intergroup relations, market and trade in the coastal regions of Nigeria in humanistic studies. The paper reveals water transportation as a cultural bond that have assisted trade and social interaction within Yoruba coastal communities for centuries. The trading activities, though, an informal process, has continued to improve household economy by providing the basic necessity of life for the coastal population. In recent time, the trading pattern has changed, and with the construction of road networks, new markets have sprung up to complement existing ones. The Yoruba coastal communities have substantially promoted fishing trade in the Nigeria economy and the trade has continued to facilitate inter-group relations across ethnic groupings. However, most of the coastal communities are challenged by lack of social amenities that would encourage domestic trade and promote their fishing economy. Hence, the need for government intervention on economic and social policies favourable for local trades such that could improve the rural economy and the national economy in general.