NDPID is thankful to the United Kingdom National Lottery Heritage Fund and all the National Lottery Players in making it possible through awarding NDPiD an heritage grant to undertake this Project titled ‘IMMIGRANT TO CITIZEN, THE IJAW (IZON) PEOPLE OF LONDON FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PRESENT’ as a part of bringing awareness and celebrating the diverse ethnic communities that have made London their home.

This National Lottery funded project objective is to create a Documented Historical Heritage narrative that is written, photographic, and published as a Book. This historical and cultural heritage research will be based on oral and written testimonies that narrate the personal and collective experiences of Ijaw People as early immigrants arriving in London from the 1930s right up to temporary and permanent settlement within London in the present. It will document the stories of how the early immigrants lived, worked formedself-help community associations, improved themselves educationally, and how eventually many took up the offer to became full British Citizens with their professional contribution to London Life. Furthermore, it will be documenting the stories of their descendant and more recent arrivals to London. NDPID Projects will be presenting this written, visual/audio documentation to the Ijaw community in London, worldwide, and the wider London community through the libraries of the London boroughs that they have historically lived and worked using dedicated workshops and seminars and online presentations.

The project started in May 2023 and we aim to complete the documentation and publish as a Book by May 2024.
From May to October 2023, the team has been working on the following:
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
THE IJAW (IZON) PEOPLE – WHO ARE THEY?
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
HISTORICAL LINKS OF THE IJAW NIGER DELTA WITH THE UNITED KINGDOM
EARLY REFERENCES TO IJAW PERSONS LIVING IN LONDON
ORAL HISTORY AUDIO INTERVIEWS THAT CAPTURE THE PERSONAL EXPERIENCES OF SELECTED PERSONS OF THE IJAW COMMUNITY
CREATING A PHOTOGRAPHIC LIBRARY
The oral history interviews are ongoing. From the oral history interviews, various themes will be identified and developed as subsections for the proposed book
We would like to thank all who has taken part in the interviews so far, and those who have provided support for the project in different ways, especially the members of the NDPiD and the Ijaw People’s Association.