It is largely populated by the Yoruba-speaking people, though the kingdom is a hybrid state due to the influence of the many other tribes that make up the city.

Ojo Isekuse allegedly left after committing incest with his daughter, and another family named Asaju settled near the sharpening stone.

Shehu Alimi sought help from Sheik Usman Dan Fodio, who sent Jama'a force to Ilorin to aid his friend.

[2] Ilorin, as a part of the Sokoto Caliphate, maintained ongoing interactions with other Yoruba states while being situated in the midst of northern and southern Nigeria.

The strategic location of the emirate between the north and south bestowed upon Ilorin a unique significance, which persisted even after the Caliphate throughout the colonial and post-colonial eras.

[1] Ilorin was brought under the northern Protectorate through diplomacy and applying minimal force considering the political situation of the state then.

[4] Most Yorubas in Ilorin were still pagan, which lead to most being subjects to the Emir, who "had little social upheaval, who most secretly desired to free themselves, from the Fula".

[5] In the past, slaves had mainly been sent north across the Sahara, but now they were being sent south via the Yoruba lands to the coast to supply demand from the US, the West Indies, and Brazil.