₦airaland Forum

gypsey:
do you know that in Spain the spanish people make jollof rice too? They call it "paella" they cook it with a mixture of different kind of meats, fish and prawns all mixed together with rice. Perhaps it may not originated from senegal, Ghana or even nigeria.

Yes Paella is similar to Jollof, however it lacks one critical ingredient: Tomato sauce.
West Africans eat rice with stew and meat already so the idea of mixing everything together could have been thought of in Africa.

.

oyinkinola:
....if you can make it to where tinubu made it to in politic, your generation will be blessed forever! make it cross to other region is great hardworking, and God blessing, immitate Tinubu for your better future!
if you join the group on NO MASTER you gone forever!
In politic you serve one to be served!

Thanks for the advice, however I graciously decline.
Did I mentioned that I support or dislike Tinubu? Go back and reread my comment.
Do you know my accomplishments?
You don't get it.
You are assuming too much.

oyinkinola:
....a toothless barcking dog!
if Tinubu grab the pdp ticket today people like you will storm the street jubiliatng!

WRONG!!!
Umm excuse me?
You've assumed too much based on my post. Did I declare my political views?
Am I wrong to say that SW is free to make its on choices whether or not to re-elect Buhari?
Is that not how democracy works?
If Tinubu grabs the PDP ticket, he is still the same person. Why do we do this in Nigeria? Just because politicians switch parties, does that mean their ideologies have changed? Party affiliation is almost irrelevant when there is corruption at all levels.

Thank you, Mr Tinubu. We've heard loud and clear. You don't speak for nor represent the views of the Southwest. *Correction: Your support for Buhari has remained unshaken. Whether the Southwest still support Buhari or not is not up to you to decide. Abeg, let 2019 come and then we will know the verdict.

MrMaestro:
I have one question to the Igbos and Yorubas and the entire South. Do you not have the confidence to believe you can fight back and take control of the country for you and your people? Or are you too scared and just want to run away? If you believe the North wants to rule over you, and your first thought is to run, then I don't know what to say. Only 1 option seems the most cowardly. And that's running away.

With Yorubas significant clout in Nigeria media, the oil reserves in the south east/ South South, and the Lagos economy of the south west, the south has ALL of the power in this country and should start exercising it. But we need to be on the same page. With Sahara reporters, premium times, and other media owned by the south, the south can absolutely destroy Buhari (and another footie opposing candidate) in the eyes of the public overnight, and promote one of our own as president in the next election. We need to stop hurling insults at each other and start taking our destiny in our own hands. If we were serious, we could control the country in record time and there would be nothing the North could do about it.

I agree with some of your points. Here is the thing though, we need to cut the tribal sentiments. There is no reason why Igbo, Yoruba or Hausa should be fighting each other. We need to realize that Nigeria's regionalism is not good as it is. We must stop with the SS, NC, SW, SE... mirage we are currently living in. These are all based on the divide and rule strategy that was created by the British administration which continued post-independence. What this ineffective regionalism does is marginalize and divide people further. Every ethnic group should be grouped with others they share kinship with. Minorities living in the North should be given a region of their own or merge with regions they share affinity with to reduce the current political marginalization.

Nigeria also needs proper federation and reconstruction. States in Nigeria need to be given more power to regulate their affairs, enough with the constant federal dependency. States need to regulate their resources better. There is no need for oil rich states like Delta, Akwa Ibom, or Rivers to have people living in poverty or devastated by pollution brought by corporate and politician greed

Some people think that Yoruba are divided between Christian and Islam. I get it, there are many ethnic groups in Nigeria are predominantly this or that. In Yorubaland, all that matters is that you are Yoruba.

YonkijiSappo:
So beautiful.

And then, This is are also places in Abeokuta.


That's the special thing about Western and Northern cities, there is always an old city center, and a more recent/modern outer city like those in Europe (London, Rome, Prague etc) . so, really it depends on which parts of Ibadan or Kano you want to see. All are beautiful in their own rights.

That's right.
They expect a city that was founded and settled centuries ago to be lined with 21st century roofing materials.

Brown roofs add a historic character and charm to the city and it's not something to be ashamed of.

If you go to any Yoruba town or city, the oldest establishments from the king's palace, traditional textile industries, blacksmiths, craftsmen and the main market, are usually concentrated in the city center which is the oldest part of the city. The further you branch out, the newer things start to get.

Khd95:
Brown roof republic

Yes that's right!!
From Ibadan to Abeokuta

slurryeye:
Clap for yourself

Since you haven't stepped out of your village, I'm quite sure you don't know there are tons of cities around the world with brown roofs

See attached pics of Cusco Peru, Florence Italy, Zagreb Croatia and Prague Czech for enlightenment of your ignorant as.s

Don't mind them
Brown roof = History
Just another note, those cities you mentioned back in the day used terracotta roofing tiles made from baked red clay. In comparison, Ibadan's roofs are of corrugated iron sheets. Yorubas have been city builders for centuries.

I've seen street vendors near a slaughterhouse in Lagos that were cooking and selling blood cubes in its congealed form. They had a name for it, but I forgot what they called it.

[quote author=Funlordmaniac post=54997854][/quote]This is a thread simply promoting Igbo history. You don't have to make it tribalistic.
Be respectful.

Olu317:
Yoruba are never lost siblings of EBIRA or Igala. Does Igala have knowledge of IJAMA writing ideology? Have you checked the development of Yoruba language from the inter land/rural areas? Have you checked alphabetic arrangement and letters being used in Yoruba land in Samuel Johnson book on “ Yoruba from The earliest time ". There isn't any need of this revision on Yoruba history. I don't know where you grew up and your family lineage but Yoruba noble and kingly families had thousands of people from the north who were used as SLAVES in the ancient times. Most of the mentioned here are all modern Yoruba word that existed when Oyo reigned in the 16th century upward. There isn't any iota of doubt about there was connections but not in siblings manner. Let me inform you and many who shared this untruthful idea that I still have knowledge of a families whose GENEALOGICAL SLAVES SERVANTS STILL EXISTS TILL DATE. They are even FULANI SLAVE SERVANTS. AND ALL SPEAKS YORUBA LANGUAGE. CAN YOU TELL ME THEY ARE YORUBA SIBLING ? Every group in Nigeria have their own story. In my lineage, we had Igala lineage that served my Patrilineal grands parents in the past 100s of years .Period!

No need to get overworked with what I said. Maybe the word "sibling" isn't the right word. I'm just noting obvious similarities. OK?

I love Urhobo and isoko culture/language

Looks good. With the rate of the population growth in Lagos coupled with its already 20 million inhabitants, effective planning in infrastructure is needed to reduce the horrendous traffic congestion. I suggest that the completion of the 7 light rail lines wrap up fast. I would even suggest an underground metro planning for Lagos in the future due to it's high and fast growing population. Every modes of transport should be explored and utilized.

Dis na bush meat.




I'm playing...

Even though Yoruba society doesn't care if you are polygamous, the society encourages monogamy. That's why we have the saying "Ile orogun, ile ogun ni."

Coolitempq:
Why would I expect you to be angered by my post, in fact I am happy with your arguments because amongst all your brothers whom have commented so far on this thread only you have done the honorable thing by trying to disprove these facts, so my brother no I do not intend to anger you with my post, but I must confess I am rather impressed by your arguements very interesting point of view and angle you are coming from but there are still too many loops that cannot be ignored.

Weren't you the one who said I was "spitting out rage and fury driven by emotional pain and anger." Anyways, I believe that thoughtful discussion and dialogue creates understanding and brings people together, rather than throwing personal attacks.

Why are you still insisting on calling the Brazilian slave revolt a Yoruba one, the white during the slavery era never only exclusively shipped one set of people to any country as they usually sort for slaves from many coastline territories and bought slaves from there, while it could be correct to say they were significant Yoruba slaves in Brazil that does not rule out the fact that other ethnicities were there as well and we can't even say the Yoruba population was more than the other ethnicities independently or put together.

First of all, I didn't say that Yoruba slaves were the only slaves taken to the Americas. There were many slave revolts and protests that took place in the Americas. However, the Male revolt specifically was organized by Yoruba. You know, this whole conversation came up because you claimed that Yoruba didn't resist external forces.

Also, I wasn't the one who called the Brazilian Male revolt a "Yoruba revolt", the Brazilian did themselves. Or are you going to tell me that you know their history better than them. There are written records of it and it is solid fact. Let me break it down to you. "Male" or "imale" is a Yoruba word that is used to describe Yoruba Muslims. Hence, Islam among Yoruba people is commonly referred to as "Esin-Imale." The term stuck with the Yoruba muslims that were taken to Brazil. Yoruba muslims in Brazil were well united and could organize together to plan the revolt which took place on Ramadan.

However we all know that the Yorubas are know to maintain and uphold their culture and that is the effect that you see in Brazil today where many of the Yoruba slaves maintained their culture till this very day. We all know the Igbo's were are a dominant ethnic group in Haiti but we see less Igbo influence in Haiti like we see in Jamaica where the Igbo's also had a significant population, this goes to show that the Igbo in Haiti did not hold unto their culture like those in Jamaica, a number of factors could have influenced it but I chose to stay on topic. A lot of Jamaica and Padua words are of Igbo origin.

Yes, I don't disagree with you there. In Haiti, Gbe culture became the dominant culture that around 2% of them still practice Vodoo, which is even higher than the percentage of traditional adherents of some African countries. Just like with Yoruba in Brazil, Igbo culture and language became very influential in Jamaica. Jamaican Patois has a lot of words that originated from the Igbo language.

You got it mixed up Francisco de Sousa did not go to negotiate peace with Oyo, he actually led a Dahomey army against Oyo which oversaw Oyo fall and under the authority of Dahomey. This is why I have warned against reading from only University of Ibadan Publications or OAU publishers. So please gets your facts right.

Why in the world do you think the king of Dahomey would send a foreigner to Oyo? Here is your answer: The king of Dahomey, Ghezo came to power with the help of Fransico de Souza and they became a close ally of each other. At first, De Souza was sent to Oyo by Ghezo, to negotiate peace in order to end the kingdom's tributary status. The peace talks broke down after the Alaafin rejected his offer. De Souza would later led the Dahomey army to confront Oyo. His army was able to secure a victory which ended Dahomey's tributary status.

Yes the story of Oduduwa is supposed be a myth but in reality it is not because Oduduwa actually existed as a Benin prince and that is no coincidence, it just goes to show that the history of Yorubas did not add up and the Yorubas added the myth of Oduduwa falling from the sky instead of revealing that he was a Benin prince on a expansionist journey as that will not sell the Yorubas as the progenitors or ancestors of the Benins and others whom say they are descendants of Oduduwa.

Yoruba didn't add the myth for validation. The myth is very ancient has been around for centuries before the modern age. It's set on the foundation for Yoruba's society. Many myths from Benin and Ile-Ife have some parallels. Oral accounts can often change, especially over a period of over 1,000 years. I'm not here to discuss the Benin oral accounts concerning Oduduwa.

About the Yorubas being descendants of Benin or Dahomey people, there is no wrong in that statement except I inferred that all Yorubas were descendants of Benin and Dahomey people. Now let me explain to you no large group in the world is descended from one ancestry not even the Jews or the Dutch, and that clearly applies to Yoruba Igbo or Hausa, during the reign of Oduduwa in Ife will you say that Oduduwa was not settled in Ife? Didn't his wives bear children didn't his children move to have their own children in yorubaland are those children of Oduduwa not Yorubas today? The same applies to Dahomey people in Oyo so I don't see why you pick offense in that.

Many languages in Nigeria, and West Africa at large diverged from a proto-ancestor. No one group came from the other, what you have is cultural diffusion and exchange, nothing more. I respect different entities as separate, but it seems that you would like to jump to the claim that Yoruba people are descendant of Benin and Dahomey people. Maybe I need to make this more clear, TIME IS ESSENCE. Dahomey existed from the 17th century onward, Oyo existed from the 14th century. Benin excited from the 12th century and became an empire in the 15th century. Archaeology suggests that Ife was settled from 4th century BC and became prominent in the 12th century. I am not even going to claim that Yoruba is the ancestor of Benin or Dahomey. I respect each individual entities. There is no need to jump to conclusion.

Please about the resentment, please dismiss that as fallacy, I have nothing against any ethnic group in Nigeria, all my post throwing jibes on nairaland is for the nairaland e-warriors and just for fun I am sure that 60% of people that read those my bashing laugh out loud, however these Afonja facts that I am posting are simply the truth and does not in any way mean hate or resentment as a student of history this are simply fact that suggest that they was no Oyo empire and not my own personal wishful thinking as you wish to call it

However maybe I should not have posted them for all to see but seeing what Yorubas do and say not just to Igbo's but to every other ethnicities I am left with no choice. Cheers.

Yeah most of the times it's about jokes. It's good to joke around.
Some people feel like there is a need to be superior. There is no need for an African to condemn the accomplishments or history of another African.
I embrace every ethnic groups in Nigeria and Africa at large. Everyone is equal and have contributed to the continent's rich history and legacy.

baby124:
The article is a very confused article, and it does not come to a conclusion or even prove the Egyptian influence on Yoruba culture. I can understand the need to associate any civilization in Africa to Egypt because Egypt was the super power of the world at that time. But it is not true that the Nigerians of today migrated from there. I don't care what assumptions Samuel Johnson claims. Yoruba's developed their social, cultural and economic systems themselves. You know not all Yoruba groups believe in Oduduwa right? It's really only the Ife's and Oyo's that believe that myth. The fact is the people in theNigeria area of today had their own civilization. After all the Dufuna Canoe was discovered in Nigeria and it is 8,000 years old. Older than the so called Egyptian civilization and it was quite sophisticated. If you say Nigerian's migrated to Egypt and built the Egyptian civilization, I may believe you. But not the other way around. That Dufuna canoe provided evidence that we in Nigeria were traveling to other continents 8,000 yrs ago in a very sophisticated canoe designed for long travel. Before Egyptians developed that technology.

Excellent! It's good to dismiss these Egyptocentrist view of West African civilizations, because there is no evidence for any link. It's all pseudoscience. People in Nigeria didn't migrate from Egypt. The oldest evidence of human habitation in West Africa comes from Nigeria at Iwo Eleru with remains dating to around 13,000 years old, which shows that humans have been living in the region before the advent of Egypt. Iron age in Nigeria also predates Egypt. Iron age or domestic iron production in Egypt started around 1,000 BC which puts it at the same timeline as Nok. Prior to Nok, there was Lejja in Enugu, which was a center for iron production with furnaces and iron slags dating as far back as 2,000 B.C putting it at contention for the oldest iron age culture in the World.
Egyptocentrists often use the language argument and attributing similar words to similar origin. In doing so, they fail to recognize that most West African languages use tones that can alter the meaning of a language completely, which is totally foreign to Egyptian. Second, they don't acknowledge that Egyptian is in a separate language branch ignoring other linguistic attributes like grammar, gender, syntax, phonology etc. Third, if that much of the vocabulary could survive, how come not a single trace of the writing or cultural beliefs exist. That's not how cultural diffusion work.

While these Africans with Egyptocentric/Middle-Eastern views look for a foreign identity, European and Asian countries are claiming ownership of their own indigenous heritage and building on their tourism. People need to be proud of their origin, you don't need to become the people from the bible to feel proud.

Rossikk:
The article said:

''Among the discoveries, a three-story ruin has been tentatively identified as the royal palace. It had living quarters, shrines and courtyards. It is possible that thousands of smaller buildings are still concealed by the forests. These will be mapped in time. Radiocarbon dating has so far established that the buildings and walls were more than 1,000 years old. Dates such as 800 AD have been given as a good ball-park figure.''

That's a quick punch in the nose to those who claim that the 2 storey colonial house in Badagry built 120 years ago was ''Nigeria's first storey building''. Talk about being wide off the mark.

That title in itself is shameful to Nigeria. Why do we praise that colonial relic and even have the audacity to claim it as the first multi storey building. We are even proud of it, which ironically shows inferiority complex and plays into the narrative that we weren't civilized precolonial. Funny thing is that, it's not even the first story building in Nigeria. The Gobarau minaret in Katsina is three storey tall and it was built in the late 1300s.

baby124:
Nothing like Queen Sheeba. Bilikisu Sungbo was simply a Yoruba woman. Probably wealthy and influential. That wall holds many secrets. Civilizations rise and fall and it's inhabitants learn hard lessons of being prosperous and rich. You attract many dangerous and jealous enemies. So when civilizations fall tragically, people tend to return to more modest and less flashy way of life.

Yes that's absolutely right. This is 100% African and Yoruba civilization. We need to stop with the Sheba or Egyptian origin of Yoruba culture. Why give middle-easterners credit for the culture and history we've developed on our own. Most of the magnificent Ife sculptures weren't uncovered until the 20th century. There are many hidden secrets and historical gems in Yorubaland waiting to be uncovered.

afonjaheadhunt:
Mr. did you even read the post and comprehend before you start spitting out rage and fury driven by emotional pain and anger, The post cleary stated resistance from external aggressors and not resistance from yoruba agressors except you want to agree with me now that the ijebus are not yorubas then i do agree with you that the Ijebu resisted attacks from other yorubas.

It was not only the yoruba's that were smuggled to Brazil, Cuba, Jamaica etc, so that cannot be tagged yoruba resistance, in fact no historical account ever mentioned any yoruba resistance. The only Slave resistance event that mentioned a Nigerian tribed was the "Igbo Landing" were Igbos jumped into the sea to their death rather than be slaves to the white man.

Also your claim of Oyo conquering Dahomey Kingdom is indeed fallacy it is one of those yoruba revised history by yoruba scholars, no other publication outside yorubaland supports those claims. Provide me with source outside University of Ibadan and OAU, that say yorubaland defeated Dahomey kingdom, but i can provide you with endless sources from world libraries and journals for Dahomey Kingdom colonizing yorubaland.

You did not rewrite your history? how do you explain Oduduwa falling from the Sky in this age, does that not tell you that a lot of things were not adding up and yoruba scholars had to make that up to cover all the flaws in their revised history, also tell us who gave the account of Odudwa falling from the shy are this not oral accounts? Nothing adds up, but when you follow the right way to determine origin by tracing ancestry then it becomes clear that the yorubas are truly descendants of the Benin people some with Dahomey Ancestry. the size of your people should not be mistaken or determinant factor for origin.

Please do your research before posting and stop being overly emotional on this issue.

You think I'm offended by what you posted? No, I'm just amused. I'm even more amused after you claimed that Ijebu are not Yoruba.

Yes, it's an obvious fact that Yoruba are not the only one exported to the Americas, that's why I specifically mentioned Brazil, particularly the Bahia region. Till today, Yoruba culture is the dominant African culture in Brazil from cuisine to language to art to religion. Whether you like it or not, the Male revolt in Brazil was carried out by Yoruba people and it's the most significant slave revolt against colonial forces in Brazil's history. Male was the name given to Yoruba people in Brazil at the time and it also has an historic meaning and context in Yoruba. You do know that Male is a Yoruba word right?

In regards to Oyo relationship with Dahomey, let me introduce you to Francisco de Souza, a notorious slave trader of the time. He was sent by Dahomey king to negotiate peace with Oyo, after Oyo threatened to attack them if they didn't pay a tribute requested by the Alaafin. See, even a foreigner recognized the relationship between Oyo and Dahomey. Or are you going to claim that De Souza was Yoruba scholar right? Dahomey paid tribute to Oyo for about a century until 1824 when they regained full independence. Due to the socio-political influence of Oyo and Yoruba, the Fon of Dahomey, and many related groups adopted some aspects of Yoruba culture. They partake in the renowned gelede masquerade and ifa. They've even adopted many Yoruba deities into their Vodun religion like ogun.

You know the story of Oduduwa is referred as mythology and a legend in history books for a reason, right? Even the ancient Greek had their own mythology and creation story. You lost me when you say that Yorubas are descendant from Benin and Dahomey. Why can't you respect individual sovereignty of each ethnic group. Edo, Fon and Yoruba are from three seperate language branches. You should know by now that Ife settlement and art predates Benin and Dahomey by centuries, it's fact. Archaeology suggests that Ife was settled as far back as 4th century BCE. The oldest human remain in all of West Africa dating back as far back as 13,000 years is found in Yorubaland at a site close to Ife. Every ethnic group has their own uniqueness that should be respected.

It's obvious that you share a deep resentment for Yoruba people which is exposed in your bigotry. It is quite amusing to me that you spend so much effort trying to dismiss history to fit your narrative.

Strike 2
Keep trying...

afonjaheadhunt:
We often read from the Yoruba media about the Oyo empire and how widespread and powerful this empire was, but no documents, finding or evidence any where in the world suggest these claims to be true only Yoruba folklore by the Yoruba revisionist elders and academicians, who have tried to rewrite their history by editing the feats of their conquerors to be That of Yorubas, but simple research or finding put all this claim to a fail test and simply portrays the Yorubas as a tribe that have been conquered since time immemorial as a matter of fact Yoruba land was split amongst to great African Kingdoms, Benin Kingdom and Dahomey kingdom this two kingdoms had their boundaries in present day south west Nigeria and shared the spoils of war within those bounds.

While every tribe in Nigeria have accounts of brutal wars with colonialist and invaders The Yorubas on their own part never confronted any of their colonialist or invaders they never challenged the Portuguese that gave Eko its name Lagos, the never confronted the British colonialists, they never challenged the Benin invaders whom became overlord in Lagos, installed a king and made Lagos a proxy of Benin kingdom, the old Oyo empire was overrun and brought to its knees by Dahomey women whom took their men as slaves, made their women maids and their children servants, The Fulani's conquered them in Illorin and installed an Emir, they Yorubas were over run by the Tiv, Nupe in Kabba and other Yoruba towns. Yorubas were simply a walk over in the history of Africa and the struggles for civilization and ethnic survival.

Yorubas claim that the Oyo empire stretches to Benin kingdom on the east and stretches to Benin republic and Togo on the west, this is one of the biggest lies ever told in the history of mankind, Africa and Nigeria as a nation. To be fair to history the reverse was actually the case. We all know that oduduwa who the Yorubas claim they are descendent from was actually a Benin prince whom went west to expand the Benin empire, the Yorubas on seeing the awe that came with the arrival and presence of Oduduwa the Benin prince pledge loyalty and support to him and rallied around him in Ile Ife which also became a Benin proxy like Lagos whom the Benins overruled. What the Yorubas refer to as Oyo empire was simply a administrative province for Benin Kingdom and Dahomey Kingdom being the center of both great empires.

On the western part it is common knowledge that the Dahomey women who from the Benin/Togo axis Present day Togo, moved and conquered eastward from the present day Togo to the present day Oyo state in south west Nigeria. Many parts of Yoruba land still speak a very corrupted version of the language of the Dahomey female warriors from Benin/Togo axis, Today you still find some Yoruba slave settlement in Benin/Togo the Yoruba slaves have been integrated in their society with coming of the white man, Slave trade and civilization. The Yorubas in Benin/Togo were slaves and spoils of war to Dahomey Kingdom, the Yorubas in Togo are ancestral descendants of Yorubas in present day south west Yoruba land in Nigeria. The relationship between the Yorubas and Benin/Togo is nothing short of a conqueror and conquered relationship or slave master relationship.

South west was divided and ruled by two great kingdoms. Benin Kingdom ruled to the west in Ile Ife axis down to Lagos, while present day Togo republic ruled to the East stretching all the way to Ibadan and Oyo present day Oyo state, Nigeria. However with the coming of the British to Nigeria Yorubas were wise to buy into the media and developed the media industry not just in Nigeria but west Africa at large and they used the media to rewrite and revisit history. However they can only deform those who are not versed to access informations as the Benin/Togo and Benin kingdom still have their very documented history which have been corroborated by the British, Portuguese, French missionaries and colonialist. Yoruba history on the other hand are simply revisions and revised history of the Benin/Togo and Benin Kingdoms history.

The fact that Yoruba history says they are descendants of Oduduwa whom they claim fell from the sky, when in truth he was actually a Benin prince on an expansionist journey, this gives credence to the fact that Yorubas have no record of their history and the one they take pride in is simply a fallacious mirage.

NOTE: This post was summarized so Nairalanders can read to the end, some accounts, excerpts, dates and events have been removed to keep it short. You can do some research to get more information or get in touch for the full context therein.

CC:
donratcock, thuggcheetah, zz22, generalachuzia, ikeadewole, Stephleena, obdk, proudlyafonja adadike281 iskander2 DIDDIDDIEOMENKA, UGOMBA, CHERUV, investinowerri uduak2016

I guess the Anglo-Ijebu war doesn't count as resisting colonialism by you. Even outside of home soil, Yoruba resisted colonial powers. In Brazilian history books, Yoruba were involved in the Great Bahia revolt and the Male revolt, which today still remains the largest slave revolt in Brazil. If Oyo was under Dahomey as you claimed, why did Oyo conquered Dahomey in 1748 during the Oyo-Dahomey wars. Dahomey was paying tributes to Oyo and would later resort to different war tactics to free itself from Oyo's control. While Oyo's boundary encompasses 4 African countries including modern day Nigeria, Dahomey's boundary did not extend an inch beyond modern day Benin republic.

Oyo empire's influence cannot be underestimated. Oyo empire stretches to Benin Republic, Togo and Ghana. Yoruba people founded cities, establishing their political hegemony and encompassing other ethnic groups. Porto-Novo, the second largest city in Benin republic was founded by Yoruba. In Togo, Yoruba founded Atakpame and Kpalime on the Ghanaian border. The Oyo empire encompassed many Gbe-speaking people such as Ewe of Togo and Ghana who claim that they came from Ketu, another Yoruba city. The Ga-Adangme people as far as Accra, Ghana claimed that their origin is Oyo. The ooni, not too long ago made a visit to Ghana, were the Ga-Adangme chiefs pledge and reinforce their ties to Yoruba people. Oyo was an imperial force to be reckoned with. Deal with it.

As for Benin, Oyo empire and Benin empire fought a number of wars, but both were unable to subdue each other. And you should know, Oyo empire isn't synonymous with Yoruba. Although it was a major central power, not all Yoruba people were under Oyo, and back then there were numerous Yoruba states that were very powerful. Even the Easternmost Yoruba state, Ogho which literally sits on the door Of Benin was never captured by the Benin even though they tried multiple times. After the mutual cultural exchange that took place between the two over a number of centuries, Ogho people till today were able to hold on and maintain their identity to Ife and not Benin. Even with their proximity to the imperial power of Benin, they were able to maintain their "Yorubaness" unlike many other ethnic groups around the region today who tie their origin to Benin. That right there is another example of resilience of Yoruba culture.

We didn't rewrite our history, NEVER! We've always maintained our origin to Ife, that's the bond that tie all Yoruba together no matter how distinct we've come to be. And lo and behold, this oral tradition is supported by scientists who would later found the oldest cultural artifacts from Ile-Ife. The history of Yoruba is extensive and its echoes are heard all over the world.

Keep trying...

mulattoclaroo:
People of colour make up one third of the world's population and due to this factor the need to have a central language every African anywhere in the world can relate with is necessary. By the term "African" I am equally referring to Caribbeans (Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Bermuda, Barbados etc), African Americans, Afro-Cubans, Afro-Brazilians, Afro-Argentines, Afro-Colombians, Afro-Costa Ricans, Afro-Venezuelans, Afro-Mexicans and every country in the Americas where there's an African population outside the continent of Africa.

Recently a lot of African Americans have been migrating to Ghana, Sierra Leone and other parts of Africa and they're also connecting more with their African identity. This to me is a step in the right direction because they are Africans who were displaced by the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade and the Trans Saharan Slave Trade. Let's put aside the global separation amongst melanated people because at the end of the day we are all Africans. Let's equally reach out to the Dravidian people of India, Aboriginal Australians, Samoans, Papua New Guineas and every melanated person from the Pacifics as well.

I am half Nigerian and half German but I've long embraced my African spirit because Black people are the root of every civilization and from which every race evolved. Before the demise of great Pan Africanists like Mummar Gadaffi, Kwame Nkwurah, Patrice Lumumba, Thomas Sankara, Marcus Garvey and the Great emperor Hallie Selassie, they preached Pan Africanism and the need to embrace our African spirit. It's time to have an African Central Bank and also a unitary currency to put an end to modern day slavery and Neo-colonialism.

I'm not against the idea of Pan-Africanism, but when you are speaking of Africa, skin colour is not that relevant in determining identity. I understand that in the Western world, everything boils down to skin colour and race due to the historical context. However, our differences and identity comes down to our history, culture, language, and belief systems and not a vain attribute such as skin color. The beauty of Africa is that we have over 2,000 ethno-linguistic groups, which is more than any other continent. Unfortunately, the Europeans didn't understand this and drew boarders that divided people of the same ethnicity, and merge political rivals together completing disregarding the history and the individuality. This is why many wars in Africa are fought on ethnic lines. I believe in a Pan-Africanism that promotes unity, but also the one that supports each other's individual entity. Branding Swahili as the official language of Africa not only ignore this notion, it also plays into the Western generalizing narrative. When they think of Africa, the often have a certain narrative, usually of something that they see on the media. Culturally speaking, many of them think we are wild/unclad, live among wild animals, and we all speak Swahili. We can't say we believe in Pan-Africanism at the same time disregard our individuality (which is what the West has been doing ever since). Swahili is already the lingua franca of some countries in East Africa, which is understandable due to natural factors like trade and history. If we play the race game in Africa and united simply because of a vain attribute such as the skin colour a human being, then we have submitted to the western narrative. We can't have Pan-Africanism unless we recognize our individuality first.
So I would like to ask this question, what makes Swahili the "Official African language" compare to Wolof, Igbo, Oromo, Kikuyu, Shona, Tamazight, Yoruba, Hausa, Fulani, Kikongo, Kanuri, Zulu and others?

KINGwax007:
Why did u keep saying KOGI is yotuba state? The closest to Yoruba in KOGI is okun people and that is because they are closer to ikire. There are so many tribes in KOGI state alone but the ebira is much.

Kwara is closer to the north, and KOGI was even carved from Kwara. Judging by KOGI, u shld knw why Kwara will have more Hausa's. The same with PH or the ijaws in Ondo.

First, Okun ARE Yoruba. They occupy one of the three senatorial districts. It's well known that Igala are the largest group in Kogi by area and population. There are also a lot of Ebira as well.

Second,Yoruba are the majority and the Hausa population are one of the smallest minority in Kwara. There are many more Nupe and Bariba in Kwara, even more so than the Fulani.

There is no need for this explanation. This is just facts plain and simple.

Historically, in Yoruba context, the Oya (Niger) river forms the frontier or Northern boundary hence "Oke oya" or "North of Niger" is usually associated with Northerners. So the boundary of the North is at the Niger river not below. I still don't see why we have this ineffective regionalism that's so misrepresenting. It's bad enough the British, French, and Germans split Yorubaland into three countries. The British don't own Nigeria anymore, we control our affairs. Why do we continue to live in the shadows of colonialism? Why can't we have regions that represent the will of the people in this day and age.

Eke40seven:
Also, you are not correct actually when you say the sound, "GB" is not available in the Yoruba language.
What of 'Egba', GBa (hit or kick), GBadun (enjoy), GBolohun (vowels), 'GBe' (Carry), etc.

Example of alphabets/sounds not available in yoruba language but available in the igbo language are "ñ" as in Nneka and NneNna (that's why you pronounce, 'Ineka' and inena respectively) or you say "omo ina" because you simply cannot pronounced Nna.
A cousin of mine complained bitterly how Yoruba people pronounce his name as "Ayele" instead of "Anyaele".

Another example is, "Tsch" as in 'Church' or 'Charity', Chinedu or Chichi. Native Yorubas would pronounce, "shorsh", "Sharity", Shinedu and Shishi respectively.

Every consonant and vowel available in the word 'Igbo' as in the people are also available in Yoruba. Although I can't really wrap my head around why most call it, " Yiiboo". Only very well travelled and educated ones can even attempt to pronounce, "ebo".

May be that's why people say Igbo is difficult to learn.

I don't want to derail this discussion, but I need to make a few corrections.
"ch" actually exists in many Yoruba dialects, just not in the standard written Yoruba's orthography. I have said it multiple times that standard Yoruba is based on the simplest Yoruba orthography. If you go to Oke Ogun(Onko), Yewa(Egbado) or Ibarapa area, the "ch" and the "ñ" sound exist. "Ishe" in standard yoruba becomes "ñche" in Onko. Even gh, kw, kh, gw exists in a number of Yoruba dialects from Ondo to Kabba to Owo. Money or "owo" in Yoruba becomes "ogho" and ten; "ewa" in Yoruba becomes "egwa" in Owo dialect. However, I still think Igbo's orthography is much more extensive which could make it more difficult to learn. I think of all the Volta-Niger branch, Edo likely has the most extensive orthography. Standard Yoruba is very restrictive in it's rules. Carry on.

One word- Education (that includes female education and "western education"
One way to increase literacy is to stop child marriage that's rampant because it hinders education. 23 states have taken steps to ban child marriage, but somehow 13 Northern states haven't. The rate of child marriage is 76% in the NW alone. Stop making religious or cultural arguments to justify this outdated barbaric practice. Must a 60 year old grandpa marry a 13 year old to get to heaven? Ironically this is why the rate of medical complications like fistula is so high in the region since many children are too young to carry a baby in their womb (I wonder why).

Religious and ethnic tolerance are important for security. Groups should respect their host. If it's their ancestral land, respect it don't try to claim it as your own. That's political domination. There should be better protection of the minority groups in the region and better political representation for them. This is why there is so much hostility in the region. That coupled with poverty/government neglect and you get terrorism. This has a ripple effect because it affects the local economy. If you want to promote a secular society that's tolerant of others, use the common law for all citizens.

There is a lot of corruption in Nigeria as a whole, but the North is disproportionately more corrupt. More head of states have came from the North, but after all the decades of rule there is barely enough of human development to show for it even with all the oil allocations.

OmoIgala:
Well, Igala and Yoruba have their similarities in terms of Language.
In terms of culture, other things too like tribal marks , I think the two were connected before Igbira people came here and settled in the middle, because despite being neighbor to Igbira people we share more with Yoruba than them, that is why I say that.
On the other hand, there are regional variations within Igala culture, like the Ankpa and Olamaboro people have some commonalities with our Idoma neighbors.

Glad to see an Igala person on the thread. I think Igala and Yoruba are just long lost siblings that diverged a long time ago and separated by the Niger river. Sometimes when I hear an Igala person speaks, I can pick up a lot of words, even a whole sentence sometimes. Even words I don't understand sound like it could be familiar. The tonality of Igala is pretty much similar to Yoruba. Here are some lit of similar words
English Yoruba Igala

Amen ase-ache

Arrow ofa ofa

Barn (store house) aka aka

Battle ogun ogwu

Beans ewa egwa

Bitterness ikoro rikoko

Black dudu edudu

Blood eje ebie

Bone egungun/egun egwugwu/achiku

Box apoti akpati

Bird eye ewe

Build ko ko

Cake akara akara

Canoe oko-ojuomi oko-eju omi

Clock ago/agogo agogo

Rooster akuko aiko

Come wa wa

Cough iko uko

Court ile-ejo unyi-ajo

Crocodile oni onye

Dance ijo ido

Days ojo ojo

Dead oku ukwu

Divide pi kpe

Dog aja abia

Drug ogun ogwu

Ear eti eti

Eye oju eju

Count ka kaluka

Feather iye iwe

Female obirin onobule

Fire ina una

Fish eja eja

Flesh eran-ara oro-ela

Flute fere ufele

Food ounje ooje

Fowl adiye ajuwe

Freedom ominira ominolami

Go lo lo

Goat ewure ewo

Gong agogo agogo

Grave iboji ofoji

Guinea fowl awo awo

Herbalist onisegun/ashogun achogwu

Hand owo owo

Head ori oji

He-goat obuko obuko

Hide farapamo folakpama/maja

Hoe oko ukoche

You iwo uwe

Hunger ebi ebi

Hunting ode ode

Husband oko oko

I want to eat mofejeun najenwu

Kill pa kpa

Knife obe obe

Lamb aguto aguto

Leg ese ere

Light ina una

Load eru adu

Masquerade eegungun/eegun egwu

Moon oshupa ochu

Mother iya iye

Mouth eenu alu

Musician akorin akeli

Name oruko odu

Next tomorrow otunla otona

Nose imu imo

Ocean okun iteku

Palm tree ope(okpe) ekpe

Palm tree branches imoope imaekpe

Pick ko ko

Pitifully lonely oshosho ochocho

Police olopa anokpa

Prayer adura aduwa

Pull fa fa

I am ok arami ya olami ya

Red pupa ekpikpa

Ridges ebe ebe

Road opopona ona-okpakpa

Rock apata apata

Rope oku ikwu

Season akoko/igba egba

Shade iboji ubojima/olubo

Shadow ojiji ojiji

Shoulder ejika ojika

Ok I didn't realize the similar cultural phenomenon like for dying children.
Yoruba Igala
abiku abikwu
I thought this concept only exist in Yoruba. Yoruba like to think that Ebira is the closest ethnic group to Yoruba, but I think that's due to the proximity with Ebira. The sooner we can widen our head from the generalized view of Northerners as Hausa or Hausa-like groups, the more we can broaden our horizon.

InyinyaAgbaOku:
So, you are gonna sublet your Igbo ancestry for a mere passport?
I am Igbo but this is so wrong

Finally someone who understands. The grass is not always greener on the other side. There is racism in Israel. Some hardliners look down on African Jews because they think they are too dark-skinned to be Jewish. African immigrants are treated badly and the mistreatment can be seen everywhere. Not too long, blood banks were throwing away Ethiopian Jew's blood donations because of their stereotypical HIV paranoia of Africans not to mention verbal abuse endure by Africans there. If Israel is trying to reconnect with lost Jews in Africa, then it has to treat African Jews better. While trying to claim the apparent lost Hebrew ancestry, the Igbo identity is there and it hasn't gone anywhere.

But can you really blame anyone if they sought greener pasture with the way things are in the country.

They sold out the more visionary Fayemi for the corrupt loud mouth Fayose. I hope this time, he doesn't distribute expired rice like he did during his election campaign. He's probably like "here mumu, come get your stomach infrastructure."