SouthWest Nigeria is a portion of Nigeria that consist of mostly the Yoruba people. They are not the only people there though; it also consists of other tribes, who are mostly migrants. The states in the South West Nigeria are: Oyo State(Ibadan), Ogun State(Abeokuta), Osun State(Osogbo), Lagos State(Ikeja), Ekiti State(Ado-Ekiti), Kwara State(Ilorin), Ondo State(Akure), and Kogi State(Lokoja).

The people in these states speak the Yoruba language with different accents, but they can all speak the pure Yoruba language. The Yoruba people have their headquarters in Ile Ife, a place where the father of all Yoruba people was said to have relocated from Mecca. Mecca? That is what they say o. The Yoruba culture is a very old and standing one and despite the ‘ojukokoro’ of some Yoruba people in copying other people’s cultures, the Yoruba culture and language still manages to survive.

HISTORY OF THE YORUBA PEOPLE

The history of the Yorubas is quite exciting with folklores and stories of heroes, like Oduduwa, Princess Moremi (an outstandingly brave woman who, with her wits and trickery, saved her people from a wicked tribe- oh I loved bed stories in secondary school), Orunmila, Bashorun Oluyole, Fabunmi Okemesi, Ogedengbe (a man whose head was cut off and who replaced it), the Oyo Empire the Yoruba wars, etc. You can learn more about these people in museums like the O’dua Museum in Cocoa House and the Nigerian Museum in Eleyele Road.

Other heroes include Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Bola Ige, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Sir Herbert Macaulay, Samuel Ajayi Crowther (who converted English Bible to Yoruba), etc. Many Yoruba youths don’t even know about the history of their tribe, and don’t even care to learn.

The most eye-catching thing about the Yoruba people is their TOLERANCE. This characteristic separates them from other tribes in Nigeria. Why that characteristic is so common among the Yoruba people, I still don’t know. It is in Yoruba land that you will see Yorubas, Igbos, Hausa, Fulani, Tiv, Ogoni, Ijaw, etc, living together peacefully. Perhaps it is because of the Yoruba language that is so easy to learn and understand, I don’t know.

EXAMPLES OF YORUBA PEOPLE’S TOLERANCE

It is in Yoruba land that you will see a Yoruba person marrying an Igbo person or Hausa person. The invitation letter will have something like “Adeyemi weds Ngozi” or “Aremu weds Fatima”, or “Emeka weds Olabisi” or “Aliyu weds Abike”. This is very rare among other tribes. It is in Yoruba land that you will see a boy bearing the name David Emeka Idris Wahab. It is in Yoruba land that you will see a Yoruba wife bearing the name Mrs. Idowu Emeka or Mrs. Oluwakemi Danjuma.

It is in Yoruba land that you will see a Yoruba landlord, an Igbo landlord and an Hausa landlord, doing meetings to improve their area.

Yoruba people are also tolerant of religion. It is in Yoruba land that you see a church, a mosque and a shrine side by side. It is in Yoruba land that you see a Muslim marrying a Christian and vice versa. It is in Yoruba land that you see pastors, imams, evangelists, Alfas doing meetings in their area.

It is in Yoruba land that you see Christians congratulating Muslims during Id El Fitri, and Muslims doing the same during Christmas.

It is in Yoruba land that you see Christian children attending a Muslim school and Muslim children attending a Christian school. It is in Yoruba land that you see Christian and Muslim students in a public school singing Praise and Worship Mondays to Thursdays and praying the Muslim way on Fridays.

MORE ATTRIBUTES OF THE YORUBA PEOPLE

Yoruba people are bounded by their common language, culture, morals and responsibilities. The Yoruba people don’t like fighting or any crisis, especially when other tribes are fighting; they are always neutral. Yoruba females are beautiful, respectful, clean, nice, responsibly and virtually all of them make good cooks and good wives.

The Yoruba people also forgive easily. That is why Democracy works better in South West Nigeria.

The Yoruba people are so nice to the extent that they don’t ask for much as bride price. Each family contribute to the success of a wedding. The Yoruba people are loving and hardworking, and divorce among them is not common.

It is a tribe to be proud of.

SOURCE: https://opinionsandstories.com/the-yoruba-people/