Recent developments in Nigeria have once again drawn attention to the Yoruba as a people who, despite their internal differences, are often perceived by other Nigerians as a relatively united political and economic bloc. Many people believe the Yoruba speak with one voice. However, when we look more closely at the numbers, a different picture emerges. We have many voices. Politically, election results frequently reveal divisions that are almost 50–50. Religiously, Christianity and Islam coexist in virtually every Yoruba community, village and, in many cases, within the same family. We also have traditionalists who continue to practise and preserve indigenous Yoruba beliefs. Our political differences are not new. Shortly before independence, and particularly in 1962, the Action Group split sharply between factions loyal to Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola. That division became one of the defining political crises of the First Republic. Yet, something appears to bin...
The Yoruba differ from many other ethnic groups in southern Nigeria because respect for elders and people in positions of authority is deeply embedded in everyday culture. While outsiders may sometimes see this as excessive, pretentious, or even cowardly, in Yorubaland disrespecting an elder or other people reflects not only on the individual but also on their parents, family, community, friends, and peers. It can suggest that the person was not properly brought up. Yoruba take character, moral conduct, and existence, and being called ìwà , very seriously. I have seen this repeatedly in the UK. I have visited numerous homes of Yoruba friends and families, and parents often ensure their children, even when born and raised in Britain, greet an older Yoruba visitor properly. For a girl, this means kneeling; for a boy, prostrating. I have never asked or demanded that anyone do this. Many Yoruba parents regard it as an essential cultural courtesy. The thinking is that if a child ...