One thing we need to understand as Nigerians is that geopolitical boundaries are not the same thing as ethnic, linguistic or historical boundaries.
When people talk about Yorubaland, the conversation often stops at Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti.
But the Yoruba story does not stop there.
There are Yoruba-speaking communities, Okun Yoruba communities and communities with documented Yoruba historical connections outside the South-West geopolitical zone.
KOGI STATE — OKUN YORUBA
Kogi provides one of the clearest examples.
The Okun Development Association identifies Okun communities across Kabba-Bunu, Yagba West, Yagba East, Mopa-Muro and Ijumu.
These include:
Kabba, Mopa, Egbe, Isanlu, Iyara, Iyamoye, Ogidi, Ekinrin-Adde, Ayetoro-Gbedde, Aiyegunle-Gbedde, Iyah-Gbedde, Odokoro-Gbedde, Okoro-Gbedde, Odo-Ape, Odo-Ere, Iluke, Taki, Okebukun, Ayetoro-Kiri, Akutupa, Ike, Ejuku, Ife-Olukotun, Igbagun, Jege, Panyan, Isanlu-Itedo, Isanlu-Makutu, Amuro, Ijowa, Ilafin, Irunda, Lofin, Agi, Aginmi, Aiyede, Aiyegunde and many others.
These are communities with their own histories, dialects, traditional institutions and ancestral traditions.
KWARA STATE — YORUBA COMMUNITIES
Kwara is another major part of this story.
Important Yoruba towns and communities include:
Ilorin, Offa, Erin-Ile, Ilemona, Ijagbo, Esie, Omu-Aran, Ajase-Ipo, Igbaja, Share, Ora, Ikosin, Ayedun, Ayetoro, Isanlu-Isin, Iraa, Iwoye-Ayedun, Oro, Oke-Onigbin, Arandun, Oro-Ago, Owa, Owode, Ekan and Idofian.
The Yoruba communities of Kwara include different historical and linguistic groupings, including Igbomina, Ibolo and Ilorin Yoruba.
EDO STATE — AKOKO-EDO AND YORUBA-RELATED COMMUNITIES
Northern Edo also deserves attention.
Communities associated with the wider Yoruba/Okun/Akoko linguistic and historical sphere include:
Igarra, Ibillo, Ososo, Uokha, Uneme, Sasaru, Ikpeshi, Akuku, Okpe, Ojirami, Makeke, Lampese and Ekpedo.
However, we should be intellectually honest: not every community in Akoko-Edo should simply be labelled Yoruba. The area has a complex linguistic and historical landscape, and some communities are more accurately described as Yoruboid or Yoruba-related.
DELTA STATE — ITSEKIRI
The Itsekiri deserve separate mention because of their long historical interaction with Yoruba communities, particularly through the old Benin and Warri areas.
Important Itsekiri settlements include:
Warri, Ode-Itsekiri, Ugborodo, Omadino, Ureju, Deghele, Madangho, Gbokoda, Ogidigben, Tebu, Jakpa and Koko.
However, Itsekiri are a distinct ethnic group and should not simply be classified as Yoruba. Their history includes significant Yoruba, Benin and other West African influences.
WHY THIS MATTERS
My argument is not that every community with a Yoruba connection should be politically absorbed into the South-West.
That is a different conversation.
My point is that our understanding of Yoruba history should be wider than today's geopolitical map.
People migrated.
Kingdoms expanded and contracted.
Families moved.
Languages changed.
Villages were established.
New identities emerged.
Yet ancestral memories survived.
So when we discuss the Yoruba people, we should remember the communities in Kogi, Kwara and parts of Edo, while also acknowledging the historical relationship between Yoruba communities and Itsekiri in Delta State.
We should document their villages, towns, dialects, royal institutions, migration traditions and relationships with neighbouring peoples.
At the same time, we must respect the distinct identities of communities that have developed their own cultures over centuries.
A map created for administration cannot erase a people's history.
The Yoruba story is therefore not simply the story of a geopolitical zone.
It is a much larger story of language, migration, kingdoms, communities, ancestry and culture spread across Nigeria.
