One of the most interesting aspects of Nigeria's ethnic geography is that language does not always determine political or cultural identity.
There are Yoruba-speaking communities in Edo State whose historical experience is quite different from that of communities in the core South-West. Some of these communities have lived for generations within the Benin cultural and political environment and, as a result, their traditional institutions and historical loyalties can be more closely connected to Benin than to the Ooni of Ife.
This is an important point that is often missed when people draw ethnic maps simply according to language.
Take communities such as Usen and some Yoruba-speaking settlements around the Edo–Ondo frontier. Usen is particularly interesting. Its traditional institution contains titles and institutions associated with both Yoruba and Benin historical traditions, and the community has long-standing connections with the Benin cultural sphere. Historical accounts also describe the interaction between Akure/Yoruba communities and Benin, including the presence of Akure-Bini chiefs and trading networks connected to the Benin court.
The wider historical picture is even more fascinating.
Benin's influence historically extended beyond the areas inhabited by today's Edo-speaking majority. Communities along the western frontier interacted with Benin through trade, migration, warfare, intermarriage, traditional institutions and political relationships.
Consequently, a community could speak a Yoruba dialect while developing a political and cultural identity deeply influenced by Benin.
This is why I believe we should be careful when somebody says:
"They speak Yoruba, therefore they belong politically and traditionally to Yorubaland."
That conclusion does not always follow.
Language is one component of identity. Traditional authority, historical allegiance, ancestral traditions, geography and community self-identification are also important.
There are also historical examples of Yoruba-speaking groups with strong Benin connections. The Itsekiri, for instance, have been described in historical ethnography as speaking a Yoruba-related dialect while claiming descent from an early Oba of Benin and maintaining substantial Benin, Urhobo and Ijaw cultural influences.
The Benin–Yoruba relationship itself is therefore much more complicated than today's state boundaries suggest.
It is also worth remembering that the present-day Edo–Ondo boundary is a modern administrative boundary, while communities and kingdoms existed long before Nigeria's current states were created.
So when discussing a possible future restructuring of Nigeria along regional or ethnic lines, I would not simply place every Yoruba-speaking settlement in Edo into a South-West/Yoruba region.
I would ask the people themselves:
Who do you traditionally recognise? Which royal institution do you relate to? What is your historical origin? Which communities do you trade and intermarry with? Where do your traditional institutions derive their authority? And, ultimately, which political region do you want to belong to?
That is especially important because traditional relationships can be different from linguistic relationships.
The Ooni of Ife is an enormously important Yoruba monarch, but recognition of the Ooni is not automatically the same thing as political jurisdiction over every Yoruba-speaking community outside the core Yoruba kingdoms.
Likewise, the Oba of Benin's historical influence should not be interpreted as meaning that every Yoruba-speaking community in Edo is ethnically Benin.
The reality is more nuanced.
Some communities may say:
"We are Yoruba by language and ancestry, but Edo by our historical environment and traditional relationships."
Others may identify primarily as Yoruba.
Others may have a blended identity.
That diversity is not a contradiction. It is what happens in borderlands where peoples have interacted for centuries.
And perhaps that is the bigger lesson for Nigeria:
Before drawing ethnic maps, listen to the communities.
A map drawn from Abuja or Lagos may say one thing. A linguistic map may say another. Historical records may say something else.
But the people who actually live in those communities should have a decisive voice in determining where they believe they belong.
Identity is not always a straight line. Sometimes it is a history.
