Southwest Nigeria Is Not ‘Yorubaland’

This story appears in our print issue, ‘100 Years of Ladi Kwali: Stories from Another Nigeria’. Buy here.

Akran was first appointed as minister of local government and economic planning in 1952 by Awolọwọ, but his portfolio was reconstituted a few times until he was designated minister of economic planning and community development sometime around 1961. He ultimately served as minister of finance (under S. L. Akintọla’s government) from 1962 to 1966 when the country witnessed its first military coup. In these capacities, Akran played a key role in crafting the inclusive, bottom-up model of community development that underpinned the political philosophy of social welfarism of Awolọwọ and indeed the western regional government.

As an Ogu king and regional minister, Akran’s career affords a fine entry point into a nuanced, multicultural characterization of Nigeria’s southwestern region, which essentially supplanted the erstwhile western region. It seems, though, that this reality escapes many Nigerians today. For many, the terms ‘Yoruba’ and ‘southwestern Nigeria’ are perfectly synonymous, representing a singular cultural and linguistic space. This popular perception frames the region as a monolithic cultural area, a narrative perpetuated through the media, popular discourse, academic literature and political rhetoric. The fact, however, is that while the Yoruba constitute the largest and most influential ethnic group in southwestern Nigeria, the notion of a homogenous ‘Yorubaland’ fails to accommodate the other indigenous people for whom the region is also their rightful ancestral home.

Southwestern Nigeria is, indeed, a pluralistic cultural landscape. Central to this argument is the historical and continued presence of the Ogu (otherwise called Gunnu but often corrupted as Egun) people, a distinct ethnic group whose cultural heritage and demographic footprint in the region are often overlooked. By exploring the unique identity of the Ogu and their connections to a broader international populace, we can begin to dismantle the myth of homogeneity and foster a more inclusive and accurate understanding of the region’s cultural diversity. This is therefore not merely a pedantic academic exercise, but rather a necessary intervention in how we understand identity, belonging and historical justice in contemporary Nigeria.