The rise of Yoruba pride is tangible in everyday conversation, on the doorstep, and in the growing social media. Musicians and writers are exploring Yoruba issues more explicitly than has been the case for years. Politicians who have long expressed us as ‘Nigerians first’ no longer feel eccentric. More happily, others have made Yoruba national pride a source of joy. What is interesting is not that Yoruba's identity has risen, but why? We all carry identities and loyalties to communities, ethnicities, teams, nations, or communities worldwide. However, it is only at certain times that we find one identity, which is a powerful way of describing ourselves and our collective interests. At these times, people turn to old identities and refresh them to serve us in our modern world. National identities usually strengthen when people feel hard done by. Today’s Yoruba identity reflects a growing sense that Yoruba people lack an authentic voice on the things that matter to them, as the demand for Yoruba Nation by Yoruba people shows clearly. Worse, they feel they are losing out and being treated less fairly in a multiethnic country.
The belief that the unitary system unfairly favors the Fulani and Ibo people is just one aspect of the situation. The Northerners are perceived to have more influence than we do, given the way past military Heads of State from the North have structured the system with more states, local governments, senators, and House of Representative members. It is not surprising that the most vocal expressions of Yoruba nationalism are in those working-class states where the impact of large-scale migration has compounded profound economic change. Yoruba identity is rising due to powerlessness, insecurity, and an unfair political structure in a rapidly changing world. However, our modern Yoruba identity still needs to be settled. For some, it is ethnic: an Oduduwa community with an imagined 2,000 years of shared history. Many others are comfortable with an inclusive Yoruba nationalism. Most seem at ease with both their Yoruba and their Nigerian identities, a fact Yoruba-PDP members should not dismiss lightly, as it is their livelihood.
However, we must find a way to spend time studying Yorubaness while others are shaping it. For us, developing and celebrating national identity is a collaborative endeavor. We do not discover our true identity through ever-deeper historical research but create it ourselves. We should draw on radical traditions, but we must also incorporate the histories of everyone who wants to feel Yoruba and recognize that a common identity is best developed through shared experience. The political response to the new Yoruba nationalism is a debate that has barely begun. It is no coincidence that the Yoruba-APC openly discusses devolution of power, fiscal federalism, resource control, state police, regional regimental armed forces, and the Oduduwa Republic – which have nothing to say about the future Yorubaland and its people's rights, nor Yorubaland’s place within the Federal Republic of Nigeria, but which might favor the Yoruba-APC that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu leads.
