05/11/2022
A Case Study of Old Oyo Empire, an Imbibe Democracy
The Yoruba people and descendant are black people who occupies the south-western area of Nigeria in Africa. The origin and existence of the Yoruba race can be traced to their ancient father ODUDUWA who migrated from the ancient city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Oduduwa's father: Lamurudu and most of their Arabian relatives were Muslims but Oduduwa is an idol worshipper, they revolted against him and he fled from Mecca to ILE-IFE, an old township of western Nigeria. The Yoruba race begins to grow through the expansion of oduduwa sons and daughters and they formed peoples and languages among are they egbados, ketu, ijebu, ijesa, ondo, ikale, ilaje, e.t.c. They became kings in all these towns and spread through the surface of the present Yoruba land in western Nigeria. Most of the roles and activities of the Yoruba people were known in the rule of the old oyo empire. Till these present time, IFA an ancestral god worshiped by oduduwa is still consulted and worshipped on occasions in some parts of the town in Yoruba land especially Oyo. We have other cultural festival like EGUNGUN masquerade and OSUN osogbo, the river goddess, in other parts of the Yoruba kingdom.
Most of the Yoruba race have similar cultural heritage in their taste for food, fashion and even appearance, with most of them identified by their tribal marks and dresses. During the old Oyo empire, the Yoruba kingship rule gained much popularity and spread across some part south eastern part of Nigeria. The Greatest days of the Yoruba's under the Oyo empire was during the war and invasion of the Europeans (Britain) in 1895,in Oyo city, though they were conquered, the Yoruba's hold on to the dignity and integrity of their culture. The political institutions of the Yoruba people through their kingship rule shows that democracy has existed in Yoruba land before the arrival of the Europeans. In conclusion, the history and culture of the Yoruba race has explained
