Evidence ⚡️

This claim that the Yoruba and Igbo "never had anything in common" or "no contact" is so factually untrue, it impugns the credibility of this man's entire argument greatly. Anyone with a basic knowledge of history knows that the Igbos and the Yoruba have rich historical, anthropological, and biological connections and interactions. The fear-mongering idea that "these people" are trying to infiltrate, grab a content creator, and "access our internal spiritual/traditional system" is entirely moot. The entire Yoruba traditional system — including its deepest, sacred world sense — is already fully documented, digitized, and sitting out in the open for the global public. In the late 1950s and 60s, American institutions and universities created extensive, unmatched documentation of Yoruba culture. They did far more than write shallow textbook summaries; they interviewed the most revered, highly knowledgeable Babalawos of that era and got them to directly deliver the Odùs, verses, and ritual breakdowns on record. It's all online now. It is completely illogical to claim a neighbouring group needs an internet content creator to "steal secrets" that are already preserved in global public archives for anyone to study. Labeling the Igbo as an "ahistorical society" to justify isolation is a massive display of intellectual laziness. Long before colonial boundaries were conceived, indigenous iron-smelting civilizations were thriving in places like Lejja around 2000 BC, matching the ancient technological timelines of southwestern Nigeria. The breathtaking 9th-century Igbo-Ukwu bronze casting discoveries prove a highly sophisticated, organized society existed long before European contact. Furthermore, trying to isolate the Yoruba from the Igbo while suggesting comparisons to distant groups like the Congo or Zulu ignores deep biological realities. A 2024 genomic study published in the Journal of Medical Sciences/ ResearchGate analyzed major Nigerian ethnic groups and proved that the Yoruba and Igbo exhibit the highest genetic similarity, with a striking kinship index of 0.993 (with 1 being completely the same or twins). It is and Yorubas are sister populations that split from the exact same ancestral node around the Niger-Benue confluence roughly 3,000 years ago. This shared ancestry is why their core languages are packed with unmistakable cognates (eg. Ọnu/Ẹnu for mouth, Ejima/Ejire for twins, Ise/Àṣẹ for spiritual decree). Even the inner workings of Yoruba Ifá and Igbo Afá divination share an ancient structural blueprint. True preservation of identity does not mean retreating into a corner out of paranoia. The antidote to online revisionist propaganda claiming ownership of towns like Ife or Èkó is not cultural isolation — it is robust, confident education. Even the Ooni of Ife openly acknowledges the ancient pre-Oduduwa history of the aboriginal "Hebo" (Igbo) community in the Ife valley, celebrated to this day during the traditional Edi festival. Or will you claim to know more about this matter than Ọọ̀nirìsà? Weaponizing historical figures like Azikiwe aand Soyinka to breed modern resentment completely misreads their legacies. Azikiwe’s Ogboni initiation should have been celebrated as an eternal fraternal bond. His adoption of Yoruba names should have cemented our solidarity, but today we are transmuting it into a different plot to "take over." Similarly, Soyinka’s historic sacrifices were driven by a fundamental stance against systemic injustice, not a transactional bid for permanent internet popularity. Yoruba identity is globally revered and completely secure. It does not need to shrink itself or police creative collaborations out of a manufactured fear of its closest biological and cultural neighbour.