The Ilorin issue: Calling Yoruba “Odale” or traitors is totally wrong – Aare Kurunmi Kakanfo

Aare Kurunmi Kakanfo
Please let’s understand and appreciate the uniqueness of Ilorin and stop all these jibes. The Ilorin issue is complicated and complex because of the Geopolitical intricacies at play. Attacking Ilorin people is counterproductive and totally unnecessary. Let me repeat some fundamental historical facts about Ilorin in a more brutal: manner for my fellow Yorubas who are confused with the costume they saw in the Durbar festival:

1. Ilorin is a savanna power bloc with strong ties to their Bariba, Nupe and Kaninke neighbors.
2. Oyo Yorubas are the majority of the Yoruba bloc in Ilorin and they are fused with non-Yoruba elements in that city because of Islamic brotherhood.
3. The cosmopolitanism of Ilorin is not different from many Oyo cities like Ogbomosho or Ibarapa. The difference is the Aristocracy. The Aristocracy in Ilorin Fulani/Yoruba hybrid.
4. Ilorin is not a tribe, it is a city with different quarters like the Yorùbá quarters, Fulani quarters, Nupe quarters, and Bariba quarters.
5. The lingua Franca is Yoruba because it was part of the Oyo empire and it was an Oyo military outpost.
6. It is wrong to continually mock the Oba Ilorin which is the Alimi dynasty. If the people of Ilorin especially the Yoruba majority bloc are happy with him, what is now your headache???
7. The Oyo axis of Yorùbáland especially the Kwara, Osun and Oyo part is not homogeneous. It is majorly Yoruba but not homogeneous!
8. In all the Yoruba-speaking enclaves of Nigeria, Ilorin is unique and we need to accept it the way it is.
9. Calling them “Odale” or traitors is totally wrong. I believe it is more comfortable to have an economic or political discourse with someone from Ilorin than someone from Bauchi or Anambra.
10. Those who continue to fuel enmity and hatred between Ilorin and other Yoruba-speaking cities in Nigeria are doing everybody a big disservice. Lastly, If you love Yorùbáland, you will realize that Ilorin is extremely crucial to the security of all of us. They are the gateway into the Sahel. Abuse me all you like but Geopolitics is not about emotions. Good morning my Ilorin people. Ekaro oooo.