“We Have Remained on the Ground for 35 Years” — Dr Tọ́ba Òjó Leads Fresh Okun Call for Reintegration into Yoruba Region
By Our Correspondent
A renewed call for the political, cultural and constitutional reintegration of the Okun people of Kogi State into the wider Yoruba region has gained fresh momentum following a passionate presentation by Dr. Mrs. Tọ́ba Òjó, Yeye Akorede of Okorogbẹdẹ in Ijùmú Local Government Area of Kogi State.
Dr. Òjó was among the Yoruba representatives who participated in the recent restructuring summit in Abuja, where she presented the concerns and aspirations of the Okun people and appealed to the wider Yoruba region to embrace Okunland as part of its ancestral and cultural homeland.
Her presentation, circulated in a video by The Yoruba Times, centred on what she identified as three fundamental issues confronting the Okun people: identity, development and political representation.
According to her, the Okun people are Yoruba-speaking communities whose ancestral roots are firmly located in Yorubaland, particularly Ile-Ife, but whose incorporation into Kogi State has, in her view, left them politically disadvantaged and culturally disconnected from the larger Yoruba political space.
“We are here to present our desire that has been longing to be integrated to where we actually belong.”
Okunland: Six LGAs in Kogi
Dr. Òjó explained that Okunland stretches across six local government areas of Kogi State, namely Kabba/Bunu, Yagba East, Yagba West, Ijumu, Mopa-Muro and parts of Lokoja.
She argued that although the Okun people have been administratively located in Kogi State and the North-Central geopolitical zone, their linguistic, cultural and historical identity remains Yoruba.
“Our root is in Yorubaland. Our root is in Ile-Ife. We emanated from Yorubaland,” she said.
For her, the question of Okun identity is not merely academic or cultural. It has practical consequences for political representation, development and the ability of the people to participate fully in a political environment that reflects their historical and cultural affinities.
“Yoruba Is Rising Again; We Want to Rise With Yoruba”
One of the strongest elements of Dr. Òjó’s presentation was her argument that the political future of Okunland should be linked to the resurgence of the Yoruba region.
“Yoruba is rising again, so we want to rise with Yoruba. We don’t want to remain on the ground.”
She described the Okun people as hardworking and said that their geographical location within Kogi had created a situation in which they were neither fully integrated into the political structure around them nor adequately connected to the wider Yoruba political homeland.
According to her, the linguistic gulf between Okun and the other major ethnic groups in Kogi State has also created practical difficulties.
“Our language and that of Igbira are far apart, our language and that of Igala are far apart. Even if we meet in the marketplace, how do we communicate? It has affected so many things,” she said.
35 Years Without an Okun Governor
Dr. Òjó also raised the issue of political representation, pointing to what she described as the failure of the political system in Kogi State to produce an Okun governor since the creation of the state.
She argued that Kogi's major ethnic constituencies—Igala, Ebira and Okun—could have benefited from an equitable rotation of political power.
“No one son or daughter of Okun land has gotten to the position of governor.”
She further argued that if political power had genuinely rotated among the three major groups, Okunland ought to have produced governors by now.
“Despite the fact that there are three major tribes — Igala, Igbira and Okun — if done by rotation, two Okun people ought to have attained that, but it has never been.”
For Dr. Òjó, the problem goes beyond the occupation of political offices. She linked the lack of political influence to what she described as the underdevelopment of Okunland.
“We Have Remained on the Ground”
The Okun representative expressed particular frustration over what she described as the disparity between the enormous human capital of Okunland and the level of government presence and infrastructure in the area.
“We have remained on the ground for 35 years with nothing to show as indigene of Okun land.”
She claimed that Okunland could boast of close to 300 professors, yet argued that the area remained hampered by inadequate political influence and government presence.
“Okun land can boast of close to 300 professors, but we are hampered.”
She further stated that the area lacked major government institutions and infrastructure commensurate with its human resources.
“No government institution can be boasted of from government end in Okun land.”
Her argument, therefore, was that the Okun question should not be viewed simply as an agitation for political office but as a question of how identity, political inclusion and development are interconnected.
A Question of Identity
Dr. Òjó's presentation also placed considerable emphasis on the question of identity.
She maintained that administrative boundaries created by political arrangements should not erase the cultural and historical identity of a people.
For the Okun people, she argued, their language, ancestry and cultural practices remain strongly connected to the Yoruba world.
The argument is particularly significant because Okunland occupies a geographically strategic position at the interface between the Yoruba-speaking areas of the South-West and Kogi State's North-Central political structure.
The Okun people, she maintained, should therefore not be compelled to choose between their administrative location and their ancestral identity.
“We Cry to the Yoruba Region to Embrace Us”
Dr. Òjó said representatives of Okunland had already taken their concerns to various parts of the Yoruba region and had received a positive response.
“We thank the Yoruba region for embracing us. We cried and made them understand our plight and they accepted us.”
She described the movement towards integration as part of a broader conversation about constitutional restructuring and the future political organisation of Nigeria.
Her presentation also acknowledged the interest of neighbouring Yoruba and culturally affiliated communities in the restructuring conversation.
A statement circulated alongside the video said that Okunland, Igbomina, Itsekiri and Akoko-Edo communities were among those looking towards a broader Yoruba political arrangement, describing such an arrangement as one that should be based on willing and voluntary association.
Beyond Borders: The Restructuring Question
The renewed Okun demand comes amid growing conversations around constitutional restructuring, regional autonomy and the possibility of reorganising Nigeria's political structure around stronger regional identities.
For Dr. Òjó and those supporting the Okun position, the objective is not simply the redrawing of political boundaries. It is about creating a political arrangement in which communities believe their identity, cultural heritage, political representation and developmental interests are better protected.
Her intervention at the summit consequently presented the Okun question as part of the larger debate over whether Nigeria's present political architecture adequately reflects the historical, cultural and economic realities of its constituent peoples.
“We Want to Rise With Yoruba”
At the heart of Dr. Òjó's presentation was the conviction that the Okun people should not remain politically marginalised while possessing a strong historical and cultural connection with the Yoruba nation.
“Our root is in Yorubaland. Our root is in Ile-Ife. We emanated from Yorubaland.”
And in perhaps her clearest summary of the Okun position, she declared:
“Yoruba is rising again, so we want to rise with Yoruba. We don’t want to remain on the ground.”
Her presentation has consequently injected fresh urgency into the debate over the political future of Okunland and its relationship with the wider Yoruba homeland.
For the Okun advocates, the central question is no longer simply where the people are located administratively, but whether Nigeria's political structure should continue to separate a people from the cultural and historical community to which they believe they belong.
And, as Dr. Òjó's presentation made clear, the demand is being framed around identity, development, political representation and constitutional restructuring.
“We want to rise with Yoruba.”
