Why An “Obi of Lagos” Should Not Be A Problem
IN recent days, reports that some Igbo community leaders in Lagos are considering the installation of an “Obi of Lagos” have sparked heated debate. Many Yoruba voices have described it as a provocation, with some even issuing threats. But before we let emotions run wild, we need to step back and ask ourselves an honest question: is this really strange?
Across Nigeria, it is common for ethnic communities living outside their ancestral homelands to crown cultural leaders who serve as representatives of their people. The Yoruba themselves have done this for decades in cities across the North and East, where titles such as Oba Yoruba or Sarkin Yorubawa are well established. These figures are not sovereign rulers; they are community leaders who mediate disputes, preserve culture, and give their people a sense of identity.
Consider just a few examples of Yoruba monarchs outside Yorubaland:
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Oba Yoruba of Kano – HRM Dr. Murtala Alimi Otisese (Vice Chairman, Council of Yoruba Obas in Northern Nigeria)
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Oba of Yoruba in Enugu – Alhaji Abdulazeez Adebayo (installed August 2024)
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Oba of Yoruba in Awka, Anambra – Alhaji Abdul Olahan “Ezechinedu” (coronated November 2022)
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Oba Yoruba of Sokoto – Alhaji Abdulfatai Olayiwola Coker
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Oba Yoruba of Zaria (Kaduna State) – Barr. Ishaq Bello
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Oba Yoruba of Funtua (Katsina State) – Alhaji Murtala Sani Adeleke (Chairman, Yoruba Obas Council, 19 Northern States + FCT)
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Oba of Yoruba in Abuja (FCT) – Oba Dr. Olusegun Salau (Chairman, Yoruba Traditional Council, FCT)
These Yoruba Obas exist peacefully alongside the indigenous rulers of their host communities. They have not been seen as threats by the Hausa, Igbo, or other groups. Life has gone on.
Why then should it suddenly be seen as betrayal or provocation if the Igbos in Lagos — who have lived, traded, and paid taxes in the state for generations — choose to crown an “Obi of Lagos” as a cultural symbol?
We cannot apply double standards. If Yoruba communities in Kano, Enugu, Sokoto, Awka, Abuja, and beyond can have their cultural heads, then Igbos in Lagos deserve the same right. These titles are not political power grabs; they are symbolic, cultural, and community-based. They do not challenge the authority of the Oba of Lagos. Rather, they unify migrant communities and help preserve identity.
Lagos is historically Yoruba land, but it has also become a cosmopolitan hub — home to millions of Igbos, Hausas, and others who have made it their permanent base. Denying them the cultural expressions that Yorubas themselves enjoy in other regions is nothing but hypocrisy.
Instead of stoking ethnic animosity, we should recognize this practice for what it is: part of Nigeria’s plural reality. Every group seeks cultural anchors wherever they settle. Respecting this should not divide us — it should strengthen our unity.
Before condemning the Igbos for planning an “Obi of Lagos,” let us remember the long list of Yoruba Obas already sitting on thrones across Igbo and Hausa cities.
Peace requires consistency. Justice requires honesty.
