Why The Yoruba and Edo should see one another as brothers. We should do away with the issue of superiority over the other

 

The Yoruba and Edo should see one another as brothers. We should do away with the issue of superiority over the other. Since we were not there we should avoid contesting on who came from who, since those that experienced it are no more.

We should maintain that we are related and that in the past we had two great empires which are that of the Benin and Oyo. Those who were in the Oyo fold were made up of people of different ethnicity, but mostly the Yoruba-speaking; while the Benin had the Edo-speaking, the Yoruba-speaking and many non-Edo and Yoruba-speaking. This is a know fact.

It does not take away anything from us. We should search for unity, harmony, love, integration and progress; and not disunity, hatred, lies, hate speech and so on.

Let we put in mind that we are brothers united by a common figure, warrior and king called Oduduwa, and not contest on where he came from and who he gave birth to. He revolutionized our history and not destroy it. The Yorubas should teach their children that the Edo-speaking people are their brothers and not their sons because they too have their autonomy and story to tell. Same should apply to the Edo-speaking.

We should have in mind that we have divisions of the Izoduwa (Oduduwa) heritage, which includes the Ife heritage for the Yoruba-speaking and Benin for the Edo-speaking. We should forbid the trouble of contesting which is superior to the other, since they are both great Kingdom and had tremendous influence on and exchange of people from one another.

Both the Yoruba and Edo language has and is still undergoing revolution due to both internal and external influences (both from one another and from other strata).

The Yoruba people have some people who originated from other lands like Benin, same way as the Edo-speaking have some who originated from other lands like Ife, as is the case of migration based on trade, agriculture and war, etc in the olden days. Even up until now people are still migrating and naturalizing.

There is an African proverb which goes that "IF BROTHERS FIGHT THEMSELVES TO DEATH, STRANGERS WILL INHERIT THEIR PROPERTY."