Obasanjo says Yorubas without tribal marks were seen as poor

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said on the Curiosity podcast that Yorubas without traditional tribal marks were considered poor in the olden days, explaining that the marks served as a means of identification, especially during the slave trade era. He noted that the markings allowed people to recognise members of their own communities even after being separated from their homes, and added, 'If you are a Yoruba man and you don’t have tribal mark, you must be very poor, because you no get money to make mark.'

Understanding this historical practice sheds light on how physical markers were tied to social status and community identity among the Yoruba. It reveals that tribal marks were not merely decorative but functioned as a social indicator of wealth and belonging, especially in times when people could be displaced through slavery. For modern Nigerians, this insight connects present‑day cultural discussions about scarification, identity, and heritage with a concrete economic dimension from the past.

What does this tell us about how cultural markers shaped social status, and how should we view such traditions today—are they relics of a stratified past, or living symbols of identity worth preserving?

SOURCE: https://dailypost.ng/2026/09/20/yorubas-without-tribal-marks-were-considered-poor-obasanjo/