Groundwork for Inter-Group Relations and Solidarity among Remo Communities of Yorubaland in the Pre-Colonial Period

Abstract

The Remo, a sub-group of the Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria, are today generally acknowledged as a unified and culturally-monolithic people. This is particularly so with the thirteen Remo groups that federated in founding the largest and the most urbanised of the Remo settlements, Sagamu, in 1872. However, this political, socio-cultural and economic affinity is a product of a long period of interaction and historical processes, which only crystallised in the third quarter of the nineteenth century as a result of the insecurity and brigandage that pervaded Yorubaland during this period. It is against this background that this paper interrogates the socio-cultural, economic and political underpinnings for inter-group relations and solidarity among the various Remo communities in the pre-colonial period. The paper argues that despite the variations in the traditions of origin of the various Remo groups, which foreshadow differences in cultural background and origin, the Remo communities actually had so much in common. It is these commonalities, which predated the imposition of colonial rule in the area, that explain the solidarity that manifested at the establishment of Sagamu Township in which thirteen Remo communities came together under a confederal arrangement. The paper adopts historical research methods. Given this, both primary and secondary data constitute the main sources of information for the study.

Keywords: History, Inter-group Relations, Pre-colonial, Remoland, Sagamu, Yorubaland