Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has spoken about the historical significance of tribal marks among the Yoruba people, explaining that the traditional markings were once used as a means of identification.
Obasanjo made the remarks while speaking on the Curious City podcast, where he explained that tribal marks served an important purpose in identifying people who belonged to the same community, particularly during periods when people were captured and sold into sl@very.
According to the former president, the markings made it possible for people to recognise members of their own communities even after they had been separated from their homes.
“Tribal marks in those old days were used so that people, even when they were sold into slavery, could identify their own people. That is the purpose of tribal mark.”
Obasanjo also spoke about the presence of tribal marks among Yoruba men in those days, making a remark linking the absence of such markings to poverty.
“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.”
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