Yorubas without tribal marks were considered poor – Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said Yorubas without traditional tribal marks were considered to be poor in the olden days.

Obasanjo disclosed that the traditional tribal marks were once used as a means of identification.

Featuring on the Curiosity podcast, the former president said tribal mark was a means of identification during the slave trade era.

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.

“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,” he said.