God among the Yoruba of Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

It is a known fact that till date, the discriminatory attitude of the Whites and African religionists in general on the relationship between God and Africans in general and the Yoruba in particular still persist The notion that Africans (the Yoruba inclusive) have no idea of God still persist in some minds. To such people, Africa "the dark continent" could not have an idea of God. The introduction of foreign religions (Christianity and Islam) has further relegated the African ideas about God to the background. This paper critically examines the notion that African in general have no idea about God using the Yoruba of Southwestern Nigeria as its focus. The objective Is to further clear the air on the erroneous notions about African idea about God using the Yoruba as reference. The aim is to establish the fact that God in the African context is of different from God in the European context. The paper concludes that discriminating against a race or nation is tantamount to prejudice and cannot bring meaningful development to any society.