This paper attempts to examine the Yoruba participation in party-politics in Nigeria since 1951. It reviews the reason why the Yoruba refused to join the main stream politics and why they reacted violently to electoral malpractices in their various states as demonstrated in 1965, 1983, and 1993. This paper argues that party-politics is considered as the continuation of rivalry between the major ethnic groups. This is why many Yoruba elite today are considered as traitors and treated as outcasts because of their decision to join the main stream politics dominated by the Hausa/Fulani ethnic group. This paper concludes that the decision to remain in opposition has both positive and negative impact on the Yoruba.

The paper focuses on the Okun Yoruba (or Northeast Yoruba) in the present day Kogi State, Nigeria. It examines the impact of Sokoto or Fulani imperialism on their socio-political life, especially the settlement pattern. The period also marked the beginning of settlements on hilltops and areas considered not penetrable by the Fulani imperialists from Nupeland. It also focuses on the Nupe government in Okunland and the emergence of Kabba, an Okun settlement, as an administrative center because of its collaborative role with the Fulani imperialists. The Kabba (Owe) supportive role affected intra-group relationship in the region. The paper also examines the Fulani/ Nupe administration and the grand Ogidi military alliance by the Okun people to dislodge the Nupe from their land. The victory was however short-lived as a result of the colonial government decision to merge the Okun with the Northern region.