There have been arguments on social media about the real meaning of Amotekun, the code name for the security outfit launched by South West Governors to help curb crime in the region. Some said that Amotekun means Tiger, others said it means Lion, while others said it means a Leopard.
Because of this, I took time to ask some of my Yoruba friends to see what it truly means and their thoughts are still divided. According to the screenshots here, they have dissenting voiceshttp://opr.news/sb09f461200115en_ng
The argument by those who said it cannot mean a Tiger is that Tiger is not indigenous to Yoruba people and so the community cannot describe what they have never witnessed.
Some people I asked said that Ekun is the Yoruba name for Leopard, while Amo means similar to another thing. Hence, Amotekun means an animal that looks like Leopard which is Cheetah, not Tiger.
Another set of people I asked said that Ekun can be translated Tiger
My friends who said that Amotekun is a Cheetah argue that since Amotekun literally mean ‘like Ekun’ or like Leopard, it should be a Cheetah. They base their argument on the analogy that since a Leopard has spots like Tiger, then any animal that must look like a Leopard will have spots too. Between a Tiger and a Cheetah, only the Cheetah has spots.
What should be the correct translation of Amotekun? A Tiger or a Leopard?