Question: What was the form of political organization of the Yoruba people of Nigeria? What was the form of political organization of the Yoruba people of Nigeria? The Yoruba were part of the Mali Empire. The Yoruba were organized in small tribal villages under the rule of individual headmen. The Yoruba were organized in a number of small city-states under the authority of regional kings. The Yoruba state was strongly centralized under a divine emperor who ruled from Ile-Ife.