Egbé Ọmọ Odùduwà (Yoruba National Movement) is a Nigerian political organisation established in 1945 by Yoruba leaders in London. Its initial purpose was to unite the

Yorùbá people The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

in a manner similar to the tenets of the Ibibio State Union and the Ibo Federal Union. The organisation grew in popularity from 1948 to 1951. In 1951, Egbé Ọmọ Odùduwà supported the formation of the Nigerian Political Party Action Group.

History

Foundation

Egbé Ọmọ Odùduwà was established in 1945 by

Adeyemo Alakija as President Adéyẹmọ is a Yoruba given name and surname meaning "the crown or royalty befits a child." People with this name include: ;Given name: * Adeyemo Alakija (1884–1952), Nigerian lawyer, politician and businessman * Adeyemo Fatai, Nigerian forme ...

Yekini Ojikutu as Vice President Rashidi Yekini (23 October 1963 – 4 May 2012) was a Nigerian professional footballer who played as a forward. He is all-time top goalscorer for his nation. His professional career, which spanned more than two decades, was mainly associated wit ...

Obafemi Awolowo as General Secretary Obafemi is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Abiodun Obafemi (born 1973), Nigerian footballer *Michael Obafemi (born 2000), Irish footballer *Obafemi Anibaba, Nigerian civil servant and businessman *Obafemi Awo ...

, Akinola Maja, Oni Akerele,

Akintola Williams Chief Akintola Williams (born 9 August 1919) is a Nigerian accountant. He was the first Nigerian to qualify as a chartered accountant. He began his education at Olowogbowo Methodist Primary School, Bankole street, Apongbon, Lagos Island, Lag ...

, Saburi Biobaku, Abiodun Akinrele, D.O.A. Oguntoye, Ayo Rosiji and others in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Their stated aim in setting up the organisation was to unite the

in a manner similar to the tenets of the Ibibio State Union and the Ibo Federal Union; which were political action committees of the

Ibibio people The Ibibio people (English: / ɪbɪˈbiːəʊ/) are a coastal people in southern Nigeria. They are mostly found in Akwa Ibom and Cross River States. They are related to the Efik people. During the colonial period in Nigeria, the Ibibio Union ...

and the

Igbo people The Igbo people ( , ; also spelled Ibo" and formerly also ''Iboe'', ''Ebo'', ''Eboe'', * * * ''Eboans'', ''Heebo''; natively ) are an ethnic group in Nigeria. They are primarily found in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States. A ...

respectively.

Expansion

The Egbé Ọmọ Odùduwà grew in importance in 1948 when it was launched in

Lagos Lagos ( Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 f ...

with great fanfare by prominent Yorùbá politicians associated with the

Nigerian Youth Movement The Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) was Nigeria's first genuine nationalist organization, founded in Lagos at Stanley Orogun, with Professor Eyo Ita as the founding father and many others, including Samuel Akisanya. Ernest Ikoli, the first editor of ...

. These politicians included Chief

Bode Thomas Chief Bode Thomas (October 1919 – 23 November 1953) was a Nigerian lawyer, politician, statesman and traditional aristocrat. Thomas served as both a colonial minister of the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria and a nobleman and privy counsel ...

, Chief

H. O. Davies Chief Hezekiah Oladipo Davies, Q.C. (5 April 1905 – 22 November 1989) was a leading Nigerian nationalist, founding father, lawyer, journalist, trade unionist, thought leader and politician during the nation's movement towards independence in 19 ...

, Sir

Kofo Abayomi Oloye Sir Kofoworola Adekunle "Kofo" Abayomi (10 July 1896 – 1 January 1979) was a Nigerian ophthalmologist and politician. He was one of the founders of the nationalist Nigerian Youth Movement in 1934 and went on to have a distinguished public ...

, Chief Akintola Williams, Dr. Akinola Maja and others. The revival of the Egbé Ọmọ Odùduwà in 1948 was not accidental, because that was the year heated debates were being held to decide Nigeria's political orientation;

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

or parochialism. During this period of the struggle for

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the s ...

from the British, radical nationalism had been in the ascendancy since 1938, but it became very pronounced between 1945 and 1948. This period was marked by the

General Strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coa ...

of 1945 and the 1946 Nigeria-wide NCNC campaign against the

imposition Imposition is one of the fundamental steps in the prepress printing process. It consists of the arrangement of the printed product’s pages on the printer’s sheet, in order to obtain faster printing, simplify binding and reduce paper waste. ...

of the Richards Constitution. Yorùbá politicians in

led by Chief Bode Thomas formed the group in response to the afore-mentioned ethnically specific organisations, and also to chart a specific course for the development of Nigeria's Western Region, populated overwhelmingly by the Yorùbás. On March 21, 1951, the Egbé Ọmọ Odùduwà set up a political party called the Action Group. The party was to serve as the vehicle for realizing its primary objective of mobilizing the Yorùbá under one political umbrella. The Action Group was therefore formed to implement the ideals and objectives of the Egbé Ọmọ Odùduwà; and was led by Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

Relaunch

The Egbé Ọmọ Odùduwà was relaunched a number of years after the first Egbé Ọmọ Odùduwà . Other organisations within Egbe Omo Oduduwa are the Oduduwa Economic Agency (OEA), the Oduduwa Education Foundation (OEF), and the Oduduwa Development Agency (ODA).

References

:*Some facts and dates were drawn from the book, by Yusufu Bala Usman and Alkasum Abba, entitled ''The Misrepresentation of Nigeria: The Facts and the Figures'', CEDDERT, Zaria, 2005 reprint. {{Authority control Defunct political parties in Nigeria Political parties established in 1945 1945 establishments in Nigeria Yoruba politics Political parties in Lagos