Egbé Ọmọ Odùduwà (Yoruba National Movement) is a Nigerian

political organisation A political organization is any organization that involves itself in the political process, including political parties, non-governmental organizations, and special interest advocacy groups. Political organizations are those engaged in politica ...

established in 1945 by Yoruba leaders in London. Its initial purpose was to unite the Yorùbá people 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, Yekini Ojikutu as Vice President, Obafemi Awolowo as General Secretary, 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 Saburi Oladeni Biobaku CMG (1918–2001) was a Nigerian scholar, a historian who was among a set of Yoruba historians who followed the pioneering effort of Samuel Johnson in setting the foundations of Yoruba historiography and creating reference ...

, Abiodun Akinrele, D.O.A. Oguntoye,

Ayo Rosiji Chief Ayotunde Rosiji (24 February 1917 – 31 July 2000) was a Nigerian politician, having served as Minister for Health and Minister of Information. He was born in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on 24 February 1917 to the family of an Egba policeman ...

and others in

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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 b ...

. Their stated aim in setting up the organisation was to unite the Yorùbá people 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 and the Igbo people 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 fo ...

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 counse ...

, Chief H. O. Davies, Sir Kofo Abayomi, 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. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

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 statu ...

from the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

, 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 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 The Constitution of Nigeria is the written supreme law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Nigeria has had many constitutions. Its current form was enacted on 29 May 1999 and inaugurated the Fourth Nigerian Republic. History Nigeria's s ...

. 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 Chief Obafemi Jeremiah Oyeniyi Awolowo (; 6 March 1909 – 9 May 1987) was a Yoruba nationalist and Nigerian statesman who played a key role in Nigeria's independence movement (1957-1960). Awolowo founded the Yoruba nationalist group Egbe O ...

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