The National Association of Seadogs, popularly known as the Pyrates Confraternity, is a confraternity organization in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

that is nominally University-based. The group was founded in 1952 by the "Magnificent Seven" to support for

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

and

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...

in Nigeria.

History

Due to the increase of tribalism among social life of students and the increasing population of "wealthy" students to a relatively few "poorer" students in the

University College, Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public research university in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1948 as University College Ibadan, one of many colleges within the University of London. It became an independent university in 1962 ...

, the National Association of Seadogs was formed as a body in order to combat these societal ills. Founded in 1952 by seven friends made up of renowned Nobel Prize in Literature laureate

Wole Soyinka Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: ''Akínwándé Olúwọlé Babátúndé Ṣóyíinká''; born 13 July 1934), known as Wole Soyinka (), is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded t ...

, Ralph Opara, Pius Oleghe, Ikpehare Aig-Imoukhuede (left), Nathaniel Oyelola, Olumuyiwa Awe and Sylvanus U. Egbuche who adopted the name "Magnificent 7", the Pyrates Confraternity went on to become the only confraternity on Nigerian campuses for almost 20 years. Membership into the confraternity was open to students who were bright academically regardless of their tribe or religion. Presently, the Pyrates confraternity is located in all the southern states in Nigeria and also has branches in some parts of the world including the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, Japan, Australia,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Some sinister confraternities have been formed to copy the Pyrates confraternity which led the Pyrates confraternity to dissociate itself from these organizations and also operate outside university campuses. The confraternity is also presently seen as a "political opponent" after several members in Port Harcourt were detained in jail for participating in the disruption of election campaigns in 1997. To date, over 25,000 people have belonged to the organization at various stages.

Signs and symbols

The Pyrates Confraternity was registered with the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs under the Land (Perpetual Succession) Act Cap 98 with the name "The National Association of Seadogs".

Skull and Bones

The ''

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...

'' is the choice logo of the Pyrates confraternity made by the Magnificent 7. Colored in red, black and yellow; the logo consists of a human skull and two cross bones thus injecting the perception of seeing its members as men of danger. Members are known as "Seadogs" and "Saylors".

Brief sayings

There are brief sayings and slang associated with the organization as a sign of respect or greeting. These saying include: Odas is Odas, No Friend No Foe, Absolutely No Lagging, etc. nas nas

History

Signs and symbols

Skull and Bones

Brief sayings

See also

References

Further reading