Egbé Ọmọ Odùduwà is a Nigerian political organisation established in 1945, when Chief Obafemi Awolowo along with Dr. Akinola Maja Dr. Oni Akerele, Chief Akintola Williams, Professor Saburi Biobaku, Chief Abiodun Akinrele, Chief D.O.A. Oguntoye, Chief Ayo Rosiji and others, met in London, England.[1] 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.
The Egbé Ọmọ Odùduwà grew in importance in 1948 when it was launched in Lagos with great fanfare by prominent Yorùbá politicians associated with the Nigerian Youth Movement. These politicians included Chief Bode Thomas, Sir Adeyemo Alakija, 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 or parochialism. During this period of the struggle for independence 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 of 1945 and the 1946 Nigeria-wide NCNC campaign against the imposition of the Richards Constitution.
Yorùbá politicians in Lagos 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.
The Egbé Ọmọ Odùduwà was relaunched a number of years after the first Egbe Omo Oduduwa metamorphosed into a group known as Afenifere. This second Egbe is led by Adesegun Musiwa and serves as a political forum that serves to support all of the Yorùbá people.
Other organisations within Egbe Omo Oduduwa are the Oduduwa Economic Agency (OEA), the Oduduwa Education Foundation (OEF), and the Oduduwa Development Agency (ODA).
References
- ^ Richard L. Sklar (2004). Nigerian Political Parties: Power in an Emergent African Nation. Africa World Press. p. 67. ISBN 1-59221-209-3.
- 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.