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Spread all over the world, these descendants of Oduduwa form a great core of the West African sub-continent.
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Former President, Omo Yoruba DFW
This sad epoch in our history was marked by the arrest and imprisonment of Moshood Abiola and General Olusegun Obasanjo, the killing of late Papa Alfred Rewane, the death during the struggle of Papa Adekunle Ajasin, and the exile of late Anthony Enahoro, General Alani Akinrinade, Professor Wole Soyinka, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, Dr. Wahab Dosunmu, Chief Cornelius Adebayo, Bola Tinubu, and many other Yoruba prominent elders.
These events led the Yoruba International Union Dallas to convey the first National Convention of all Pan Yoruba associations in the United States of America in 1994. The Yoruba International Union held an inter-faith prayer meeting for Nigeria. The preacher was Dr. Joshua Dara. At the conclusion, it was decided to organize the Yorubas in North America into one body to assist in the liberation of the culture and legacy of Yorubaland which was under siege in Nigeria – an idea first mooted by the Imam of Dallas, Bashir Babatunde Ashimi, and transmitted through Kolawole Ayodele to the Yoruba International Union at their monthly meeting. The rest is history.
The Egbe Omo Yoruba Houston was one of the first organizations to support the idea of a national convention. The inaugural convention was held in Dallas, with delegates from Fort Worth, New York, California, Colorado, Chicago, and Oklahoma. Dr Benjamin Akande was the keynote speaker. From this inaugural Dallas convention, a second more substantive convention was planned for California. Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu who was then living in London was invited to be the keynote speaker. He could not attend, so his speech was presented by Dr Bola Aluko, former professor at the Howard University, later Vice Chancellor Balyesa University.
Late Chief MKO Abiola
Hero of Nigerian Democracy
At the next convention in Washington DC, followed by another convention in Philadelphia, at which the late Papa Abraham Adesanya was keynote speaker, and Professor Olikoye Ransome Kuti the special guest of honor, it was decided that all the existing Yoruba associations in North America should form a National Pan Yoruba Association. Rather than try to reinvent the wheel, the charter of this new organization was adopted from the Yoruba People’s Charter for Self-Determination. The Oodua Youth Movement, led by Mr. Kolawole Abiodun, meeting at Ile-Ife on September 14, 1994, had formulated this historical declaration to salvage the ancient Yoruba culture and identity.
The keynote speaker at the 1995 Denver Convention was Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos State, who by then still in exile, had moved to the United States from London. At this Denver convention, there were delegates from all over the United States and Canada. The president of Oodua Youth movement, Mr Kolawole Abiodun, came from Nigeria. At this Denver Convention in 1995, the Egbe Omo Yoruba North America was established. If Houston marked the start of the gestation of our great Egbe, Denver indeed was its birthplace.
Also in that epochal year 1995, the Egbe designed the Yoruba flag, which along with its Constitution, was launched at the Houston convention by Sola Ogunbode, former general secretary of the Egbe. It also formed the Oodua Freedom Network (OFN), headquartered in Nigeria which was to have a regional office in a neighboring African country and two other regional offices in London and Washington.
In addition, the Egbe Omo Yoruba home office in Nigeria was established at the Cocoa House, Ibadan, under the leadership of Dr. McGuiniss Olumuyiwa Otubusin. At this time, the Egbe joined forces with Odua Peoples Congress (OPC). Its leader, Dr. Fredrick Faseun attended the 2001 convention where former governor of Oshun State Chief Olabisi Akande was the keynote speaker.
In the same year, Egbe Omo Yoruba held a meeting in London and set up three Task Forces, one each for Europe, America, and Africa, with the goal of merging existing Yoruba organizations with commitment to the Yoruba Charter into a Network. The goal was to actualize the objectives of the Yoruba Charter of September 14, 1994. Radio Kuburat was later established by the Egbe and was named after the wife of Moshood Abiola. The Radio was sponsored by many individuals including members of NADECO. In addition, a Newsletter, the Yoruba Nationalist was another crucial component of the mobilization strategy along with the Yoruba language magazine Kaa ro O Ji’re also established by the Egbe.
Notable achievements of the national Egbe Omo Yoruba that changed the Nigerian political landscape included fighting for the political mandate of late Moshood Abiola whose victory in the 1993 national elections was vacated by the then military government of Gen Abacha and agitating successfully for the release of General Olusegun Obasanjo.
Restoring Yoruba Pride