The intensification of ethnic political consciousness in Nigeria: the rise of the Egbe Omo Oduduwa 1947-1951

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Periodical article

Title:	The intensification of ethnic political consciousness in Nigeria: the rise of the Egbe Omo Oduduwa 1947-1951
Author:	Arifalo, S.O.
Year:	1986
Periodical:	Genève-Afrique: acta africana
Volume:	24
Issue:	1
Pages:	7-33
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Nigeria
Subjects:	Yoruba ethnicity
Abstract:	The Egbe Omo Oduduwa was a Yoruba cultural organization which was formally inaugurated in Ile-Ife in 1948. It was designed to foster the spirit of unity, cooperation and brotherhood among the different groups in Yorubaland. This paper examines both the positive and negative responses to the emergence of the Egbe from certain ethnic groups in Nigeria. While it was generally well received by the Yoruba it evoked anger of the prominent Igbo leaders of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons, who believed that the Egbe had been formed to work against their political interests. In 1948 a press war erupted between the Igbo and the Yoruba. This article examines the main causes of the hostilities and the consequent intensification of ethnic political consciousness in Nigeria between 1947 and 1951. Notes, ref., sum. also in French and German.