At conference, Falola leads stakeholders in honoring J.A. Atanda

Distinguished professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin, Toyin Falola, on Monday, led hundreds of stakeholders, particularly in the academia, in honoring the memory of eminent historian, the late Professor J.A. Atanda, at the ongoing Seventh J.A. Atanda Lectures and Conference holding at the International Conference Centre, Lead City University, Ibadan.

The conference, with the theme on Yoruba activism, started yesterday and is expected to end on Wednesday, August 7, 2024. While noting the relevance of the theme and the richness of the conference, Falola, speaking with journalists at the event, argued that “Contemporary activism can be bifurcated into two: political and cultural. Political activism can be seen in the sense or struggle of the Yoruba not to lose their political identity and relevance in national politics, while cultural activism can be seen in the efforts not to lose Yoruba linguistic or,in a broader sense, cultural heritage. On the political side, take the example of the OPC, which evolved in the aftermath of the annulment of the 1993 elections. This group existed to protect the identity of the Yoruba people, which they believed could be achieved with a Yoruba presidency, even when this looked like a far shot. The political activism of the OPC became directed at preventing the marginalization of their race and contributing to national development.
“Discourses on the realization of the Yoruba nation dominated both the online and the offline space. Most of the Yoruba people took to the social media space to show their support for the agitators, especially as their efforts include restoring normalcy in the region, which has been disturbed by the Fulani pastoralists. Various social media groups who identified themselves as sons and daughters of Oduduwa, the mythical founder of the Yoruba ancestry, through digital activism promoted the secession of the Yoruba people. Some of these protests were taken to the public sphere and led to clashes between the agitators and the nation’s security architecture, leading to the loss of lives and the arrest of some of the agitators. Sunday Igboho himself was arrested and detained in the Benin Republic through the consolidation of the Nigerian and Beninese security intelligence. Scholarly attention has noted that these agitations were borne of purely Yoruba nationalism. This has been attested to as these clamours have watered down following the emergence of another Yoruba president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who they believe will protect and guide the essence of the Yoruba heritage.
“Many Yoruba people believe that an ethnic heritage dies the moment the people do away with their language. This further confirms scholarly assumptions that language is the repository of culture and traditions. Those who promote the use of language and Yoruba culture are cultural activists.”
Tracing the history of Yoruba activism, he asserted that “The precolonial era marked the formation of notable Yoruba societies, such as the Oyo Empire, among a host of others. During this era, the Yoruba people and communities were governed in accordance with the rules and regulations that were derived from their cultural epistemology. This repertoire of epistemology further determined both interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships. This period, though it marked the Yoruba cultural and political renaissance, also witnessed a series of activism that eventually reduced the dominance of Yoruba empires over the rest of the neighbouring communities as well as the unity and togetherness of the Yoruba people. During this period, we can see how the Old Oyo empire fell due to political activism or insurrections from other Yoruba communities, which eventually led to the rise and dominance of Ibadan and other notable Yoruba communities. There will also be a discussion on what could be regarded as cultural activism, which saw the rebellion of the traditional Yoruba women or their advocacy as better represented.

​
“It is imperative to foreground the fact that the precolonial Yoruba communities drew heavily on indigenous epistemologies, which define the relationship between the two genders. A plethora of scholarly literature has noted that there is an unequal gender relation between men and women, husbands and wives in the precolonial Yoruba communities. Scholarly attention has been noted to have been paid to Efunsetan, one of the few women in precolonial Yorubaland who challenged the authority of the men. With her seemingly inexhaustible wealth, she was able to challenge the conventions that empowered men to serve as custodians of women. Available scholarly evidence notes that she has, under her custody, over a hundred slaves that populated her workforce. She became the Iyalode of Ibadan due to her immense contributions to the economic development of the precolonial Ibadanland. While her growth was greeted with enthusiasm in some quarters, it was also met with dismay in some. During the reign of Aare Latoosa of Ibadan, she was a major antagonist of his expansionist struggles, which culminated in a public contention where she was eventually captured and persecuted; however, her struggles became the symbolism of women’s advocacy for gender equality before the arrival of colonialism.
“One should begin with the fact that the Yoruba had much to contend with during the colonial period, most of which can be subsumed under their continuous resistance to colonial rule. It should be noted that contrary to the popular Western narratives, the Yoruba people had organized themselves into an effective independent nation before the arrival of the British colonists. Just as they had done in other colonies, the British colonial administrators did not improve the political organization of these empires; they eventually destroyed them to set the stage for colonialism. Among the major tribes or ethnic groups in colonial Nigeria, it can be argued that the Yoruba people were one of the fiercest towards the colonial resistance, if not the fiercest. As a matter of fact, scholarly attention has noted that the Yoruba people were at the centre of nationalist struggles during this period. The reasons for this resistance are multi-faceted: the dominance of colonialism would mean that the cultural heritage of the Yoruba people would be destroyed among a host of others.
“The anti-colonial resistance of the Yoruba people could be witnessed by the series of political and cultural activists in the southwestern landscape. Brewing with nationalistic fervour, the Yoruba people were able to confront the struggles posed by the colonial administration, which, in the long run, culminated in the independence of Nigeria. As has been highlighted above, the Yoruba had many reasons to be wary of colonialism as it was simply the super-imposition of the Western culture on them. Allowing this would mean the loss of their indigenous identity. The resistance of the Yoruba people was initially not enough to make the colonial administrators back down on their policy of the adoption of the English Language as the language of instruction in the class settings. The adoption of the English language as the official status would systemically reduce the usage of Yoruba among the elite, eventually relegating the linguistic repertoire of the indigenous epistemology. It should be further mentioned that language imperialism has been a viable tool of the colonial administrators: to defeat the colonies take away their language. In other words, without language, there is no culture.
“Even when the colonialists were able to foreground their culture through Western education, the Yoruba people, on the other hand, were able to hold on to their culture.This was made possible through effective and efficient informal education.In fact, due to the colonial policy of no mother tongue in the formal education system, the Yoruba people were further reluctant to send their children to schools.Nevertheless, those who received Western education used it as a springboard for what later became anti-colonial struggles.Julius Adekunle notes that Yoruba leaders such as Herbert Macaulay, who founded the first political party in Nigeria, Ladipo Solanke, and Obafemi Awolowo, among a host of related others, were influential in the series of anti-colonial movements during this period.”
Also highlighting the depth of Yoruba activism, the lead paper presenter, celebrated columnist and newspaper editor, Dr Lasisi Olagunju, stated that “To the Yoruba, activism is an art; it is not just an art, it is a fine art – a profound product of human activity with meaning and soul. The French may espouse the theory of Arts for Arts sake but with the Yoruba, that is not the case. With them, every human activity has a motive, a motivation and a function. A man does not run barefooted on the spikes of stubborn grass of activism just for the sake of running. Only a mad man does that. The Yoruba believes at all times that the one who runs is either pursuing something or something is pursuing them.
“The Yoruba people have a long and rich history of activism, characterised by their persistent struggle for justice, autonomy, and cultural preservation. From the assertive leadership of Madam Efunsetan Aniwura and Efunroye Tinubu to the feminist and nationalist campaigns of Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, resilient Herbert Macaulay, progressive Obafemi Awolowo, the irrepressible Gani Fawehinmi, the honourable intransigence of Wole Soyinka, Tai Solarin, Fela and Beko Ransome Kuti, Ayodele Awojobi, Femi Falana, etc. Yoruba activism has taken many forms and continues to evolve in response to contemporary challenges. This enduring tradition of activism highlights the Yoruba commitment to social justice and the significant impact of their efforts on Nigerian society and beyond.

“Yoruba activism has deep historical roots, dating back to pre-colonial times when Yoruba leaders and communities engaged in various forms of resistance against external domination and internal injustice. This legacy of activism has continued through the colonial period and into contemporary times, reflecting the Yoruba people’s commitment to social justice, political autonomy, and cultural preservation.
“Activism among the Yoruba knows no class, gender and age. From peasants to obas and the wealthy, male and female, old and young, the duty to ask questions and demand answers is sacred and sacrosanct. You find this in their proverbs: A i le s’oro ni ibere ori buruku (silence is the foundation of misfortune); eni ba dake ti ara re a ba dake (If you keep quiet when you should talk, your ailment will also stay quiet in your body).
“The Yoruba have always produced activist obas and chiefs. Eshugbayi Eleko was Oba of Lagos twice. He was there from 1901 to 1925, and from 1931 to 1932. Eshugbayi was the quintessential Yoruba, progressive, intransigent, obstinate. The oba led Lagos’ opposition to colonial government’s water tax of 1908. At his instigation, a huge protest of more than 15,000 people rattled the colonial government. The EndSARS protest of 2022 replicated what he did in 1908. He didn’t hide his leadership of that movement and the government did not find his role funny. The oba subsequently had very many other issues with the British colonial government. As a consequence of the troubles he caused the government, Oba Eshugbayi suffered deposition and removal to Oyo in 1925. His legal battle against this decision (Eshugbayi Eleko Vs Officer Administering the Colony of Lagos), was as epochal as his resilience. His unyielding efforts eventually paid off after several years. Eshugbayi was brought back to the throne in 1931. That decision, which was delivered by the Privy Council in London on 24 March, 1931, was described by Teslim Elias in his ‘Nigeria’s Contributions to Colonial Law’ (1951:53) as a locus classicus in our legal jurisprudence.
“Yoruba activism straddles all known divides. It is a convergence of town and gown, the street and the palace. Its history has chapters on peasant commitment to the ideals of social and economic justice, rejection of exploitation and political domination and inequity. The story of peasants playing activist roles is a history of resistance against exploitation, oppression and elite state-enabled injustice. The Agbekoya (farmers reject suffering) movement of 1968 exemplified this part of the Yoruba peasant movement history.
“In contemporary Nigeria, Yoruba peasant activism has continued to manifest in movements and organisations dedicated to promoting human rights and Yoruba political interests. One of such groups is the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC). The OPC movement represents the people’s unrelenting struggle for respect, for justice — economic, social and political — and for cultural protection in Nigeria. The OPC was established in 1994 by persons who listed promotion of political autonomy for the Yoruba within the Nigerian state as one of its cardinal objectives. It was a major mass movement of the Yoruba against the injustice of the state which annulled the election of Chief Moshood Abiola as president of Nigeria on June 12, 1993 (Akinyele, 2001).
“The 2012 subsidy protests were more pronounced in the South Western part of Nigeria just as the EndSARS protests of 2020. The August 2024 EndBadGovernance protest had organisations and individuals with known Yoruba persons as their anchors. There is the Enough is Enough Movement that has Yemi Adamolekun, a Yoruba lady, as its executive director. Adamolekun was on Arise Television on Wednesday, 31 July, 2024 defending the protest that was 24 hours away. She listed constitutional and political reforms as well as social justice enforcement and enhancement among the demands of the protest organisers.”
The keynote speaker, Dr Akin Osuntokun, the Orangun Oke-Ila, Oba Adedokun Abolarin, the Vice Chancellor of the Lead City University, represented by his deputy, Professor Olusola Ladokun, the pro-chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University, professor Siyan Oyeweso, and the Atanda family thanked Professor Falola for honoring the memory and legacy of Professor Atanda.
I’m