The Black History Month Symposium took place as scheduled in the Council chambers of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham on Friday 24th October 16:30. We are very grateful to the Mayor of Barking and Dagenham Her Worshipful Cllr. Princess Opeyemi Bright who graciously hosted us and was present throughout the Symposium and the Awards ceremony.
We had four eminent sons of Yoruba namely Dr. Olusola Oni a retired orthopaedic surgeon who is also the leader of the registered Yoruba political Party in the UK (YPUK); Otunba
Hashim Olabode OSENIE; Cllr Ayodele Odulate(the first Yoruba Councillor in the UK) and Prince Okobiya Oladigbolu who spoke on the topics of The enemies of the Nation and Bad Behaviour.
The topic of the Symposium – Bad character/Bad behaviour/Public enemy are all linked together. From the analysis of the speakers we can conclude on the following ; ‘Bad character’ means undesirable and unlikable behaviour. A behaviour that created conflict. A behaviour that went against societal standards of conduct. Examples include dishonesty, which means bending the truth for personal gain; selfishness.which means prioritising personal gain over others; negativity, which means, focusing on problems rather than on solutions; entitled, which means expecting special treatment at all times; and enviousness, which means resenting the success of others.
‘Public enemy’ refers to a person who engaged in activities that were extremely damaging to society; a menace to society. The ancient Yoruba recognised these undesirable character traits, so they put in place 4 different strategies to mould a person’s character. The ancient Yoruba did not leave the job to the law, God or religion. They did it themselves.
Strategy Number 1: Housing. Everyone lived in a ‘family commune’. Like the English, the ancient Yoruba lived in terraced housing. But while the English arranged their terraces in a straight line, the Yoruba arranged theirs in a circle, hence the term Agboile. Each Agboile exclusively housed a generation or two of people of the same lineage, and those adopted by marriage. This circular housing design ensured that everybody could see what everyone else was doing. There was no place to hide. It was also inclusive, for at the centre of this circle of terraced dwelling was an open courtyard, a bare area where everyone participated in communal activities including ceremonies like marriage.
Strategy Number 2: Education. Every child received a comprehensive education even though there wer no schools in those days. Children in the early years were home-schooled. Dropping out of education was not possible. There was group teaching and one-to-one teaching. Teaching was the duty of every adult member of the Agboile, indeed of the society at large. Children were taught family history – both in prose and poetry known as Oriki. They were taught civic and legal duties, and the meaning of the Yoruba dream. They were taught the Yoruba Charter of ‘the right to be’, ‘the right to do’, and ‘the right to have’. They were taught the self-responsibility Doctrine of Omoluwabi. Children had the opportunity to observe close up, both individual and group behaviour, 24/7.
Strategy Number 3: Economy. Every adult worked, and was expected to work. The Yoruba did not tolerate idle hands. There was full employment and devolution of tasks in what could be described as the Yoruba Coherent Economy. Men were engaged in the primary sector as farmers producing raw materials. Women, usually in the farmer’s family, were engaged in the secondary sector of manufacturing goods. They processed yam into Elubo, cassava into Gari. From palm kernels they manufactured oils and beauty products such as soaps, and body creams. The women turned wool or cotton into clothing materials, and so on. To add value, professionals – artisans, artists, bankers, market sellers, traders and so on – were engaged in the tertiary sector of the economy.
Strategy Number 4: Governance and political organisation. Every household, every guild participated in the government. The governance structure reflected the Yoruba belief that power belonged exclusively to the people not to the leaders. The Yoruba were urban dwellers but the urban – village, town, city or what have you – was not a random affair as it was in Europe where industrialisation was responsible for the urbanisation. The Yoruba urban was a confederation of several Agboile coalescing together. Every Agboile, in one form or another, was involved in government.
The four strategies laid a foundation for responsibility and accountability in each individual aimed at achieving societal cohesion, security and progress.
As part of our program for the Black History month the society decided to give some Yoruba people in the UK an award for their contributions and life time dedication to the promotion of Yoruba Language and Culture. The individuals given the awards are listed below.
- Chief Tunji Oyelana. A world renowned Yoruba musician, actor and playwright.
- Cllr. William Ayodele Odulate. The first Yoruba Councillor in the British government.
- Retired Major Olufela Dovi Yebovi. One of the founders of our society and now our Patron.
- Ayan de First. Mr Culture. A Yoruba leader of an International multicultural troupe and an adept Oduduwa Talking Drummer.
- Cllr. Princess Opeyemi Bright. The Mayor of Barking and Dagenham. The youngest Mayor of Yoruba descent in the British Government.
