Black History = Yoruba history part IV, 2013.

Who am I?

Black History = Yoruba History unless of course it really is about African American History! 

Were it not for a few twists and turns of history that brought her ancestors here unto slavery, this next iconic woman could have been my sister, or my aunt. Or my cousin. Or my neighbour.

This is the story of a little black girl born in the city of Decatur, Alabama to a carpenter and a school teacher who grew up to be a Stanford and Cornell graduate, a chemical engineer, a Physician, a Peace Corp volunteer to West Africa and oh yes, the first African American female to blast off into space on the Endeavour. 

Enough said. 

Kare o ja're. Omo Balogun. Akinkanju Obirin bi okunrin.

Omo onile ma a w'ole, ma a r'ora.

We claim you as one of ours, a native daughter of the soil. We celebrate you. 

But what is my name? Comments below pls.

F. A

Another Fine Yodaai Meeting!

Irohin ti kan mi...

The reports are in and it's all A+!

By all accounts, it was another successful gathering of like minded folks in Birmingham yesterday.

The social secretary and the host family pulled out all the stops...

First, January and February birthdays were celebrated for all

( mine is today and I'm sticking to my I'm only 27 story...)

Members showed up in full force from the tri city areas...

The Montgomery consortium above and below..

The Birmingham area consortium above and below

Our host family and guests...

The ladies showed up all in red themed attires to continue to high light heart health month

The President showed up in red too...

Even the babies and the mamas showed up in red! too cute...

Raffles and gifts for the ladies in red...

Some of the 2013-15 executives below...

 And  a great big thank you to our host family again, for bringing along the R.S.V.P. (Rice Soup Very Plenty). 

F. A

Black History Month = Yoruba History Month, Part III, 2013.

Who am I?
If there was a civil rights movement in post - independent Nigeria, then this now historical icon would be one of its founding fathers.

I was born the first of fraternal twins (1st clue to who I am!) in 1922, the son of a farmer, drummer and palm wine tapper. They called me Augustus. 


I trained initially in Nigeria as a teacher then served with the Royal air force as a navigator during WWII. I later studied History and Geography at the Universities of Manchester & London, England. I taught the Yoruba language at the School of African and Oriental studies while at the University of London.

I married an English Rose, & brought her back to my village in Nigeria - if I told you which village, you'd know this right away! - where she lived and died recently, herself becoming an activist for the common man in Nigeria. Together we engaged in many public battles, with the mostly military regimes that ruled Nigeria. When I published the treatise "The beginning of the end" after the Gowon Military government delayed returning Nigeria to democratic rule, I was arrested and imprisoned. Why? because I stood by the road side, distributing this document. It was the first of many such imprisonments.

I, along with others, agitated for free & compulsory education through high school & in 1956, I started my own secular school. Another clue: I took the name of my school from the ship that the pilgrims sailed to America on, in search of freedom from the tyranny of the then British King. At the school, we raised our own pigs, made our own cocoa from locally grown beans, harvested 3 seasons of corn instead of the 2 that the local famers did and we learnt technical skills by building our own class rooms and dormitories. Out of that school, came the first female engineer in Nigeria.

Behind my back, they called me a cantankerous old man. A radical. I prefer the title "conscience of the nation". Secular in my approach to life, atheist to my core. Self reliance was my guiding principle. Truth and fairplay were at the helm of my moral compass and the song of justice? - it became my rallying cry.

"I am the master of my fate, the captain of my soul". 

Name me if you will...Bonus points if you name my school and my village.

F. A

An ode to love...

A Serenade in Yoruba 

Wi fun mi, Olufe mi,
Iwo eni ti okan mi fe,
Fi ona ife re han mi,
Ki emi ma d'abi alaare,
 Ti o n s'ina kaa kiri,
Bi agbo ti o so nu,

Ereke re wu mi,
Orun re si dun wo pelu ileke,
Fi akara didun da mi duro,
Fi eso igi tu mi ninu,
Nitori aisan ife n'se mi.

Dide olufe mi,
Arewa mi kan na a,
Ki o si ja de, ka lo,
Adaba mi, je ki emi o ri oju re,
Nitori oju re si lewa,
Je ki emi gbo ohun re,
Ni tori didun ni ohun re.
Aisan ife nse mi, olufe mi,
Iwo eni ti okan mi fe.

Adapted from & inspired by the Songs of Solomon...

Happy upcoming Valentine's day,
to all great Yodaaites!

Translate single lines to English if you dare, below in the comments section...

F. A.

Black History Month = Yoruba History Month, part II, 2013.

Sooooo who do you think I am?

One can't give too many clues about this next famous historical Yoruba icon - without revealing the mystery man himself. So here goes with just the essentials...


I was born in 1909, the son of a peasant. In order to raise money for tuition, my entrepreneurial spirit came through working my way as a clerk, a produce trader, money lender, teacher, taxi driver and a newspaper reporter/editor.

I organized and led trade unions in the late 1930s like the Nigerian Produce Traders Association and the Nigerian Motor Transport Union. 

I studied law in London in 1944, and while there I founded the Egbe Omo Oduduwa (“Society of the Descendants of Oduduwa”), a Yoruba cultural society. I am the author of several books - if I told you one of them, it'd give the game away.

I advocated for a federal constitution for Nigeria and I was a principal participant in the struggle for Nigerian independence. I spent several years in federal prison on charges of Treasonable felony (Can't give you the details, it'd be too easy then!) and later became the leader of the opposition in the federal house of representatives.

I am often commemorated for building the first stadium in West Africa, the first television station in Africa, running the best civil service in Africa at the time (in the Western Region), introducing free health care till the age of 18 in the Western Region, introducting free and mandatory primary education in Western Nigeria, and coining the name Naira for Nigeria's currency (formerly known as the Nigerian Pound). 

I have said too much. 

Who am I?



F. Abolade, M.D. 

February is Heart Health Month!

Going Red For Women!

Yodaai ladies joined thousands of others nationwide today by wearing red....
 Why ? you may ask.
Be e la a n' bi ni.


 Today, February 1 marks the 10th anniversary of the 

American Heart Association's "Go red for women" 

with National Wear Red Day to highlight heart diseases in women. 
We are going Red on the Yodaai Blog to raise awareness for heart disease in women.

Sooooo,

From the plains of the city of Montgomery,

to the lush hills and green mountain sides of the city of Birmingham

Our able leader in this celebration...

As highlighted by our social secretary in her recent email to all, this is 

American Heart month

 And so too, through the academic halls of the city of Auburn,

From our enterprising business owners... 

to our hardworking mothers and sisters....

We join in the community and nationwide effort 

of raising awareness

 for the number 1 killer of women.

Watch a short 3 minute video to highlight this.
Go red for women video.

Be kind to your clicker!
Commit to eating a low fat, low carbohydrate 
(low sugar), low cholesterol, moderate protein and a high fibre diet unless directed otherwise by your doctor.

Maintain a safe healthy weight for your height.

Exercise your body to raise your heart rate & therefore increase your metabolism.

Get routine physical exams to check your blood pressure and heart rate.

Women have heart attacks too - it's in fact the #1 killer of women, so if you have unusual chest pain with discomfort down your arm, jaw pain, 
gas -like upper abdominal pains, sweating, nausea etc, see your doctor immediately!

For more information, visit the web site of the
 American Heart Association.

Go Red for Women. American Heart Association Learn and Life

Logo  and the "go red signs" are from the American heart association website.

The Social /Pub secretary has also asked that the ladies wear items of red in our clothing to our next meeting in Birmingham.

F. Abolade, M.D. 

Black History =Yoruba History Month, Part I, 2013.

It's baaaaack!

February is amongst other things, Black History month or as we like to translate it here: Yoruba History month! Just as we had last year, all month long, there will be fun mini history quizes with prizes for winners as usual. So here goes...

Who am I?

I am a pre-colonial Yoruba woman who eventually saved Ile-Ife from its' invading neighbors. A princess by marriage, I allowed myself to be captured as a slave by the invading Igbo & went underground to learn the secret to their fierce & fearful un-human like appearances  - they covered themselves, from head to toe, with dried grass and bamboo fibres -

which led to their success at  invading Ile Ife, repeatedly taking my people as slaves. 

I learnt the simple trick : 

Dried grass + bamboo fibres + fire = Defeat! Then I went back and helped my people use this knowledge to defeat the marauding invaders. 

I paid a heavy price for this victory, 

a son, given to the spirit of the river, Esimirin. 

What is my name?

Bonus prize if you also know my son's name.
Answers in the comment section below pls.

F. Abolade, M.D.

And the winner...

 ...of the proverb of the month for february is Prof Lekan Ayanwale. 

And the proverb is:

"Eyin ti aja fi 'n ba omo e sere ni fi bu u je." 

He provided a translation as well -

 "The same teeth that 
the dog uses to play with her child 
is the same ones

 he uses to bite in 
disciplining the

 child."

Any practical applications? Comments below pls.

F. Abolade, M.D.

Publicity Secretary.