On 13 February 2004, we formed the Yoruba Party in the UK (YPUK) to give voice to the Yoruba community domicile in the UK. We have moved at breakneck speed ever since.
First, in July 2024, YPUK stood a candidate in the Peckham constituency in the parliamentary elections. We made a decent showing despite our newness.
Second, we established on the WhatsApp platform an informal open forum for discussion on what might be important to the political wellbeing of the UK Yoruba community.
Discussion on the forum over the past 2 months or so has focussed on whether a formal legal relationship existed as a matter of fact between Great Britain (Britain) and Yorubaland, and if so, how to exploit it for the benefit of the Yoruba people. Discussants on the forum unearthed 3 legal relationships, that had been in concealment from sight, which nevertheless they believed directly impacted the political wellbeing of the UK Yoruba community:
1. The non-cession treaty of friendship and preferential trade that Britain concluded with Yorubaland on 23 July 1888, and ratified on 16 June 1890, in which Britain recognised the territorial integrity of Yorubaland and accepted the status of Yorubaland as its equal under International law.
2. The Colony of Nigeria Order in Council that King George V issued from the Windsor Castle on 22 November 1913 in which Britain, without consent, incorporated an independent Yoruba country into Nigeria, which translated into the act of Amalgamation on 1 January 1914.
3. The liability that Britain tacitly accepted for the transatlantic Slavery, which had visited and wrought destruction, pain and suffering upon Yorubaland, when in 1833 Britain paid compensation to its citizens who were slave owners.
The forum discussants encouraged YPUK to expose all 3 legal relationships to judicial scrutiny in British and/or in international courts, whichever was appropriate. The forum discussants expected YPUK to provide leadership and use the law to unravel the British misuse of laws in its relations with Yorubaland. Today, I can confirm, in my capacity as leader, that YPUK accepts the discussant findings in its entirety, and YPUK will take the matters to court on behalf of the UK Yoruba community.
YPUK has decided that the 1888 Britain-Yorubaland Treaty was priority. The treaty has laid dormant, concealed and in abeyance since ratification on 16 June 1888. YPUK already has embarked on some strategies for implementation. First, YPUK has written to the British government to request for a meeting with us to look at the way forward, but the matter is only likely to be resolved through the courts. Second, YPUK has written to inform the leaders of all political parties in the House of Commons of our desire to get this treaty implemented forthwith; only the Tory party has replied. Third, YPUK has issued a press statement to communicate the existence of the 1888 Britain-Yorubaland Treaty to the British people, and worldwide. Fourth, YPUK has appointed a legal panel of Charles Afiari, John Ogunrinola and the Baasegun to write the legal brief, and a publicity panel of Otunba Oseni, Kubrat Alawa, Oluwole Oni and the Baasegun to seek collaborators and funders.
The 1888 Britain-Yorubaland Treaty is of enormous importance to the future of the Yoruba people in the UK and in the Homeland. Implementing it would a) confirm the status of Yorubaland as a State in its own right under international law and b) encourage established States immediately to recognise Yorubaland as a fellow State. This treaty is powerful and arguably the most important and the most consequential treaty that Britain signed with any indigenous nation in West Africa before colonisation. The ramifications go well beyond the shores of Yorubaland and well beyond the shores of West Africa. This case has the potential of a game changer.
I can confirm that YPUK will bring this matter to court in 2025. We ask members of Yoruba self-determination movements and organisations to consider whether this legal initiative had the potential to liberate Yorubaland, and if they think it does, to wholeheartedly support it. To support this litigation, you do not need to renounce membership of your current organisation or political party, or join the YPUK, or even be of Yoruba blood. Visit our website at www.yorubapartyuk.org or email us at info@yorubaparty.org.
Getting the 1888 Britain-Yorubaland Treaty implemented is a major undertaking and an enormous financial one, likely to cost thousands of pounds. YPUK does not yet have the funds. You can donate via the website or via paypal.me/YorubaParty.
Baasegun (Dr) Olusola Oni
Leader, the Yoruba Party in the UK