Thread by @isaiah_kumuyi

OMOLÚWÀBÍ: Reclaiming the Essence of a People's Identity.

Dear @DAWNCommission,

I want to sincerely thank you for the great job you're doing with helping to coordinate development efforts across the 6 States of our geopolitical zone.

#Thread

More importantly, I appreciate your attention to matters of cultural identity and rejuvenation.
#Omoluwabi

But I have burden on my heart to start canvassing for the adoption of the word "Omolúwàbí" as the name by which everyone born in the "Ilè káàro oòjíre" - at home and in the diaspora - will be called. #Omoluwabi

Why is this?

1. The name by which a person or thing is called has a bearing on its fortune or performance.

As the the wisdom of our Fathers have aptly observed, "Orúko n ro ni, àpèjé n ro ènìyàn",
(A name influences it's bearer, just as an alias does).
#Omoluwabi

2. Compared to "Yorùbà", the name, "Omolúwàbí" is loaded with meaning and demonstrable virtues.
#Omoluwabi

3. The adjectival phrase, "Yorùbá" is at best a simplistic method of identification/description of a people, i.e. the Òyó - first, by the rivaling Hausa, and later by the British colonialists who found it useful for colonial adminstration.
#Omoluwabi

4. "Yorùbá", to all intents and purposes, was not a name given to convey honour or demonstrate virtue. It was a denigrating description of a people (the Òyó) by the Hausa-Fulani Empire. (Clapperton & Lander, 1829)
#Omoluwabi

5. Its extension as a descriptive to all speakers of dialects similar to the language of the Òyó, in the 2nd half of the 19th Century, owes largely to the influence of Samuel Ajayi Crowther and his great linguistic works on the Bible and dictionary
#Omoluwabi

6. I hereby propose that the name, "Omolúwàbí" be adopted in place of the "Yorùbá" that is currently used to describe the native peoples of Western Nigeria.
#Omoluwabi

7. Omolúwàbí" attests to the profundity of our native philosophical worldview.

8. "Omolúwàbí" is a pointer to the clear vision of our forbears of the kind of progenies they would sire and the kind of characters that would populate their lands
#Omoluwabi

9. "Omolúwàbí" means a "person of honor who believes in hard work, respects the rights of others, and gives to the community, in deeds and in action. Above all, an omoluwabi is a person of integrity." (Adeniji-Neill, D)
#Omoluwabi

10. It is a name that is instructive and inspirational.

When a people constantly refer to themselves as "Omolúwàbí", they subconsciously bind themselves to the obligations of displaying the virtues that such name confers on them.
#Omoluwabi

11. In addition, it will be a constant reminder to individuals of the ethos of their ethnicity.
#Omoluwabi

12.When others refer to us as "Omolúwàbí", as against the "Yorùbá" they currently call us, it reminds them that they speak about a people of refinement, intellect and dignity.

It inspires them to bring those things to the table in their dealings with us.

#Omoluwabi

13. Moderation of speech, Respect (for self and others), Goodwill, Truth, Character, Bravery, Hardwork, Intelligence are the notable personality features you will find in an #Omolúwàbí

14. Omolúwàbí means a person of industry, humility and respect.

What does Yorùbá mean?
#Omoluwabi

15. I urge you to use your good offices to see to the promotion of this noble mission of ethno-national rebirth.
#Omoluwabi

16.Our kindred in Sierra Leone have even done better by referring to themselves as "Akú", a self-descriptive derived from the first words of our greetings such as "Ẹ kú òwúrò".

17. We are "Omolúwàbí". We are not Yorùbá.

#Omoluwabi

18. I therefore propose that whenever the ethnic identities of the space called "Nigeria" are numbered, ours should be referred to as "Omolúwàbí", not Yorùbá
#Omoluwabi

.

19. We are what this country needs.
We are what the world needs.
We are "Omolúwàbí".
#Omoluwabi

20. From my heart, I thank you for your time.
Signed :
Isaiah Oluwatosin Kumuyi (@isaiah_kumuyi )
Saturday, February 22, 2019.
#Omoluwabi