Oodua Peoples Congress

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The Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) is a militant Yoruba nationalist organization situated in Nigeria. The Yoruba people, who live in the South Western part of Nigeria, as well as neighbouring countries such as Benin, are a large ethno-linguistic group; the majority of them speak the Yoruba language (ede Yorùbá). The Yoruba constitute approximately 21 percent of Nigeria's total population,^[1] and around 30 million individuals throughout the region of West Africa.

They are also known as the Oodua Liberation Movement (OLM) or the Revolutionary Council of Nigeria (RCN)^[2]

[edit] History

The Oodua Peoples Congress was formed when a group of Yoruba elite, including Frederick Fasehun, decided to form an organization to actualize the annulled mandate of Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, a Yoruba who won the presidential election of June 12, 1993 but was barred from office.^[3]

Although the founding president of the OPC was Fasehun, in 1999 a faction led by Ganiyu Adams broke off from the main organization, but continued usage of the main parties name is led by Ganiyu Adams. Adams and Fasehun are widely held by the Yoruba to be the leaders of the OPC.^{[citation needed]}