Obi Egbuna - the voice that sparked a movement
- Maya Bello-Taylor
- Sep 30, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
This October, as we celebrate the theme “Celebrating Our Changemakers”, we pay tribute to those whose courage and creativity have shaped the story of Black Britain. Among them stands Obi Benue Egbuna, a Nigerian writer, activist and organiser whose voice helped ignite the Black Power movement in the UK. His life reminds us that change often begins with words, conviction and the refusal to accept injustice as inevitable.
When Obi Egbuna arrived in Britain in the early 1960s, the country was still struggling to understand what it meant to live beyond empire. The streets of London promised opportunity to some, but for many Black migrants from the Caribbean, Africa and South Asia, it was a place of closed doors, cold shoulders and constant struggle. Into this atmosphere stepped a young Nigerian writer whose fierce intelligence and deep belief in equality would make him one of the defining figures of his generation.
Born in July 1938 in Ozubulu, Anambra State, Nigeria, Egbuna grew up in modest circumstances. His father’s death when he was fourteen left him with a sense of responsibility far beyond his years. Though he first planned to study law, his gift for writing and his determination to challenge inequality led him down a different path. His academic promise earned him a scholarship to study in the United Kingdom, where he arrived in 1961, ready to build a new life. He later continued his studies at the University of Iowa and Howard University in the United States, experiences that deepened his political consciousness and sharpened his understanding of global Black struggle.
Britain in the 1960s was a place of tension and transformation. Racial discrimination was open and unchecked, and the voices of Black people were largely ignored. Egbuna, inspired by the liberation movements sweeping across Africa and the radical ideas of Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael, refused to stay quiet. In 1967 he helped form the Universal Coloured People’s Association (UCPA), one of Britain’s first Black Power groups. That same year, standing in Trafalgar Square, he issued his Black Power Manifesto, calling for unity, dignity and resistance.
For Egbuna, Black Power was never just a slogan. It was a philosophy that joined the struggles against racism and class exploitation. In his essays and pamphlets, including Black Power or Death and The ABC of Black Power Thought, he spoke plainly about injustice and the need for self-determination. He argued that Black people in Britain had to see themselves as a united political force, regardless of whether they came from Africa, the Caribbean or South Asia. This belief in collective identity — later known as “political Blackness” — was at the heart of his activism. Egbuna openly invited South Asians to join the Black Panther movement, insisting that unity across communities was essential if they were to dismantle the structures of racism that affected them all.
In 1968, building on his work with the UCPA, Egbuna helped to establish the British Black Panther Movement. The group was inspired by the American Panthers but shaped by the unique realities of life in Britain. They organised self-defence groups, fought housing discrimination, and campaigned against police brutality, immigration raids and the constant harassment of young Black people. They held educational meetings, published newsletters and built networks of support that gave a generation of activists the confidence to speak out.
That same year, however, the state struck back. In July 1968, Egbuna was arrested after police raids on his home uncovered draft leaflets he had written for the UCPA, calling for resistance to police violence. The authorities claimed the documents “incited murder” and “threatened police officers” — language that revealed more about official fear of Black activism than about any real threat. Although other members of the UCPA had previously been fined under the Race Relations Act 1965 for incitement to racial violence, Egbuna’s case went further, testing the limits of free speech and political dissent. He was tried at the Old Bailey in November and December 1968, accused of “uttering a document” that encouraged violence against the police.
The trial became a defining moment in Britain’s confrontation with its own racial politics. Egbuna defended his right to call out oppression, arguing that resistance to racism was not hatred but self-defence. Although he was acquitted of the most serious charges, the proceedings exposed how the state sought to criminalise the Black Power movement and silence its leaders. The experience also showed the strength of Egbuna’s conviction — that truth, even when punished, must be spoken.
After his arrest and trial, Egbuna gradually stepped back from leadership, passing the reins of the British Black Panthers to Altheia Jones-LeCointe, a Trinidadian-born scientist and activist who became one of the most prominent women in the movement. Under her guidance, the Panthers grew into a more community-based organisation, focusing on education, women’s leadership and practical support for Black families facing discrimination. That transition, rooted in Egbuna’s original vision but evolving through new voices, showed how revolutionary movements can adapt and survive.
Alongside his political work, Egbuna remained a devoted writer. His novels and plays, including Wind Versus Polygamy (later republished as Elina), The Anthill, The Madness of Didi and Daughters of the Sun, explored love, power, tradition and change. He rejected labels that sought to box in his creativity. “I don’t write African plays or English plays,” he said. “A writer just writes plays.” It was a simple but powerful statement about freedom and identity, and it reflected the same defiant spirit that shaped his politics.
In 1972, weary of police surveillance and eager to contribute to cultural life back home, Egbuna returned to Nigeria. Invited by Ukpabi Asika, then administrator of the East Central State, he established a Writers Workshop in Enugu and mentored emerging authors. He wrote for television and newspapers, including his column Author’s Diary in Renaissance, where he reflected on literature, politics and Pan-African unity. Though he had left Britain behind, his work continued to speak to the global struggle for Black liberation.
Egbuna passed away in 2014 in Washington, DC, aged seventy-five. His name may not appear in every textbook, but his influence runs through the history of Black activism in Britain. The groundwork he laid helped shape later movements led by figures such as Altheia Jones-LeCointe, Darcus Howe and Olive Morris. His insistence that art and politics are inseparable continues to inspire writers and activists today.
As we mark Black History Month UK 2024, celebrating our changemakers means honouring people like Obi Egbuna. He reminds us that resistance comes in many forms and that creativity can be a revolutionary act. His life bridges continents, linking Nigeria to Britain, art to protest and imagination to freedom. In remembering him, we also remember the countless voices who stood beside him, determined to make Britain a fairer place for all.
To celebrate Obi Egbuna is to recognise that changemakers are often those who speak up when silence feels safer. His story reminds us that history is not only made by those in power, but by those who challenge it with courage, conviction and creativity. His voice still echoes, urging us to keep building, keep questioning and keep believing that a better world is possible.
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