Our
attention has been drawn to a recent offensive announcement on NTA
news and publication by Comrade Adam Oshionmole’s Government on
This Day, 14th of May 2016, (
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/05/24/edo-govt-approves-appointment-of-new-oba-of-benin/
/)
titled “EDO GOVT APPROVES APPOINTMENT OF NEW OBA OF BENIN “
A
This Day publication and NTA news further states “Edo State
Government has approved the appointment of His Royal Highness Edaiken
N’Uselu, Crown Prince Eheneden Erediauwa as the Oba of Benin, with
effect from 29th April, 2016. In a letter dated 24th May, 2016 signed
by the Secretary to State Government, Prof Julius Omozuanvbo
Ihonvbere, OON, titled: “Appointment of His Royal Highness Edaiken
N’Uselu, Crown Prince Eheneden Erediauwa as the Oba of Benin” the
Government said: “it is hereby notified for general information
that in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 19 (1) of the
Traditional Rulers and Chiefs Law, 1979 (as amended) and by virtue of
all other laws enabling it in that behalf, the Executive Council of
the Edo State Government of Nigeria has approved the appointment of
His Royal Highness Edaiken N’Uselu, Crown Prince Eheneden Erediauwa
as the Oba of Benin, with effect from 29th day of April, 2016."
The
Oba of Benin or "Omo N'Oba N'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo" is the
traditional ruler of the Edo people and head of the historic Ogiso
and Eweka dynasty of the Great Benin Empire - A West African empire
that once spead on the bight of Benin to Dahomey – now Republic of
Benin, capital in Benin City, in modern-day Nigeria. The title of Oba
was created by Oba Eweka I, Benin Empire's 34th ruler
from Ogiso. who is said to have ascended to power at some time
between 1180 and 1300. The Oba of Benin was the Head of State
(Emperor) of the Benin Empire until the Empire's annexation by the
British, in 1897.
The
title "Omo N'Oba N'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo" simply means His
Royal Majesty the "born king" of Benin and not just the son
of a king as previously speculated or imagined. There is only one
line and the title passes from father to son world without end. Oba
is not appointed by any government but the only business of the State
Government in the transition process, is the PRESENTATION of STAFF OF
OFFICE to the new Oba after a successful CORONATION in accordance
with the custom and tradition of the people of Benin Kingdom.
The
Benin royal dynasty is monolithic that is unique in many ways because
the Benin Oba does not abdicate and even when the incumbent is exiled
like happened with Oba Overamen, the Benins still found some ways to
reinvent the wheel and to keep their tradition intact and pure. After
the Philip expedition encounter with the British intruders in 1897,
no successor could be named and formally crowned a king in Benin as
long as the last Oba was still alive.
The
Oba of Benin is something else in Nigeria. Even with the rule of Law
taking hold in Nigeria, you don't fool around with the Oba of Benin
without a price to pay. The 6 Usama chiefs, the highest ranking
chiefs in Benin know it. Everybody knows it. The Oba of Benin is not
taken lightly or taken for granted. It is a taboo in Benin to cast
aspersions on the person of the Oba.
The
Benin Oba is treated in many ways as first among equals compared to
other monarchs in Nigeria and most Nigerians know that the Edo people
value their traditional institutions and that the Oba of Benin is a
breed apart who cannot be compared with so many of his peers in
Nigeria. The Oba owns the land and he owns the people. Anything Benin
people have are owned at the pleasure of the Oba who can make and
unmake. It is no one else but the Oba of Benin who is a god in his
own right that nobody fools around with. Whatever he says is final.
He usually covers his mouth because when he talks he is the supreme
authority. People talk on his behalf most of the time and whatever
they proclaim "ex cathedra" like the Pope becomes the Law
with immediate effect.
The
way the Oba of Benin still carries himself is totally different from
the way his peers elsewhere carry themselves. You don't appoint or
contest to become the Oba of Benin. You are born into it from the
cradle. The "Edaiken", the heir apparent to the Benin
throne is almost as powerful as his father even though he too has his
limitations just like the Oba of Benin is also constrained by some of
the traditional laws of the kingdom.
If
you offend the Oba of Benin, or you are fighting the king you are not
just fighting one person, you are fighting all of his previous
predecessors in the spiritual realm. It is a battle you cannot win.
If the Oba gets angry with you, and the Oba goes into the inner
chamber of the Palace to put on his special red garment otherwise
known as "Ododo" and curse you wearing that garment, there
is no way in the world you can ever get rid of that curse.
It
is a known military tactic to destroy the moral of a people by first
undermining them, you starting this process by disdaining their
revered culture, customs, norms, values, traditional institutions,
and edifice to which they attach or ascribe so much importance and
value. We can draw a parallel from the metaphor and idiom of killing
a snake, which says that to kill a snake you cut of the head.
Usually, this idiom is used in a battle or military application in
which you remove the most dangerous opponent or the leader first, so
that the other enemies will be easier to deal with. The US is
renowned for using "cutting off the head of the snake" as a
legitimate strategy in war: to remove or disable the enemy's
leadership to shorten or lessen hostilities. It has been used since
the beginning of warfare, though it is a difficult stratagem to
perform successfully, since the King of a kingdom, or leadership of a
nation or army is most closely guarded. However, when it is
successful, swift victory is usually assured.
Similarly,
given the sacred and sacrosanct nature of OBA of Benin to the Benins,
if Comrade Oshiomhole can undermine the OBA or sacrilegiously reduce
his hereditary position to mere appointment, and publish same in a
national newspaper and NTA news drawing on the power conferred by
Section 19 (1) of the Traditional Rulers and Chiefs Law, 1979 (as
amended) and Section 20(1) of the Chiefs Law (Cap. 37) (he is
attempting to "cut off the head of the snake"). By invoking
the virtue of all other enabling laws, he is indirectly suggesting to
the Benin people that the OBA is beneath his power (or him). As such,
he can use the Nigerian Constitutional power vested in him to appoint
or sack the Oba of Benin at will without any consequences.
There
is a serious lacuna between the interpretation of the Chiefs Law and
the dictates of the Benin tradition and customs, because the OBA is
not an appointment but a hereditary kingship. Now let’s further
hyperbolise Comrade Oshionmole’s dangerous direct public
confrontation with the Benin tradition and custom. If Section 20(1)
of the Chiefs Law (Cap. 37) mandates Comrade Oshionmhole to appoint
the OBA of Benin rather than to simply present him with a Staff of
Office, does this mean that he is vested with the power, by virtue of
this law to sack, replace or decide who should be crowned OBA of
Benin? This serious legal and constitutional lacuna and conundrum
required urgent review because the OBA of Benin is too esteemed and
colossi for a “small fish” like Oshionmhole to politically fry or
tickle with, hoping there will be no repercussion.
We
must go back in history to note that the Oba of Benin once put an
embargo on the "Agho" title in Benin City saying that no
one from the famous Obaseki family in Benin would ever be named to
the title because of the feud with Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi and his
son Edaiken who later became Oba Eweka, once had with the Obaseki’s
while waiting to succeed his father.
Drawing
on the principles of devils advocacy, one is incline to question
whether this resent public pronouncement that is tantamount to
undermining the revered and venerated position of the Oba of Benin in
NTA news and This Day, national daily newspaper publication
respectively further underscore the undercurrent grand design or
schemes by Comrade Oshionmhole to help his “surrogate son” Godwin
Obaseki to settle his family scores with the Oba Ovonramwen and Oba
Eweka for not recognising his forefather as with the “Agho of Benin
title”.
We
must also recall that history is repeating itself here. Comrade
Oshionmhole recently insulted the departed Oba of Benin, Omo N'Oba
N'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo by addressing him as "iconoclastic royal
father". The word, iconoclastic meant "attacking or
ignoring cherished beliefs and long-held traditions, based on error,
superstition, or lack of creativity". It also means a person
that is intolerant of other religious beliefs.
We
all know that Adams Oshiomhole's is a clever and scheming man. His
description of our departed King and father in such a disdaining
manner was calculated to present him in bad light. The Oba has been
the custodian of long held customs of his people and at no time has
anyone complained that he was deviating from the beautiful customs of
his people. Therefore, to describe our revered monarch, who is the
embodiment of Edo, especially Benin people, as "iconoclastic
royal father" is to insult our Oba and insult to all Edo,
especially Benin people.
The
evidence suggests that Comrade Oshionmole is no respecter of persons,
tradition or custom. This position was echoed in his recent public
address to group of solidarity protesters that marched to the House
of Assembly complex and Government House by saying to them: “Let me
assure you, I will continue without fear of man, but with the fear of
God to provide leadership that will deliver prosperity to the great
people of this great state. To be able to do that, everybody,
everybody born of a woman who lives in this state must be subjected
to the rule of law
( http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/11/oshiomhole-igbinedion-in-verbal-war/ ). This suggests to mind that since our Oba is also “born of woman”, he, Comrade Oshiomole can disrespect him without any repercussion whatsoever.
In
similar vein, many Benin unsung heroes and heroines protested and
criticized Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole for pouring insults
on the person of the Esama of Benin, Sir, Chief, Doctor Gabriel
Osawaru Igbinedion, an enigma who has contributed immensely to the
development of the state through employment of many people
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYu4jgklSKo).
Governor, Adams Oshiomhole insulted Prince Ekpen Erediauwa, who
subsequently resigned his appointment from the government of Governor
Adams Oshiomhole as the Executive Director (Government House),
because the state governor harassed and threatened his life over a
parcel of land at Okoro-Otun Avenue, GRA in Benin City, which he
legally acquired from the Federal Government. This came on heels of
the demolition of the official residence of some staff of the
University of Benin including Prof. Osayuki Godwin Oshodin, former
Vice-chancellor of University of Benin by the governor as the dust
raised by that action was getting settled,
(http://www.nigerdeltanews.com/benin-prince-resigns-from-ed
…/).
We
also know that Governor Adams Oshiomhole has done everything within
his power to emasculate and destroy Hon. (Dr) Pius Egberanmwen Odubu,
the Deputy Governor of Edo State (
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/04/plot-kill-oshiomhole-apc-intensifies-peace-moves-odubu/
/
and
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/05/08/edo-2016-oshiomhole-and-odubu-at-war/
It
is on record that Deputy Governor Odubu and Governor Adams Oshiomhole
have been rumoured to have been at loggerheads because he (Dr. Odubu)
declared his intention to contest the gubernatorial election in the
state, and Oshiomhole is in support of the Chairman of the Economic
Team of the state government Godwin Obaseki. Dr. Odubu was even
accused of contracting a Native Doctor to kill the governor, which he
denied (
https://www.bellanaija.com/2016/05/edo-deputy-governor-pius-odubu-escapes-assassination/
).
The
aforementioned, are factual evidence that corroborates Governor Adams
Oshiomhole’s anti-Benin Chiefs and anti-Benin Royal stance and
grand scheme to position himself as the legitimate Edo Emperor, which
must be resisted by all meaning Benin people worldwide.
The
pre-eminence and greatness of the Omo n'oba ne edo, the Oba of Benin
is captured and recognised in the following appellations, tributes
and superiorities by the Benin people. The Oba Benin is: Ovbi' Umogun
Oza (The Child of the Oba whose mother hailed from Oza), Ovbi' Ekpen
N' Owa (The son of the home leopard), Ovbi' Adimila (The son of
Adimila), Ikeji Orisa (Second in command to the gods), Agbaghe,
N'Ovbi Olokun (Olokun's son, the cynosure of all mortals), Abieyuwa
N'Ovbi Odua N'uhe (The son of the wealthy Odua of Uhe(Ife), Ovbi'
Ada, Ovbi' Eben (The child of the owner of the Ada = scimitar and
Eben = royal sword, Edo symbol of sovereignty), Ovbi' Ekenekene ma
deyo (The son of beauty that never fades), Ovbi'Ekuaho N'Olo,
Ovbi'Ekuabo N'Olo (The son of the rocky arm, the brave and powerful),
Ovbie Ikpinhianbo kpuru no Gb'oduma (The son of the short fingered
man that was still able to kill a lion), Nohien utete no gh'ughe
s'omwan (The king on a hill, who sees more than everybody),
Ovbi'Oghonwan nei bun aro (The son of the fearless, who looks without
twinkling his eyes), Ovbi'ode, ode n'ohan ren mu' ete (The son of the
warrior whose enemies got frightened at the announcement of the
approach), Uku Akpolokpolo (The mighty that rules), Ovbi' Adolo no
dolo uwa dolo utomwen/b] (The son of the wise judge and peace maker
who combined wisdom and wealth with long life, ([b] Ovbi' oven owie
no gbaisi (The son of the morning sun that covers everywhere), Ovbi'
Akpogunla, ogie no y'igho b'owa (The child of the womb of Akpogunla –
the warrior who fought big wars and built a house of cowries), Oba
n'osa (A king that is god), Ovbi' otolo n'olomi; Ologberonmwon nei
rie iruen, ebo, ayemwinre eminiminimini (The son of the water
controller, the son of beauty itself, the starter of things and the
person whose reign saw people with many tongues).
For
the above accolades and many other reasons, we must not allow our
esteemed and larger than life Oba of Benin to be publicly disdained
or undermined as a politically appointed Oba by Comrade Adam
Oshionmole without consequences. Those concerned with this horrifying
publication in This Day and NTA news on 24th May, 2016 must
expeditiously RETRACT same, to avert a transcendental visitation!!
Oba
gar to okpere - Ise
Charles
Omorodion
President, Voice of the Edos - UK
President, Voice of the Edos - UK
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