Gelegele is an historical port of Benin Kingdom and there is no conflict of ownership

The President of the Ijaw Youths Council ( IYC ) , Eric Omare recently said that the ownership issue of Gelegele community in Edo State, if not properly handled may lead to a serious communal crisis. It is clear that the President of Ijaw Youth Council is ignorant of the ownership of Gelegele which was established by Oba Eware the Great of Benin Kingdom to facilitate trade between Benin Kingdom and European nations. Let me educate Eric Omare that Gelegele is not an Ijaw community. Gelegele is a Benin community. For the fact that we have some Ijaw people, Yoruba people and other tribes in Gelegele does not make it Ijaw community. I want to educate Eric Omare on Oba Eware the Great and the development of Gelegele. It took various Obas in Benin Kingdom to open up the various communities in Benin river including Gelegele to the Europeans. There is no controversy and no dispute about the ownership of Gelegele. For the fact that Oba Eware II is calling for the development of Gelegele port since last year does not mean that there is a dispute over ownership of Gelegele. Gelegele is an historical port of Benin Kingdom that was opened by Oba Eware the Great before it became a major Oil and Gas producing community in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State that hosted the philip’s oil company limited subsidiary of philip 66 of texas USA in 1963. The assets and liabilities of Philip oil company in OML 96 were divested to Dubri Oil Company in 1987. It has made Benin Kingdom and Edo state one of the oil and gas producing state in Niger Delta. THE Portuguese were the first European travelers to visit Benin through Gelegele, which they called Benin, this was during the reign of Oba Eware the great. The Portuguese admitted finding a highly developed kingdom with a very advanced system. This visit and subsequent interchanges led to King John II of Portugal who reigned between 1481 to 1495 exchanging correspondences with the King of Benin on a peer like basis. Between 1504 and 1550 AD, the Portuguese established diplomatic and trade relations with Oba Esigie and his kingdom of Benin

By the 16th century the Oba sent an ambassador to Lisbon and the king of Portugal reciprocated by sending Christian missionaries to teach the Binis the gospel.

Oba Eware II is pushing for the development of Gelegele port The Oba of Benin Kingdom, Omonoba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewuare II, has consistently expressed the desire for a Free Export Trade Zone at Gelegele Community in Ovia North-east Local Government Area of Edo State.

Oba of Benin, Oba Eware II has done very well to woo foreign businesses to Edo State. It is an imperative that Oba Eware II, has focused almost as vigorously as he pursued investments most especially in Gelegele. It is disheartening therefore to know that this effort does not seem to be meeting generally accepted objectives; and the desired level and types of new foreign investments are not materialising because of some uneducated Ijaw elements in Gelegele.

The development of Gelegele as a port and industrial zone is of high priority to Oba Eware II, Oba of Benin and the Government and people of Edo State, as it will improve the economic competitiveness of our state. Governor Obaseki has, therefore, set up a seven-member, high powered committee headed by Engineer Gregory Ero, to establish Gelegele as a foremost economic and industrial hub in Nigeria

It was towards the tail end of Oba Ewuare’s reign that the Portuguese first made their visit to West Africa in 1472. Oba Ewuare the great died in 1473. At the actuaries on the bank of what is today known as the Bight of Benin. When the Portuguese arrived in the kingdom of Benin through Gelegele, they were stunned by what they found on the ground in terms of level of administrative sophistication, social engineering and military activities. They found a monarchy dating back many centuries, with complex structure of chiefs and palace officials presiding over a kingdom that was expanding in all directions and a highly developed kingdom with unique and very sophisticated political, artistic, linguistic, economic, cultural and military traditions in the process of territorial conquests.

The English made their first call in 1 553. This visit was a harbinger of lucrative business, for significant trade relationship soon developed between England and Benin. The British anthropology writer and curator, Henry Ling Roth, described Bini as Great Benin. Other European visitors to Benin in the 16th and 17th centuries brought back to Europe tales of the Great Benin”, a fabulous city of noble buildings and efficient administrative system.
While alleging marginalization of the Ijaws in appointments and elected positions in Edo State, the IYC said the uproar that occurred mid way into the meeting with the Acting President in Edo State was not to be handled with levity as according to him,