By Ikhili Ebalu, Benin City
A Benin Socio Cultural Group, the Coalition Of Benin Social Cultural Organisation, (CBSCO), have warm the Egbema Youth Council, EYC, against turning the true history of Benin Kingdom upside down.
The group in a statement made available to journalists in Benin city and signed by the Coordinator ( coalition of Benin Socio cultural organization ), Comrade Osaze Amas- Edobor , said it would not have bothered to reply to the trash written by the Egbema youth council, but feels that there is the need to put the records straight for the people so as not to be misled.
Edobor said is a known fact , “That the Oba of Benin is the overlord and only traditional rulers recognized in what is today Edo south has never been an issue of Debate,the Bendel Traditional council act and the Edo state traditional laws are unambiguous about this.It was this same law that the Present Governor of Edo state Godwin Obaseki relied on when he arrested and detained one of the many Ijaw wannabe chiefs who sometime in 2018 paraded himself as being an Ijaw king on Benin soil.Not only was this erstwhile unfortunate militant arrested and detained,he was made to eat humble pie by renouncing the quack title he vested upon himself and made to understand that there is only one King in Edo south-his overlord ,the Oba of Benin.
According to him, The Egbema youths under the Aegis of the EYC in their write up stated that Governor Obaseki indeed recognized their chief and accorded him as a royal, to this end, we ask these fellows to quickly present to us video evidence where the state Governor present a staff of office to Ogunyenbo and any written document showing he is recognized by the government.
Comrade Edobor further stated that, “the history of Benin is a source of pride to the Benins and indeed the Black man, many of our deeds were cast in Brass which adorn the most sophisticated museums round the world,some other of our travails, conquests, hallowed traditions, TERRITORIAL BORDERS,our culture internal wranglings, battles,our fall to the British and out brilliant but complex administrative system (which some less creative people could not come up with)were all well documented not just in stone,clay and brass but also in print and mostly by unbiased non Benins including the westerners who we had solid relationships with for centuries before the name Ijaw was ever mentioned in any history book in the world.”
It was thence laughable Indeed to read the Egbema youths trying to give their stupidity some semblance of common sense by throwing around the name of one of our famous historians,Jacob Egharevba .
Any quick thinking person would note that these liars, never quoted any page from Egharevbas books saying that the Ijaws were indegenous to any part of Benin.
“The Benins need no introduction,our works,the royal insignia of the Oba of Benin called the Ada and Eben,adopted by many kingdoms today,the wars we fought in the past ,the kingdoms scattered round what is today called Nigeria established by Benin princes,the Bight named after us,all speak for the Benins and our rich history,it is therefore comical that a community of weather beaten sea pirates that the Nigerian government forced into painful retirement called Egbema youths said in their write up that their kingdom is over a thousand years old? hilarious and utterly stupid at the same time.Can a kingdom be so old and so worthless beyond measure that in their fabled 1,000 years of existence that they claim,they had no notable dealings with other neighbouring kingdoms?
No treaties with fellow Africans and no Treaties between their Past so called Agadagbas and any Europeans .
“The Portuguese were the first Europeans to visit West Africa and they painstakingly documented their travels and dealings.In 1472 when Ruy de Sequeira landed at the coast of Benin,he neither sought friendship with the ogogoro loving sea pirates ancestors of the Egbema youths nor did he inquire about any of their chiefs (if they had any),he made enquiries about the oba who ruled the land(Oba Ewuare at the time).
When the other Portuguese contingent Led by John Affons d’ Aveiro visited Benin in 1485,he went into Benin via the benin port of Ughoton and was received by Oba Ozolua,he had nothing to the so called Ijaw people.
It is in Portuguese records that Oba Ozolua sent the Ohen-okun,the chief of Ughoton and head of Ughoton to accompany Affonso D’Aveiro back to Portugal as his ambassador.Why did the Portuguese who at the time were a world power,not seek an Ijaw ambassador?
When John Afonso d’Aveiro came to Benin city second time,this time Oba Esigie was king,he advised Esigie to become a christian, Esigie again sent the Ohen-okun who was the OLOKUN priest of Ughoton with d’Aveiro as his ambassador to the king of Portugal,so he could teach him the new faith of Christianity and send him priests too who would guide them,where were the phantom Ijaw kingdoms in the area at the time?
He said , The mention of the Oduduwa story by the Egbema miscreants in their kindergarten style watery write up is no surprise,we the Benins know who our prince Ekaladerhan was, we sure know he didn’t fall from the sky and we as people who hold out throne in steep reverence, would never go to a non Benin man for a heir to sit on his throne, however we won’t banter about this momentous part of our history with semi literate retired pirates, in the right fora and symposia truth will always illumine the dark recesses of ignorant minds
Apart from their jargons,what elicited laughter from us was the sons of third grade sea robbers mocking us for losing to the British and claiming they never lost a war.
The exploits of the Benins need not be told by the Benins as we are not noise makers,once upon a time,wars and battles were synonymous with Benins and though we live in my civil times,the same blood of our forefathers runs in our blood.
“It is insane that people who have only waged wars against NNPC pipelines,flow stations and quickly embraced amnesty when the government released just a bit of it’s might on them are trying to mock the Benins with a war we lost to Britain,the most Formidable empire in the world at the time,the most powerful navy,one of the strongest armies and better armed than us with maxim machine guns and rockets .
Let the Ogogoro loving sons of wretched fishermen mention one war they or their forefathers fought and we’re victorious, anyone at all,either against an African kingdom or a European nation.”
Concluding, the group warn Egbema youth council, EYC, “for the last time to retrace their steps and not put their lives, the lives of their unborn children and all they hold dear in grave danger, the Benins are peace loving and accommodating people, but when pushed, the result isn’t pleasant.” He concluded.
