Benin Kingdom would have stolen the limelight tomorrow. Reason: After a long wait, its Crown Prince would have received the staff of office from Governor Adams Oshiomhole, who in a matter of months will quit the Government House for a candidate no one can say with certainty.
The greatness of this kingdom is such that when there was need to postpone the governorship election, the Oba’s coronation had to be taken into account.
But those who want to witness the coronation have to wait. The event is not holding tomorrow again. The new date is now October 20. By then, the election to choose Oshiomhole’s successor would have been done with and a governor-in-waiting would also have been chosen.
The postponement of the coronation takes nothing away from the fact that it was clear to even the blind long ago that His Royal Highness Edaiken N’Uselu Eheneden Erediauwa was destined to be king. Now, his time is here.
As a lad, a picture of the kingdom had a space in my head. It was that of a kingdom so great that mystery could pass as its other name. We heard all kinds of dos and don’ts about this vast land where Oba Ovomramwen Nogbaisi made history. We heard of facts that wore attires of myths. Or were they myths that wore the robes of facts?
Now, as an adult, this great kingdom of sculptors and painters, of intellectuals and administrators is one that we all will never fully comprehend. Its mystery seems to be its power. When it is Benin, there are things you dare not say or write. You just content yourself with hush-hush gist about this kingdom and its people, whose history has given birth to cinematic thrillers, such as Invasion 1897 and Iyore.
The late Ola Rotimi could not resist the delight that Benin history was and still is that he penned the irresistible drama known as Ovomramwen Nogbaisi.
If you are in doubt about the greatness of Benin kingdom, take a trip to the British Museum. There you will discover that its most-prized artworks were stolen from Benin and displayed with braggadocio. I like the scene in Lancelot Oduwa-Imasuen’s Invasion 1897 where the lead character who had invaded the museum and took an artwork defended himself in court by saying he could not have stolen the item because it belonged to his forefathers and by extension him.
The mystery and complexity of the Benin mores could be gleaned from the statement of the Crown Prince when Governor Adams Oshiomhole paid him a visit following the announcement of his father’s death. He said he was probably the first crown prince in the history of Benin Kingdom that was so close to his father.
Before he said that the story out there was that he was not supposed to see eye to eye with his father being the heir apparent. Judging from his statement, that used to be the situation. Modernity seems to have softened things a bit. So close was he to his father, who many of us thought was not supposed to see him face-to-face, that both knew each other’s ways.
“It’s really an emotional moment for me and everybody virtually knows how close I was to my father. The elders here know how close I was to my father, and I am probably known as the first crown prince in the history of Benin Kingdom that has been so close to his father,” the incoming Oba of Benin said.
He continued: “It’s been said far and wide that the Oba’s eldest son doesn’t see his father, they don’t meet each other, that they are far apart. So, he knew my ways and I knew his ways. So, I can beat my chest and say I understand certain inner workings of the mind of my dear father.”
Oshiomhole’s speech on the visit bore glimpses of the greatness of the kingdom and the late Oba Erediauwa, whose death he described as shattering.
He said: “We are all shattered by this very sad news. In my formal tribute, I have already made a statement that represents my evaluation of the life and times of our Royal Majesty. But in all of that, we know that kings will come, kings will transit, but our joy even in the midst of this grief is that we are fortunate; indeed very fortunate that in spite of the vacuum left by the departure of His Royal Majesty, we have in your Royal Highness a true royal Crown Prince that has already gone through all the rigours of life, and sufficiently travelled and held sensitive diplomatic positions in most strategic countries.
“For people like me who have had the very rare privilege of interacting very closely with your Royal Highness over the years, I believe that His Royal Majesty has prepared a Crown Prince that, as tradition prescribes, has what it takes to fill the big royal shoes that His Majesty left behind. That for us gives us the confidence that the robust tradition, the national respect and international recognition and the way in which His Royal Majesty carried the office, that it will be sustained and built upon by your Royal Highness.”
His Royal Highness Edaiken N’Uselu Eheneden Erediauwa is inheriting a great history. With his new status, the Oba, who is also known as Omo N’Oba, is the traditional ruler of the Edo people. He is also the head of the historic Eweka dynasty of the Great Benin Empire.
Until Oba Eweka I, the headship of Benin Empire was not known as Oba. All that changed with the great Oba Eweka, who is believed to have reigned between 1180 and 1300. This great kingdom was raped by the British in 1897 when it launched an imperialist expedition. It deposed and exiled Oba Ovonramwen to Calabar, now the capital of Cross River State. It took control of the area to establish the British colony of Nigeria. He died in 1914. He never returned to his throne.
What got the British angry and led to the expedition was the defeat of a British invasion force which violated Benin territory in 1896. It consisted of both indigenous soldiers and British officers, and is still remembered by the Edo people with trepidation today. Under the pretext of covering for the cost of the expedition, the Benin royal art was stolen and auctioned off by the British. Many of them are still in the British Museum.
The mystery of the Benin makes it unclear what its relationship with Ile Ife and the Yoruba was. There is no agreement about the place or otherwise of Oduduwa, Oranmiyan and Igodomigodo in the history of this amazing empire in whose domain sits a chapel where the Oba is the General Overseer (GO).
As the incoming GO of this over 500-year-old cathedral, which is located on Akpakpava Road, Benin City, prepares to take his seat on the pulpit and dish out the gospel— not according to the Bible— I wish him well.
My final take: Benin under the late monarch was respected. Its light will not dim now that his son has taken over. He will lead this great people well and years from now, we will look back and say ‘His Royal Highness Eheneden Erediauwa is a monarch with a difference’.
- Parts of this piece first appeared on this space on May 27, 2016
