Esogban of Benin Kingdom, Chief David Edebiri, has said that confessed witches or wizards in the Kingdom are not killed or stigmatized but rehabilitated back into the society.
The Esogban who is regarded as the Odionwere (Head) of witches and wizards said the powers to dispossess witches of their powers are derived from the Oba of Benin
Speaking while addressing members of African Bar Association on certain aspects of Bénin culture, Chief Edebiri stated that witches are made ineffective and accepted back to the society after going through certain processes.
Chief Edebiri explained that he does not have the powers to cure ailments but the powers given to him by the Oba to deal with witches and wizards.
According to him, “Witches and wizards are my subjects. We deal with them in a decent way. There is no magical process in it.
“Once anybody confessed to be a witch, we send them to a home and a Chief is given the powers to disposes them. We take them through certain processes and they will become ineffective.
“They will go back to the society better persons.”
Chief Edebiri who urged members of ABA to help codify African Laws for future generation said it would be good if they lead the campaign to end despot rule in Africa.
His words, “There are still countries in Africa where despots are in control of government. It should be your oversight function to see the end of despot reign in Africa.
“Be the watchdog of democracy. Take the struggle to see that despots are no longer in power. I urge you to see that lawyers abide by the ethics of their profession.”
President of ABA, Hannibal Uwaifo, said the body would do its best to ensure best practices in the continent.
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that fight against corruption was of utmost importance to his administration.
Buhari said this on Thursday when he visited the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, in his palace in Benin.
Buhari said the rehabilitation and construction of roads was well captured in the budget.
He said he would pressurise the ministry to expedite action to execute the project.
He noted that much had been achieved in the agriculture sector, adding that the Federal Government also gave soft loans to farmers, to ensure food security.
Buhari, however, promised to do his best to restore and stabilise power supply in Edo.
According to the President, electricity is very important to the economy, adding that power supply is a critical issue.
He also promised to look into the Oba Ewuare’s recommendations on security, and work harder to secure the country.
He commended the Oba of Benin for mobilising traditional rulers to stabilise the polity.
Earlier, Oba Ewuare commended the President for the fight against corruption and for curtailing the activities of Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East, as well as other notable achievements of the Buhari administration.
However, the Oba said much still needed to be done to guarantee security of lives and property of Nigerians.
Ewuare said as chairman of the traditional rulers, they were concerned about the outcome of the 2019 general elections.
He said that meetings were held with the traditional rulers in the kingdom and the communities were directed to offer prayers and sacrifices to avert violence and bloodshed in the country.
The Oba said they equally cautioned politicians against use of weapons or youths as thugs to disrupt the electoral
process.
Oba Ewuare also appealed to the Federal Government to intensify efforts at the dualisation of the Benin-Auchi-Lokoja highway, to make the movement of goods and services easier as well as save the lives of motorists on the busy road.
The Oba also commended the President for the encouragement given to the oil-producing host communities.
Gov. Godwin Obaseki, also commended the President and appealed to the Oba to thank President Buhari for the support given to him.
Obaseki said as a result of his support he was able to achieve more as governor. (NAN)
I read with relish media reports of the Saturday, April 28, 2018 visit of the Oba of Benin, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewuare 11, to the State of Osun during which he met with the State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola at the Government House in Osogbo; and, thereafter, with the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, in his Ife palace. If I am not mistaken, that was the second significant official trip outside Benin that Oba Ewuare 11 would embark on since ascending the throne in October 2016.
The first was to Abuja and Sokoto in November 2017 where he met with President Muhammadu Buhari and the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar 111 respectively in what was described as vital diplomatic shuttles to essentially connect with Nigeria’s strategic and influential power centres and personages. Oba Ewuare 11, who had represented Nigeria in different outposts before his enthronement, had deployed his ambassadorial savoir-faire to utilitarian actuality, although he described his visit as a post-coronation thank-you tour. Both the Sultan of Sokoto and the Ooni of Ife were some of the dignitaries that spiced his coronation with their imperial presence.
It is instructive that the stool of the Oba of Benin is a very powerful one that is ingrained in some ancient and pristine traditions. Successive occupants of the stool, apparently charismatic and venerated, have benefitted in equal measures from the influence that the stool confers. The royalty of the ancient Benin Kingdom is, without a doubt, held in awe-inspiring admiration by the Benin people. It also enjoys approbation by non-Benin people as well.
Benin Kingdom is blessed to have an Oba who, like his father of blessed memory, Oba Erediauwa, is profoundly educated, well connected and immensely cosmopolitan in outlook. His cosmopolitanism has emphatically shattered the primordial and enticing cocoon of ethnic nationalism that has afflicted many leaders, such that the Oba does not speak for the Benin people only on issues that concern the development of Edo state but also for the entire people – the Edo, Okpe, Esan, Afenmai/Etsako, Ora, Akoko-Edo, Igbanke, Emai and Ijaw.
For instance, at his meeting with President Buhari in 2017, he demanded the provision of infrastructure in Edo state and urged him to help the state governor, Godwin Obaseki, address security challenges, including human trafficking, in the state. He had called on the federal government to assist Edo state to establish small scale industries in rural areas to curb rural-urban drift. Oba Ewuare 11 also urged the federal government to complete the dualisation of the Benin-Auchi road. He is obviously interested in statewide development.
The issues that the Oba engaged with during his Osogbo visit were not different from some of the issues he raised with the president, to wit: the growing insecurity and the prevalence of trafficking in persons. Suffice to surmise that he has taken upon himself the role of an ambassador and advocate against national insecurity and trafficking in persons. These are germane and topical issues that have assaulted our psyche and sensibility as a nation.
Not to engage with them in the way and manner Oba Ewuare 11 has taken up the gauntlet will aggravate and make them become a part and parcel of our shattered value system. A kingdom that has responsive king and chiefs cannot be assailed with such mindless assaults without taking actions. That is the philosophical underpinning of the Oba’s advocacy. A country with a legitimate government in place must deploy the force of its constitutional authority to preserve the security and wellbeing of its citizens. That is the undertaking to which the Benin monarch has called out government at the state and federal levels.
Oba Ewuare 11 understands the powerful synergies that exist between the institutions of traditional rulers and constitutional government much as he realises that without collaboration among the Obas, state and federal governments, it would be difficult to effectively tackle and surmount the insecurity that has led to incessant killings in parts of the country by suspected herdsmen as well as callous trafficking in persons.
With his eyes sharply-focused on achieving set goals, the Benin monarch targeted Ogbeni Aregbesola, who he believes would be able to spread the message to other governors on the urgency of the now to do the needful in order to restore peace in the body politic. I am sure that the Oba and the Edo State governor are already on the same page on these issues back home. It was only strategic that for royal somberness and effect, another governor and many others should be saddled with the task of sustaining and strengthening the advocacies.
Importantly, the Ooni of Ife and the Orangun of Ila, Oba Abdulwahab Adedotun Bibire, were in attendance during the visit of Oba Ewuare 11 to Ogbeni Aregbesola. Oba Ewuare 11 undoubtedly spoke the minds of the royal fathers and charted clear trajectories for them to tread in their engagement with government at the state and federal levels on the imperativeness of preservation of security, peace and order in the country.
The call by Oba Ewuare 11 on state governors and the presidency to take steps to strengthen the nation’s security architecture represents a significant royal intervention that bears so much weight. Tapping Ogbeni Aregbesola, he said: “I want you to mobilize your colleagues in the Nigerian Governors’ Forum to address the issue of insecurity in the country and do something to stop the unwarranted killings by herdsmen in Benue, Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Edo and other parts of the country.”
The Benin monarch, who had already established a Foundation to deal with the menace of trafficking in persons, said: “The modern slavery in our land today is that of human trafficking and unfortunately many people see it as an Edo state problem, but I tell you it is far from it. We all need to come together and fight this menace that is staring us in the face or else we will all suffer for it. On our part, we are doing all that is humanly possible to put an end to human trafficking in our land because it is a crime against a fellow human being. Other parts of the country don’t need to stigmatise Edo state. We need to see it as a national issue.”
Oba Ewuare 11 made his points loud and clear. The Osun state governor also harped on efforts that government is making to eliminate all forms of insecurity in the country. According to him, “I want you to know that the last National Economic Council meeting was devoted to discussing a way out of the current security challenge in the country….” Nigerians and members of the international community expect an expeditious solution to the unremitting senseless killings by herdsmen in parts of the country.
Overall, the royal and ambassadorial exertions by Oba Ewuare 11 are exemplars that should be emulated by other royal fathers and well-meaning Nigerians in the public and private spheres. Our existential national problems require that all hands must be on deck towards searching for and getting solutions to them. This is a patriotic preoccupation that strategic stakeholders in the Nigeria project must double down on. God bless Ewuare 11 for his wise advocacy for peace and nationalistic passion for a secured nation.
Ojeifo, an Abuja-based journalist, sent this piece via ojwonderngr@yahoo.com.
The Oba of Benin, Omo N’oba Akpolokpolo Ewuare II, has advocated peaceful coexistence among Nigerians.
The media aide to Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, Sola Fasure, in a statement yesterday, said the monarch spoke during a visit to the governor in Osogbo.
Oba Ewuare said it was necessary to promote peaceful coexistence among Nigerians and rescue the country from insecurity.
He urged Aregbesola to work with his colleagues in the Nigerian Governors’ Forum to stop killings by suspected herdsmen.
The monarch advised the Federal Government to tackle insecurity.
“I want you to mobilise your colleagues in the Nigerian Governors’ Forum to address insecurity and stop unwarranted killings in Benue, Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Edo and other parts of the country.
“Nigerians cherish comfort and a peaceful environment.
“We enjoin those of you at the helm to guarantee peace for Nigerians.
“It is unfortunate that this is going on in our land.
“We want something to be done as soon as possible so that Nigerians can experience peace,” he said.
The traditional ruler condemned human trafficking, especially in Edo State.
He described the menace as modern day slavery that must be stopped.
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, hailed Oba Ewuare for the visit.
He said it demonstrated the love and unity between Benin people and the Yoruba.
Aregbesola said efforts were on to tackle insecurity.
He described killings in parts of the country as criminal and an act of lawlessness, which were beyond farmers and herdsmen clash.
The governor said the killings were discussed at the last National Executive Council meeting in Abuja, adding that they would be tackled.
The Oba of Benin, Omo N’oba Akpolokpolo Ewuare II, has called for peaceful coexistence among Nigerians.
The media aide to Gov. Rauf Aregbesola, Sola Fasure, in a statement on Sunday in Osogbo said the monarch made the call during a courtesy visit to the governor in Osogbo.
Ewuare said it was necessary to promote peaceful coexistence among Nigerians and as well rescue the country from the shackles of insecurity that has become the lot of the citizenry.
The monarch also urged Aregbesola to work with his colleagues in the Nigeria Governors’ Forum to stop the incessant killings by suspected herdsmen in the country.
He further urged the Federal Government to tackle the security challenges facing the country by taking necessary steps.
“I want you to mobilise your colleagues in the Nigerian Governors’ Forum to address the issue of insecurity in the country and do something to stop the unwarranted killings in Benue, Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Edo and other parts of the country.
“Nigerians cherish their comfort and a peaceful environment so much.
“So we are charging those of you at the helms of affairs in the country to do everything humanly possible to guarantee peace for Nigerians.
“It is unfortunate that this is going on in our land.
“We want something to be quickly done as soon as possible so that Nigerians can know peace, ‘’ the monarch said.
The traditional ruler also condemned the prevalence of human trafficking in the country, particularly in Edo, describing the menace as modern day slavery that must be urgently confronted.
Also speaking, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, expressed delight on the visit of Ewuare, saying it was an affirmation of the fact that Yoruba people would continue to be united.
Ogunwusi said the visit had demonstrated the love, unity and cohesion between the people of Benin and the whole of Yoruba speaking states in Nigeria.
In his response, Aregbesola said that efforts were in top gear to tackle insecurity in the country.
He described the gruesome killings in some parts of the country as criminal and an act of lawlessness which were beyond the issue of farmers and herdsmen clash.
Arebesola said that the killings had been extensively discussed at the last National Executive Council meeting held in Abuja.
He assured Nigerians that the killings by the herdsmen would soon be a thing of the past.
PIMPS and influential ladies who traffic girls from Edo State to Europe, America and other parts of the world, otherwise known as madams, are now said to be jittery about the curse placed recently by the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II on human traffickers and those who aid them.
The revered monarch did not only place a curse on those who paint the state in a bad light through the trafficking of girls from the state, he also forced the native doctors who aid the traffickers by administering oaths on the girls to “enslave” them to their masters and madams, as the case may be, to reverse the effect of the oaths administered on the girls.
The pimps and madams concerned are now jittery and are said to be in disarray over the curse placed upon them should they continue their nefarious activities. The turn of events is said to be due to the importance attached to the curses from the revered Benin monarch and their efficacy. There are antecedents. An age-long myth subsists about the efficacy of curses that proceed from the mouth of a ruler of the Benin Kingdom. It is widely believed that such curses do not go unfulfilled once the target is guilty of the sin for which he or she is charged.
And the Oba’s curse is no respecter of age or status. The story is also told of Ikoka, a community in Ovia South West Local Government Area, which remains yet a remote village in spite of the fact that it serves as a host to one of the largest rubber plantations in the country.
It is said that Ikoka village and its people were cursed by Oba Ewuakpe in the 14th Century after the people asked him to work when he asked them for food. The curse he placed on the community, according to historians, is that only their women would experience progress, while houses built in the village would collapse as they are being built and their roads would turn bushy as they are being cleared.
Today, Ikoka is tucked away inside the rubber plantation without an access road to the community. To get to the village, one has to navigate through the rubber plantation. Thus, it is believed that the village is still under the curse of the late Oba.
Residents of Iguomon community in Uhunmwode Local Government Area recently cried out that they were dying from strange ailments because of a curse placed on the community by Oba Erediauwa. Inhabitants of the community had to besiege the Oba’s palace to beg that the curse to be revoked in order to save them from further calamity.
Pa Roland Ugiagbe Okhuorabo, the man who was supposed to be installed as the next Odionwere (the traditional ruler of the community), was quoted as saying that he would not present himself to be installed until the curse is revoked.
The foregoing are pointers to how much the inhabitants of Benin Kingdom hold the Oba’s words in awe. The people see him as God’s representative on earth. All the deities in the land belong to him and consequently are under his directives. His words are law across the state because almost all the traditional rulers in the state and some communities in neighbouring states are princes from the palace.
But besides the Oba, Edo residents are known to fear curses from any juju. For example, when fire gutted the Oba’s market in Benin in 2004, many of the traders came in the morning and found that some thieves had used the fire outbreak as a cover to loot their shops. Adun, promptly summoned Aiyelala worshippers who held a procession round the market, warning whoever had stolen the goods to return them. By the following day, the thieves had returned the goods and placed them at different locations in the market.
•FILE PHOTO: The Benin monarch, Oba Ewuare II, at the Ugha Ozolua with palace chiefs, Enigies, Ewaise, Obo during the placing of curses on human traffickers, kidnappers and armed robbers recently.
The jitters that followed the curses recently proclaimed by Oba Ewuare II on the individuals responsible for the trafficking of female prostitutes from the Benin Kingdom to Europe, America and other parts of the world, would be better understood in the foregoing context.
Recent reports indicate that things are no longer at ease in the camps of pimps, madams and native doctors responsible for trafficking young women from the kingdom to work as prostitutes in foreign lands. Many madams responsible for trafficking young women abroad are said to have been in shock on account of the curses the Oba proclaimed at a ceremony attended by priests from various shrines in the state.
The priests at the said ceremony included the Ohen Okhuae, Ohen Ovia, Ohen noriyekeogba, Ohen Ake, Ohen Niwuo, Ohen Sango, Odionwere, Iwueki the Enigies and native doctors. Some ancient juju and several others known as esusumahi were brought out as instruments for the invocation of the curses.
At the said occasion, the Oba also performed rites that were meant to set trafficked victims free from the various oaths they have been made to swear at various shrines in the state or elsewhere. The Oba also warned native doctors in the kingdom to return whatever items they had collected from the trafficked girls.
In invoking the curses, the Oba said: “From today, we end all the oaths and it will not affect those placed on the oaths. Anybody that walks on Edo land and eats the food cooked with salt and oil will die if they continue to do things that will bring shame to the land.
“The juju will kill those who want to henceforth engage in human trafficking. Even those who go to other places to perform juju will also die. Native doctors should not force girls again, and they should return the things they collected from the girls.” News of the Oba’s action reportedly spread across Europe like wild fire. Checks conducted by our reporter indicated that the ‘madams’ were shocked at the pronouncements. The Oba’s curse created a huge war in Europe between traffickers known as madams and their girls.
Cross section of Ewaise with the various charms and esusumahie used for cursing human traffickers, kidnappers and armed robbers.
The girls are expected to pay as much as €35,000 depending on how much the madam spent to bring them to Europe. According to a source in Italy, “the madams are not happy even though some immediately released their girls after the Oba’s curse. The Oba’s curse came as a shock to them. They said there was no warning or signs that such a thing would happen.
They said the Oba should have given them some time to free the girls themselves. “It is difficult for the madams to take any extra step to recover their money, because as you know, our people fear curses more than death. But some madams are saying the Oba did not mention anything like money. They said the Oba only removed the oath they took before coming. “But some madams said they are not from Benin. The madams don’t have anything to tell the native doctors again because the Oba has already placed a curse and warned the native doctors not to back them.” In a chat with our reporter, a renowned native doctor, Chief Clement Okooboh, said the Oba had neutralised all the oaths trafficked victims were placed on, warning other native doctors to desist from the act or face the wrath of the gods. Chief Okooboh stated that all sons and daughters of Edo land must adhere to the Oba’s directive and also pass the message to other people.
His words: “At the pronouncement from the palace, everybody knows their direction. If you have been involved in oath taking, you know that all that is over. Anything that has to do with human trafficking, unless you are travelling for better things. That is where I think we have to support. “You should know that anything that happens must first happen in the spiritual. Whatever it takes to make sure the negative yoke is broken physically, we should do it spiritually. We will not run away from that because it has been said that we should not support those travelling abroad.
“Before I travel with my children, I do one or two things with our deity for safe trip. I know the implications of oath taking. I have never encouraged it, especially when it comes to travelling by land. I have never encouraged people to travel by land. “Those who are still paying deaf ears to our father’s instructions should be ready to face the wrath of the gods. Our father has renounced the oaths. Whatever thing they have been doing, the Oba has neutralised all the oaths placed on the girls. What he is telling the native doctors is not to engage in the act again. Whoever is calling the girls to come and renounce is stupid. He is daring the gods of our land.”
As more Edo people and groups in the country throw their weight behind the orders of the Oba of Benin, His Royal Majesty, Omo N’ Oba N’Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II, Edo people in the diaspora have expressed their support for the orders and curses of the Monarch and the state government’s tough stance on human trafficking.
President, Edo Global Organisation, Dr. Stephen E.O. Ogbonmwan, a frontline pan-Edo cultural group, with members spread across various countries of the world, said the drastic times the Edo people found themselves called for the drastic measures.
The United Kingdom-based Consultant Obstetrician, said: “What happened in the Palace shows the concern of the Omo N’Oba about the current negative trend in Edo land. We need more of such actions from religious, political and traditional leaders to stop our youths on the sliding slope to self-destruction, greed, excessive love for money and the get-rich-quick syndrome, to come back to the straight and narrow path.”
Ogbonmwan decried “the behaviour of the ‘madams’ (traffickers) and the attitude of our young women, which made many of us ashamed in the Diaspora, hence we were working relentlessly to support the young ones on the right path to success to show to the world that Edo People are not bad people.”
He explained that “the love of money, more than the love and care for our fellow brothers and sisters and greed, degenerated to a point where brothers were selling brothers into slavery or ‘grassing on them’ by sending armed robbers and kidnappers on their brother’s trail. It is to reverse these ugly trends that we in Edo Global Organisation support our Oba.
“Drastic issues call for drastic measures in the language our people understand. It shows how very well the Palace understands the current issues affecting our people.”
He noted that “with the Edo State government’s tough stance against illegal migration, the involvement of Omo N’Oba and the event in the Palace a few days ago, we have seen the final nails on the coffin of illegal migration and prostitution which are organised crimes against our young men and women.”
On the efforts by his organisation to check the menace, Ogbonmwan said “in July last year, we organised an international conference to draw attention to it. The effort was lauded by the United Nations and the European Union. We wrote petitions that went viral on the internet.”
He urged Edo youths to embrace the several opportunities in the state, to improve their lives and become respected citizens of the nation.
Edo State victims of human trafficking can now call the bluff of agents who threaten them with dire consequences of oaths sworn to in the process of taking them abroad.
The oaths which are often administered by native doctors engaged by the agents were reversed yesterday by the same native doctors.
The oath reversal was at the instance of the Benin monarch, Oba Ewuare II, at a special meeting in his palace to stop human trafficking in the state which comes tops in the illegal act in Nigeria.
An oath taking process ,according to victims, involve the invocation of parts of their bodies as collateral to force them pay back the money spent by the agents to take them mainly to Europe where they end up as prostitutes.
Hundreds of native doctors converged on the Oba of Benin palace yesterday to heed the monarch’s call.
Oba Ewuare 11 said Governor Godwin Obaseki had pleaded with him to help reduce the spate of human trafficking in the state.
The state, he pointed out, has had enough of the embarrassment that comes with human trafficking and it is time to put an immediate end to it.
He said while the palace has nothing against the practice of native medicine, it will not condone a situation where it is used to “perpetrate evil in the land through aiding and abetting human trafficking.”
He said: “You native doctors whose business is to subject people to oath of secrecy and encouraging evil act in the land, you have to repent, stop doing it.
“This is not a joking matter and if you do not repent, you’ll see the repercussions.”
He cursed human traffickers and native doctors who subject Benin sons and daughters to oaths of secrecy, initiate them into cults or encourage violation of the order banning Community Development Associations.
He warned that anyone persisting should be ready to face the wrath of the gods.
He then directed the native doctors present to revoke the curses and oaths already placed on trafficked victims.
The Benin Monarch declared: “We want to use this medium to tell those who are under any oath of secrecy that they are now free. We revoke the oath today.
“What the palace stands for is peace and the development of the state. I want to use this medium to tell you that the act of using charms to aid trafficking, the palace seriously frowns at it.
“We want us to join hands together to fight against human trafficking in the land.”
Those who took part in the swearing exercise were priests from various shrines in the state such as the Ohen Okhuae, Ohen Ovia, Ohen noriyekeogba, Ohen Ake, Ohen Niwuo, native doctors, Ohen Sango, Odionwere, Iwueki and the Enigies.
The Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, has vowed to deal with violators of native laws and customs in Benin City and its environs.
A statement yesterday by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Desmond Agbama, said the monarch was determined to re-install native laws, rid the state of violence and guarantee peace.
He said the warning was sequel to the submission of a report by the Benin Customary Alternate Dispute Resolution Committee.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the traditional ruler set up the committee on October 13 to handle and resolve communal matters, such as inheritance, land matters, family issues, among others.
The committee Chairman, Justice Samson Uwaifo (retd), told the monarch respondents were not honouring the committee’s invitation.
He said it was a development that had hampered dispensation of justice.
The oba, receiving the report, said the palace would work out measures to deal with those who refused to honour the invitation.
He hailed the performance of Justice Uwaifo-led committee, urging members not to be deterred by challenges.
Oba Ewuare II of Benin has donated N500,000, cow, and two bags of rice to Edo chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) to celebrate the New year.
The Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Oba Ewuare, Mr Desmond Agbama, said the money was to buy other items to celebrate new year party for all the journalists in the state.
According to him, “The kind gesture has always be the tradition of Oba of Benin and it symbolised the relationship between father and children.
“Oba of Benin wishes you all a happy new year and also prayed for God blessings for all.”
Agbama, however, commended the journalists for their reportage, adding that the Oba urged them to maintain peace at all times in their dealings.
Responding, the state Chairman of NUJ, Mr Roland Osakwe, thanked the Oba of Benin for his fatherly role.
Osakwe said: “Oba is our patron and our father. He has not relented in his fatherly love.
“I appreciate Oba of Benin, our father; on behalf of all journalists in the state, we love you.”
