By Tonnie Iredia
In 1861, when the British sought to annex Lagos, they sought the consent of the Oba of Benin who used the territory as Eko meaning camp for his many expeditions to conquer towns and villages which made the Benin Empire exceedingly large. The empire reportedly stretched from Onitsha in the east, through Owo, Akure and some Yoruba settlements in the southwest and into present-day Ghana.

Even the Ga tribes of Ghana are said to trace their ancestry to the ancient Kingdom of Benin which at a point was three times the size of modern day France. To consolidate the empire, the Obas built an expansive wall as long as 20,000km around its boundaries making the defensive edifice the world’s longest self-protective complex which according to the Guinness Book of Records is the greatest earth work ever constructed by man. Oba Ewuare 1 who reigned at about 1440-1473 was more or less the greatest of the Obas of ancient Benin hence he went down in history as Ewuare the great with a credit of 201 victories over various cities and towns.

On Thursday October 20, 2016 one of his descendants, Prince Eheneden Erediauwa who had been Edaiken of Uselu and Crown Prince of the Benin Kingdom ascended the throne of his ancestors as the new Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba of Benin with the same inspiring title of Ewuare. So, is Benin at the verge of resurgence? It would appear so following the Oba’s antecedents and in particular his well articulated coronation speech.

Newly crowned 40th Monarch of the Benin kingdom Oba Ewuare II walks to perform a rite during his coronation in Benin City, AFP PHOTO

Before then, the new Oba in his position as Crown Prince demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that he would not be one of Nigeria’s many Obas who serve as campaign managers of politicians especially governorship candidates. Although his long period of preparation for the throne coincided with the last governorship election in Edo state which featured massive vote buying, he preferred to be everybody’s royal father without endorsing any candidate rich or poor. His prayer was for the state to get a governor that would improve the peoples’ living standards and who would also respect traditional rulers. Thus, the difference was clear between him and many of our other so called Obas.

Oba Ewuare II took off on the same note as Ewuare the great by massively renovating the palace into a structure whose institutional statement illuminates the significance of the Benin monarchy. But considering that military expeditions which the first Ewuare relied upon are not today’s preferences what can our new Oba embrace? Of course intellect, peace moves and diplomacy are his strong points. With a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a Master of Public Administration Oba Ewuare II is well positioned intellectually.

Again, for many years, he was a diplomat in Africa, the Scandinavian region and Europe serving as Nigeria’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Sweden, with concurrent accreditation to Norway, Denmark and the Republic of Finland. In 2008, he was named Ambassador Extraordinaire and Plenipotentiary of Nigeria to Italy. This seems to underscore the speed with which the Oba extended his hands of friendship to all as he used one paragraph of his speech to reunite his people with the Yorubas. Whether it is Ododuwa or Idoduwa, Oranmiyan or Ekaladaran or whatever version, Ewuare II recognised the father of Oba Eweka I as a Benin Oba, a new but rational addition which makes him the 40th Oba.

Also at his coronation, Oba Ewuare II unveiled his concern for the ordinary man’s survival. Conscious of the current hunger in the land, the Oba called for the actualization of the construction of Gelegele seaport to provide employment to thousands of Edo indigenes and other citizens. The project was first approved by the Jonathan administration in 2013 and endorsed by the present government. Another port at Ughoton which was the first to be used by European traders to enter Benin in pre-colonial times requires similar attention.

Like the first Ewuare, the new Omo N’Oba is also set to promote culture and arts for which the Benin kingdom had been famous since the 14th century. This is made up of beautiful bronze and brass statues including bronze wall plaques and life-sized bronze heads of the Obas of Benin. The most common artifact is that of Queen Idia, popularly known as the FESTAC mask. Many of these Benin pieces of great legacy now reside in the British Museum in London. In some neo-colonial literate, the works are referred to as “lost treasures” of ancient Benin. But how can items whose location is known be described as lost? They can never qualify as lost and found having been looted by British soldiers during the 1897 expedition. Along with his proposed Royal Academy of Arts, how the new Oba would retrieve the precious ornaments would also be one of his early engagements.

Perhaps the area where the ordinary Benin citizen expects immediate change is that of settlement of disputes in the Oba’s palace. This is because the Benin traditional judicial process is patently superior to the imported legal system. Oh yes; whereas the imported legal system emphasizes the antagonism of right and wrong, the impunity of the winner takes all and the frustrations of Pyrrhic victory as well as technical rather than legal justice, the Benin traditional judicial process anchors on fairness, equity and reconciliation.

The Oba himself said this much in his coronation speech where he declared that: “we shall strive to ensure that conflicts are resolved between individuals, families and communities using the principles of social justice, while promoting harmony with our neighbours, with cultural diplomacy.” Luckily, the Oba is at home here. When he served as the Nigerian ambassador to Angola for instance, he was actively involved in the reconciliation of the then President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and other officers of his late rival, Jonas Savimbi. It is also instructive that Omo’Noba’s original name, Ehenden is the Benin word for peace.

Unfortunately, some palace chiefs are notorious in the act of bringing back convoluted versions of their investigations into cases reported to the palace thereby perverting the course of justice. I imagine that this is probably an appropriate take-off point of the new era.  Oba Ghato Okpere, Ise.