I never heard of Igbanke until 2001. They are six clans of an Igbo subgroup in Orhiomwhon Local Government Area of Edo State. Shortly after the demise of the Obi of Onitsha, HRH Ofala Akukalia Okagbue in November 2001, I visited the Obi’s palace (Ime Obi) in Onitsha to report about preparations for his burial and the appointment of a successor.

One of the items that took my attention was a conspicuously displayed brown pamphlet (I can’t quite remember the title or author) containing a concise history of the Onitsha Kingdom, particularly its controversial historical linkage to Benin. I was particularly excited by a section containing a glossary of similarities between Igbo and Benin (Edo) languages. 

For instance, I discovered that the famous Igbo four-day week (Nkwo, Eke, Orie, Afo) is also shared by the Benin/Edo people. The only difference was the spelling in some instances. These also included names of people and places. The four-day week is common to all ethnic clans of Igbo origin, including those that now have their own separate linguistic identity.

When I wrote an article about it, I received a surprising lot of reactions, especially from people of Benin/Edo origin who made very provocative claims. For instance, Frank Ebare (now late), a close personal aide of Chief Anthony Enahoro, wrote a rejoinder claiming that all Igbo-speaking people down to Onitsha were “Edoid”. Another writer who was too cowardly to disclose his real identity, claimed that the Igbo nation were “slaves” of the Oba of Benin. He further averred that Igbanke was derived from a purported Benin word: Igbon-Ake, or the “slave camp” where Oba’s Igbo captives were kept before being sold or “used”.

The Igbanke people reject this alleged history, asserting that they are the natural next-door neighbours of Benin, a former powerful empire which regularly raided their neighbours for slaves as obtained elsewhere then. No decent person who hears that an ethnic clan is a “slave camp” of another will fail to be outraged, even if he is not Igbo. But people make these claims with a straight face, even today, especially in the social media’s buccal war arena.

It is against this background that the spat between the people of Igbanke and the Oba of Benin should be appraised. According to the story, the Oba of Benin, Ewuare II, recently dismissed some dukes (Inigies or Enogies) for perceived “anti-palace” activities. The Ezes and Obis of the six Igbanke clans were also given these “letters of dismissal”, possibly because of their refusal to answer Enogies or report to the Oba as their traditional overlord. They asserted their traditional autonomy, stressing that occupants of the Igbanke traditional stools are inherited from fathers to sons and not appointed from Benin.

A statement signed by Chief Jude Ogbekale and nine others on behalf of the Igbanke Strategic Group, ISG, described the Oba’s letter as “an affront” designed to desecrate their cultural heritage. Meanwhile, some Benin activists have been reminding the Igbanke people that their fate under Benin subjugation had been sealed under a law that gave the Edo South Senatorial District (within which they fall), to the Oba of Benin. What it means is that other kingdoms and chiefdoms in Edo Central and Edo North have been freed from the iron rule of the Oba of Benin while Igbanke remains subjugated.

If such a law indeed exists, it is a violation of bigger laws and must, to the extent of those violations, be considered nugatory. 

This so-called law merely validates the primitive claim that the people of Igbanke are the slaves of the Oba of Benin. It is one thing for people to make noise in the internet about other humans and Nigerian citizens being their “slaves”. It is yet another for a “law” to be made to give it a perceived legal status.

In any case, slavery has been abolished throughout the world for over a century. 

Indeed, the United Nations celebrates the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery on every December 2. Even though up to 40 million people still live under situations of slavery mainly in some parts of the Islamic world due to their religious culture, slavery is NOT permitted under our Constitution, the legal document that defines and binds us all as Nigerians. Chapter III of the Constitution 1999 (As Amended) clearly defines the rights of all Nigerian citizens. It portrays all citizens as equal before the law, meaning that Oba of Benin and everyone else are the same under the law.

It is unfortunate that our law enforcement agencies are not properly configured to implement our laws and protect the citizens. These agencies remain post-colonial in their architecture and deployment. They are focused more on protecting and maintaining the rulers. Any Nigerian who calls a fellow citizen a “slave” should quickly find himself behind bars and before judge. Even in America where racism is still a raging virus, you dare not call anyone a “slave”. You will pay bigly.

Governor Monday Okpebholo should wade in and ask the Oba of Benin to mind his subjects and allow Igbanke people, who have confirmed they are of Igbo stock, to run their own traditional affairs. They are not the only ethnic group living outside the ethnic arena of their kinsfolk. There are Igala people who are indigenes in Enugu, Anambra and Igbo-speaking Delta North. No one oppresses or subjugates them.

You cannot impose yourself on people who don’t want you as their king, especially as they already have their own traditional system. I stand with Igbanke people. I commend the Igbo groups that have reached out to Igbanke people. But, let’s be warned: there is no ethnic issue between Igbo people and the Benin monarchy.

Let’s give peace a chance.