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Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas - Culture (2) - Nairaland

Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Culture / Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas (4175 Views)

Addressing The Menace Called African Time / The Invasion Of Oyo Empire By Tsoede,The King Of Nupe In 1457 / Bini Are Original Owners Of Lagos, Not Yoruba – Layi Ajayi-Bembe (2) (3) (4)

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Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Stoplying: 2:17am On May 13, 2023
Odogwuzack:

You are not here for conversation but for insults on the Yorubas. You are probably not even a Bini person but just trying to cause fight between the two tribes.


Again, you need to control your feelings. You are not thinking straight.
Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Odogwuzack: 2:24am On May 13, 2023
Stoplying:



Again, you need to control your feelings. You are not thinking straight.

You guys should have controlled your feelings when you left the history which is the bone of contention and started insulting a whole tribe.

I'm sure your negative energy is still tied to your recent election defeat. grin

1 Like

Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Stoplying: 2:26am On May 13, 2023
Odogwuzack:


Ife is the oldest Yoruba city. So if Bini and Oyo empire started existing around 1400 years ago (according to the OP), it only make sense to agree that they both migrated from Ife.
I don't know if you are aware but the guardian newspaper is not a historical document. You basically quoted unsubstantiated claims from the guardian newspaper.
The history of our region of west Africa started in the 15th century.
Once again, nobody migrated from Ife, Ife was a small settlement in 1912 when the British started urbanising it.
If any kingdom in West Africa was dated 500 BC then there would be thousands of archeologists in that kingdom digging everyday like in Egypt.

I added a snapshot of your comment below.

Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Stoplying: 2:26am On May 13, 2023
Odogwuzack:


You should have controlled your own feelings when you left the history which is the bone of contention and started insulting a whole tribe.

I'm sure your negative energy is still tied to your recent election defeat. grin
Please stop speaking gibberish.
If you disagree with a thing which I said, then point it out to me and give your arguments, I will give you my own.
If your mirror says you are urgly, don't curse your mirror, just accept it. Fact is fact.
Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Odogwuzack: 2:30am On May 13, 2023
Stoplying:

Please stop speaking gibberish.
If you disagree with a thing which I said, then point it out to me and give your arguments, I will give you my own.
If your mirror says you are urgly, don't curse your mirror, just accept it. Fact is fact.

Ok
Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Stoplying: 2:34am On May 13, 2023
If any kingdom in West Africa was dated 500 BC then there would be thousands of archeologists in that kingdom digging everyday like in Egypt.
Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Vado2: 2:40am On May 13, 2023
Stoplying:

I don't know if you are aware but the guardian newspaper is not a historical document. You basically quoted unsubstantiated claims from the guardian newspaper.
The history of our region of west Africa started in the 15th century.
Once again, nobody migrated from Ife, Ife was a small settlement in 1912 when the British started urbanising it.
If any kingdom in West Africa was dated 500 BC then there would be thousands of archeologists in that kingdom digging everyday like in Egypt.

I added a snapshot of your comment below.


500 BC. The media will only present fabricated statistics and data. These guys took advantage of being the first educated individuals. The majority of Yorubas are immigrants from South America who were once slaves.
Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Nobody: 2:44am On May 13, 2023
Last last they will find a way to drag IGBOS into their madness
Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Nobody: 2:45am On May 13, 2023
Odogwuzack:


You are not here for conversation but for insults on the Yorubas. You are probably not even a Bini person but just trying to cause fight between the two tribes. grin

The mods are sleeping, they may have to close down this thread when they wake up because of the direction it is going.




I talk am.

Watch as this very feral will find a way to accuse this person of being IPOB then drag Igbos into their confusion then starts insulting Igbos .


Confused people indeed! grin grin
Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Nobody: 3:03am On May 13, 2023
Kapeter:
I don't understand this nonsense argument here and there every other day on this matter. The relationship between Bini and Yoruba was somehow document in the Yoruba story so i guess this is why some of our people are always forcing this thing. If the bini people story is clearly different then let them speak their own story fa. I guess being neighbors is maybe responsible for this thing fa. And mind you op, it was Ife and not Oyo. Everything started from Ife.

We can’t allow miscreants who have been slaves historically to every tribe in the south to re-write history. This is the only reason why we engage, to let them know history is written in stone and can’t be changed. We have the records and we know the truth. Whether you accept the truth or not is up to you. But David Attenborough has it all on tape and we have the link.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa0st_aMjmA

Watch part 1 & 2 of this and educate yourself.

1 Like

Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Stoplying: 3:20am On May 13, 2023
Ajagunakin:


We can’t allow miscreants who have been slaves historically to every tribe in the south to re-write history. This is the only reason why we engage, to let them know history is written in stone and can’t be changed. We have the records and we know the truth. Whether you accept the truth or not is up to you. But David Attenborough has it all on tape and we have the link.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa0st_aMjmA

Watch part 1 & 2 of this and educate yourself.
1) No Benin "oral tradition" told Edo people that they learnt how to cast from Ife. So that part of the documentary is just a lie. I guess the narrators got duped by some guys in Ife and didn't even care to actually ask the palace of Benin.
2) the documentary also makes a lot of unsubstantiated claims such as "it is thought to be 800 years old", that is not exactly a scientific statement, is it ?
3) the narrators were just trying to generate interests for the Ife head, that is why they linked it to Benin and linked it to Benin bronzes. In order to create excitement for the Ife head, you have to claim it predates Benin bronzes and those who made it thought Benin how to make Bronzes.
4) the narrators did a very poor historical work, they basically did zero research and just blabbed out Yoruba folkloric fairytales about Benin in order to make Ife head look interesting. Benin bronzes don't need to be attached to anything other than Benin to be interesting, but Ife head needs to be attached to Benin bronzes or else nobody cares about Ife head 😅
5) I bet you guys thought we would fall for this scam of a video because the narrators are white ...try again later 😂
6) white crooks in the art industry are so annoying

7) I am yet to see a Yoruba attempt legitimately to prove his Ife claims with logic and historical rigor, it is always about: "this white man says it" or "this newspaper says it" or "oral tradition"... Come on, we are more educated than this, bring out eyewitness written docs like everybody else has to.

8. I didn't watch beyond time stamp 4:32 because it had become obvious by then that the documentary is not a serious work with regards to history or truth, but just a video trying to create excitement for the Ife head by linking it to Benin bronzes and by claiming without any proof that the bronze is 800 years old "thought to be 800 years old" and that Benin learnt iron casting from Ife, no proof provided, instead the narrator claims my oral tradition says so, not only do I disagree, but I also understand that the use of "oral tradition" is a way to make an unsubstantiated claim and look credible without ever having to prove it.

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Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Stoplying: 3:45am On May 13, 2023
The narrator ls of that video might as well tell us if it is Ife which taught Benin how to carve wood and ivory and also how to build houses, because all these were part of Benin, and to the best of my knowledge, ife didn't have these.
Below is a picture of the Oni of Ife, look at the architecture of his palace behind him, is that comparable to the architecture of Benin?

Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Stoplying: 3:51am On May 13, 2023
Benin architecture

Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Stoplying: 4:03am On May 13, 2023
Benin

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Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Stoplying: 4:06am On May 13, 2023
All this to say that Benin bronzes were not a foreign culture to Benin. Benin was a civilised country with its own civilisation and that civilisation produced the bronzes.
Ife on the other hand was a small settlement until 1912.

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Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by babyfaceafrica: 4:07am On May 13, 2023
This is super story... We have better things to think about

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Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Stoplying: 4:10am On May 13, 2023
Benin non metallic artefact

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Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Stoplying: 4:18am On May 13, 2023
This was done in precolonial Benin under a contract for some Europeans

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Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Stoplying: 4:20am On May 13, 2023
So Ife didn't teach nada, in fact Ife was a small settlement until 1912 whereas Benin was already an empire in the 1400's. Benin bronzes were just an extension of Benin rich culture and a creation of that rich and advanced culture. Linking Ife head to Benin bronzes is a plot meant to give value to ife head. I rest my case.

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Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by NaMe4: 4:32am On May 13, 2023
Vado2:


Hahaha. The Bini empire started existing around 1200. All the Ife story is fictional.

'Prospered from 1200 to 1800' does NOT mean the kingdom started existing in 1200!

This 'prosperity' had to do with expansion, commercial activities with increased trading with transatlantic merchants and high activity of slave trading, which abolishment began in the 1800s; the period when the British colonialists arrived.

Similar activities also occurred in the Ife and Oyo empires within this period. These empires, just as the Benin empire, existed centuries before this period you mentioned.

Finally, these arguments are baseless because historical facts have shown a relationship between the 'Yorubas' and the 'Edos'; artifacts and other forms of documented history reveal this. And I've not come across any Edo person bothering him/herself about such issues/topics which are repeatedly opened on Nairaland in order to cause unnecessary arguments.

What Edo needs to focus on today is how to foster development across the State socially, politically and economically in order to be a people to reckon with.

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Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Stoplying: 4:49am On May 13, 2023
NaMe4:


'Prospered from 1200 to 1800' does NOT mean the kingdom started existing in 1200!

This 'prosperity' had to do with expansion, commercial activities with increased trading with transatlantic merchants and high activity of slave trading, which abolishment began in the 1800s; the period when the British colonialists arrived.

Similar activities also occurred in the Ife and Oyo empires within this period. These empires, just as the Benin empire, existed centuries before this period you mentioned.

Finally, these arguments are baseless because historical facts have shown a relationship between the 'Yorubas' and the 'Edos'; artifacts and other forms of documented history reveal this. And I've not come across any Edo person bothering him/herself about such issues/topics which are repeatedly opened on Nairaland in order to cause unnecessary arguments.

What Edo needs to focus on today is how to foster development across the State socially, politically and economically in order to be a people to reckon with.


1) when was Ife an empire ?
2) oyo was a small kingdom
3) nobody noticed oyo or Ife as being empires!
4) the body of water is called Bight of Benin for a reason
5) Oyo doesn't even have artefacts
6) which "historical facts" have shown a relationship between the "yorubas and the Edits" ?
7) "artefacts" show a link between Yoruba and Edos ? Are you kidding me ?

Stoplying:

1) Witnesses to the burial of the Oba of Benin in the precolonial era have had their testimony recorded on paper in the precolonial era and it was recorded that it took place around the palace of the Oba, the executions of the wives and ministers of the Oba were even talked about. I don't want to add too much details.
2) your "orun oba ado" was built with European cement technology
3) European alphabets are written all around your "orun Oba ado"
4) the fresh painting of a Benin bronze is upon your "orun oba ado"
5) the only place outside of Benin city in which the Oba of Benin is recorded to have been buried is Calabar.

So it is clear that "orun oba ado" is a fake. It is also clear that your "orun oba ado" was created after colonisation and probably quite recently.
Ife is built with fake stories, nobody ever migrated from Ife, I believe the settlement of Ife is more recent than that of Abeokuta which was created in 1832.

Why are Yoruba always telling lies and always trying to dupe other people ?

Yoruba mostly descend from freed slaves whom the European powers dumped on our shores. Those slaves came into our shores with the ability to read and write and a formal education which the locals (our ancestors) didn't have.
So for a period of time, the yorubas (slave descendants) were the most educated and they duped the locals (at a regular basis) to survive. That dupery turned into a tradition.
Today that tradition is still alive amongst Yoruba, it gave birth to world renown 419.
But the problem today is that everybody has caught up with Yoruba in terms of education, so now we all see you for what you are: a lying 419 culture.

So you should know that telling lies is actually the biggest part of Yoruba culture. Being a good liar is very respectable in Yoruba culture, and it is even celibrated.

Although there are some people whom are from Benin empire but currently identify as Yoruba for the sake of politics: the people of Ondo state and ekiti state are examples.

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Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Ttalk: 4:51am On May 13, 2023
Stoplying:
So Ife didn't teach nada, in fact Ife was a small settlement until 1912 whereas Benin was already an empire in the 1400's. Benin bronzes were just an extension of Benin rich culture and a creation of that rich and advanced culture. Linking Ife Head to Benin Bronzes is a plot meant to give value to Ife Head. I rest my case.

Your argument is childish and deserves no response. No Yoruba is here to prove anything to you. We know our history and culture, we are a great people in Africa and South America, we have fought many wars and built kingdoms and cities of which Bini is just a sub-kingdom of the great Yoruba people, the Egbas, Ijebus Aworis have more settlements area than your over-bloated Bini, we are not I a measuring contest with you, let your Oba deny his yorubaness then I will listen to you

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Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Stoplying: 5:00am On May 13, 2023
Ttalk:


Your argument is childish and deserves no response. No Yoruba is here to prove anything to you. We know our history and culture, we are a great people in Africa and South America, we have fought many wars and built kingdoms and cities of which Bini is just a sub-kingdom of the great Yoruba people, the Egbas, Ijebus Aworis have more settlements area than your over-bloated Bini, we are not I a measuring contest with you, let your Oba deny his yorubaness I will listen to you
This is the thing with you guys, you are not reasonable.
You are there basically putting an identity upon us by claiming us as "Yoruba" and at the same time you are diminishing us as "overbloated". You are not being coherent.
We are a "sub-kingdom" yet museums in Europe and America are filled with our artefacts and the body of water is named after us, and Benin Republic carries our name...and we fought the British, our king was exiled...was all that as a sub-kingdom ?
If we didn't have sovereignty, then why were the British fighting us ? Why was our kingdom called a kingdom and why was our king called a king ?
You claim to know your history, as if it is natural for anybody to know his history ? Were you born 1000 years ago !
History is researched and discovered, it is not transmitted through DNA!
You know nothing about history.
And the Oba of Benin through the palace has already stated that he is not yoruba!
Logic doesn't work with you guys... I'm tired !

Just tell me about how the Yoruba fought against the British ! Show me where the Oni of Ife was exiled to, show me where the Alafin was exiled to.
You have no logic. Precolonial maps of Benin kingdom below.

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Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Ttalk: 5:11am On May 13, 2023
Stoplying:

This is the thing with you guys, you are not reasonable.
You are there basically putting an identity upon us by claiming us as "Yoruba" and at the same time you are diminishing us as "overbloated". You are not being coherent.
We are a "sub-kingdom" yet museums in Europe and America are filled with our artefacts and the body of water is named after us, and Benin Republic carries our name...and we fought the British, our king was exiled...was all that as a sub-kingdom ?
If we didn't have sovereignty, then why were the British fighting us ? Why was our kingdom called a kingdom and why was our king called a king ?
You claim to know your history, as if it is natural for anybody to know his history ? Were you born 1000 years ago !
History is researched and discovered, it is not transmitted through DNA!
You know nothing about history.
And the Oba of Benin through the palace has already stated that he is not yoruba!
Logic doesn't work with you guys... I'm tired !

Try harder, maybe you can convince IPOB and some LP sore losers, you are not making sense at all.

Was it only Bini artworks that we're stolen that make you feel you can rewrite history. Yes, Bini is known for his artwork as also many other African ancient cities, apart from that tell me any other thing Bini are known for pre-European invasion, dont just start what you can't finish, Bini are great people, no need to hurt my small finger as it is part of my body.

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Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Stoplying: 5:21am On May 13, 2023
Ttalk:


Try harder, maybe you can convince IPOB and some LP sore losers, you are not making sense at all.

Was it only Bini artworks that we're stolen that make you feel you can rewrite history. Yes, Bini is known for his artwork as also many other African ancient cities, apart from that tell me any other thing Bini are known for pre-European invasion, dont just start what you can't finish, Bini are great people, no need to hurt my small finger as it is part of my body.
You don't even know what Benin stands for, you don't know Benin at all but like the usual Yoruba, you believe you know better than actual Edo people.
For your information, Benin city is only the capital of Benin kingdom ! You guys in Ife don't know the first thing about us, but your fantasy is to always claim us...
And it is Benin ! Not Bini !
Look, you lack knowledge about history, I would advise you to read what I already wrote on this topic, because I do not have time to repeat my self. Long story short: Yoruba are mostly slave descendants.

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Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Richkid2021(m): 6:01am On May 13, 2023
AmehTsaev:
Yorubas are unserious people, nobody takes them seriously except themselves. Take out the Lagos factor and you will discover those people are frauds with no true history, many Yorubas were slaves to the Oba of Benin and even the bronze head of ife that they claim was from Oduduwa was actually stolen from the Benin kingdom.
Ur Benin people are the unserious people I have ever met in the whole world Ur unserious empire came to now to oduduwa to rule over u but he sent his son instead can u see how unserious Ur people can be to be aligning with the tribe you cal in serious tribe . The current population of Yoruba is far greater and 10 times larger than your stupid Benin state or empire ode oshi osinwin eniyan

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Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Stoplying: 6:02am On May 13, 2023
I will never understand Yoruba obsession about my people. They always claim us eventhough we say no, they don't know the first thing about us, they don't even know their own history, they make it their mission to always misspell our name.
In order to escape their slave ancestry they made a fake past for themselves with some flying super-oduduwa and included us in their story because they need something authentic to stand on.

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Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by BanyXchi: 6:40am On May 13, 2023
Typical Delusional Bini product of Italian prostitute. The joke is on you and your delusions only lives in your big head.

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Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Richkid2021(m): 6:42am On May 13, 2023
Yoruba does not have your time Benin cos looking at the YouTube videos shows that the Yoruba are superior to the Benin in terms of technology cos technology was brought by Yoruba to Benin how can someone who was born some years ago be telling the story of an ancient tribe who has be vindicated by this works as a great tribe all the states in Yoruba are bigger than your so call Benin state in the late 80s my great grandmother use to tells us Yoruba was the official language in the Benin palace .
If you line stay on your lane Yoruba doesn't care about you we are a moving train we don't wait for who doesn't value us. If you look at the map very well how is it possible for someone u claim is a prince who ran way would travel that vast kilometres to ife how sane is that to become a king in ile ife can you try it before your story can be admitted as true .
Look at the bridge you will cross
The thick forest you will have to surmount
Look at wild animals you will encounter all this are reasons why your so called prince can't travel to ile ife .

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Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Essential(m): 6:45am On May 13, 2023
BENIN, NOT YORUBA ARE ORIGINAL OWNERS OF LAGOS - AJAYI BEMBE
Chief Layi Ajayi-Bembe,[/center]

[b][b]A former President of the Association of Lagos State Indigenes, Chief Layi Ajayi-Bembe, in this interview with BAYO AKINLOYE says the real owners of Lagos are the Benin, not the Yoruba

What is your lineage as a Lagosian?

My grandfather was Ajayi Bembe; the eighth Obanikoro of Lagos – my father was the last of his children. My mother was the first child of Gbajabiamila (of Olowogbowo fame) – of course, of Lagos. When it comes to the ownership of Lagos, it is sad when people talk about Lagos being no man’s land or Lagos being part of Yoruba land – I consider that position to be an abomination. Yes, because of the affinity or geographical location of Lagos, we’re nearer to the South-West (the Yoruba) than to other regions. It should be stated that Lagos has always been independent of the West. When I returned from England, (Chief Obafemi) Awolowo was in prison; before I came back to Nigeria, there had been agitations that Lagos wasn’t part of the West. No doubt that a lot of us speak Yoruba – in my family, we’re Benin. Oba of Lagos (Rilwan Akiolu) was completely right that the early settlers in Lagos were the Awori and the Benin. We’re talking about the Island of Lagos.

Extending it to the east of Lagos, you have Oshodi, the Tapa (from Niger State) were there. And, of course, we knew one another. I don’t understand why some of our brothers in the West think that we can be enslaved by them. In all my years, I have not seen what Afenifere has done for Lagos to inspire me because during the last constitutional conference, they were not talking about Lagos; they were talking about themselves. Don’t forget that the so-called Edo State was part of the West before. But to say Lagos is part of Yoruba land is not fair; it is not charitable. And when kabiyesi now said, Lagos is Benin, not only because we came from Benin, there are signs and relics of Benin all over Isale Eko. And obas (in Lagos) – we don’t call them ‘obas’, we call them ‘eleko’. My grandfather said in 1903 that when there was a dispute of which traditional rulers should wear crowns – my grandfather was at that meeting. Ooni of Ife had to come all the way from Ife to Lagos upon the invitation of Governor (John Hawley) Glover. And the question they asked him (Ooni) was, ‘Who are the obas that should wear crowns?’ He mentioned them – Lagos was not part of the list. We don’t wear crowns in Lagos. I remember, Pa Edegbele – that’s Prof. Edegbele’s father – when he said ‘oba’ is alien to Yoruba land that only the Benin use that title, there was a furore over that. But Edegbele was right. Note that politicians have done a lot of havoc in Yoruba land more than in other regions of the country. Nobody is going to doubt the hegemony of the Sultan of Sokoto in the North. But the Yoruba are fond of creating problems among themselves in Yoruba land. Permit me to digress: look at the recent installation of some kings in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. A governor created 21 kings, for what? Is that what the people need at a time when the masses are hungry, civil servants are owed salaries and basic amenities are not available? It now appears there are more rulers than the ruled.

Are you saying Lagos belongs to the Benin people?

Lagos belongs to us – the Benin. When you get to Enuowa, they (the inhabitants) pay homage to Oba of Benin there. Enuowa is in Lagos; Idumota is like a Benin name; Iduntafa is Benin name; Idunmagbo is Benin name; Iduganran is Benin name; tell me, what further proof do you want (that the Benin own Lagos)? Why have some people tried hard to erode our identity and the labour of our ancestors? Today, if you go to the Lagos State Secretariat, you’ll hardly see the original indigenes of the state hold a prominent position. So, why are people crying about the quota system? You don’t ‘quotarise’ knowledge. Whatever is the case, I believe that the indigenes of Lagos – by the way, I was president of Association of Lagos Indigenes for almost 15 years – we know how our resources were plundered and carted away. Look at the fiasco called ‘Lagos @50’. The state government doesn’t recognise the true indigenes of Lagos State. Some of the indigenes work with them for the purpose of getting whatever they can get from the government. Some people are trying so hard to maintain the stupidity that Lagos doesn’t belong to anybody – that’s annoying.

What about Alhaji Femi Okunnu’s view of the Awori being the original owners of Lagos?

I am not a lawyer but Femi Okunnu is a lawyer – a Senior Advocate of Nigeria for that matter. On the issue of the original owners of Lagos, my attention was drawn to an article focused on the Idunganran celebration. Mr. Femi Okunnu happened to be my mentor; he was an inspiration to me particularly when I returned from England. He was not only elder ‘brother’ to me because we lived close together. They were living at No. 1 Ido Olowu Street and I was living at No. 7 Ido Olowu Street. I have known him for a long time. I remember when he came back from England as a young and vibrant lawyer. When Femi Okunnu himself was the Federal Commissioner for Works during the military regime, he was the one who actually acquired the area where you have the National Theatre, Iganmu. From whom did he acquire it? He got it from the indigenes; my grandfather had a place there. We must have a good perspective of history. People should learn not to mutilate history. The owners of Lagos are not the Yoruba; they are the Benin. We are Benin; there’s no ambiguity about that. To prove it further, the obas or the elekos, when they died, their bodies were taken to Benin for burial for a time. Tell me, who owns the land then?

Who are the Awori? The Awori and the Benin are the same. If an Awori spoke to me when I was young, I understood him. My parents spoke Awori. The Awori are partly from Dahomey and partly from Benin. My forebears came from the riverine area through the Bight of Benin and settled in Badagry for a long time before moving down to Lagos. And when they moved down to Lagos where did they go? They went to Idunsagbe – a place famed for Benin culture and tradition. I am an Awori. Tell me, which state did they create for the Awori now? If you say the indigenous people of Lagos State are the Awori, then the Awori are the Benin. We must put history in its right perspective. The right perspective is that Lagos does not belong to the Yoruba; it belongs to the Benin. According to the Lyttleton Constitution, the West was created; the North was created and Lagos was made a colony and it later regained its independence.

Some may argue that the original Lagosians didn’t protect their legacy, allowing every Tom, Dick and Harry to hold sway politically and economically.

It is true that Lagos is open to everybody that could bring ideas. But when it comes to certain elements within the political spectrum in Nigeria… Look at it this way, will it surprise you that a representative of Lagos who calls himself a Lagosian representing the state in the National Assembly went to Kogi State to vie for the governorship? Isn’t that insulting? Some are even saying once (Osun State Governor, Rauf) Aregbesola has completed his tenure in Osun, he will come back to Lagos to contest a senatorial seat. We called Bola Tinubu, sat him down and told him how we accepted him and he let us down. I know the role I played when Bola Tinubu was coming in; when I gave him my second cousin, (Musiliu) Obanikoro to go along with him (I don’t talk to that one (Obanikoro) again after he had his hand in something embarrassing; because you don’t disgrace your family). I am not looking for anything from them. It is very wrong that people should trivialise the affairs of Lagos. For example, we kicked against (Prof. Wole) Soyinka being made the chairman of the Lagos @50 celebration. But nobody listened to us. Look at the fiasco; was it a success? Who bothered about it? People who will not celebrate the living are celebrating the dead – it doesn’t go beyond that. You acquire land from me for a public purpose and the next thing you did was to share it with your siblings, friends and other loved ones. It is really sad for people to proclaim Lagos as no man’s land. Lagos is so accommodating; it is only here you see an Igbo man being made a commissioner. Even the Yoruba that are shouting, how many Lagosians are in their cabinets? They all live in Lagos; we know them. Some of them benefitted from the liberty Lagos offers. But ask them: what have they done for their host communities? Can you imagine Orji Kalu, who bought land here, saying Lagos belongs to nobody? They just talk.

Don’t you think Prof. Wole Soyinka deserved to have been the chairman of the Lagos @50 celebration?

I am not used to Soyinka and I don’t want to be acquainted with him. It is unfortunate that because he was made the chairman of Lagos @50, he began to insult people, claiming that his father had a land in Lagos. We traced the land – one plot of land – and discovered that the land was bought from my grandfather. People like him go around insulting others. Has he not insulted Femi Okunnu before? Tell me who Wole Soyinka has never insulted? He is part of the Tinubu group. Is he not an Ogun man? I don’t think he has a right to say that Lagos is no man’s land. Who is he to say that? I think Okunnu knew better; I don’t think he meant what he said the way the press reported him. What he said is that Lagos is ‘part’ of Yoruba land; he didn’t say it was owned by the Yoruba. We need to be discreet in our definition. Geographically, we’re in the West and culturally, we speak Yoruba. If an Igbo man speaks Yoruba fluently, does that make him a Yoruba? Go to Lagos State House of Assembly and count how many of them are truly Lagos indigenes. Again, Okunnu was an active participant in the creation of Lagos State together with (Philip) Asiodu and Alison Ayida. They facilitated the creation of the state; there was a western state then. If Okunnu had advocated the merger of Lagos with the western region then, one would have thought otherwise. Wole Soyinka didn’t want Lagos to be created at that time. Soyinka used to be very radical but having got into the group of Bola Tinubu’s scientific imposition, he has been mellowing down. Soyinka would be the one that would stand for the truth when people were accused of certificate forgery and other ills. He was always at the forefront; he has become a turncoat. What happened to him? I respected him; he may not know me and he doesn’t need to know me.

So, you think Okunnu is on the same page with you when he talked about the early settlers of Lagos?

I believe Okunnu was actually agitating for the indigenes. He was president of Lagos State indigenes before me – we have Isale Eko Descendants Union, which we all belong to. All I am saying is this: Lagos is not part of Yoruba. The settlers are Benin. Wasn’t Benin part of the West before until the Mid-West was created? The Benin agitated for that, insisting that we’re not part of the Yoruba. Why can’t the Yoruba leave us alone for God’s sake? My grandfather went to court in 1889 to claim all the lands that belonged to him. He got a judgment. Then some people said, these lands were too much for one family – the place now called Ikorodu Road, they acquired it – for how much? For £27,000! My grandfather wasn’t around; he’s dead. But they forgot that this man gave them a land to build the first police barracks in Lagos. How could Bola Tinubu come all the way from wherever he came from (Kafaru brought him to me, turn Lagos into a place for Osun people in the secretariat). They’re radicalising the owners of Lagos with the way they’re acting. By the time they stand up you’ll be shocked. What are the people asking for? Give them what they deserve. Show them some respect. Okunnu did a lot for Lagos State; most parts of Victoria Island were sand-filled by the Federal Government. He and his colleagues at King’s College were able to excise Victoria Island and gave it to Lagos. In fact, Okunnu has done more for Lagos than any governor. Okunnu had his roots in Isale Eko.

SOURCE:

Benin, not Yoruba, are original owners of Lagos – Ajayi-Bembe
By Chief Layi Ajayi-Bembe, A former President of the Association of Lagos State Indigenes, Chief Layi Ajayi-Bembe, in this interview with BAYO AKINLOYE says

1 Like

Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by Stoplying: 6:58am On May 13, 2023
Richkid2021:
Yoruba does not have your time Benin cos looking at the YouTube videos shows that the Yoruba are superior to the Benin in terms of technology cos technology was brought by Yoruba to Benin how can someone who was born some years ago be telling the story of an ancient tribe who has be vindicated by this works as a great tribe all the states in Yoruba are bigger than your so call Benin state in the late 80s my great grandmother use to tells us Yoruba was the official language in the Benin palace .
If you line stay on your lane Yoruba doesn't care about you we are a moving train we don't wait for who doesn't value us. If you look at the map very well how is it possible for someone u claim is a prince who ran way would travel that vast kilometres to ife how sane is that to become a king in ile ife can you try it before your story can be admitted as true .
Look at the bridge you will cross
The thick forest you will have to surmount
Look at wild animals you will encounter all this are reasons why your so called prince can't travel to ile ife .
With all this your ranting, you still don't understand that your people are obsessed about my people ?
Even your great grand mother was obsessed about us and had to tell you a fake story talking about us!
Why are you guys so obsessed about us ?

2 Likes

Re: Addressing The Misconceptions Regarding The Great Bini Empire By Yorubas by DesChyko: 7:03am On May 13, 2023
Blackdeewhy:
Stop searching on Google for our HISTORY.

What's written on web mostly does not portray or tell our TRUE story.

You're not really being realistic. Are you also mindful that this information of yours I'm responding to is 'written on the web'?

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