Is it true that the Bini are superior to the Yoruba? It was an attempt to re-write history and distort our culture and traditional heritage. When you talk of the Benin kingdom, it was under the authority of Ile-Ife. Do you know how many kingdoms we had in Yorubaland? Not less than 30. For Benin people to have said that we got our culture from them is wicked and uncharitable. I think the statement is capable of causing chaos.



They should not denigrate us because we are accommodating. It is unthinkable. Benin people are our brothers and they are descendants of Oduduwa.

The history of Benin is not as rich as they portrayed it to be. When you talk about Ile-Ife, it is the cradle of Yorubaland.

We are also disturbed by the attempt to rubbish our forefather, the legendary Oduduwa. Even the whitemen can never try to distort history about Oduduwa. They should not bite the fingers that fed them.

If the Benin do not want their origin to be traced to Oduduwa, they can re-write their history to suit that purpose, but they should not use that to rubbish our rich cultural and traditional heritage. They may commission an author to re-write and fine tune their history, but they should refrain from making inflammatory and uncomplimentary remarks about our race in a bid to project their kingdom.

The historical facts are accessible and it remains incontrovertible that anybody who wants to be Oba of Benin must first go to the Oranmiyan shrine for certain traditional rites in Ile-Ife.

Do they still respect such a tradition?Yes, they do. But if they don’t want to do that anymore, that is fine. I don’t think that should cause any problem. I think our ancestor would judge that, and history would also judge that. In the spiritual realm, there will be justice for that. Ooni is not saying that whoever wants to be king in Benin should come for his blessing.

Even in Yorubaland, Ooni has never said whoever wants to be king within his domain should come to his palace for blessing, not even Modakeke or Ipetumodu. So, why are they now nursing the fear that Yoruba would be superior to them?

We are not claiming superiority over any race in Nigeria or Africa. We believe every race is unique and we also deserve same measure of respect from others. There is no place all over the world that they don’t know the Yoruba, but the same cannot be said of Benin. I don’t think they are as prominent as the Yoruba. And I say this with all sense of responsibility.

The major tribes we have in Nigeria today are Yoruba, Hausa and Ibo. So, where is the place of Benin in Nigeria, not to talk about global polity? How can a kingdom that is related to Yoruba in almost everything be attacking the same people they share bond with? It is uncalled for. The agent provocateur sponsoring and writing the trash should be told in clear terms to desist from it.

They should not set brothers against each other. This is a clarion call to our historians, our elite and those who claim to be Yoruba leaders to wake up from their slumber before they re-write our history to suit Benin’s new found posture to our detriment. I have sent signals to our Obas and well meaning Yoruba to put a stop to this false campaign about our race.

I also think it is a security threat to the nation because if the campaign is not nipped in the bud, it is capable of causing chaos.

Again , if you go to Benin, majority of their children bear Yoruba names, have you seen a Yoruba with Benin name? I am from Akoko. We have Akoko-Edo. I belong to Akoko of Ondo State.

Most of the Akoko-Edo people speak Yoruba fluently. So, who is copying who? Also, look at the deities in Yorubaland; Ogun, Sango, Olokun and so on. All these deities are prominent in Benin too.

What could be responsible for all these?I think it is a matter of ego and they want to claim that they are superior. I think it is also happening in Yorubaland among our Obas, flexing muscles at one another. The Yoruba are very unique, it is clear that the Yoruba are related to the Nupe people of Niger State.

They are also related to the Igala in Kogi State. Yoruba also own Lokoja. It was first called Ilukojo before the whitemen changed it to Lokoja to suit their accent. It is also on record that the Itsekiri have never denied that they migrated from Ijebu and Remo in the present day Ogun State.

Could this have been caused by the relegation of our traditional institution? Yes, most of our royal fathers, with due respect, have abandoned their primary responsibility of being the custodian of our cultural and traditional heritage.

Most of our Obas are now politicians; they have deviated from their traditional role of preserving our culture. With due respect to Oba Erediauwa of Benin, I respect him a lot because he has never toyed with Benin culture, may be, that is why they want to re-write their history.

If they want to point to us that we have neglected our cultural and traditional heritage, that is fine.

But they should not because of that abuse us, I have never seen a deity as organised as Oduduwa, and we imbibed all that from him. Look at the structure of our Obas and chiefs and the control mechanism. It is only Africans and by extension Nigerians who don’t cherish what they have.

The Israelites as well as Christians all over the world still believe that Elijah ascended to heaven in a chariot of fire.

It is only Nigerians that do not believe that Oduduwa came from heaven through chain. We have written another story that Oduduwa was driven from Mecca to Ile-Ife, and that is why Oba of Benin can boldly say Oduduwa was driven away from Benin to Ile-Ife.

Are you saying Oba Erediauwa is a Yoruba descendant?Yes, that is true. But even at that, we are not bothered if he says he is not a descendant of Oduduwa. With the level of expansion and development in Yorubaland, we don’t need to force anybody to be part of us.

It is an incontrovertible fact that they once invited Oranmiyan to come and build their structure in Benin. Oranmiyan had a son called Eweka. The real name is “Owomika”. According to history, he was a deaf who normally play a game called ‘ayo’.

One day, he was playing the game when the gods healed him, and he started hearing and talking. By the time he wanted to speak, he pronounced his name. The best dynasty in Benin today is Eweka. So, I don’t see how their elite will now start writing what they don’t know.

It was the Oba of Benin who started it. With due respect, but as a custodian of customs and tradition, he should refrain from making any statement that could jeopardise the peaceful co-existence between the Yoruba and Edo people.
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stumbled on this article and though it was interesting reading,for anyone that can read through the complete article what do you think of it,are the benins superior to the yorubas?in my opinion i agree with the man in the article that they are not