(a) His Royal lineage, and Brothers: Okpame, the banished prince from Edo, had a long line of Obas before him. There were twelve apart from his two elder brothers whom he succeeded in later years as Oba Ozolua. The twelve with approximate year of accession were:
1 Eweka I 1200
2 Uwakhuahen 1240
3 Ehenmihen 1250
4 Ewedo 1255
5 Oguola 1280
6 Edoni 1290
7 Udagbedo 1299
8 Ohen 1334
9 Egbeka 1370
10 Orobiru 1400
11 Uwafiokun 1432
12 Ewuare 1440
The two brothers, who succeeded their father Oba Ewuare, were Ezoti and Olua who reigned for seven days and seven years respectively. It was on his recall that Okpame, the third son Succeeded his elder brothers as Oba Ozulua in 1481 A.D Okpame was thus royal in blood, bones and brain. It was he who gave birth to Oraekpen the father of Ora in about 1476.
(b) His Nature and Personal Characteristics: Okpame is the subject of this portion. Okpame, like most other names in this part of the country, has a meaning which is partially ordinary and partially idiomatic. Okpame in the ordinary sense is a large expanse of water and a very heavy rain. It is also a great flood following very heavy downpour. In the idiomatic sense. Okpame connotes a person with profound greatness. Okpame was a handsome, sturdy, intelligent and loving young man who, in many ways, was very much like his father. He was a rascal yet in the end a very great warrior. To his natural prowess, he added a good knowledge of medicines and charms Much later, during his reign, ‘’Ozolua made himself respected at home and dreaded abroad”.
A short digression here is appropriate. How did his alias name Uguan come about’ An account says that Odi as a word in Edo Language and means a dumb, but Okpame who was nick-named Uguan was at no time a dumb. The account goes on to say that Okparne was not given another christening name (which is unusual); that an oracle foretold that Okpame would by his action in a peculiar way reveal his name at the tight time, and that while at play he shot an arrow into the palace courtyard and on inquiry as to who did so, he said ‘Uguan (some say Ohuan) did”, and hence he became Uguan.
Anoiher view said rather definitely that Okpame was clearly not a dumb, only that in spite of being ordinarily named Okpame, he spoke sparingly. He grew to become a young man who would rather perform than talk or boast about what he would do He was nicknamed a rare talker, not a dumb. At this period, Ora as a people was not yet born, talk less of her dialect in which, as noted earlier Uguan means a different thing altogether.
Okpame in a display of personal peculiarity chose, we are told, at an opportunity of wall-construction. to mix mud with keg Full of palm oil instead of water. He was a rascal and was proud somehow. Out of sheer stubbornness he disregarded advice and warning, and because palm oil was plentiful at his disposal, he went ahead with his waste full task.
Naturally, before the following morning, when his mound of mud would have begun to mature. lots of soldier ants had taken over every part of it; they feasted for days on the palm oil and seemed bent on exhausting it altogether before they would leave. When Uguan with his follows went with the intention to turn the mound ¡into ‘balls’ for use, the ants would not allow them; the ants could not be driven away nor gotten rid of in any way. Uguan was disappointed and deflated. His genetic stubbornness is alleged to be bequeathed through and through to many of his great grand descendants who obstinately delight in doing certain things their own way - part of Ora factor in another perspective.
But on reflection, Ugan was a replica of his father in many ways oba Ewuare according to chief Egharevba was initially ogun just as Oba Ozolua was Okpame. Both of them (father and son) were very powerful, great travelers and warriors Both of them justifiably experienced banishment Records have it that Ewuare worked hard and enjoyed the appellation ‘N Ogidigan ie, the Great; so did Oba Ozolua who introduced his appellation ‘Nokhua’ or ‘Akpolokpolo’, though he later enjoyed till death being addressed Ozolua N’Ibaromi i.e. Ozolua the Great Conqueror
(c) His Banishment - Cause, Decision and Preparation to Leave:
¡. Cause of His Banishment
Banishment when it was in vogue in Edoland was not pronounced on any person for fun, A number of reasons was put together at the right time to pronounce it on Okpame and this by implication meant his leaving Edoland, not many particular destination It was only so far he moved away from the land - to survive or to die.
First, he had thought (not without confiding in some palace members among whom were a few unreliable, who are always around) that it he succeeded in extending part of the palace with his oil-mixed mud, he would seize power from his father who was already aging What an ambition and at such a tender age. It showed too that he did not reckon much with his two elder brothers. However, he failed in his scheme He did not want to bear the shame hands down; he took time and care and planned a new line of action
Occasionally, the Oba s sons and other palace boys were ordered to trim any over-grown branches of trees that were supposed to adorn the interior of the palace court-yard. this kind of palace duty was under the supervision of Oshodin. Okpame took a matcher, Sharpened it, and in order to test its sharpness for good job, he went outside the palace premises and chopped off the head of a young passer-by. Amu write that “and to test it (the sharpness of the cutlass) he went into the street, and got hold of a beautiful youth and cut off his head’’
Okpame was neither wicked nor mental. He was not hostile; He was merely youthfully proned to actions unusual, which he enjoyed. The action of beheading an unsuspecting innocent young lad did not only appear to expose others to similar fate, it also really “so stirred up the indignation of the citizens that they went directly to the Oba to exile his wicked son”
The Oba loved Okpame but was greatly disturbed by the type of worrisome actions his son delighted in. He had created a State Council (the Eghaevbo n’ore) which was in charge of such serious matters. The Oba chose not to interfere in their decisions. Agreed, the Council had freehand but it had a problem. In the oral handown it is said that he told the Council members to go and recommend what to do to the young murderer to satisfy the people. not himself the Oba, but he added a very powerful statement from the words of the elders This was that ‘sand-paper’ leaf is never used to wipe the anus of any child whose feaces is bad’. In Ora, this story and statement has been so told and retold that the statement has been contracted into a personal name i.e. Aigbomobea, or by others Aigbomobe.
Okpame was aware That death was The usual punishment for murderers. Efforts to qualify his own as unpremeditated and a mere youthful action failed. Somehow, the young man assured himself that only the decision of death would stop his ambition; lf he were pardoned he would re-plan his ambition; if the decision favoured banishment, he would only be too happy as it would embolden him to aspire more quickly to his great expectation - to be a leader in the capacity of an Oba, never mind where.
The tittle bit Edo history has on the cause of Okpame’s banishment is that he lied, covering up his burying Owere (Ezotis son and heir and his mother alive in a pit he had dug) and “reported to the elders that prince Owere died from national causes .Oronsaye simply put the cause of his banishment as due to “his bad reputation’’ which in any case as a clear pointer to the seriousness of his action. Okpame was later a big time warrior, and murder is part of warriors way of life.
¡¡. The Decision of Banishment
Generally, the people feared to worsen the feelings of dthe Oba who already had shown great worry about his son who erred seriously The citizenry felt that the son should be out of their way. They got the cream of the newly created State Council to support their wish. After due consideration, the Council decided that Okpame be banished, and he was banished. Has banishment forcefully brought into his senses that a community is greater than any of its components - the individual. He thus understandably did not contest the decision. Okpame was, however, offered support in view of his safety and security as soon as he got prepared to leave, and this was within a period of nine days.
¡¡¡. Preparation to Leave
Oba Ewuare secretly felt touched that his loved son who though least of has three sons and was (but for his slow style of speech) most like him, was on the verge of missing becoming the Oba over Edoland. He however, publicly showered blessings on his son wishing him heaven’s protection and success. Before Okpame left the palace on his banishment vis-a-vis adventure, the Oba gave him part of the royal oracles and some magical powers. He further advised him to be in touch even though, on the decision of the Eghaevbo n’ on and his approval, he should not personally visit Edoland without being granted pardon
Oral hand-down has it that Okpame respectfully told the Oba that he was already a man and so in position to re-design his fate in accordance with the unfamiliar prevailing circumstances in his going into the unknown The Oba could not but accept his son’s final decision. with painful equanimity.
From time immemorial in the entire animal world, mother’s love has been well established and was, as it is now, always demonstrated greatly at crucial moments. Usiedo of Osuan family the mother of Qkpame was said to have had her request to leave the town with her only son turned down, Oba Ewuare would not and did not want to lose two loved members of his family just like that; Okpame himself rebuked his mother for daring to suggest that he was not mature enough to venture into the unknown. He wondered if time men who migrated earlier in batches, the men who were sent to war (and never returned) and the men who were banished to mention a few, went with their mothers, or their mothers with emotions stood on their way. Okpame manfully accepted his fate, and was resolved to leave. Usiedo wept and felt the decision of her son for quite a long time. She was concerned with love for her son but Okpame was concerned with the name he itched to make through personal exposure to the risks of adventure and exploration Ora myths have it that Usiedo told her son that whenever he decided to pick a wife she would be most willing and prepared to send him a suitable Edo young woman. But after they parted, mother and son never met again.
d. His departure with a variety of followers
Okpame’s father, Oba Ewuare, was on the throne for about 33 years. Okpame being the Oba’s third son whom he very much loved but then on the verge of going on exile, was in his early twenties when he left. His departure naturally shocked Ewnare’s frame and probahly hastened his death in 1473.
Okpame left Edoland shortly before his father’s death. He left the scene for his elder brother to reign. His journey out of the city began at Ore-igbeni (Oregbeni) ni his mother’s home. along the northwestern outskirts of the outer-Edo city
Being a prince, he was followed by many people from Edoland. The large group of persons did not necessarily comprise men and women close to him as relations and friends. The group consisted of:
¡. Some palace youths who, not without palace approval, chose to follow Okpame.
¡¡. A number of guards given orders to, as far as was humanly possible. guarantee the prince’s care and safety from the beginning of his departure to his place of settlement wherever the place would be.
¡¡¡ . A batch of carriers whose assignment was to convey provisions along the journey
iv. His maternal uncle who loved him dearly and who some writers described as his cousin or by others as his bosom friend by name Obazuwa (Obzua or Obazuaye); who vowed to follow his nephew on the unfamiliar journey to Protect him in addition to being his very close companion
v. Other people who chose to seize the opportunity to leave the city over which harsh proclamations were made through town. Criers- most of such people did not only feel free from the restrictions at home (Edo Land) but also and more importantly, felt confident and safe under the leadership of Okpame wherever he went or stopped. No wonder the city was greatly depopulated. Oba Ewuare’s later order that hosts of fleeing people should tattoo the bodies of the latter did not help matters. There were no reports oral or written. of any return of migrants after the revocation orders.
vi .The class of adventurers who Ieft to experience what life was like elsewhere. It was not everyone in this class that followed Okpame. By implication, such people’s setting midway and/or off-route confirmed the fact that the prince was not aware of nor accountable for everybody that appeared to start out with or soon after him. Okpame was not like Moses, the Biblical leader of the Israelites who were on their sure journey to Cannan; nor was he Iike a teacher taking a batch of students out on an excursion, a planned one with a dear purpose. a definite route and a sure destination, and most importantly in which the students are known to the teacher
in passing, the claim by some people that the founding of Ozalla originates from when one of Okpame’s wives (!) gave birth feet-first to a male child (see Amu pages 5-6) hits the rocks from every angle. The banished prince had not married as he journeyed to exile. Neither long-standing oral handdown nor recent written history mentions Uguan’s relationship in this direction. In language and culture, Ozalla has always had clear and great similarities with Esan Ozalla had no relationship whatever with Okpame as popularly upheld by recent writers. Any such claim may not be different from Ora’s supporting her traditions as since the time of Eweka.
One further clarification is necessary concerning whether or not both Okpame and Obazuwa were already married before they left Edoland. There appears a mix-up here. Amu states that ‘’Obozuwa took his wife with him and then joined prince Uguan and his family” whereas elsewhere from the same pen there is the statement that Uguan took a maid (the emphasis in the writer’s, not another) for a wife and how ‘’two best friends (obviously Uguan and Obazuwa) who had been sleeping together, became separated today through the opinion of woman’(Uguan’s wife). A studied view holds that Okpame had not married before he set out on banishment. nor was Obazuwa wa, his uncle and companion
In an Ora Lyric sung into the twentieth century, neither Uguan nor Obazuwa had a wife when they trudged on into exile. They were daring young men. Igele, they were hunters and warriors. they were diviners and healers and they were humble yet famous leaders. It was sung of them ‘’The men loved their travels and trade more than women and wine”. The lyric went thus:
“Edion n’igele. igele n’ebo Davb’uman d’uman na rea Iofen nain. Vbohiogh’ evbo-arlo Nain-i mienho gh’eghezle Nain-i mienho gh ‘ikhuoho Ena i kh’edion, igele n ebo” Transiated as
“Elders who are stalwarts, stalwarts who are doctors from town to town, they are feared.
Because of the community ahead they have no time for idleness. They have no time for women these are elders stalwarts who are doctors”.
Okpame saw Odorlerle as a challenge and accepted it, He consoled himself with the strong feeling that if the land of the living was hostile, the land feared to be of the bad could be tried trusting that fortune would not abandon him half way in his new world. He trusted that his magical powers would be handy in darnig any unfriendly development. Being mysteriously more powerful than all of his followers now subjects, he was regarded as (omiagbon mierlinmi, seer of both earth and heaven). Some of the colleagues were reported as capable of easily communicating with fairies ghosts; and beasts. The whole people who settled with Okpame simply felt at home. They were confident that any evil could be dealt with with thier collective will and powers.
e. His route out of the city Okpame with his team of followers left Oregbeni with dogged determination to Survive and succeed no matter wherever fortune or circumstances led him. He, however, had the choice of directing which direction, to advance -— straight Or to turn right or left. There was definitely no running back.
His group of migrants was not the first body of emigrants that Left Edo land or that went northwards, along the same route for a start. Going eastwards westwards or southwards did not attract him All the same, he did not use beaten paths through and through. Earlier emigrants founded their settlements or invaded weaker scanty settlements along the route.
Okpame did not fancy the take-over of earlier settlements the principled prince that he was made him consider such an option as lowering his prestige. He thus kept pressing onwards, it times on some portions of existing routes, at times on fresh portions of the bush. He did this. We are told, until a mysterious sign directed him to the place he felt ideally good for him to settle. This was his place to dwell, it was land full of forest and a variety of animals, birds and insects; streams with all Sorts of river creatures: a land wíth no signs of earlier human occupation.
The peace-loving prince, with a strong determination not to ride on the back of earlier or weaker settlers to achieve his mission, as a welcome adventurer as he went on. He enjoyed the sympathy and substance of most of such settlers whenever he stayed briefly to refuel or to seek information about the nature of the way ahead. especially about any known land marks or specific geographical features of importance.
Certain that he had left the domain of some earlier settlers, (cg. the Aisan or Esan people ni particular) and was confronted with a far - off land depression on which he had no information, he became more cautious how hence he went. Later on, he observed a strange column of cloud, dark and broad sky-ward but pointing vertically downwards to a distance lowland, Smoke would usually begin from some- where on the ground and spread skyward into air, but this on a reverse route did not touch the ground Okpame and Obazuaye consulted their oracles and trustingly moved to where the spectacle pointed They began to hear a noise likc from human voices. This also subsided as they approached the place. The dogged determination of Uguan and Obazuwa continued to inspire their follower in spite of obvious fright Fears and weakness kept reducing the size of the initial followers, and there were definitely no more known beaten tracks It was all more of bush - cutting and tracing occasional animal-paths to find their way.
The column of cloud came lower and lower in a thread-like form to the ground. Then followed a deafening sound, a type of thunder. Okpame ordered his entourage to stand still in awe while he intensified incantations. As the column of cloud disappeared a great wind causing lots of tree - branch breaking cleared an area where a dying isolate of a tree (akobisi) was. Here the people made shelters and settled. It became the heart-land or the home-land of Okpame’s son vis-a-vis Ora.
This man will not do any work in Lagos Were you not seeing list before? He came to steal more money for the self acclaimed god of Lagos. What do I know? Am I not a Ghanaian
Theresa May announced on Friday that she would be stepping down as leader of her Conservative Party and then as Britain’s prime minister, after repeatedly failing to win Parliament’s approval for a deal to withdraw the country from the European Union.
Right now the successor to Theresa May will be chosen before Parliament’s summer break, the Conservative Party chairman said. She will continue as prime minister until the leadership contest is finished.
Almost 200 years after the departure of the Uokha people, another group left Benin. While the Uokha represented the conquered Ogiso people, Ora emerged from the political establishment of the kingdom. Ora formed a community, a cluster of six villages and numerous wards or quarters. The founder of Ora was Prince Uguan (ca.1504—l536), the son of Oba Ozolua who led Benin during a period of great crisis, expansion, and dispersal of people. If Uokha represents the pre-Eweka political organization, Ora seems to be a replica of dynastic Benin as it had been organized around 1500. Uguan obviously sought to create miniature chiefdom in Ora after his sojourn in Uokha, where he married the daughter of Akpwewuma. Uguan created the leopard as the “national” totem and a shrine to the leopard for all the citizens of Ora. He had been a prince of Benin and the leopard had been the royal emblem of that kingdom.
An Odionrukpa of Ora The traditions suggest that when Uguan had been expelled from Benin, he had turned against the leopard. However, when his wife had difficulty in birth, a diviner insisted that the father return to his totemic emblem. He did. The son was named Erhae-Ekpen (OraEkpen), the “fiery leopard.” The fiery leopard had numerous Sons who, according to the community charter, founded the six villages which together made up the Ora community. Since every one of the thirty quarters of Ora revere the leopard, it became the supreme example of a political totem. It does not mean that all the people of Ora descended from the fiery leopard. Ora-Ekpen married six wives according to tradition and the six villages of Ora descended from their sons. The six villages are listed in Ora in the order of their seniority, on the assumption that the oldest descended from the first son and the sixth from the youngest. A substantial body of evidence challenges this tradition of the community charter. It will be assumed that the order of seniority does reflect the age of the villages that Ohia the most senior had been founded before the others, and that Eme-Ora had been established last. The evidence suggests that all six had been in existence prior to Ora-Ekpen, the fiery leopard, since the tradition suggests that his father, Prince Uguan, had died on the migration and prior to their arrival in Ora. The shrine traditions analyzed, strongly imply that the youngest village, Eme-Ora, had been under female leadership and in existence prior to the royal ¡immigrants. Another tradition makes a similar treatment for the fourth village, Uhonmora. Furthermore, the Otuo tradition suggests that Prince Uguan led twelve age grades out of Benin, and these still possessed a corporate spirit when they left Ora ca.1632—1664 and migrated to Otuo in protest of political developments. It becomes even more significant that six totemic clans—and only six—in Ora became strangers or incoming migrants from Benin, suggesting that the age grades might have been comprised of single clans or kinship groups. Additionally, the most senior village, Ohia, was an exclusive Boa clan village, usually identified as the snake cult under female leadership. Finality, the unknown place name meanings decrease from 60% in Ohia to 44% ¡n Uhonmora, the fourth village, to 10% in Eme-Ora, the last settled. It seems logical to assume that unknown meanings should increase as one goes back in time. Of the six villages, all but one possesses village totems. It will be assumed that these preexisted the royal arrivals and that each village consisted of one clan; this frequency was the case in lgbo villages, often the prototype of a cephalous organization. To suggest this is not to suggest that the population was Igbo or Igbo-speaking, but merely that the villages were organized on the principle of one clan or settlement. As table 3 shows, These village totems represent those of the pre-leopard migration. TABLE 3 ORA COMMUNITY
It might be significant that not one of the totems in this table replicated in Otuo. The quarrel remained one among the immigrants in Ora. The table also shows the new wards established in the villages by Benin immigrants. As noted, they represented six totemic clans: five Bushbuck wards in four villages, three Tortoise in one, two Dog in one, and one Antelope, Grasshopper, and Leopard each in one village. Three of the latter totemic groups are also located in Otuo: four Bushbuck wards in three villages, seven Leopards in four and one Antelope in one village. The single leopard ward in Ora requires some explanation. Where there are both community and village totems, wards with their own unique totem revere a coral of three. Wards which claim no unique totem still possess two. Given that ¡informants do not distinguish between political and kinship totems, since their community charter seeks to portray them as kin, the problem becomes severe. For example, in Eme-Oca five wards claim no unique totem except the community leopard and village goat. One cannot be absolutely sure which wards fall in this category. One ward in Eme-Oca, Ivbiojekpen, meaning “children of the leopard,” is the one case that appears to have been proven. Furthermore, in that same village, Eme-Ora, there is a distinct tradition—the only such one—linking a son of the fiery leopard called Uguanroba or “Uguan the King” as the husband of Ome, the female leader of Eme-Ora. There is a shrine to him signifying a tribute to his unsuccessful! efforts to carry patriarchy to chiefly status, When that effort failed and Ora turned to Ife for titles ca. 1568—1620, the totemic evidence suggests a large exodus of the Leopard clan to Otuo—as the presence of seven Leopard wards in Otuo indicates. Nevertheless, the leopard became the community totem of Ora, binding together the six separate villages which previously had possessed neither unity nor a symbol of it. here remains the problem of the fifth village, Oke-Ora, which according to R. E. Bradbury once consisted of two wards but had swelled to four as a consequence of Esan strangers. I was given only two wards, Igbale and the ward group Ivbiore, as Bradbury called it. According to him: In Oke village,…there are now four wards, Igbale, Osi, Okpokumu, and Okpotole. Originally there were only two, lgbale and Osi, but the latter was later joined by the founders of the remaining two (Okpokumu and Okpotole) who came from Ishan [Esan]. Osi, Okpokumu, and Okpotole now form a ward group lvbiebiolue (Ivbiore). In the ward group of Ivbiore, two totems exist: the female sheep and the more traditional bushbuck, probably the totem of the Esan migrants. Bushbuck was also one of those totem groups which followed Prince Uguan and settled with the fiery leopard. The other ward, lgbale, revered the grasshopper. Presumably, this had been the original village totem, one not replicated in Otuo. Thus, Ora become a community united by reverence for the leopard. It contains four major and early settling clans: Goat (5 wards), Boa (4 wards), Glasscutter (4 wards), and Termite (3 wards). These are politically powerful clans whose totems require respect by others who live in the villages. It seems clear that these four, which also descend from the pre-leopard migration, were powerful enough ca.1600 to command respect and political compromise. Major clans in terms of numbers include the five Bushbuck wards scattered in four villages and the three Tortoise wards concentrated in one settlement. Minor clans include the Dog concentrated in two wards in one village arid the Antelope in one ward. The major clans represent the earliest; the minor clans represent those who came with the prince from Benin. Presumably, the immigrants had been much more numerous before their flight to Otuo in significant numbers. Presently they form a minority claiming thirteen wards out of thirty. When the wards have been divided in this fashion, it becomes significant that eleven of the thirteen place names without meanings in the modern language belong to them. Almost ah of chose coming out of Benin ca. 1500 have names with clear and easy-to-decipher meanings. Ora are far more typical of the Owan communities than Uokha because all except Uokha came out of Benin after the Eweka dynasty had firmly established its influence. Uokha stands as an example of pre-Eweka Benin, Ora of the Eweka establishment. Uokha formed a single community, Ora a group of villages. Uokha represented snakes and plants of indigenous organization; Ora became dominated exclusively by animals and their type of organization. Uokha remained small scale; Ora demonstrated how a larger scale organization might operate even without hereditary leadership. The community charter creates the myth of distant biological relatedness where all villages descend from the children of one founder. The analysis of the totemic data suggests that partly this is true and partly it reflects how society assimilates stranger elements.
Former president Goodluck Jonathan’s aide, Reno Omokri, on Thursday shared picture of himself and Jeffrey Daniel, American dancer, singer-songwriter and choreographer, member of the R&B vocal group Shalamar. Also known as Nigerian Idol judge.
Reno wrote;
"HAPPENING NOW: With American R&B legend, and founder of the award-winning soul group, Shalamar, Jeffrey Daniels. Jeffrey choreographed Bad and Smooth Criminal for Michael Jackson and danced in the Beat It video and introduced him to the backslide, which MJ called the Moonwalk."
Reports have it that yesterday, over 25 police officers and workers was sent to build residential estates for the Oba of Benin at Gelegele-gbene (Gelegele), a community in Ovia North East Local Government Area, Edo State, which has been in contention between the Ijaws and Binis in the state.
MandyNews.com gathered, that police officers that were to provide security for the workers, but Gelegele natives, mainly Ijaws, did not find the reason for their visit and action of commencing a housing project funny. National President of the Ijaw People Development Initiative, IPDI, Austin Ozobo, claimed that the Oba of Benin sent people to the community to commence the construction of residential estates, adding that it was provocative, hence the villagers pursued the over 50 police officers from the community.
Reacting to the incidents Mr. Pereotubo R. Oweilaemi, President, Ijaw Youth Congress worldwide.
He wrote;
"The Ijaw nation wish to pass a note of warning to the Bini ethnic nationality over the continued encroachment of Gelegelegbene lands by the Oba of Benin and his subjects. The silent war of aggression against the Ijaws in Edo State particularly the people of Gelegelegbene is getting to an alarming rate. We cannot fold our arms anymore.
The Bini Monarch is calling the shot. His unprovoked trespassing on the Gelegelegbene lands on a daily basis is a declaration of fratricidal war against the Ijaw nation and we will no longer fold our arms. No Ijaw land anywhere in Nigeria including Edo State will be ceded to any self-professed aggressor. We are equal to the task and we will defend our father's lands with all vigour.
The proposed building of a palace on Gelegelegbene land by the Bini Monarch did not only be viewed by the Ijaw nation as a despicable land grabbing syndicate, we also see the gesture as an open declaration of war of aggression against the entire Ijaw nation. An attack on one Ijaw community is an attack on the entire Ijaw nation. We will no longer condone this Bini people's land grabbing attitude.
We are not unaware that the Oba of Benin in connivance with the Edo State Government has hired some compromised security agents to aid them in perpetuating their evil agenda. Not quite a long time ago soldiers from the 4th Brigade, Benin in Edo State and 19 Battalion, Koko in Delta State were drafted to Gelegelegbene for the purpose of emasculating the people so that the Oba can carry out his evil plan.
Having failed to succeed in using the military to perfect his plans due to the public outcries by the Ijaw people and many other civil society organisations, the war-mongering Bini Monarch has again solicited the assistance of the Nigeria Police from Zone 5, Benin in Edo State to aid his heinous crime against the Gelegelegbene people in the State under the gleeful eyes of the Government.
We are warning the security agencies to be neutral in this matter. They should not by act or omission stoke ethnic crisis in Edo State. We will not have any problem with them if they go there to maintain law and order. Being used by the Monarch to harass and intimidate Ijaw people for the Oba to illegally build his palace in Gelegelegbene land is what the Ijaw nation stands to condemn.
As for the Edo State Government, since it has become a policy that the Ijaws in State do not deserved to be protected by the former, we will do well to stand with our kith and kin in their ancestral lands. The Ijaws in Edo State even pre-existed the Bini ethnic nationality. The Ijaw nation will rise in defence of our lands in the State by every means necessary since the Government therein has chosen to exterminate our existence in Edo State through the Bini King.
We are calling on the Federal Government, National Assembly and the Governors of the South South Geo-political Zone to prevail on the Edo State Government and the Oba of Benin to stop their aggressive action against the Ijaw nation. The actions of the Bini King is a ticking time bomb which may explode at anytime. A fully blown ethnic crisis is inevitable. To be forewarned is to be forearmed."
The Deputy Governor of Cross River State Prof. Ivara Esu has been trending on Twitter after inaugurating a traffic light and borehole in his state in Cross River, on Tuesday, 21 May 2019.
VIce President Yemi Osinbajo, who arrived the Maiduguri International Airport at about 12:15pm in a Nigerian Air Force aircraft, was received by Borno State governor Kashim Shettima and other senior government officials.
The VP was spotted commissioning some projects, including school buildings, roads and a local market, clinic.
U.S. President Donald Trump, facing a potentially difficult path to winning a second term in November 2020, on Monday told supporters in Pennsylvania that his trade war had strengthened the battleground state's steel industry and jobs.  U.S. President Donald Trump Trump boasted of his chances of re-election however, joking to the crowd, "We ran one time and we're '1-and-0' — but it was for the big one. Now we're going to have a second time. And we're going to have another one. And then we'll drive them crazy." "Maybe if we really like it a lot — and if things keep going like they're going — we'll go and we'll do what we have to do: we'll do a three and a four and a five," he added, joking of staying in office five terms - beyond the constitutional limit of two.
Dumebi official video via premiere via MandyNews.com
Rema is one of Nigeria's rising stars and is currently enjoying success with his super catchy new EP, Iron Man. One of the EP highlights is "Dumebi," a melodic shoulder-shaker that has seen the teen from Benin City soundtrack countless YouTube and Instagram dance challenges.
The "Dumebi" video, premiering above, will be relatable to anyone who has found themselves as the third wheel. Rema joins four friends on a camping trip, a group that includes a girl he's in love with. Sadly for him, the group also includes her boyfriend. Rema tries his best to show her how he feels but is thwarted at every turn. Check out rema brand new video.
The Olympique Marseille striker Mario Balotelli says world leaders know the reason why Africa continues to be lagging behind in development but are silent because they benefit from it.
In a lengthy write up, he blamed them for stealing African riches for centuries only to frown on Africans when they travel to the western world for greener pastures.
According to Balotelli the western world wouldn’t face any immigration challenges from Africans had they not been stealing African riches.
Over the years, lots of unpalatable things have been happening in Benin Kingdom, such as kidnapping, cultism, armed robbery, violence and unwanton killing of innocent citizens. Recently, some individuals and group of individuals have tried to subvert the Benin Culture and tradition by committing sacrilegious acts against the Benin throne, which of course did not go down well with the custodian of Benin culture and tradition. In a bid to stem all that, an acts of purification and sanctification was performed by the various traditional groups including Ewaise, Igie-Ohen, Priestesses of various deities and market women. Urhokpota ground venue of the event was besieged by various groups of traditional worshippers who took their turn to offer prayers for the good health and well-being of His Royal Majesty Ewuare II, as well as for the Royal family, Chiefs and entire people of Benin Kingdom. They also offered prayers to God and the ancestors to help avert all forms of evils, bloodshed, kidnapping, Armed robbery, cult killings and illicit human trafficking from the Kingdom and indeed Nigeria. Importantly, curses were heaped on the enemies of Benin Kingdom and all those who have committed an affront and sacrilegious acts against the Benin throne and the Kingdom. Prayers were also offered by the traditional worshippers against those who perpetrate evils and various crimes in the Kingdom, so that they will reap the consequences of their negative actions against the Benin throne, the Kingdom and the people. Various animals were slaughtered to give efficacy to the pronouncement while the traditional groups later engaged in a procession along some major streets in Benin City including Sokponba Road, Kings Square, Murtala Mohammed Way, Igbesamwan Street, Akpakpava road and ended at Emotan Shrine on Oba Market road. The exercise was presided by the Ewaise Group headed by Chief Eguezigbon, and Chief Ohen-Egie of Ogbeson. Anybody way thief for Benin again to Die By Fire
Game of Thrones fans dissatisfied with how Season 8 has unfolded have started a petition to remake the final season.
The petition titled "Remake Game of Thrones Season 8 with competent writers” on Change.org has surpassed 800,000 signatures. The post notes that creators "David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have proven themselves to be woefully incompetent writers when they have no source material (i.e. the books) to fall back on.
This series deserves a final season that makes sense. Subvert my expectations and make it happen, HBO!" Some of the most popular notes left by individuals state that they don’t want Benioff and Weiss to go “anywhere near Star Wars” with their upcoming film and that they are upset that the writers decided to “trash 8 yrs [sic] of character building for what they think will shock and awe us."
Dino Melaye, senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District has expressed fear of an imminent revolution against Nigeria's ruling class.
He tweet: "I am afraid of the revenge of the poor, It happened in Russia, France and recently in Sudan.It can happen in Nigeria. Housing segregation put us the elite in jeopardy. Ikoyi, Banana, Maitama, Asokoro, etc. Our leaders + me beware of violent revolution. Perilous times loading".
Gbyte02: He met the football 'ewu' The slayer of Los Blancos The left footed wizard The mesmerizer The god of soccer The greatest of all time (G. O. A. T) The nightmare of Arsenal The professor of killer passes The humilator of Boateng
In all, the anti-graft agency in the case marked FHC/L/178c/19, has slammed 11-count charge against the musician and his cohorts, many of who are now at large.
Details of the court papers show that most of the charges border on use of forged or stolen access card to obtain money, offences, which are punishable by the Cyber Crimes Prohibition law of Nigeria.
Count One of the charges reads: “That you, Azeez Adeshina Fashola, aka Naira Marley and Yad Isril (still at large) on or about the 26th day of November 2018, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court conspired among yourselves to use access card No. 5264711020433662 issued to persons other than you in a bid to obtain gain and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 27 (1) (b) of the Cyber Crimes (Prohibition, Prevention, ETC) Act, 2015 and punishable under section 32 of the same act.
See the papers which was personally signed by him below;
Nigerian singer, Sunday Osakuni, popularly identified as original Stereoman Ekwe, has shared some lovable photos of his twins, Alex and Sonia on his Fb page. He wrote;
“My pretty twins.. Sonia and Alex… AKPOR OGHENE..”
Culture › Okpame Alias Uguan: The Origin Of The Link Between Edo And Ora by Mandynews(op): 12:52am On May 25, 2019
Were you not seeing list before? He came to steal more money for the self acclaimed god of Lagos. What do I know? Am I not a Ghanaian
