₦airaland Forum

Bigchristo:
Y’all misunderstood the myth that says “Oba nor Dey go transfer” it simply means the kingship is only for a particular family in Benin it doesn’t shift to someone else, lastly Oba of Benin do travel this present Oba I think he has traveled much when he was a crowned prince because he was an Ambassador of Nigeria to Italy, also after becoming the King he has visited Tinubu in Abuja and also traveling to the Palace of Ooni in Ife etc, so where’s those words coming from? The king does travel let’s stop the misleading narrative

Thank you for repeating what I wrote.

mcdokwe:
Well, I could be wrong

Dasuki was Sultan of Sokoto from 1988 till 1996.

Abacha was head of state of Nigeria from 1993 till 1998.

You can look it up.

mcdokwe:
Abacha didn't remove Dasuki Sha, Dasuki was instead removed after the death of Abacha... That I am very aware of, even as a kid in Sokoto then. I can remember vividly the jubilation that followed.

Completely and totally wrong

I was not a child when Dasuki was removed in 1996.

Who was head of state of Nigeria in 1996?

When did Abacha die?

Naija2023:
nice work op

Thank you.

The reason for the Oba of Benin's recent visits.

1) Germany and the UK decided to return some artefacts that were looted from Benin.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-64038626

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/nov/28/london-museum-returns-looted-benin-city-artefacts-to-nigeria

2) There was a dispute over where it should go. The Oba of Benin wanted them (they were looted from the Palace) and the Edo State Government also wanted them. There was a dispute between the Palace and Government House.

https://punchng.com/dont-allow-obaseki-take-custody-of-1130-stolen-artefacts-oba-of-benin-urges-fg/

3) The Federal Government signed agreements for the return of the artefacts and some people thought that they would be stored at the National Museum.

4) The Oba of Benin visited President Buhari to lobby for the artefacts.


5) President Muhammadu Buhari ordered that they should be given to the Oba.

https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2023/04/14/fg-cedes-exclusive-custody-of-returned-bini-artefacts-to-oba-of-benin

6) The Oba of Benin visited President Buhari at the Aso Rock Villa to thank him.
https://www.nairaland.com/7102975/president-buhari-receives-benin-traditional

7) The Oba also visited Buhari in Daura (after he left office) to thank him again.
https://www.nairaland.com/7821945/oba-benin-visits-former-president

8 ) The Oba visited President Tinubu at the Villa to ensure that the arrangement was still in place.
https://www.nairaland.com/7764497/oba-benin-visits-president-tinubu

9) The Oba plans to build a royal museum to house the artefacts, so he came to Lagos with some of the people that will be involved in the museum (eg Nduka Obaigbena) to see how the J Randle Centre is run.
https://www.nairaland.com/7923022/oba-benin-visits-governor-sanwo-olu

Hamachi:
Oh really, I will Google fact check it.

Addressing The Myth That The Oba Of Benin Does Not Leave His Palace Or Travel.
https://www.nairaland.com/7924246/addressing-myth-oba-benin-does

I heard a similar myth about the Sultan of Sokoto in the early 1980s.

Sir Siddiq Abubakar III was Sultan of Sokoto from 1938 till 1988. He was old and ill by the early 1980s. He almost never left his palace. In fact, when people came to visit him, he would whisper what he wanted to say to a man that stood near his throne, then the man would tell the guest what the Sultan said.

Sir Siddiq joined his ancestors in 1988 and President Babangida installed his friend, Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki as Sultan. This annoyed the people of Sokoto, who wanted the late Sultan's son to succeed him. There were very serious riots in Sokoto at the time.

General Abacha removed Dasuki and made Sir Siddiq's son, Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido, the Sultan and this pleased the people of Sokoto.

Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido travelled regularly. In fact, he was coming back from a National Council on Education meeting in Abuja when his plane crashed and he died. His brother, Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar became the Sultan.

Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar, like his brother, also leaves the Palace and travels regularly.

I am sure that Sir Siddiq also travelled regularly when he was younger.


The fact is that traditional rulers don't travel often and there are times when some traditional rulers need to be in seclusion, but that does not mean that they do not leave their palace or travel at all.

Similarly, I saw Omo n'Oba n'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo Erediauwa I, who reigned from 1979 till 2016, leave his palace and travel many times.

Oba Erediauwa travelled to Ife not long after he was crowned in 1979. He went to thank the Ooni of Ife, Sir Adesoji Aderemi, for coming to his coronation (see first picture below). Sir Adesoji Aderemi, as a courtesy to his guest, allowed him to sit on the black leather chair (previously, only the Ooni sat on the chair).

Oba Erediauwa embarked on a thank you tour of Nigeria in 1982. He visited all the other 18 states to thank traditional rulers for coming to his coronation (Nigeria had 19 states back then). I remember watching his visits to the Emir of Kano and the Emir of Zaria on the news.

Didi Museum, the first private museum in Nigeria, was founded in Lagos in May 1983. It was founded by the engineer, explorer and art enthusiast, Dr Newton Jibunoh (in honour of his late sister). The museum was declared open by the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero and many traditional rulers, including the Oba of Benin, were present at the event. The second picture below shows Dr. Newton Jibunoh with then Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade Olubuse II and Oba Of Benin, Oba Erediauwa.

The third picture shows the governor of Oyo State, Chief Bola Ige, with Oba Erediauwa and two other traditional rulers. Oba Erediauwa served as the Chancellor of the University of Ibadan and he often attended university activities.

The first picture below shows Oba Akenzua in the UK.

The second picture shows Oba Akenzua receiving Queen Elizabeth II at Benin Airport. Queen Elizabeth II went on a tour of Nigeria in 1956 and she visited Lagos, Ibadan, Abeokuta, Benin, Port Harcourt, Warri, Enugu, Kano, Kaduna and Jos and she met traditional rulers in each of these cities.

In recent times a myth has circulated that the Oba of Benin does not leave his palace or travel. Similar myths have spread about other traditional rulers in the past. These stories are not true. I have been watching the news for several decades and I have seen each of these traditional rulers leave their palaces and travel many times.

Ọmọ n'Ọba n'Ẹdo Uku Akpọlọkpọlọ, Akenzua II reigned from 1933 – 1978. In 1950 the British Council invited him to the UK to study their system of local government. In the first picture below you can see him arriving the UK with his wife, Queen Idada (The Ohan of the Harem).

In the second picture below you can see him outside Buckingham Palace, where he met the Queen.

In the third picture you can see Oba Akenzua II at the wheel of a London bus, when he visited the London Transport Drivers' Training School at Chiswick, West London in 1950.

The fourth picture shows the Omo n’Oba boarding a train in the UK.

Janine Van Wyk @Janinevanwyk5

#OneLastDance
Yesterday my lengthy career for club football came to an end in the most significant manner.

Thank you to everyone who made this day one of the most memorable experiences that i will cherish forever.

Onto the next i go…✨

#OneLastDance
Yesterday my lengthy career for club football came to an end in the most significant manner.

Thank you to everyone who made this day one of the most memorable experiences that i will cherish forever.

Onto the next i go…✨ pic.twitter.com/B6SrmgA2FM

— Janine Van Wyk (@Janinevanwyk5) November 27, 2023

Hamachi:
I am very surprised to see the type of Oba we have, I mean this father doesn't leave Benin for any reason and on ko account does he go visiting, maybe there's something I don't understand.

That's a myth. You'll soon see that both Oba Erediauwa and Oba Akenzua travelled and visited people.

Some of the artefacts that will be returned.

Benin Bronzes: Germany returns looted artefacts to Nigeria

20 December 2022

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/9090/production/_128080073_gettyimages-1245744229.jpg
Among the items returned were some of the ceremonial heads from the kingdom of Benin

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has handed 22 artefacts looted in the 19th Century back to Nigeria at a ceremony in the capital, Abuja.

The return of this set of Benin Bronzes follows a deal made earlier this year to transfer ownership of more than 1,000 of these precious objects.

In July, Nigeria said it was the first time a European country had entered into this kind of agreement.

Ms Baerbock said it was part of efforts to deal with a "dark colonial history".

Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday, she added that it was an opportunity to right some of the wrongs of the past.

"Officials from my country once bought the bronzes, knowing they had been robbed and stolen.

"After that, we ignored Nigeria's plea to return them for a very long time. It was wrong to take them and it was wrong to keep them," Ms Baerbock is quoted as saying by German broadcaster DW.

Among the objects returned were some of the famous ceremonial heads, an ivory carving, as well as a decorated plaque.

Moves to return artefacts stolen in the colonial era have been gathering momentum in recent years as European countries and museums grapple with how they came into their possession.

Nigeria's Information Minister Lai Mohammed said at the handover ceremony that attitudes have changed quickly, DW reports.

"Twenty years ago, even 10 years ago, nobody could have anticipated these bronzes returning to Nigeria, because the obstacles to achieving repatriation were seemingly insurmountable," he added.

The term Benin Bronzes refers to thousands of metal sculptures, plaques and carvings made between the 15th and 19th Centuries and looted by British troops in 1897 from the West African kingdom of Benin, in modern-day Nigeria's Edo state.

The sculptures, prized for their beauty and technical artistry, are of spiritual and historical significance for the people from that part of Nigeria. Their theft still remains a point of pain for the descendants of those from the ancient Benin kingdom.

After being shipped to the UK in the late 19th Century, many were auctioned off in London and some were bought by German collectors, Germany's foreign ministry has said.

The country has been holding around 1,100 of the estimated 5,000 that were taken, it added in a statement.

Others are in the archives of museums in the UK, including the British Museum, which has the largest single collection of around 900 objects. An act of parliament prevents the British Museum from returning them.

But last month, London's Horniman Museum, which is a private charity, handed back dozens of items including some Benin Bronzes to Nigerian ownership - making it the first museum in the UK to officially take such action on this scale.

Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments has issued formal repatriation requests to museums across the world.

In 2026, the government plans to open the Edo Museum of West African Art in Benin City, which is being designed by British-Ghanaian architect Sir David Adjaye, to house the largest collection of Benin Bronzes ever assembled.

In the colonial era Germany governed parts of West, East and Southern Africa until the end of World War One.

Last year, it officially acknowledged committing genocide during its occupation of Namibia.

German colonisers killed tens of thousands of Ovaherero and Nama people there between 1904 and 1908.

In recent years, Germany has returned human remains to Namibia, some of which were used in now-discredited research into racial classification.

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/7D08/production/_128080023_gettyimages-1245744520.jpg

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-64038626

The reason for this and other recent visits is very simple.

1) Germany and the UK decided to return some artefacts that were looted from Benin.

2) There was a dispute over where it should go. The Oba of Benin wanted them (they were looted from the Palace) and the Edo State Government also wanted them.

3) President Muhammadu Buhari ordered that they should be given to the Oba.

4) The Oba of Benin visited President Buhari at the Aso Rock Villa to thank him.
https://www.nairaland.com/7102975/president-buhari-receives-benin-traditional

5) The Oba also visited Buhari in Daura (after he left office) to thank him again.
https://www.nairaland.com/7821945/oba-benin-visits-former-president

6) The Oba visited President Tinubu at the Villa to ensure that the arrangement is still in place.
https://www.nairaland.com/7764497/oba-benin-visits-president-tinubu

7) The Oba plans to build a royal museum to house the artefacts, so he came to Lagos with some of the people that will be involved in the museum (eg Nduka Obaigbena) to see how the J Randle Centre is run.

Jubril A. Gawat @Mr_JAGs

Testing one of the SANGO special effects today of our J Randle Center for Yoruba Culture and History.

History, Culture and Technology 😎

A PLACE TO BE 🔥🔥🔥

#YorubaCulture
#LagosYorubaState

@jidesanwoolu


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNqn8nEHS6U?si=bynWIMK5CbM4bzNP

Jubril A. Gawat @Mr_JAGs

The Oba of Benin, the traditional ruler and the custodian of the culture of the Edo people, His Royal Majesty Omo N’Oba N'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo Ewuare II (CFR) on a tour of Our J Randle Center for Yoruba Culture and History.

#EdoState
#GreaterLagosRising
#EdoCulture


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpJV0xjpPPg?si=g1s5moqTkt5C6_F2

The Oba of Benin, the traditional ruler and the custodian of the culture of the Edo people, His Royal Majesty Omo N’Oba N'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo Ewuare II (CFR) on a tour of Our J Randle Center for Yoruba Culture and History. #EdoState#GreaterLagosRising #EdoCulture pic.twitter.com/rGG0ccHFON

— Jubril A. Gawat (@Mr_JAGs) November 26, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF2n6orpXKU?si=6kbYFFe10zf4ODoP


The reason for this and other recent visits is very simple.

1) Germany and the UK decided to return some artefacts that were looted from Benin.

2) There was a dispute over where it should go. The Oba of Benin wanted them (they were looted from the Palace) and the Edo State Government also wanted them.

3) President Muhammadu Buhari ordered that they should be given to the Oba.

4) The Oba of Benin visited President Buhari at the Aso Rock Villa to thank him.
https://www.nairaland.com/7102975/president-buhari-receives-benin-traditional

5) The Oba also visited Buhari in Daura (after he left office) to thank him again.
https://www.nairaland.com/7821945/oba-benin-visits-former-president

6) The Oba visited President Tinubu at the Villa to ensure that the arrangement was still in place.
https://www.nairaland.com/7764497/oba-benin-visits-president-tinubu

7) The Oba plans to build a royal museum to house the artefacts, so he came to Lagos with some of the people that will be involved in the museum (eg Nduka Obaigbena) to see how the J Randle Centre is run.

Gboyega Akosile @gboyegaakosile

Flash: Lagos State Governor, @jidesanwoolu today receives the Oba of Benin, HRM Omonoba n’edo Uku Akpolokpolo Ewuare II, CFR at the Lagos House, Marina.

#AGreaterLagosRising


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAiHH2n_k4Y?si=bJf82Pcdan8drdLT

Flash: Lagos State Governor, @jidesanwoolu today receives the Oba of Benin, HRM Omonoba n’edo Uku Akpolokpolo Ewuare II, CFR at the Lagos House, Marina.#AGreaterLagosRising pic.twitter.com/9EUsba2YFv

— Gboyega Akosile (@gboyegaakosile) November 26, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4Khv4pHAoA?si=Vd6cUpu6VF5PTELi



Gboyega Akosile @gboyegaakosile

Tinubu Presidency is God-ordained, says the Oba of Benin

•••Hails Sanwo-Olu's giant strides in Lagos

•••Governor takes Royal Father on tour of State Museum

The Oba of Benin, Omo N’ Oba N’ Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewuare II, on Sunday, said God ordained Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to be President of Nigeria and called on all Nigerians to support the administration as well as live in peace.

He noted that the victory of Tinubu in the 2023 presidential poll and his emergence as the incumbent President of Nigeria showed God ordained him to rule the country, hence the need for all Nigerians to support him to achieve the greater Nigeria of our dreams.

The Oba of Benin spoke on Sunday during a courtesy visit to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu at the Lagos House, Marina.

Speaking during the visit, Oba N'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo Ewuare II, harped on the need for peaceful coexistence in the country for us to achieve sustainable development in all areas of the nation's economy.

He said diversity is good for Nigeria and urged the people to iron out their differences and live as a family in peace, unity and harmony with one another.

"God has ordained that Tinubu would become President of Nigeria. We are all one. I am for peace and tranquility. We must live together as one. Nigeria is big. We must iron out our differences and learn to live together as one, big family," he said.

Oba of Benin, who congratulated Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on his reelection, commended the giant strides of the Governor in Lagos and charged him not to rest on his oars to achieve greater heights in his second term in office.

The monarch who visited the J. Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History, Onikan, after the courtesy visit, with Governor Sanwo-Olu, Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, and other cabinet members, also commended Governor Sanwo-Olu's commitment to the promotion of culture and tradition.

Speaking during the courtesy visit, Governor Sanwo-Olu assured that the State would continue to be home to everyone irrespective of ethnic, religious or political affiliations.

Governor Sanwo-Olu, who eulogised the Oba of Benin for distinguishing himself among the traditional rulers, said his protection of culture and promotion of traditional values have earned him maximum respect across the country.

Sanwo-Olu while conveying the greetings of President Bola Tinubu to the Oba of Benin, urged the traditional ruler to continue his support for the present Federal Government to ensure citizens benefit from dividends of democracy which he noted are becoming evident in the third quarter of the year with a rise in the country’s GDP.

He said: "On behalf of Mr. President, we want to thank you for your fatherly role; for your prayers and best wishes to the government and I am sure he will not disappoint you.

"He will do everything possible to ensure that he delivers the real dividends of democracy that will help our country to reduce the poverty in the land, give us a new set of hope and redefine social economic development."

Jubril A. Gawat @Mr_JAGs

FLASH: Governor of Lagos State, Mr @jidesanwoolu receives the The Oba of Benin, the traditional ruler and the custodian of the culture of the Edo people, His Royal Majesty Oba N'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo Ewuare II (CFR), at the Lagos House, Marina.

#EdoState
#GreaterLagosRising
#EdoCulture


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1QXgHKG57c?si=KIao9UrwLOgZ4xec

Babajide Sanwo-Olu @jidesanwoolu

Oba ghato kpere ise'

Honoured to host His Royal Majesty, Oba N'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo Ewuare II of Benin, a king among kings this beautiful Sunday at Lagos House, Marina.

The visit by The Oba of Benin reaffirms our commitment to cultural harmony and collaboration between Lagos and Edo. Grateful for the opportunity to strengthen bonds and celebrate our shared heritage.

Long Live the Oba.

Long Live the Centre of Excellence and Aquatic Splendour.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ9R_ldC49Y?si=sQmT-haipdlmB5dd