₦airaland Forum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK82cw9W_Vo&t=66s

Basically the doubters are arguing that the Guinness Book of Records don't know what they are talking about, I don't blame you guys because in Nigeria anything goes without verification, for your information Guinness Book of Records will not put anything down in their records without some form of verification.

Did these guys not read the below from my submission above?

The Guinness Book of Records (1974 edition) described the walls of Benin City and its surrounding kingdom as the world’s largest earthworks carried out prior to the mechanical era. According to estimates by the New Scientist’s Fred Pearce, Benin City’s walls were at one point “four times longer than the Great Wall of China, and consumed a hundred times more material than the Great Pyramid of Cheops”.

I submit that henceforth any body that wants to apply to be a first class Oba in Yoruba land must first go to Benin to be tutored on the etiquette of how to be a king, at the rate things are going first class Yoruba Obas will become nothing more than bales. Have you guys seen a common chief in Benin behaving without class the way some of these so call Obas debase their thrones, fighting their wives in public, prostrating before politicians, kneeling in churches and mosques, offering their thrones to be seated on by so called men of Gods, gallivanting different parties, dancing and eating in public? their behaviours are unbecoming. In terms of class can you sincerely compare any of this Obas to the Esama of Benin who is just a chief in the Oba's palace?

This is the story of a lost medieval city you’ve probably never heard about. Benin City, originally known as Edo, was once the capital of a pre-colonial African empire located in what is now southern Nigeria. The Benin empire was one of the oldest and most highly developed states in west Africa, dating back to the 11th century.

The Guinness Book of Records (1974 edition) described the walls of Benin City and its surrounding kingdom as the world’s largest earthworks carried out prior to the mechanical era. According to estimates by the New Scientist’s Fred Pearce, Benin City’s walls were at one point “four times longer than the Great Wall of China, and consumed a hundred times more material than the Great Pyramid of Cheops”.

Situated on a plain, Benin City was enclosed by massive walls in the south and deep ditches in the north. Beyond the city walls, numerous further walls were erected that separated the surroundings of the capital into around 500 distinct villages.

Pearce writes that these walls “extended for some 16,000 km in all, in a mosaic of more than 500 interconnected settlement boundaries. They covered 6,500 sq km and were all dug by the Edo people … They took an estimated 150 million hours of digging to construct, and are perhaps the largest single archaeological phenomenon on the planet”.

Barely any trace of these walls exist today.

Benin City was also one of the first cities to have a semblance of street lighting. Huge metal lamps, many feet high, were built and placed around the city, especially near the king’s palace. Fuelled by palm oil, their burning wicks were lit at night to provide illumination for traffic to and from the palace.

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When the Portuguese first “discovered” the city in 1485, they were stunned to find this vast kingdom made of hundreds of interlocked cities and villages in the middle of the African jungle. They called it the “Great City of Benin”, at a time when there were hardly any other places in Africa the Europeans acknowledged as a city. Indeed, they classified Benin City as one of the most beautiful and best planned cities in the world.

In 1691, the Portuguese ship captain Lourenco Pinto observed: “Great Benin, where the king resides, is larger than Lisbon; all the streets run straight and as far as the eye can see. The houses are large, especially that of the king, which is richly decorated and has fine columns. The city is wealthy and industrious. It is so well governed that theft is unknown and the people live in such security that they have no doors to their houses.”

In contrast, London at the same time is described by Bruce Holsinger, professor of English at the University of Virginia, as being a city of “thievery, prostitution, murder, bribery and a thriving black market made the medieval city ripe for exploitation by those with a skill for the quick blade or picking a pocket”.

African fractals
Benin City’s planning and design was done according to careful rules of symmetry, proportionality and repetition now known as fractal design. The mathematician Ron Eglash, author of African Fractals – which examines the patterns underpinning architecture, art and design in many parts of Africa – notes that the city and its surrounding villages were purposely laid out to form perfect fractals, with similar shapes repeated in the rooms of each house, and the house itself, and the clusters of houses in the village in mathematically predictable patterns.

As he puts it: “When Europeans first came to Africa, they considered the architecture very disorganised and thus primitive. It never occurred to them that the Africans might have been using a form of mathematics that they hadn’t even discovered yet.”

A plaque showing an entrance to the palace of the Oba of Benin.
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A plaque showing an entrance to the palace of the Oba of Benin. Photograph: Alamy
At the centre of the city stood the king’s court, from which extended 30 very straight, broad streets, each about 120-ft wide. These main streets, which ran at right angles to each other, had underground drainage made of a sunken impluvium with an outlet to carry away storm water. Many narrower side and intersecting streets extended off them. In the middle of the streets were turf on which animals fed.

“Houses are built alongside the streets in good order, the one close to the other,” writes the 17th-century Dutch visitor Olfert Dapper. “Adorned with gables and steps … they are usually broad with long galleries inside, especially so in the case of the houses of the nobility, and divided into many rooms which are separated by walls made of red clay, very well erected.”

Dapper adds that wealthy residents kept these walls “as shiny and smooth by washing and rubbing as any wall in Holland can be made with chalk, and they are like mirrors. The upper storeys are made of the same sort of clay. Moreover, every house is provided with a well for the supply of fresh water”.

Family houses were divided into three sections: the central part was the husband’s quarters, looking towards the road; to the left the wives’ quarters (oderie), and to the right the young men’s quarters (yekogbe).

Daily street life in Benin City might have consisted of large crowds going though even larger streets, with people colourfully dressed – some in white, others in yellow, blue or green – and the city captains acting as judges to resolve lawsuits, moderating debates in the numerous galleries, and arbitrating petty conflicts in the markets.

The early foreign explorers’ descriptions of Benin City portrayed it as a place free of crime and hunger, with large streets and houses kept clean; a city filled with courteous, honest people, and run by a centralised and highly sophisticated bureaucracy.

What impressed the first visiting Europeans most was the wealth, artistic beauty and magnificence of the city
The city was split into 11 divisions, each a smaller replication of the king’s court, comprising a sprawling series of compounds containing accommodation, workshops and public buildings – interconnected by innumerable doors and passageways, all richly decorated with the art that made Benin famous. The city was literally covered in it.

The exterior walls of the courts and compounds were decorated with horizontal ridge designs (agben) and clay carvings portraying animals, warriors and other symbols of power – the carvings would create contrasting patterns in the strong sunlight. Natural objects (pebbles or pieces of mica) were also pressed into the wet clay, while in the palaces, pillars were covered with bronze plaques illustrating the victories and deeds of former kings and nobles.

At the height of its greatness in the 12th century – well before the start of the European Renaissance – the kings and nobles of Benin City patronised craftsmen and lavished them with gifts and wealth, in return for their depiction of the kings’ and dignitaries’ great exploits in intricate bronze sculptures.

“These works from Benin are equal to the very finest examples of European casting technique,” wrote Professor Felix von Luschan, formerly of the Berlin Ethnological Museum. “Benvenuto Celini could not have cast them better, nor could anyone else before or after him. Technically, these bronzes represent the very highest possible achievement.”

A drawing of Benin City made by a British officer in 1897.
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A drawing of Benin City made by a British officer in 1897. Illustration: akg-images
What impressed the first visiting Europeans most was the wealth, artistic beauty and magnificence of the city. Immediately European nations saw the opportunity to develop trade with the wealthy kingdom, importing ivory, palm oil and pepper – and exporting guns. At the beginning of the 16th century, word quickly spread around Europe about the beautiful African city, and new visitors flocked in from all parts of Europe, with ever glowing testimonies, recorded in numerous voyage notes and illustrations.

Lost world
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Now, however, the great Benin City is lost to history. Its decline began in the 15th century, sparked by internal conflicts linked to the increasing European intrusion and slavery trade at the borders of the Benin empire.

Then in 1897, the city was destroyed by British soldiers – looted, blown up and burnt to the ground. My great grandparents were among the many who fled following the sacking of the city; they were members of the elite corps of the king’s doctors.

Nowadays, while a modern Benin City has risen on the same plain, the ruins of its former, grander namesake are not mentioned in any tourist guidebook to the area. They have not been preserved, nor has a miniature city or touristic replica been made to keep alive the memory of this great ancient city.

A house composed of a courtyard in Obasagbon, known as Chief Enogie Aikoriogie’s house – probably built in the second half of the 19th century – is considered the only vestige that survives from Benin City. The house possesses features that match the horizontally fluted walls, pillars, central impluvium and carved decorations observed in the architecture of ancient Benin.


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Curious tourists visiting Edo state in Nigeria are often shown places that might once have been part of the ancient city – but its walls and moats are nowhere to be seen. Perhaps a section of the great city wall, one of the world’s largest man-made monuments, now lies bruised and battered, neglected and forgotten in the Nigerian bush.

A discontented Nigerian puts it this way: “Imagine if this monument was in England, USA, Germany, Canada or India? It would be the most visited place on earth, and a tourist mecca for millions of the world’s people. A money-spinner worth countless billions in annual tourist revenue.”

Instead, if you wish to get a glimpse into the glorious past of the ancient Benin kingdom – and a better understanding of this groundbreaking city – you are better off visiting the Benin Bronze Sculptures section of the British Museum in central London.

It is a big shame that Nigeria do not teach history in schools and this present generation are doomed for it, imagine a Nigerian not knowing that Benin city had street lights albeit being lit with palm oil which was the technology of that time when must part of the world was still in darkness, Benin city streets were being swept daily before must cities in world adopted same. As far back as 1485 early Europeans referred to Benin as a city, no where else in Africa has that appellation.

The entire Lagos ruling houses are decendants of the first Benin prince and chiefs that were sent to administer Lagos by Oba of Benin, the Dosunmu family is also one of the decendants.

HISTORY OF LAGOS: OBA OYEKAN’S SON, THE BAJULAIYE SHEDS MORE LIGHT ON BENIN ORIGIN
May 5th, 2017 | by TheNewsMongers
HISTORY OF LAGOS: OBA OYEKAN’S SON, THE BAJULAIYE SHEDS MORE LIGHT ON BENIN ORIGIN

Ayodele Adedeji Oyekan, a son of the late Oba Adeyinka Oyekan and the Bajulaiye of Lagos, recently, celebrated his 50th birthday and 15th anniversary of his chieftaincy title. Oyekan used the occasion of the celebrations to speak to Sunday Vanguard on the claim by some people, especially the Igbo, that Lagos is a ‘no man’s land,’ and the significance of the Bajulaiye in Lagos and Benin Kingdom respectively.

Growing up I was born into the family of the late Oba Adeyinka Oyekan II and the late Olori Florence Modupeola Oyekan who died in 1966, precisely a year after my father became the Oba of Lagos. My first three years in life, I stayed with my grandmother, the late Princess Adebisi Ogundimu of Akintoye Royal Family in Lagos at 20, Agodogba Court, Isale-Eko (hinterland of Lagos Island). I came back to the palace in 1969, when I was enrolled at Aunty Ayo Preparatory School, Lagos; later, I attended Ireti Primary School and then Methodist Boys High School, for secondary school and finished my education in London.

My father was more caring than our mothers. Being a polygamous family, anytime our mothers quarelled, we, the children, would still sit together, have breakfast, lunch and dinner together without bothering about the differences among our mothers. Sometimes, all of us, the children, would even eat with our father. I really enjoyed my childhood and miss my late father so much.



You were based in London before returning home to become the Bajulaiye. How do you cope residing in Isale-Eko, an indigenous and traditional community?

All my years in London, I always told my friends from other countries and Nigeria that there is no place like home and that I will never swap Isale-Eko for any other place. Even if I build mansion at Park View, Victoria Island, I will still live in Isale-Eko, because I want to be among my people; I want to associate with indigenes of the community. I eat with my people in public, drink in the bar, mingle with them, etc. Before I travelled to England, I lived in Isale-Eko and can never swap it for anywhere else in the world. How do you describe your late father? I don’t think we the children can say much about him; the people of this community (Isale-Eko) are in a better position to describe him. He was a caring person; he loved his people, he would go to a great length to make sure that his people were okay. I remember a time there was epileptic power supply during the late Sani Abacha regime, and the National Electric Power Authority, NEPA, wanted to give him priority so that there would be improved electricity in his palace.

He refused, saying, “If you can’t give my people light, don’t give me, adding that, “let us all stay in darkness together.” He went on: “What is the point of me using light and my people don’t have light? What kind of Oba do you want them to call me?”

Anytime he was coming from an occasion in his convoy and met people doing party on the street, he would never tell them to leave the street for him to pass. He would alight from his vehicle and walk through the party to his palace. He always thought about his people.

Bajulaiye What are those things you are missing that your father is not alive?

Well, there is always something you miss about your parents. I miss his care, his love because he would prefer his children to eat before he eats. If you go round Isale-Eko, people would tell you they miss my father.

What is the Oyekan family’s relationship with the current Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu I, like?

Kabiyesi is one of us. He’s from the Ologunkutere lineage like myself. In Lagos, we have what we call declaration. When a position is vacant, any of the princes is eligible to contest. So, we are all from the same family. Since the reign of Ologunkutere, all the Obas have been from the lineage (Ologunkutere). Oba Akiolu is our blood relation, he is a father to us, anybody that ascends that throne is a father to all princes and princesses, so we are all one. If we need anything, we consult him as our father.

What does it mean to be the Bajulaiye of Lagos?

My maternal great-great-great-grandmother was the last child of Bajulaiye. The woman, Oresan, represents a branch of the Bajulaiye family. She got married to Oba Dosunmu and gave birth to a son called Oyekan, i.e Oba Oyekan I, who was the father of Kushanu, that gave birth to my father, Oba Adeyinka Oyekan II. Our lineage had never been a chief in Bajulaiye’s Court (Iga) until I became one because everybody wanted to be king. When the Bajulaiye position was vacant in 1976, my father asked me in London, if I was interested and I asked whether he had consulted other people at home (Nigeria), and he replied in the affirmative. When I came back to Nigeria, inspite of the consultations, I still struggled for three years before I became the Bajulaiye, as there was a conflict with some people who also showed interest. We even went to court after which I became the Bajulaiye of Lagos on August 12, 2001. I thank God for sparing my life for 15 years on the throne and to celebrate my 50th birthday. I thank my children, grand children for the love and support they’ve given me over the years. Bajulaiye is a unique and significant chieftaincy title in Benin Kingdom (Edo State), where we originate from. Over there in Benin, they will tell you ‘Obazuaye’. Bajulaiye is a very important chieftaincy title in Benin Kingdom and Lagos.

Does the Bajulaiye chieftaincy family have any relationship with Bajulaiye Oja in Somolu in Shomolu Local Government Area?

All the chiefs in Lagos have landed properties. Areas like Pedro towards Obanikoro in Palmgrove, Ikorodu Road belong to the Onisemo chieftaincy family; Somolu Bajulaiye Oja belongs to me, the Bajulaiye chieftaincy family.

Also in Somolu, we have Bashua, Suenu who are also chiefs in Lagos Island. We all have landed properties all over Lagos. Ojon chieftaincy family comes from Ijon at Abule-Egba. Bajulaiye belongs to Abagbon title chiefs that have Ashogbon as the head but not the most senior, as we have Ogboni Iduntafa-Onilegbale;

Head of Akarigbare – Eletu Odibo; Head of Idejo – Olumegbon; Head of Ogalade – Obanikoro and Ashogbon, Head of Abagbon. The Bajulaiye is a unique title in Lagos.

Ineso Bajulaiye ibini arokun taayo; Omo abiliki liki Abaja; Abaja epo tomorofo; Bajulaiye jigan larogun; Gbagan larogun; A bo ogun laruku dugbedugbe; Omo osupale, eni o gun lo; Eni owo bato kole tunse, Omo oju awo ni bi ka ku, Orisa-oke nio gbo tiwon, Omo ewekewe, omo egbo kegbo, Omo baba ta la fe fi gunse; Owo kembe rebija.

What are your challenges as the Bajulaiye of Lagos?

It’s not easy. As early as 6am, you have people waiting for Baba to come down. People will come for different things, some will come for kids school fees; some for monetary assistance; some for utility bills to be settled in their various homes. Our salary isn’t much, but we thank God that we can assist people. Some people will come for help to secure employment; some for admission into tertiary institutions, etc. I thank God, if eight people come for assistance and I’m able to assist five or six, I’m okay. But those I can’t attend to immediately, I always plead with them to come another time.

What can you say about government and tradition in Nigeria?

Traditional leaders started democracy. Anytime they wanted to instal an Oba, the kingmakers would decide via voting, that’s how democracy started. Today, if there is an issue, the Oba will invite the Council of Chiefs and the community at large to deliberate which may end with voting to resolve the issue. Our past Yoruba leaders were too ambitious, people might express their views as they are entitled to their opinions.

In the North, the Sardauna didn’t take away power from Emirs; Zik never took away power from Igwes, Obis. The president will invite traditional leaders from across the country for meeting in Abuja. Why can’t he go to them? If the governor is coming now, Obas will stand up for him. This is one of the things killing our nation. If there is respect for elders, there will be positive change in this country. Politicians have rendered Obas and chiefs redundant. If government invites traditional leaders to Abuja for deliberations on an issue, their views will not be considered. Traditional leaders are just like an advisory body to government now. From inception, our government has never been fair to the traditional institution. Chiefs in Lagos use Keremes (white cap). What is it all about? Keremes is the symbol of White Cap chiefs of Lagos. Keremes of White Cap chiefs of Lagos Island is unique as chiefs here are kings elsewhere. We are unique as baales that become Obas don’t have what we possess in Lagos Island.

We have our tradition as we have been existing before many Obas in Lagos. So, when we become Oba in our landed areas, we automatically become First Class Obas. Most Obas in Lagos are baales before they become Oba, but we are not; we are unique.

Tradition has been what is keeping us together. What we do mostly is to appease our ancestors as it was done from time immemorial. Government should endeavour to give traditionalists public holidays as they give Christians, Muslims, to celebrate their festivals. Celebration of tradition (Isese), which holds on August 20, every year, should be declared a public holiday for traditionalists to celebrate. Prayers offered on August 20 every year, by traditionalists and other religion leaders, keep the country alive.

What can you say about the Adamu Orisa festival in Lagos?

Adamu Orisa Play popularly called Eyo is a symbolic and significant tradition of Lagos. It’s done to bury important personalities in Lagos and staged once in a while; it could be once in five or 10 years. Eyo is a unique festival.

How do you view the position in some quarters, especially among Igbo people, that Lagos is a ‘no man’s land?’

Whosoever utters that kind of statement is insulting Lagosians. And if I may ask, does it mean that when these strangers came to Lagos they did not meet indigenous people? Meanwhile, I do not blame them. Politics allowed such a reckless claim. And the situation is made worse by our hospitality. We are so accommodating so much so that everybody resident in Lagos operates anyway he wants. Can the Igbo people contest election in other states where they are not indegenes the way they do in Lagos? However, we are not saying they should not contest election in Lagos but 90 percent of the slots contestable in the state should go to indegenous Lagosians. And we are trying to ensure that indegenous Lagosians are given 90 per cent slot in any election in Lagos under any party.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/10/son-of-the-late-oba-oyekan-tackles-igbos-others/

THE REPUBLICAN NEWS
EXPLOSIVE: Lagos Is Not Yoruba Land, Says Oba Of Lagos, Oba Akiolu

Chibiko Ikenna Offor
22 hours ago
Oba-of-Lagos-Rilwan-Akiolu-600x411
Oba of Lagos, Oba Akiolu
Coming from the palace, with what I was told by my late paternal grandmother who is a descendant of Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi. Also reading from factual Historical books.

Let me share this Knowledge with you all on Eko/Lagos.

Modern-day Lagos was founded by Prince Ado, the son of the Oba of Benin, Prince Ado was the First Oba of Lagos, the son of the Bini King, Prince Ado, named the town Eko until the Portuguese explorer Ruy de Sequeira changed the Maritime town to Lagos, which at that time from 1942 was Portuguese expedition center down the African Coast.

It was a major centre of the slave trade until 1851. Lagos was annexed by Britain via the Lagos treaty of cession in 1861, ending the consular period and starting the British Colonial Period. The remainder of Modern-day Nigeria was seized in 1886 when the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria were established in 1914 Lagos was declared its Capital due to the struggle of the Bini King.

Lagos experienced growth pro to the British Colonial rule and even more rapid growth during the Colonial rule throughout the 1960s, 70s, continued through the 80s and 90s till date. Thanks to the Awori’s, Bini’s, Yoruba’s, migrants across the Nation and the world at large, as no particular group of people can take the Glory alone.

Lagos is made up of Lagoons and creeks. The Lagos lagoon, Lagos Harbour, five known creeks. Ebute-Metta creeks, Porto-Novo creeks, New canal, Badagry creeks, Kuramo waters and Lighthouse creeks.

The Awori’s and Bini’s are known to be the first settlers of the Eko Land. The Awori’s are speakers of a distinct dialect close to that of the Yoruba Language with a rich Bini mixture. Traditionally, Awori’s were found in Ile-Ife, they were known to be the Bini’s who followed their self-exiled Prince, the first son of the Ogiso (now called Oba) of the Benin Kingdom, whose Step-Mother was after his head.
The Exiled Benin Prince Izoduwa known to the Yoruba’s as Ooduwa (Oduduwa) was made the ruler of the Ife people due to his Powers and followers from the Great Benin-Kingdom.
Izoduwa (Ooduwa) was made the First King of Ile-Ife in 1230 AD. His followers from his father’s Kingdom in Benin are the today’s Awori people who settled in Eko now called Lagos.

In 1300, the King of Benin-Empire heard from one of his traders who was a settler in Eko on how the Bini’s were treated by the Awori’s who lived in their area. Upon hearing this the King of Benin commanded the assembling of a War expedition, lead by his Son Prince Ado, which headed the settlement of the Awori’s and demanded and explanation.

On arriving Eko, Prince Ado and his Army were more than received. The Awori’s asked the Bini Prince to stay and become their leader. Ado agreed on the condition that they surrender their sovereignty to the Oba of Benin, to which the people agreed.
Hearing this, the King of Benin gave his permission for Prince Ado and the expedition to remain in Eko.

The Oba of Benin sent some of his chiefs including the Eletu, Odibo, Obanikoro and others to assist his son Oba Ado in the running of Eko. From the crowning of Prince Ado as the First Oba of Lagos (then called Eko) Lagos served as a major center for slave trade from which the Awori’s, the Oba of Benin and his son the Oba of Lagos and all the children/descendants who took over as his successors for over four centuries supported the trade.

The Oba of Benin was head of the Benin-Empire which are present day Western, Southern and Eastern modern- day Nigeria.
The King never obliged anyone to speak the Bini language as he believed everyone was entitled to their own choice of language.

The name Eko was given to it by the First King of Lagos Oba Ado, the young and vibrant Prince from Benin. Eko was the Land now known as Lagos Island, where the king Palace was built. The palace is called IDUNGARAN meaning “palace built on pepper farm” Oba Ado and the Warriors from Benin together with the early Bini’s settlers in Eko and the Awori people settled in the Southern part of Eko called “Isale Eko”. “Isale literally means bottom “. Must have been used to indicate downtown (as in downtown Lagos)

Until the coming in of the Benin’s 1300AD, Lagos geographical boundary was Lagos mainland, Lagos Island, the seat of the Oba of Lagos then consisted of a pepper farm and fishing post. No one was living there.

About 1450 AD some Yoruba’s who hailed from Isheri in Ogun-State and Ekiti were allowed by the King to settle in Eko during a war, they came in very large numbers thereby surpassing the numbers of the Awori’s and Bini’s. (Hence Yorubas claim to own Eko due to their numbers).

Oba Ado fell in love with a beautiful woman whose father was Awori and mother a daughter to one of the chiefs, they had two sons and also a daughter Erelu Kuti, who begat Ologun Kutere who later became King.

Oba Akintoye descendant of Prince Ado whose mother was the First Queen from Awori ascended the throne as Oba of Lagos in 1841, he attempted to ban slave trade with the help of the British, but the local merchant, the Aworis, Binis and a few Yorubas who was already integrated and married to Aworis and Binis strongly opposed the intended move and deposed and exiled the King and installed Akintoye’s brother Kosoko as Oba. In exile in Europe, Akintoye met with British authorities who had earlier banned slavery in 1807 and the British decided to support the deposed Oba to regain his throne.
With the success of the British intervention in 1851, Akintoye was reinstalled as Oba of Lagos. In practical terms, however, the British influence over the Benin Empire had become absolute, then years later in 1861 Lagos was formally annexed as a British colony. This led to the fight of the British and the Bini King, the leader of the Benin empire for years, which finally led to the fall of the empire and the capturing of Oba Ovonramwen.
Oba Akintoye of Lagos was the first Oba not to be buried in Benin. Prior to this all the kings of Lagos were buried in Benin. They passed on taxes to the Oba of Benin until the British settled in Lagos.
Until today, the Oba of Lagos is the head of all the Obas in Lagos because the Binis believe that whatever they or their offsprings are they are senior.The status of the Oba of Lagos is different from other Obas most of whom were given back their crowns and staff of office only within 40 years ago.
Those who got their lands back was the original land owners, and they were mostly descendants of Prince Ado and other children of Olofin.

Video of Oba of Lagos explaining Lagos oba and chiefs greetings in reverence of Oba of benin
https://www.facebook.com/humansofedo/videos/752806704878753/

Historically the Ooni was never an Oba but the chief priest of Ododuwa. All desendants of past Oonis were ment to be chief priest to the numerous shrines in Ile-Efe. It was the politicians of old western region in their quest to forge a common yoruba unity that elevated the the Ooni to an Oba, so rather than the Ooni being the chief priest to the descendants of Ododuwa ( current first class yoruba Obas) he was elevated above them, most of the Obas have never accepted this, that is why the Oba of Lagos, the Awujale of Ijebu, the Alaafi of Oyo and numerous others that know their history have never accepted the Ooni's superiority because it was the creation of the old western region politicians. This new Ooni know this hence the reason he is all over the place to crave relevance. It is like the politicians in the Uk elevating the Arch Bishop of Canterbury to king of England, the Arch Bishop is like the chief priest to the British Monarchy. His role is to officiate in royal christenings, marriages, crowning of a new king or queen, royal burials etc. The Ooni is the equivalent in yoruba land. The Ooni is not suppose to be an Oba this has sees been the age long frictions between the past and present Ooni and some yoruba Obas.

Shared from Benjamin Rotimik's facebook page
Benin: Mighty Medieval Capital Now Lost Without Trace
The London based Guardian newspaper writes on the golden era of Benin City that has been lost without a trace
With its mathematical layout and earthworks longer than the Great Wall of China, Benin City was one of the best planned cities in the world when London was a place of ‘thievery and murder’. So why is nothing left?
This is the story of a lost medieval city you’ve probably never heard about. Benin City, originally known as Edo, was once the capital of a pre-colonial African empire located in what is now Southern Nigeria. The Benin empire was one of the oldest and most highly developed states in West Africa, dating back to the 11th century.
The Guinness Book of Records (1974 edition) described the walls of Benin City and its surrounding kingdom as the world’s largest earthworks carried out prior to the mechanical era. According to estimates by the New Scientist’s Fred Pearce, Benin City’s walls were at one point “four times longer than the Great Wall of China, and consumed a hundred times more material than the Great Pyramid of Cheops.”
Situated on a plain, Benin City was enclosed by massive walls in the South and deep ditches in the North. Beyond the city walls, numerous further walls were erected that separated the surroundings of the capital into around 500 distinct villages.
Pearce writes that these walls “extended for some 16,000 km in all, in a mosaic of more than 500 interconnected settlement boundaries. They covered 6,500 sq km and were all dug by the Edo people … They took an estimated 150 million hours of digging to construct, and are perhaps the largest single archaeological phenomenon on the planet.”
Barely any trace of these walls exist today.
Benin City was also one of the first cities to have a semblance of street lighting. Huge metal lamps, many feet high, were built and placed around the city, especially near the king’s palace. Fuelled by palm oil, their burning wicks were lit at night to provide illumination for traffic to and from the palace.
When the Portuguese first “discovered” the city in 1485, they were stunned to find this vast kingdom made of hundreds of interlocked cities and villages in the middle of the African jungle. They called it the “Great City of Benin”, at a time when there were hardly any other places in Africa the Europeans acknowledged as a city. Indeed, they classified Benin City as one of the most beautiful and best planned cities in the world.
In 1691, the Portuguese ship captain Lourenco Pinto observed: “Great Benin, where the king resides, is larger than Lisbon; all the streets run straight and as far as the eye can see. The houses are large, especially that of the king, which is richly decorated and has fine columns. The city is wealthy and industrious. It is so well governed that theft is unknown and the people live in such security that they have no doors to their houses.”
In contrast, London at the same time is described by Bruce Holsinger, professor of English at the University of Virginia, as being a city of “thievery, prostitution, murder, bribery and a thriving black market made the medieval city ripe for exploitation by those with a skill for the quick blade or picking a pocket.”
African fractals
Benin City’s planning and design were done according to careful rules of symmetry, proportionality and repetition now known as fractal design. The mathematician Ron Eglash, author of African Fractals – which examines the patterns underpinning architecture, art and design in many parts of Africa – notes that the city and its surrounding villages were purposely laid out to form perfect fractals, with similar shapes repeated in the rooms of each house, and the house itself, and the clusters of houses in the village in mathematically predictable patterns.
As he puts it: “When Europeans first came to Africa, they considered the architecture very disorganised and thus primitive. It never occurred to them that the Africans might have been using a form of mathematics that they hadn’t even discovered yet.”
At the centre of the city stood the king’s court, from which extended 30 very straight, broad streets, each about 120-ft wide. These main streets, which ran at right angles to each other, had underground drainage made of a sunken impluvium with an outlet to carry away storm water. Many narrower side and intersecting streets extended off them. In the middle of the streets were turfs on which animals fed.
“Houses are built alongside the streets in good order, the one close to the other,” writes the 17th-century Dutch visitor Olfert Dapper. “Adorned with gables and steps … they are usually broad with long galleries inside, especially so in the case of the houses of the nobility, and divided into many rooms which are separated by walls made of red clay, very well erected.”
Dapper adds that wealthy residents kept these walls “as shiny and smooth by washing and rubbing as any wall in Holland can be made with chalk, and they are like mirrors. The upper storeys are made of the same sort of clay. Moreover, every house is provided with a well for the supply of fresh water.”
Family houses were divided into three sections: the central part was the husband’s quarters, looking towards the road; to the left the wives’ quarters (oderie), and to the right the young men’s quarters (yekogbe).
Daily street life in Benin City might have consisted of large crowds going though even larger streets, with people colourfully dressed – some in white, others in yellow, blue or green – and the city captains acting as judges to resolve lawsuits, moderating debates in the numerous galleries, and arbitrating petty conflicts in the markets.
The early foreign explorers’ descriptions of Benin City portrayed it as a place free of crime and hunger, with large streets and houses kept clean; a city filled with courteous, honest people, and run by a centralised and highly sophisticated bureaucracy.
The city was split into 11 divisions, each a smaller replication of the king’s court, comprising a sprawling series of compounds containing accommodation, workshops and public buildings – interconnected by innumerable doors and passageways, all richly decorated with the art that made Benin famous. The city was literally covered in it.
The exterior walls of the courts and compounds were decorated with horizontal ridge designs (agben) and clay carvings portraying animals, warriors and other symbols of power – the carvings would create contrasting patterns in the strong sunlight. Natural objects (pebbles or pieces of mica) were also pressed into the wet clay, while in the palaces, pillars were covered with bronze plaques illustrating the victories and deeds of former kings and nobles.
At the height of its greatness in the 12th century – well before the start of the European Renaissance – the kings and nobles of Benin City patronised craftsmen and lavished them with gifts and wealth, in return for their depiction of the kings’ and dignitaries’ great exploits in intricate bronze sculptures.
“These works from Benin are equal to the very finest examples of European casting technique,” wrote Professor Felix von Luschan, formerly of the Berlin Ethnological Museum. “Benvenuto Celini could not have cast them better, nor could anyone else before or after him. Technically, these bronzes represent the very highest possible achievement.”
What impressed the first visiting Europeans most was the wealth, artistic beauty and magnificence of the city. Immediately European nations saw the opportunity to develop trade with the wealthy kingdom, importing ivory, palm oil and pepper – and exporting guns. At the beginning of the 16th century, word quickly spread around Europe about the beautiful African city, and new visitors flocked in from all parts of Europe, with ever glowing testimonies, recorded in numerous voyage notes and illustrations.
Lost world
Now, however, the great Benin City is lost to history. Its decline began in the 15th century, sparked by internal conflicts linked to the increasing European intrusion and slave trade at the borders of the Benin empire.
Then in 1897, the city was destroyed by British soldiers looted, blown up and burnt to the ground. My great grandparents were among the many who fled following the sacking of the city; they were members of the elite corps of the king’s doctors.
Nowadays, while a modern Benin City has risen on the same plain, the ruins of its former, grander namesake are not mentioned in any tourist guidebook to the area. They have not been preserved, nor has a miniature city or touristic replica been made to keep alive the memory of this great ancient city.
A house composed of a courtyard in Obasagbon, known as Chief Enogie Aikoriogie’s house – probably built in the second half of the 19th century – is considered the only vestige that survives from Benin City. The house possesses features that match the horizontally fluted walls, pillars, central impluvium and carved decorations observed in the architecture of ancient Benin.
Curious tourists visiting Edo State in Nigeria are often shown places that might once have been part of the ancient city – but its walls and moats are nowhere to be seen. Perhaps a section of the great city wall, one of the world’s largest man-made monuments, now lies bruised and battered, neglected and forgotten in the Nigerian bush.
A discontented Nigerian puts it this way: “Imagine if this monument was in England, USA, Germany, Canada or India? It would be the most visited place on earth, and a tourist mecca for millions of the world’s people. A money-spinner worth countless billions in annual tourist revenue.”
Instead, if you wish to get a glimpse into the glorious past of the ancient Benin kingdom – and a better understanding of this groundbreaking city – you are better off visiting the Benin Bronze Sculptures section of the British Museum in central London. (copied)

Story of cities #5: Benin City, the mighty medieval capital now lost without trace
With its mathematical layout and earthworks longer than the Great Wall of China, Benin City was one of the best planned cities in the world when London was a place of ‘thievery and murder’. So why is nothing left?
Read other articles in our story of cities series
Ancient Benin city.
Benin City was described as ‘wealthy and industrious, well-governed and richly decorated’. Illustration: Decompiling Dapper: A Preliminary Search for Evidence
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Mawuna Koutonin
Friday 18 March 2016 07.30 GMT
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This is the story of a lost medieval city you’ve probably never heard about. Benin City, originally known as Edo, was once the capital of a pre-colonial African empire located in what is now southern Nigeria. The Benin empire was one of the oldest and most highly developed states in west Africa, dating back to the 11th century.

The Guinness Book of Records (1974 edition) described the walls of Benin City and its surrounding kingdom as the world’s largest earthworks carried out prior to the mechanical era. According to estimates by the New Scientist’s Fred Pearce, Benin City’s walls were at one point “four times longer than the Great Wall of China, and consumed a hundred times more material than the Great Pyramid of Cheops”.

Situated on a plain, Benin City was enclosed by massive walls in the south and deep ditches in the north. Beyond the city walls, numerous further walls were erected that separated the surroundings of the capital into around 500 distinct villages.

Pearce writes that these walls “extended for some 16,000 km in all, in a mosaic of more than 500 interconnected settlement boundaries. They covered 6,500 sq km and were all dug by the Edo people … They took an estimated 150 million hours of digging to construct, and are perhaps the largest single archaeological phenomenon on the planet”.

Barely any trace of these walls exist today.

View along a street in the royal quarter of Benin City, from 1897.
View along a street in the royal quarter of Benin City, 1897. Photograph: The British Museum/Trustees of the British Museum
Benin City was also one of the first cities to have a semblance of street lighting. Huge metal lamps, many feet high, were built and placed around the city, especially near the king’s palace. Fuelled by palm oil, their burning wicks were lit at night to provide illumination for traffic to and from the palace.

When the Portuguese first “discovered” the city in 1485, they were stunned to find this vast kingdom made of hundreds of interlocked cities and villages in the middle of the African jungle. They called it the “Great City of Benin”, at a time when there were hardly any other places in Africa the Europeans acknowledged as a city. Indeed, they classified Benin City as one of the most beautiful and best planned cities in the world.

In 1691, the Portuguese ship captain Lourenco Pinto observed: “Great Benin, where the king resides, is larger than Lisbon; all the streets run straight and as far as the eye can see. The houses are large, especially that of the king, which is richly decorated and has fine columns. The city is wealthy and industrious. It is so well governed that theft is unknown and the people live in such security that they have no doors to their houses.”

In contrast, London at the same time is described by Bruce Holsinger, professor of English at the University of Virginia, as being a city of “thievery, prostitution, murder, bribery and a thriving black market made the medieval city ripe for exploitation by those with a skill for the quick blade or picking a pocket”.

African fractals
Benin City’s planning and design was done according to careful rules of symmetry, proportionality and repetition now known as fractal design. The mathematician Ron Eglash, author of African Fractals – which examines the patterns underpinning architecture, art and design in many parts of Africa – notes that the city and its surrounding villages were purposely laid out to form perfect fractals, with similar shapes repeated in the rooms of each house, and the house itself, and the clusters of houses in the village in mathematically predictable patterns.

As he puts it: “When Europeans first came to Africa, they considered the architecture very disorganised and thus primitive. It never occurred to them that the Africans might have been using a form of mathematics that they hadn’t even discovered yet.”

A plaque showing an entrance to the palace of the Oba of Benin.
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A plaque showing an entrance to the palace of the Oba of Benin. Photograph: Alamy
At the centre of the city stood the king’s court, from which extended 30 very straight, broad streets, each about 120-ft wide. These main streets, which ran at right angles to each other, had underground drainage made of a sunken impluvium with an outlet to carry away storm water. Many narrower side and intersecting streets extended off them. In the middle of the streets were turf on which animals fed.

“Houses are built alongside the streets in good order, the one close to the other,” writes the 17th-century Dutch visitor Olfert Dapper. “Adorned with gables and steps … they are usually broad with long galleries inside, especially so in the case of the houses of the nobility, and divided into many rooms which are separated by walls made of red clay, very well erected.”

Dapper adds that wealthy residents kept these walls “as shiny and smooth by washing and rubbing as any wall in Holland can be made with chalk, and they are like mirrors. The upper storeys are made of the same sort of clay. Moreover, every house is provided with a well for the supply of fresh water”.

Family houses were divided into three sections: the central part was the husband’s quarters, looking towards the road; to the left the wives’ quarters (oderie), and to the right the young men’s quarters (yekogbe).

Daily street life in Benin City might have consisted of large crowds going though even larger streets, with people colourfully dressed – some in white, others in yellow, blue or green – and the city captains acting as judges to resolve lawsuits, moderating debates in the numerous galleries, and arbitrating petty conflicts in the markets.

The early foreign explorers’ descriptions of Benin City portrayed it as a place free of crime and hunger, with large streets and houses kept clean; a city filled with courteous, honest people, and run by a centralised and highly sophisticated bureaucracy.

What impressed the first visiting Europeans most was the wealth, artistic beauty and magnificence of the city
The city was split into 11 divisions, each a smaller replication of the king’s court, comprising a sprawling series of compounds containing accommodation, workshops and public buildings – interconnected by innumerable doors and passageways, all richly decorated with the art that made Benin famous. The city was literally covered in it.

The exterior walls of the courts and compounds were decorated with horizontal ridge designs (agben) and clay carvings portraying animals, warriors and other symbols of power – the carvings would create contrasting patterns in the strong sunlight. Natural objects (pebbles or pieces of mica) were also pressed into the wet clay, while in the palaces, pillars were covered with bronze plaques illustrating the victories and deeds of former kings and nobles.

At the height of its greatness in the 12th century – well before the start of the European Renaissance – the kings and nobles of Benin City patronised craftsmen and lavished them with gifts and wealth, in return for their depiction of the kings’ and dignitaries’ great exploits in intricate bronze sculptures.

“These works from Benin are equal to the very finest examples of European casting technique,” wrote Professor Felix von Luschan, formerly of the Berlin Ethnological Museum. “Benvenuto Celini could not have cast them better, nor could anyone else before or after him. Technically, these bronzes represent the very highest possible achievement.”

A drawing of Benin City made by a British officer in 1897.
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A drawing of Benin City made by a British officer in 1897. Illustration: akg-images
What impressed the first visiting Europeans most was the wealth, artistic beauty and magnificence of the city. Immediately European nations saw the opportunity to develop trade with the wealthy kingdom, importing ivory, palm oil and pepper – and exporting guns. At the beginning of the 16th century, word quickly spread around Europe about the beautiful African city, and new visitors flocked in from all parts of Europe, with ever glowing testimonies, recorded in numerous voyage notes and illustrations.

Lost world
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Now, however, the great Benin City is lost to history. Its decline began in the 15th century, sparked by internal conflicts linked to the increasing European intrusion and slavery trade at the borders of the Benin empire.

Then in 1897, the city was destroyed by British soldiers – looted, blown up and burnt to the ground. My great grandparents were among the many who fled following the sacking of the city; they were members of the elite corps of the king’s doctors.

Nowadays, while a modern Benin City has risen on the same plain, the ruins of its former, grander namesake are not mentioned in any tourist guidebook to the area. They have not been preserved, nor has a miniature city or touristic replica been made to keep alive the memory of this great ancient city.

A house composed of a courtyard in Obasagbon, known as Chief Enogie Aikoriogie’s house – probably built in the second half of the 19th century – is considered the only vestige that survives from Benin City. The house possesses features that match the horizontally fluted walls, pillars, central impluvium and carved decorations observed in the architecture of ancient Benin.


Story of cities #4: Beijing and the earliest planning document in history
Read more
Curious tourists visiting Edo state in Nigeria are often shown places that might once have been part of the ancient city – but its walls and moats are nowhere to be seen. Perhaps a section of the great city wall, one of the world’s largest man-made monuments, now lies bruised and battered, neglected and forgotten in the Nigerian bush.

A discontented Nigerian puts it this way: “Imagine if this monument was in England, USA, Germany, Canada or India? It would be the most visited place on earth, and a tourist mecca for millions of the world’s people. A money-spinner worth countless billions in annual tourist revenue.”

Instead, if you wish to get a glimpse into the glorious past of the ancient Benin kingdom – and a better understanding of this groundbreaking city – you are better off visiting the Benin Bronze Sculptures section of the British Museum in central London.

Does your city have a little-known story that made a major impact on its development? Please share it in the comments below or on Twitter using #storyofcities

[b][b]Before I draw curtain on this important historical argument, I want to borrow some facts from the submission of Kunle I Sowunmi, a Yoruba man of Abeokuta origin, who had earlier wrote from Dallas Texas, in the United States of America, in his writing titled: "Ile Ife - The Final Resting Place of History." And I quote, in extenso, "Ooni who is not a direct son or descendants of Oduduwa may not necessarily be considered viable in this discussion.
Alafin of Oyo who is a descendant of the acceptable link between Yoruba and Edo must examine his place in history and that of his senior brother Orangun of Ila the first son who had disappeared into history because he never challenged Oranmiyan.

The abdication of the throne is a loss of right for Oranmiyan to his son in Benin but if the son (Eweka) and his descendants according to history continue to respect tradition and be buried at Ife or received blessing before being crowned then we can conclude that Ife is superior to Benin and Edo’s must have in fact originated from Ife.

The question is this: Can a son be greater than his father? No. Or can a river be greater than its source? No. Otherwise it will dry.

The fact of history of allegiance of Oba of Benin to Ile Ife the cradle of Yoruba race before being crowned and after death is an indication that Ife is the source of scientific and foolproof history to support this argument.[/b][/b]
...........................................................................................................................................................

From your writeup the Oba of benin is the eldest son of Oranmiyan and by implication senior to all Yoruba Obas. The Ooni not being one of the sons of Oranmiyan can not be senior to the Oba of benin, a chief priest of a town can be graeter that the King or Crown price.

Lagos Prince Kazeem Eletu Odibo Makes History, Rediscovers Family Root In Benin

Chief Igbinedion, Esama of Benin Kingdom and Prince Kazeem Eletu-Odibo of Lagos State
The name Gbadamosi Eletu Odibo is a big name in Lagos. Until his death, the late Chief was the Traditional Prime Minister to the Oba of Lagos, a kingmaker. Winning their land case of 254.558 hectares in Osapa London, Lekki area of Lagos made them more popular and has made Eletu Odibo family one of the richest families in Lagos. While some people would say, it is because 4 of Eletu Odibo brothers drive the latest Rolls Royce Phantom and that has made more people to know them.
Recently, Eletu Odibo name has been seen and heard everywhere around Lagos, in one way or the other because of the way Prince Kazeem Gbadamosi Eletu-Odibo values the importance of the name and the legacy of his father in Lagos while he was alive.
Prince Kazeem Eletu Odibo is a business tycoon, who has done a lot of remarkable projects in the real estate sector. Prince Kazeem just won City People’s Property Developers Award for its contribution in real estate sector.
The young and handsome man is the last born of Chief Gbadamosi Eletu Odibo but he has a very big heart. Prince Kazeem is also a big philanthropist, a free giver.
Recently, the quiet and lanky Prince (Prince Kazeem) took a giant step to rediscover his root. He went back to Benin Kingdom, where his great grand fathers migrated from.
Last week, City People’s ISAAC ABIMBADE met with him at his Osapa London new house, called White House, where he revealed what made him locate his root back to Benin and how they welcomed him.
HOW ELETU ODIBO CAME TO LAGOS

According to Prince Kazeem, he said the connection between Benin Kingdom and Eletu Odibo started in the year 1600, when Oba of Benin then appointed Eletu Odibo, Obanikoro and other Chiefs to come to Lagos to crown the first king, which was Oba Ado. But the temporary Chief, who ruled Lagos before Oba Ado was Ashipa (1600-1630).
Eletu Odibo were known in Benin as White Cap Chiefs then. So when Eletu Odibo came to Lagos, they settled in Isale Eko, Iga-Iduganran, Lagos. Since then Eletu Odibo family have been in Lagos and they have not gone back to Benin. From that time, any Oba that died in Lagos we used to take them back to Benin to bury. It was during Oba Akintoye they stopped taking their corpse back to Benin. No Oba or Chiefs have gone back to Benin since then”.
Prince Kazeem also told City People how they got to Osapa Village, now called Osapa London, He said his grandfather used to stay in Itele in Ota. He had problem with child bearing then because they used to die before they grow up. So he consulted the oracle, where he was told to go and settle where there is a big Lagoon. That was how he left Itele for Osapa. When he came here (Osapa), he met a hunter with his daughter. The hunter and his daughter lived in Osapa as their base then, because Ojomu family gave them (Hunter and his daugther) for farming then.
The hunter accepted him when he explained what led him to Osapa. Later, my grandfather now got married to the hunter’s daughter, they had children and my grandfather also took another women in marriage, which was over 200 years ago.
When my father’s was growing up, he took after his father. He was also a herbalist”.
OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH OBA OF BENIN

According to Prince Kazeem, he said he knows how it all happened according to history. He said “Oba of Benin sent Eletu Odibo, who were popularly known as White Cap Chiefs then in Benin to come Lagos to crown their first king, King Ado and after Ado ruled from 1630-1669. We have King Gabaro from 1669 to 1704, and King Akinsemoyin from 1704 to 1749, and Eletu Kukere 1749, King Ologun Kutere 1749-1775, Adele Ajosun 1775 – 1780 and 1832 – 1834, Eshilokun 1780 – 1819, Oba Idowu Ojulari 1819-1832, King Oluwole 1836 – 1841, King Akintoye 1841 – 1845 and 1851 -1852, Oba Kosoko 1845-1851, King Dosunmu (Docemo) 1853 – 1885, Oba Oyekan 1885-1900, Oba Eshugbayi Eleko 1901-1925 and 1932, Oba Ibikunle Akitoye 1925 – 1928, Oba Sanusi Olusi 1928-1931, Oba Falolu Dosunmu 1932 – 1949, Oba Adeniji Adele 1949-1964, Oba Adeyinka Oyekan II 1965 – 2003 and Oba Rilwan Akinolu 2003 till present. These are the list of kings that have ruled Lagos till date.
Prince Kazeem Eletu Odibo said his father was one of those people that crowned Oba Oyekan in 1965. “Even when Oyekan had problem then, it was my father he ran to. He stayed in Osapa for 3 months before my father took him back and he was crowned King. So it was my father’s younger brother, Eletu Odibo who crowned Oyekan then. Our Uncle, which is there now, Chief Gbadesere crowned Oba Akiolu.

Prince Kazeem Eletu-Odibo in his glamourous royal attire
WHY I WENT BACK TO BENIN TO RECLAIM OUR ORIGIN

“So, when I wanted to marry my wife from Ishan, Benin in Edo State, before that time I have read from history that Eletu Odibo family comes from Benin in Edo State. So, I called one of the secretaries at the palace. I told him the history and everything. We now wrote a letter to the palace, my friend took it there (Benin Palace) and they asked me to come after they have read the letter.
When I was going to Ishan, I stopped at the Palace where I was told the history, that we are truly from Benin. They prayed for me. We then later went to Ishan, where we had the introduction.
When the old Oba of Benin left to join his ancestors some months ago, we wrote another letter to pay a condolence visit to the new crowned Prince, they accepted us with open arms. We went their (Palace) to greet him and from there, they fixed the date for coronation. They sent me an invitation for the coronation. Since I have been going to Benin they have not told me where my family house is but when I went this time, my friend, Osama now called Esama of Benin which is Chief Igbinedion. Osama introduced me to Esama of Benin, he said one of his friends from Lagos, Prince Kazeem Eletu-Odibo has been coming to Benin but he does not know where is family house is and he also wants to pay a royalty to you as the Esama of Benin. We went there on Wednesday 19th October, 2016 to Esama Palace. He was expecting Sultan of Sokoto, Emir of Kano and Ooni of Ife but we were there before they arrived. So, he had enough time to welcome us.
We offered him some kolanuts we brought from Lagos. When I told Esama of Benin that our family name is Eletu Odibo, that since we left nobody has come back to know where our Palace is and he (Esama of Benin) laughed at me! He said your family left and forgot everything, that the way you do your tradition in Lagos is different from here. Esama now confirmed to me that our family house is at Ibiwe road, in Benin, that the Oba of Benin, that has just been crowned has to pass through the road (Ibiwe) before going to the palace. He also told me that, our family is very important and popular in Benin Kingdom, that Eletu Odibo is not a small name in Benin Kingdom”.

Prince Kazeem Eletu-Odibo, when offering kola nut to the Esama of Benin, Chief Igbinedion.
HOW DID THEY RECEIVE YOU IN BENIN

Although, I have not met with the new Oba of Benin, I have to book an appointment to see him and that is going to be very soon.
During the coronation, they called my name twice, that “we use this opportunity to introduce the prominent person representing Eletu Odibo in the person of Prince Kazeem Gbadamosi Eletu Odibo."
A lot of people were there, Sultan of Sokoto, Emir of Kano, Ooni of Ife, Aliko Dangote, Vice President, Yemi Oshibanjo were there and all the eminent people around the world.
I was also introduced to the next crown King of Benin through Osama.
I really, really enjoyed my stay in Benin. I have told some of the Chiefs who came to my hotel room to bless me that, I would come back to Benin that they should help me to locate my family house there. I have told them, if I can find the family house that I want to renovate it and I also want to build my personal house, so that I can be coming to Benin from time to time.
I pray to God for His wisdom, so that I can do what I have in mind. May our ancestors guide me. All I want to achieve is to bring back that name where it used to be and also back to Benin”.

StepTwo:
the cabal against Tinubu is so strong.

Tinubu should just form a new party or the entire southwest APC including Lagos might be hijacked leaving him with Just Remi come next election.


well, that's if Dino Melaye does not win her over with his penetrating tool should his wish come along.

StepTwo you should consider a career in stand up comedy...You are better than Basket Mouth and I Go Die put together.

On a more serious note at the rate things are playing out with Tinubu being demystify at every given opportunity, I believe he was/being overrated as a political strategist cum godfather.
Tinubu has a lot to lean from Pa Anineh (Mr fix it) When Anineh held sway as the political leader of PDP for 16 years non of the three presidents could go against his wishes, non of the governors, members of national assemblies could threat him the way Tinubu is being treated. The closet Anineh got to being treated this way was when former governor Uzor Kalu wrote a newspaper article accusing Anineh of mismanaging the fund met for federal roads when Anineh was minister for works. The story was, when Anineh ran into Kalu's deputy at the airport, he told him to let his boss know that he will suffer the same faith as Bola Igie and in addition, Anineh instituted a multi-Billion Naira libel law suit against Kalu. They said Kalu took the threat so serious, he wrote Prime Minister Tony Blair of U.K., President George Bush of U.S.A, the European union and other world leaders to come to his aid. It actually took the intervention of the late Oba of Benin who invited both warring parties to his palace for settlement in which Kalu was asked to tendered an unreserved apology to the leader before the issue was finally put to rest and the leading traditional rulers of South East lead by the Obi of Onitsha had to pay a thank you visit to the Oba of Benin. Nobody tried that stunt again until PDP lost the presidency. Kalu's business in Nigeria including Slok airlines never recovered, he had to move most of them to neighboring countries.
Now compare the above to Tinubu as a leader, First his nominees for ministerial appointments were said to have be overlooked by Buhari, His choices for speaker of House of representative and senate president were usurp with impunity by others, then his wife fellow co senator threatened to impregnate her, can any insult be higher than this? the guy even went to Tinubu's street where he is said to be the lion to pose for a photograph and then pasted them across social media, and now this, his refereed candidate in Ondo that is supposed to be his back yard has been side tracked for another...If you ask me i would say his credentials as a political leader are highly inflated.