- Children vow to continue fight
- You’ll go the way of your fathers, chief warns
The Omoruyi family in Igbekhue, a community in Orhionmwon Local Government area of Edo State, has stirred the hornet’s nest, as it renews an age-long battle of wits against the Oba of Benin over the appointment of Enogie of Igbekhue. The Enogie is a Duke to the Oba of Benin, and by implication the traditional ruler of his community under the headship of the Oba of Benin.
The family had earlier tackled the current Oba’s late father, His Royal Majesty, Omo N’ Oba N’Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Erediauwa 1, in court, claiming that the monarch had no right to appoint an Enogie outside the Omoruyi family.
But while the case was in court in 2010, the promoters of the case, two prominent leaders of the family, who were siblings, reportedly died the same day under inexplicable circumstances.
The incident, it was gathered, sent shock waves through towns and villages in the kingdom.
The same family has now risen against Erediauwa’s son, the new Oba of Benin, His Royal Majesty, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku’ Akpolokpolo, Ewuare 11.
Members of the family have filed a fresh suit at a Benin customary court, urging the court to mandate the Oba to pick an Enogie from its lineage of the Eso Royal Family, as against the choice of the current occupier of the position.
The latest move by the Omoruyi family to claim the Enogie title, The Point gathered, is currently generating heat in the royal circles, as many believe that it is sacrilegious for anyone to challenge the authority of the Oba of Benin, considered to be next to God.
There is nowhere in Benin Kingdom that seniority is the yardstick for the appointment of an Enogie… I once again warn them to retrace their steps against the Oba of Benin, for them notto go the ways of their fathers
BATTLE OVER ENOGIE STOOL
In 2009, Oba Erediauwa had confirmed and installed a traditional ruler, Samson Osemwengie Abusomwan, over Igbekhue community, as Enogie. Dissatisfied with the Oba’s decision, the Omoruyi lineage of the Eso Royal Family, led by Isaac Omoruyi, now deceased, approached an Orhionmwon Area Customary Court sitting in Abudu, Benin.
The suit, which had the Benin monarch and the Orhionmwon local council as defendants, was numbered OACC/MI/08/2009. But as the suit progressed in 2010, two plaintiffs of the Omoruyi family, Alex and Isaac, who were siblings, died the same day, to the shock of the community.
Ebo Omoruyi, son of one of the late plaintiffs in the suit is, however, leading his lineage to renew the legal tussle. He and his siblings are back to court against the new Oba of Benin, Eware 11.
Ebo averred that it was only right for the Eso Royal Family to nominate and install its Enogie according to seniority and that the appointment and installation of the current occupier of the position, Abusomwan, by the Oba of Benin “is a nullity.”
But in a swift reaction, the Enogie of Igbekhue whom the Oba of Benin installed, told The Point that he only ascended the throne of his forebears as the most senior son of the late Chief Peter Osemwengie Abusomwan, who was the Enogie of Igbekhue until his death in 2003.
Referring to what may be the intending judgement of the customary court, the Enogie said, “How can you deliver a judgment to favour a man who died in 2010, a man who was cursed by the Oba of Benin? These Omoruyi family people are the same Eso (Royal Family) with me. They have been troubling me; they started from my grandfather, the late Chief Abusomwan Igbinadolor, who was installed as Enogie of Igbekhue by Oba Akenzua II.
“My father was installed as Enogie after his father’s death, by Oba Erediauwa, and in January, 2009, I was installed as Enogie by the same Oba Erediauwa, after a successful burial rite for my late dad.”
According to the embattled Enogie, “the whole matter was reported to the palace by the same Omoruyi family, but at the end of the day, the truth came out. The then Oba Erediauwa and the Palace ordered the sword bearers to shave the traditional hairstyle they were wearing with broken bottles.”
He added, “Based on the curse placed on them by the Oba and Palace chiefs, these same brothers, Isaac Omoruyi and Alex Omoruyi, died the same day. These dead men’s children are the ones creating trouble for everyone in my community. I pretend not to hear them because their comments against the Oba of Benin are sacrilegious.
“There is nowhere in Benin Kingdom that seniority is the yardstick for the appointment of an Enogie but instead, it is hereditary, which simply happened in my own case. I once again warn them to retrace their steps against the Oba of Benin, for them not to go the ways of their fathers.”
ORDEAL OF ISEKHURE
The tragedy of Isaac and Alex Omoruyi, two siblings fighting the Oba of Benin who died the same day, in the course of the struggle, would not be the first case of bad consequence for anyone at war with the Benin monarch.
Another riveting instance was that of the suspended Isekhure of Benin Kingdom. For the man in question, Nosakhare Isekhure, afflictions reportedly came in multiple folds. The erstwhile chief priest of Benin was suspended from his traditional duties on January 17, this year by the Benin Traditional Council, BTC, on the orders of Oba Ewuare 11, the current Oba of Benin.
He was slammed with some sundry allegations that included abuse of position, pronouncing himself the head of the royal family, and deliberate refusal to perform his traditional duties during and after the funeral rites for the late Oba of Benin, Oba Erediauwa, as well as the subsequent coronation activities for the current Oba.
As punishment, 67-year-old Isekhure was ostracised by the Oba. The BTC was also irked as they moved against Isekhure, following the perceived effrontery of his family, the Ihogbe N’Ore, which threatened the palace with a legal action if within 14 days it did not prove the allegations levelled against its patriarch.
Isekhure’s family had condemned his suspension, stating that “the reasons given to support the purported suspension are facts that have been distorted and if not corrected, are capable of misleading his admirers.”
The banishment of the Isekhure was reportedly announced at his No. 9, Sokponba Road traditional palace and residence, by a high-ranking palace chief, when the Oba’s emissaries, including palace chiefs, chief priests, and some armed youths, swooped on Isekhure’s mini-palace to execute the Benin Oba’s order.
It was learnt that they instantly sealed off the Isekhure’s palace, claiming that they wanted to safeguard the shrines and traditional items that were in his custody, including the artifacts, relics and other paraphernalia of the office of the Isekhure.
A native, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue, said scores of passers-by, neighbours and residents watched in awe as the life-size statue of the Isekhure was pulled down, along with other structures.
“In moments too, bricklayers were busy erecting a fence to seal off the entry points to the mini-palace, even when the embattled Isekhure was inside the house! The Isekhure, realising the import of being imprisoned in his home and brought to harm, fled to a personal residence somewhere in Benin,” he added.
ANOTHER FACE-OFF WITH THE PALACE
After over 900 years when their forefathers were defeated in a battle by forces loyal to the Benin monarchy, a faction of the Ogiamien family had also dared the Oba of Benin, Oba Erediauwa.
The Ogiamien faction was led by Osemwengie, who was installed as the Ogiamien of Benin kingdom. The last occupant of the seat, Chief Ogiamien Osarobo, was last seen in 1998.
He was said to have travelled abroad but no member of the family is said to be sure of his whereabouts till date.
Ogiamien Osarobo, a Master’s degree holder in History, succeeded his father at a tender age. He was 13 when Oba Erediauwa ascended the throne in 1979 and he led the Ogiamen family to perform the Ekiokpagha war – a mock battle that is performed by a new Oba to reenact the defeat of the Ogiamien by Oba Eweka 1 of Benin.
The palace of Ogiamien on Sokponba Road is the only building that survived the British Invasion of 1897. It is a historical site that attracts thousands of visitors but also abandoned.
What is, however, assuming a frightening dimension is the move by Osemwengie to challenge the Benin monarchy and restore alleged lost glories of the Ogiamien.
To the group supporting Ogiamien Osemwengie, the supposed treaty reached between their forefathers and Oba Eweka has been breached. They want to reclaim control of parts of Benin kingdom under the authority of their forebears. They claimed that they had amassed the resources to fight their cause.
In a letter written to the then Crown Prince of Benin Kingdom, Prince Eheneden Erediauwa, now Oba Ewuare 11, a self-acclaimed Arisco was demanding the establishment of a separate traditional council for the Ogiamien kingdom, a total refund of money due to the Ogiamiens from three and half local government council areas and the payment of N350m.
Another demand is not to refer to Ogiamien as a chief under the authority of the Benin monarch.
In another letter to the then Governor Adams Oshiomhole, the selfacclaimed Ogiamien Arisco, among other things, demanded for the payment of royalties due to the Ogiamien to be deducted at source and paid into his First Bank account.
Osemwengie said the reigning Ogiamien, Osarobo, abandoned his people since 1998 and had made no contact with any family member.
Osemwengie said that his great, great grandfather, Obanor, was a son to one Ogiamien Ekunwe and that he was appointed by the entire family to be the next Ogiamien.
But some members of the Ogiamien family, loyal to the ‘missing’ Osarobo, who claimed to be descendants of Edo Nori Ogiamien, disowned the installation of Arisco as the Ogiamien.
Sister of the ‘missing’ Ogiamien, Ehimwenma, and seven others, who spoke to newsmen recently, said Arisco was not a member of the Ogiamien family.
They said Chief Osarobo remained the recognised Ogiamien as there was no evidence that he was dead and burial rites performed.
‘TACKLING OBA OF BENIN IS A TABOO’
A Benin chief who did not want his name mentioned, said it was unheard of that an individual would threaten a court action and even give an ultimatum to the Oba of Benin.
He said, “The Oba owns the Isekhure and any other chief or priest for that matter. The important part of what Isekhure or Arisco fail to understand is that they have to be humble and obedient to the Oba of Benin as doing otherwise has dire consequences.
“As for Isekhure, sealing off his palace was part of the process of ostracising him. The Ihama of Benin had been reassigned the duties of the Isekhure, which historically, the Ihama originally performed.”
EDO GOVT TAKES STAND
Meanwhile, the Edo State Government had recently threatened to invoke relevant laws against anyone who proclaimed himself a chief or traditional ruler in the state, saying anyone who did so would face criminal charges.
A statement by a former Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, read:
“Government condemns in strong terms, the disrespect the Ogiamien family has shown to…the Oba of Benin. The publishers are, therefore, admonished to desist forthwith, from showing such rudeness to a personage the whole nation holds in very high esteem, our most revered monarch.
“Government will invoke the relevant sections of the Traditional Rulers and Chieftaincy Law, 1979, which prohibit any person or group to proclaim self as a Chief or Traditional Ruler, a breach of which is a criminal offence.”
“Government will not tolerate any act calculated to disturb the peace of the State or any part thereof,” the statement added.
