OBA OF BENIN CORONATION THANK YOU VISITATION TO OONI OF ILE-IFE AND ITS HISTORICAL SYMBOLISM.
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Written by Imasuen Amowie Izoduwa Last Update August 4, 2022

In the last few days after Oba of Benin visitation to Ooni of Ile-Ife they have been a lot of distortion of facts and details as regards Omo N’Oba visitation to Ile-Ife from all media houses controlled by the Yoruba people hence a need to give a true and proper account to the Benin people of the important aspect of the visitation and not the ceremonial aspect.

When the news came out that the Oba of Benin will be visiting Ile-Ife, I realized almost certainly that I cannot miss that glorious divinely orchestrated event for two major reasons:

1. For future historical documentation purposes
2. To fast-track the probable propaganda that the Yoruba people will derive from Omo N’Oba thank you visitation. It is important to note that they indeed have not fall short from what was envisaged.

First, it is important to know that Oba of Benin did not go to Ile-Ife to pay homage to Ooni, he is significantly not in the class of Oba of Benin by all historical, cultural and traditional standard, but rather he went on a thank you visit to Ooni of Ile-Ife for attending his Coronation on the 20th of October, 2016. Attending once coronation seems more like paying an homage rather than a thank you visitation. In the twilight of historical events we must never fail from putting our accounts for the world to see otherwise allow Yoruba give wrong impression of what was never there.

The Oba of Benin thank you visitation Is almost a reoccurring decimal because it is the only time they can tour around the country, Oba Akenzua II can largely be attributed to have invented what is almost becoming part of every Oba post coronation activities, the media have been going gaga for a while now saying the Oba Ewuare II is a modern Oba, that before him Oba doesn’t go on visitation, it is high time that issue is buried with facts as our ignorance can be excused for the final time. Oba Akenzua II went on a thank you visitations and it became more pronounced during the time of Oba Erediauwa when he visited all the Eighteen States in Nigeria the nationwide tour he commenced on the 3rd of October to 1st of December 1982. He visited the Ooni of Ife on the 5th of November, 1982 as against the false date being propagated by ignorant Yoruba media houses placing the year of Oba Erediauwa visitation to Ile-Ife in 1979.

FIRST HISTORICAL SYMBOLISM; OBA OF BENIN ROYAL SEAT.
Oba of Benin & Ooni of Ife
is easier for Yoruba people to find that which was never there than that which is true, they fail to know the implication of Oba Ewuare Ogidigan II in ensuring that His Royal seat is brought to Ile-Ife whereas when he visited Sultan of Sokoto he did not carry his Royal seat along, the symbolism is that
Ooni is too small in the house of Ekaladerhan (Yoruba call him Oduduwa, the progenitor of some part of Yoruba land) to offer him a seat in a place his forbear founded rather Oba of Benin brought His Royal seat that is higher than the one currently occupied by Ooni. It was the first symbolic demonstration of Oba of Benin authority over Ooni of Ife, it was subtly orchestrated by the infinite wisdom of Oba of Benin hence we the Benins refer to him as Obanosa.

SECOND HISTORICAL SYMBOLISM; CHIEF OLIHA BEING INVITED BY OMO N’OBA TO THE PUBLIC:

During the speech of Oba of Benin he specially recognized Chief Oliha and reminded everybody in the Hall that Edionwe Oliha his Forbear at that time called Oliha Aruoma that led some delegations to retrieve back Oronmiyan (who the Benins correctly know has Omonoyan), Oba went further to say that for those who do not know much about Oronmiyan can read about it in books as he went further to discuss about Security problems and Oba Ewuare foundation.

THIRD HISTORICAL SYMBOLISM; THE OONI SPEECH.

King Adeyeye Ogunwusi spoke about Oronmiyan as well, he correctly said that Oronmiyan became Oba of Benin first, then Alaafin of Oyo second and lastly the Sixth Ooni of Ife. I will have to disagree with his Majesty when he said Oronmiyan was the Sixth Ooni from the authentic history books it is generally agreed that the first Ooni of Ife was Ekaladerhan himself after which his first son later became Ooni of Ife called Obalufon Ogbogborinrin according to the book written by Aisien Ekhaguosa “ELEGBE PRINCE OF BENIN AND THE ORHIONMWON TERRITORIES, page 64 and 65” – “While Oronmiyan himself was at Oyo his elder brother, Obalufon Ogbogborinrin, the 2nd Ooni of Ife, the Monarch who had seen Oronmiyan off to Benin in the first instance, died in Ile-Ife. His son Obalufon Alaiyemore was then installed on the Ile Ife throne as the 3rd Ooni of Ife.
Oronmiyan, in Oyo, would have none of it. He would not allow a grandson, his own nephew, to occupy the throne of his father Ekaladerhan (Oduduwa) while he, a son of the first generation, was still alive. That would amount to supercession. (The Yoruba did not practice primogeniture, but the ruling houses principle, where all the children of the original founder of a Dynasty took turns, in succession, to rule the polity, as it is in present day Saudi Arabia) 
Oronmiyan marched from Oyo on Ile Ife, leaving Ajaka(second son) at Oyo as the Alaafin. Obalufon Alaiyemore, the 3rd Ooni, and nephew of Oronmiyan, fled Ile Ife, and ultimately became, it was said, the ruler of the EFON ALAIYE kingdom.

Oronmiyan, the last born son of Oduduwa, then occupied the Ile Ife throne as the 3rd OONI of Ife, where he ended his eventful career. (Some pundits would say that Oronmiyan was the 4th Ooni when they take into account the interrupted reign of Obalufon Alaiyemore who had earlier been crowned the 3rd Ooni of the polity)”.
How then did Ooni of Ife got the number six position he attributed to Oronmiyan, it quickly reminds us of how His Majesty said the other time that the biblical garden of Eden and the Noah’s ark are in Ile-Ife.

FOURTH HISTORICAL SYMBOLISM; ORUN OBA ADO 
The propaganda attached to this “Orun Oba Ado” is quite alarming and hence it will be detailing trashed out, when Oba Erediauwa visited Ile-Ife on the 5th of November, 1982, he visited Eight of the purported 12 shrines in Ile-Ife, but for the sake of time Ooni Adeyeye had to plead with Oba Ewuare II for them to stop at the “Orun Oba Ado” on our way to Oshogbo as the Governor of Osun State was already expecting the Oba of Benin where we all stopped, I was sitting close to Chief Oliha in a coastal bus when the information got to us that Oba of Benin have requested for Oliha to accompany Ooni to the “Orun Oba Ado” in excitement I followed Chief Oliha closely until we got to the vehicle where Omo N’Oba was comfortably seated, Omo had already instructed Odionwere Umuada to tell Chief Oliha what he needs to know, so Chief Oliha and two other Benin chiefs to accompany Ooni of Ife to the site of Orun Oba Ado where Ooni killed a dove, a cock and a ram was already killed inside the Orun Oba Ado, when all these activities were going on, Oba of Benin never for once peeped not to talk of stepping out of his vehicle, it is quite shocking to now hear contrary Yoruba influenced news propagating lies that Oba of Benin accompanied Ooni into the so called “Orun Oba Ado” they are now legendarily known for. The significance of what Ooni did at Orun Oba Ado furtherly substantiate our known knowledge that Ooni original function is a Chief priest and not a king which was very evident that day, when a king sat comfortably in his car then his Chief priest went to perform some sacrifices on an altar whose function is not well known in Benin.

The historical knowledge passed down by our ancestors clarifies the act of the first Son carving an ancestral staff (Effigy) to represent the heads of his father, when Ekaladerhan got to know about the passing away of his father, Ogiso Owodo in Benin he had to carve an ancestral staff of his father which most likely is what the Yorubas now ignorantly call the heads of the Obas of Benin rather than the ancestral staff carved by Ekaladerhan (AKA Oduduwa) to propitiate to the demise of his father in Ile-Ife the right which he eventually handed over to other subsequent Oonis, if they don’t know let them come to Benin so we can tutor them.
The question I would like to ask if Obas of Benin heads were buried at that site how come it is Ooni who makes sacrifice on their graves instead of the Oba of Benin himself?

I was very close to the site that I kept asking is this the place the Yoruba said the Oba of Benin heads were buried, because the place was so casually built, unbefitting for an Ibiwe Chief in the palace of Oba of Benin, the Orun Oba Ado is in between a tattered house and a very busy tarred road, how can the final resting place of the Oba of Benin built in such a public place? Orun Oba Ado is about 20 meters by 20 meters how can that small place contain over 30 heads of the Obas of Benin? Why was Oronmiyan buried in a different site from where Orun Oba Ado is located? Yoruba should provide answers for all these questions.

Yoruba claim to be educated but cleverly can’t answer some of the questions we have been asking them. They said all the Obas of Benin from Oba Eweka I to Oba Adolor (father of Oba Ovonramwen) were all buried in that site but fail to know that in Benin History it is well recorded where all our Obas where buried, all Obas of Benin from the time Oba Ewedo moved from Usama to Ogbe where all Buried in “OGBE” hence the parable “Aiguo Oba Vbie Ogbe” meaning “None other than the Oba of Benin has his final repose in Ogbe Soil” the four Obas of the Kingdom known not to have enjoyed this unique right since the reign of Oba Ewedo are:
a. EWUARE: At his death, his instructions were carried out faithfully. His remains were taken out of Benin City to ESSI village in the OHA River basin, near the modern SILUKO town. There Ewuare the Great, Oba of Benin, was interred.
b. EHENGBUDA, Ewuare’s great great-grandson, who died by drowning in the LEKKI lagoon – the river Aghan – on his way to Lagos, a settlement founded by his father Oba Orhogbua, the only sailor-king that the Edos ever had.
c. AHENKPAYE, deceived into exile to his native village of Iguosa in the Orhionmwon territories by the Benin City Chiefs – for his parsimony, his excessive stinginess.
d. OVONRAMWEN, who died in British exile in Calabar in January 1914, and who was officially buried there.

Scientific proves are usually more effectual than oral passage of history hence details from scientific work are more authentic than other methods used in the passage of historical events, Leux Fabaneux carried out an archaeological excavation on that so called Orun Oba Ado site and it was found out that no human skeleton was buried there other than materials liken to Hamites which dates back to about 4th and 5th century. The purported site where the Yorubas alleged the final resting place of the Obas of Benin has since been discredited with more credible techniques of finding relics of historical past and the dating are quite far apart, Oba Eweka I reigned in the 12th century and not in the 4th or 5th century.

One other aspects the Yorubas banked their Orun Oba Ado turtle tale story is the work of a much criticized Benin historian. Jacob Uwadiae Egharevba, no wonder he was hurriedly given a doctorate degree by the Yorubas for playing into their pre-planned ideas. It is quite unraveling from the works of our scholar, Uyilawa Usuanlele when he found out the contrasting difference between the original work of J U Egharevba titled “Ekhere vbi itedo” (Short history of Benin) published in 1933, that work was vetted by Oba Eweka II before being published which simply stated that the earliest Obas of Benin before the reign of Oba Ewedo where all buried at the Usama palace, only for the revised version the now popular second edition published in 1953 to have a contrary opinion that Oba Eweka I and other Obas after him where all taken to Ile-Ife for burial at the third year of their demise, that second edition was indeed not vetted by the reigning monarch, Oba Akenzua II, the differences in the work is largely attributed to some influential Yoruba friends he later had and most especially when the then Ooni had invited him to also research on the of Ile-Ife history in 1948, that was when some of the changes started to creep into his later works. One cannot tell exactly why our Son sold us out to the Yorubas but what one could tell is that Egharevba’s work was inadequate (on some specific issues) and as such can’t be used as a reference for future scholarly historic works. I had a course to interview Ass. Prof. Usuanlele Uyilawa on some topical issues on the Life of J. U Egharevba and that interview have been produced in a written form titled “BENIN HISTORY AND OTHER CONTEMPORARY WRITERS” a work that gives the detail analysis of why Egharevba wrote the way he did, which will be published at an appointed time.

Propaganda and lies cannot take the Yoruba to historical Eldorado but facts, while they continue to dwell on their age long lies we will continue to demystify them with truths, this is not the Benin generation who allowed the impunity of Yoruba to sway them, we will match them by all their antics, propaganda for propaganda, truth for truth, facts for facts, disrespect for disrespect. We are ready to whoop their asses just like our ancestors did in time past. We are Great Benin, they are just Yorubas and the Oba of Benin is a king like no other and that is our King.

Oba gha to Kpere. Ise.

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