Benin Kingdom/Edo state Tourism

07/04/2024

01/01/2024

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full of good health, good fortune, happiness, and success.

31/12/2023

The Benin Prince who founded Ile-Ife
By Osa Mbonu-Amadi, Arts Editor

The history of Benin people, like the history of man, is the history of change. When we sift out fables about men like the first son of Osanobua and Oduduwa dropping from heaven and of the Benin or Ile-Ife being the centre and cradles of the world, what we have left are factual stories of ancient men who migrated from other places, settled down in the rain forests around the land known today as Benin, and established small pockets of settlements called villages.

The man had led a wandering life in search of food until he was compelled by agriculture to settle down at one place. Those splinter settlements, after existing for a long time without any central ruler like a king, either voluntarily agreed to surrender their independence to one powerful warrior or group of warriors in exchange for protection, or were forced to do so. The result was the emergence of the Ogiso dynasty established around AD 500 beginning with King Ogiso Igodo which saw the reign of 31 Kings before the collapse of that dynasty after King Ogiso Owodo was banished and a period of interregnum followed. At this point, some sequence of events occurred which became, up to this day, subjects of controversy between Benin and the Yoruba people.

The Benin people believe that Oduduwa, called Prince Ekaladerhan, was the only son of the exiled King Ogiso Owodo. They believe that Ekaladerhan (or Oduduwa) exiled himself from Benin even before his father, King Ogiso Owodo was banished from Benin. Ekaladerhan or Oduduwa went to and founded Ile-Ife where he became King. After King Ogiso Owodo was deposed and banished, the Benin people went in search of the only son of the King, Prince Ekaladerhan (Oduduwa) with the aim of persuading him to return to Benin to succeed his banished father.

Instead, Ekaladerhan (Oduduwa) sent his son, Prince Oranmiyan, to Benin. But there was an administrator named Ogiamien, appointed by the people of Benin to administer Benin during that period of interregnum. Like what the late Gen. Sani Abacha did during Ernest Shonekan’s interim government, Ogiamien was nursing his own ambition – to create his own dynasty. He appointed his son to succeed him. Even though he was resisted by Benin people, Ogiamien and other warlords who contested the throne troubled Oranmiyan and made his stay uncomfortable so much that Oranmiyan decided to return to Ile-Ife, describing Benin as Ile-Ibinu (the land of vexation).

The Benin account has it that Oranmiyan reigned as Benin King from AD 1,170, although his palace was at Usama, an outskirt of the city, due to the crisis. When he eventually left, he left behind his Benin queen, Erinmwinde who gave birth to a son, who later became Oba Eweka the First in the year AD 1,200. Historians regard the beginning of the reign of Oranmiyan as the beginning of the second dynasty of kings in Benin kingdom.

One implication of the Benin line of history is that Oduduwa, whom the Yoruba claim as their father, did not fall down from heaven after all as they claim. Nobody has ever fallen down from heaven. Even Jesus who is believed to have come from heaven had to be born into the world by a woman.

Yoruba people believe that Oduduwa who fell down from heaven had a son who went on a military campaign and founded the Benin Kingdom. But from the Benin perspective, we know that before the return of Oranmiyan to Benin, the Ogiso dynasty in Benin, which saw the reign of 31 kings, had already come to pass. Of these two conflicting historical accounts of the Benin and Yoruba Kingdoms, the Benin version appears to be more tenable. Between AD 1440 and 1606, was the era of warrior kings. This corresponded to the period of Oba Ewuare the Great and Oba Ehengbuda.

Apart from the brief reigns of Oba Ezoti and Oba Olua, the rest of the kings that fell within this period were all warrior kings who led their military forces to battle. These fierce warrior kings went on military campaigns, conquering other peoples and expanding Benin’s territories and influences which resulted in empire-building.

The Benin’s capacity to successfully overrun other people’s lands has been attributed to their trade with Europeans at Ughoton, the Benin port, which bequeathed them with guns and ammunition. The Benin Empire at its zenith was said to have extended to River Niger in the east and south, into Yoruba lands (Oyo) and what came to be known as Dahomey.

A larger implication of this account, if it is true, is that the entire Yoruba land, not just Lagos as presently being argued, was founded by a Benin Prince. The basis for this assertion is that since the Yoruba people regard Ile-Ife as the beginning of Yorubaland from where it spread, if Prince Oranmiyan, whom the Yorubas regard as the 4th Ooni of Ife, was the son of exiled Benin Prince, Ekaladerhan (known as Oduduwa in Yoruba), then the entire Yorubaland, not just Lagos, was founded by a Benin Prince!

An extract from Vanguard (Nigeria) 30/12/23/

25/12/2023

Benin Kingdom/Edo State Tourism's Platform Wish You All A
Merry Christmas

10/12/2023

MUCH ADO ABOUT FOUNDER OF LAGOS
(HOW THE BENINS FOUNDED LAGOS)

By Ejiofor Alike
A passing remark by the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, that Lagos was founded by the Binis, a position that was earlier canvassed by the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, has again sparked unnecessary reactions. Ejiofor Alike writes that for a country like Nigeria that is plagued by insecurity and serious economic crisis, efforts should be channelled towards rescuing the nation instead of dissipating energy on unhelpful debates

It is only in a country where issues of national importance are relegated to the background, and ethnic supremacy, sectional interest and religious bigotry are promoted that a passing comment by the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, that the Binis founded Lagos State, would spark a serious debate.

During a visit to the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, last Sunday, the monarch said, “It is in the history books that the Binis founded Lagos. When some people will hear it now, they will go haywire, what is the Oba saying there again? But it is true. Go and check the records. Maybe not all over Lagos as we know it now but certain areas in Lagos; maybe the nucleus of Lagos, was founded by my ancestors. The Oba of Lagos will say so.”

The Benin monarch was not the first to make this claim.

Apart from history books, the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, had also corroborated this claim when he once declared that “modern-day Lagos was founded by Prince Ado, the son of the Oba of Benin.”

In a statement issued in 2017 from Iga Idugaran, Palace of the Lagos King, Oba Akiolu had reportedly said: “I was told by my late paternal grandmother, who was a descendant of Oba Ovonranwen Nogbaisi, and with facts from historical books, let me share this knowledge with you all on Eko or Lagos, as it is popularly called.

“Modern-day Lagos was founded by Prince Ado, the son of the Oba of Benin. Prince Ado was the first Oba of Lagos, and it was he that named the town Eko, until the Portuguese explorer, Ruy de Segueira, changed the maritime town to Lagos, which at that time from 1942 was the Portuguese expedition centre down the African Coast.

“It was a major centre of 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 was established in 1914, Lagos was declared its capital, due to the struggle of the Bini King.

“Lagos experienced growth prior to the British Colonial rule, but even more rapid growth during the colonial rule throughout the 90s till date. Thanks to the Aworis, Binis, Yorubas and 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. These are the Lagos Lagoon, Lagos Harbour, Five cowrie creeks, New Canal, Badagry creeks, Kuramo waters and Lighthouse Creeks.

“The Aworis and Binis are known to be the first settlers of the Eko land. The Aworis are speakers of a distinct dialect close to that of Yoruba language with a rich Bini mixture. Traditionally, Aworis were found in Ile-ife; they were known to be the Binis, who followed their self-exiled prince, the first son of the Ogiso (now called Oba) of Benin Kingdom, whose stepmother was after his head.

“The exiled Benin Prince Izoduwa, known to Yoruba as Ooduwa (Oduduwa), was made 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 today’s Awori people, who settled in Eko now called Lagos.

“In the 1300s, the King of Benin Empire heard from one of his traders, who were settlers in Eko, of how the Binis were treated by the Aworis who lived in their areas. Upon hearing this, the King of Benin commanded the assembly of a war expedition, led by his son, Prince Ado, which headed (for) the settlement of the Aworis and demanded explanation

“On arriving Eko, Prince Ado and his army were more than welcomed. The Aworis 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. On 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.

Oba Akiolu added: “The name Eko was given to it first by the king of Lagos, Oba Ado, the young and vibrant prince from Benin. Eko was the land now known as Lagos Island, where the king’s palace was built.

“The palace is called Idugaran, which means “palace built on a pepper farm.” Oba Ado and the warriors from Benin, together with the early Bini settlers in Eko and the Awori people settled in the southern part of Eko, called “Isale Eko.” “Isale literally means downtown (as in downtown Lagos)

“Until the coming in of the Benin in 1300 AD, 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.”

Nobody had challenged Oba Akiolu’s claim.

A prominent Lagos Prince, Alhaji Tajudeen Olusi, had also in 2019 stated that the Binis were the first settlers in Lagos, adding that Lagos was part of the Bini Empire.

But following Oba Ewuare’s comment, notable personalities went haywire as predicted by the Benin monarch.

Prominent among these personalities was the Balogun of Eko, Abisoye Oshodi, who faulted the claim by the Oba of Benin, insisting that Lagos was not founded by Binis.

Oshodi, had in a video, debunked the claim, saying the Binis ‘never created Lagos’, stressing that there were other tribes in Lagos before the state was formed in May 1967.

Mungo Park was credited with being the first European to explore the full length of the River Niger and this claim has not diminished the status of the river.

With the level of hardships in Nigeria, it is surprising that many Nigerians are more interested in the unhelpful debate over who built or founded Lagos, which can neither diminish the status of the Centre of Excellence nor confer any advantage to the supposed founders.
An extract from thisdaylive.com

07/12/2023

HOW THE BENINS FOUNDED LAGOS
Written by Leo Oronsaye
The opprobrious comments emanating from some quarters, because our revered Emperor, the Omo n'Oba n'Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare Ogidigan's reaffirmation of an acknowledged fact of history, is uncalled for and unfortunate.
And to these subhuman individuals, deranged imbeciles from undignified ancestries, who in their putrescine atmosphere of ignorance and shamelessness, spew tirades of abuse unceasingly against anybody or anything of reverence, I would say here, that the Oba of Benin is not just only a custodian of the Benin culture and traditions but a repository of the Benin history. He academically astute, he's erudite and he's well informed in the western and traditional matters.
His knowledge about the former Benin Empire and her history is authoritative because there exists as had always existed, among the existing palace societies, a group tasked with the recording, keeping and narration of our Empire's histories.
And this group is aided in this critical assignment by mnemonics, which makes their recollection of the Empire's history, authentic and authoritative.
And it's these histories that had from time immemorial formed a part of the traditional educational curriculum designed for the raising of young Benin princes, especially the heirs to ancient throne of the Empire.

As attested to by Egharevba's ' Short History of Benin' , before the Portuguese came to the Lagos area in about 1472 or thereabouts, virtually the whole of our modern day states of Ondo, Osun, Ogun and Lagos were already subject territories gained by either conquest or client state alignments.
And the most prominent among them were kingdoms like Owo, Akure, Ondo and Ijebu, all been subject to the Benin crown and paying tributes to the Oba of Benin. Whereas in a place like the modern day Lagos State, with its swampy terrain with islets and islands dotting its interconnected waterways like what pertains at the southern fringes, though peopled, there were virtually the absence of kingdoms or powerful centralised states per se but mere settlements.

So when the Portuguese arrived and wanted to do trade there, the people there refused saying they couldn't do business without taking permission from their overlord. And when the Portuguese Captain asked who their overlord was, they told him the great emperor whose capital city, they called 'Ubini, a place that lay faraway in the hinterland.
And it was in seeking this franchise to do business there, that led the Portuguese Captain to travel to Ubini, which they, the Portuguese corrupted to Benin as the place is called today.
The Portuguese eventually got the permission and business started in the place, in the Island they later named Lagos because of its topographical similarities with their home country's main port of Lagos in Portugal.
Meanwhile as at this period, there was no Benin settlement in the place but trade posts operated by Benin itinerant traders and collectors of tolls and duties from the Port that was due to the Benin Obas.
But after some 70 years of relative peace in the area, especially throughout the reigns of Oba Ozolua and his son Esigie, the reign of Oba Orhogbua (1554 -1577) witnessed an uprising that off setted the smooth running of the booming international trade, in the Lagos area.
It was greatly perturbing period for the Empire because the Aworis and their allies revolted, leading to a restriction in the continuous free flow of revenue, mostly taxes and duties from booming seaport to the capital.
In a surprising move very unlike his Warrior King predecessors, whose military campaigns in the area were mainly ground incursions, Orhogbua who was by virtue of his long association with the Portuguese, conversant with their war strategies,
shipped the large army he had mustered, in a huge armada of war canoes to scene of turbulence.
It was a classical outflanking move that disoriented the rebellious Aworis and their allies, who had expected a land campaign from the direction of the Empire's capital,
The recalcitrant Aworis were crushed
in a series of engagements that was protracted because of the terrain, taking several years of battle after battle against several Aworis and non Aworis tribes that had joined in the fray on the side of the Aworis, eventually ending in the complete pacification of the entire Lagos area.
And in the course of his pacification of the area, he built a war camp(Eko), where put a garrison of warriors in the strategical located Island of Lagos, as the place is called today, which he later upgraded to level of a fortress, because he knew as a seasoned strategist, the place could withstand a siege in whatever form it comes, because it completely surrounded by water.
The presence of this fortress greatly facilitated a boost in the economic development of Lagos as a lot business oriented individuals and groups flocked into the area to trade.
About this period, Eko virtually replaced Benin City as the Empire's seat of Power, because Oba Orhogbua now held court on this fortress, where he received daily briefings about the day to day running of the Empire.
He developed a keen interest in administrative operations and commercial activities at the port which elongated the long period he spent in Lagos.

Against this development, the people of the great city of Benin craved for his return to the Empire's capital, for throughout the period of his absence the annual 'Ugie' were not held.
The exigencies of governance at the centre, that's the capital city of Benin, finally compelled him to leave when rumours reach him that his son had been crowned as an Oba in his instead.
He left a contingent of his warriors in the Eko fortress and embark the rest in boats headed back, on his way back he attacked Mahin, destroyed their army and executed Amapetu their King and replaced him with a loyal subject. The reasons for Orhogbua crushing of Mahin varies among pundits of History, while some are of the opinion that the Amapetu refused to do obeisance , some support the notion that the Amapetu was complicit in the uprising that rocked the Lagos area.
He continued his match towards Benin City, landing at Ikoro, he left his warriors there so as not arouse suspicion and came alone to the city.
Oba Orhogbua arrival at Benin City, cause a stir, which resulted in panic among the close associates of his son, especially the mother, who committed su***de for fear that she could witness a possible trial and ex*****on of her son.
But the Oba was magnanimous and lenient towards his son, forgave him completely. No sooner than about two years after his arrival, Oba Orhogbua joined his ancestors.
And the reign of his successor, Oba Ehengbuda, the whole of the Lagos region was calm for several years until a revolt arose, in the areas that bordered the Whydah kingdom in the modern day Benin Republic, he mustered an army in his old age, with which he crushed the rebels and on his way back his convoy of war boats ran into a fierce storm which unfortunately capsized his boat and the weight of his body armour coupled with the fact that he was an old King, about 90, imperiled his swimming and got drowned in the process.
From then his son and successor Oba Ohuan on his succession issued a decree that forbade the Obas of Benin from personally leading Benin armies in Battle.

And it was during the course of Oba Orhogbua's stay in Lagos/Eko, where he spent a better part of his 23 year reign, that he sired a son, who took over the running of the Fort of Eko, when he came of age. He was the father of Ashipa . It was Ashipa who when he was called upon by the Uzama, to take the Benin throne when Oba Ohuan the grandson of Oba Orhogbua, who had died without an heir, sent his son instead to be crowned as Oba Ohenzae.
It was Ohenzae who as Oba could not speak the Benin language because his mother was Awori. This was period too, the Awori language spoken at the palace, because of the retinue that accompanied him from Lagos, all virtually being Awori speakers, except for uncle, who spoke some smattering Benin.
( It should be note that at the reign of Ashipa, the Fort of Eko was over a100 years old with the bulk of the original Benin speaking Warriors garrisoned there, now deceased. And in their place a new crop of warriors now manning the Fort, of whom many were offsprings of the union of their fathers with the local women mostly of the Aworis and non Aworis tribes. Though these Warriors regarded themselves as Benins, they could not speak a word of Benin, because they were brought up in the tongues of their mothers.)

With the passing of Ashipa, another of his son Ado, also from an Awori woman, took over the running of the Fort that had by now, morphed into a town in its own right, with the rulers bearing the title ',Ol'Eko corrupted into ',Eleko'.

The facts about the Benin ownership of can further be buttressed by the statement of Oba Kosoko of Lagos about the middle of the 19th century, when Beecroft proposed the establishment of a bilateral relations between his country Britain and Lagos. Kosoko in his reply, claimed that agreeing to a proposal of such magnitude was beyond his authority as the territory in question belong to Oba of Benin.
Below is an extract from Wikipedia that buttresses this assertion
"In November 1851, a British party met with Oba Kosoko to present a proposal of British friendly relations along with giving up the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade. The proposal was rejected by Kosoko "on the technical reason that Lagos was under the Oba of Benin and that it was only that Oba who could deal with foreign powers concerning the status of Lagos"[13][14]

On 4 December 1851, upon Kosoko's successful repulsion and the defeat of British forces, Consul Beecroft wrote to the Oba of Benin declaring that "Kosoko, by opening fire on a flag of truce, had declared war on England" and therefore had to be replaced by Akitoye. He threatened that Kosoko had till the end of the month to surrender otherwise "Lagos would be totally destroyed by fire".[15]"
👉 edoworld.net

03/12/2023

EKO A BENIN CAMP AND OUTPOST AFTER GELEGELE SEAPORT.
By Dr. Paul Osa Igbineweka

Yoruba should stop fabricating history. Let's set the record straight. At the Camp (Eko) or Outpost, Benin were the first on the Island by extant history not any group called Yoruba, because the name Yoruba was unknown at that particular time.

Before the Benin outpost or camp called Eko, the Benin Hunters and poachers of Elephant had navigated the terrain, where Elephant Tusks or Ivory Tusks were harvested for artefacts in the forest of Isherin (oha-eni).

As a sailor King, Oba Orhogbua established Eko as camp or outpost on the Island. And made advances to the coast of Dahomey at Port Novo and Volta Delta. Long before that the Benin that migrated to Ghana as the Ga people occurred during the time of Ọba Udagbẹdọ (1299 A.D.).

On the Eko camp or outpost, it was the arrival of the Aworis who first settled at Isherin, not the Islands, but some of them from the hinterland of Isherin led by Ogunfumilure (sic) moved further to the Island and found food wrapping leaves floating on the waters, and by quest of inquiry found people in the Camp already established by the Benin.

These people of Awori were the Adejos from Ife to Isherin and later to the Island that eventually settled with the Benin in the area of the Lagoons. (Ref: The historical evolution of Lagos and Short History of Benin). They were made to pay royalty (Isakole) to the Oba of Benin. However, they still form part of the royalty in Lagos.

They spoke the mixed language of Idu (Ẹdo) and Olukumi. To the Benin, Awori were related by being the descendants of the people of Oduduwa whom the Benin known as Ekaladerhan).

By the influx of the Ijebu, Egba and others from the hinterland to Lagos they were overwhelmed and lost their true identity and peculiarity, and swallowed up by the general Yoruba language. At the outset they were not called Yoruba.

The late Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther evolved the combination of the similar dialects to form general Yoruba language which also include some common used words of Ẹdo-Idu and Oyo dialect as the basic dialect.

To say they spoke Yoruba language in Benin palace during the period of Oranmiyan is not true. The language which the Aworis had in Ife was Olukumi, Ẹdo-Idu and Ilaje. Oranmiyan spoke Olukumi. It was that Olukumi he used in Benin.

Hence, the Benins would say, "ma ma hẹ zẹ Ẹdo fo, amaiwẹ Olukumi." (we have not yet spoken our Ẹdo language to its fullest, talk less or how much more of Olukumi.

The people of Olukumi were seriously affected by the slave raiding of Oyo empire that most were sold into slavery that we found today as descendants in the diaspora.

Those left in Ife migrated enmass through Igodomigodo (Benin) to Anioma in Delta State. That is where the real Olukumi people are today, with some words similar to aspects of Yoruba, but distinct. Related to Olukumi dialect as variant of Ẹdo-Idu are the native of Usẹn.

Oduduwa or Oranmiyan never spoke a language called Yoruba when such name was not in existence. It is an aberration to describe Benin or Oyo empires with terms applicable to modern Nigeria, when Nigeria was not in existence.

That is the major error of Yoruba history. There were Benin Empire territories and Oyo empire in the hinterland with boundaries at Otun, and were contemporaries at some stage, yet Oyo empire was not Yoruba empire, but that is the picture being painted by Yoruba historians.

To me it was quite dishonesty to distort history by modern or latter names credited to territories. Now some have forgotten that Benin Empire had the Bight along the coastal territories, before the British incursion that created Southwest province, that were now called Yoruba States.

Some today still deny that Benin was an empire, and that Benin was only a kingdom in Benin City without territories. That is the extent of their historical dishonesty.
edoworld.net

13/09/2023

Rema beats Burnaboy, Wizkid, Davido, Libianca et al to Win MTV Afrobeat Award.
Ekehuan boy making us Proud.
Edo to the World 🌎

07/07/2023

Edo-born Miss Teen Globe contestant stuns in her Benin-made national costume

Winner of the Most Beautiful Campus Queen 2023, Edo State-born Felicity Osemudiamhen Akuewanbhor, who has gone to represent Nigeria at the Miss Teen Globe International Pageant in Paraguay, has broken the internet with her Benin-made national costume titled “Imose”.
👉 Edo Royalty

19/03/2023

Happy Mother's Day to all Mothers and would-be Mothers !!!!

20/02/2023

Edo To The World!
Our Culture, Our Pride!
Greetings From London Based Edo Siblings.

19/02/2023

Edo To The World
Our Culture, Our Pride

13/02/2023

Edo To The World
We Take The Lead Other Follow
Our Culture, Our Pride

31/12/2022

Congratulations to
Tracy EBOIGBODIN, 29 year old Edo girl from Nigerian.
Winner 🏆 of the 2022
Master chef Italia.

11/12/2022

Brodrick Castle As A Heritage Site.

Heritage is that important thing which is inherited or can be passed on to future generations. It connects people with social values, religions, and cultures. It is that which existed in the past and still continue to have historical importance in the present.

They include the history, traditions, or practices of a particular people, city or country. It includes a varied range of inherited traditions, monuments and culture. Civilization includes excavation, restoration and displays a collection of old things. Benin is one great city which has a rich history and culture.

The city, now however, seems to be dedicated to the display of artworks to the exclusion of other extraordinary tourist locations as revenue earners. The Broderick Castle, constructed in Benin almost a 100 years ago, with its magnificent, delicate and elaborate architectural features, is an avant-garde celebration of new wealth, colonial influence, economic progress and political liberalization, I expect a State Government to acquire as heritage site.

The Broderick Castle is an impressionist, regal, radical and bold statement of wealth cut short by reversals of economic and political developments in Benin. Nothing symbolizes Benin as Broderick Castle. Anyone who wants to understand our economic history must study this building, now a fragmentary palimpsest of crazy sights.

If you are visiting Benin or just driving pass, please stop by and visit this living old lady and history of new beginnings and see how we lost our paradise and place to the smiling plunderers from the East.