We read in shock and disbelief that a certain puppet of Adams Oshiomhole and state chairman of APC, Anselm Ojezua, in concert with certain park attendants who have been elevated above permanent secretaries under this dying administration, have concluded plans to protest in the streets Monday or Tuesday 10th or 11th of October 2016, or thereabouts.
Three questions immediately came to our minds; What for? Why now? Why is Obaseki always challenging the Oba?
What for?
What in the world is Ojezua and his insensitive urchins protesting against? Are they joining the PDP to protest against the declarations of the dubious INEC result that their party man, Godwin Obaseki as winner of the September 28th election?
We have noticed the civil society and the PDP in the streets peacefuly protesting the declared results by INEC. That was spontaneous and massive. We can understand that because all opinion polls prior to the election agreed that the PDP would win that election, even all polls conducted after the election indicate that majority of the Edo people believe that the PDP was cheated.
One now wonders why Anselm Ojezua and his boys want to desecrate the Benin land to protest in the street at the same time when our next Oba, the King of kings in Edo state and beyond, is observing his coronation rites.
This leads us to the next question, why now?
Why now?
Why is the APC protesting at this time? This is the coronation period. Everyone, living and dead, knows that in a period like this, respect should be given to the Benin traditional institution by halting all other procession at this time. We think, and every true Benin man does, that any one who goes in the streets protesting for anything during this period when the Oba to be is doing his coronation rites is OGHIONBA – enemy of the Benins.
Upon reading of the planned protest, many tourist bound for Benin to witness the coronation of the new Oba have decided to stay in Lagos and observe proceedings from there.
Mark Covallis, a tourist who was asked why he is staying back after coming all the way from the US said something striking.
“I really do not know why they are protesting at this time. I thought they said they won the election. If we don’t know the nature of their protest, our team of tourist will have to stay back in Lagos and cancel our flights to Benin” Jones said.
Why is Obaseki always challenging the authority of the Oba of Benin?
First they started by describing our former king, Oba Erediauwa, as an ‘iconoclastic’ Oba. As if that was not hurting enough, they said they were ‘appointing’ an Oba for Benin, a right which they not have in fact and in law. God, not government, is the one who appoints an Oba for Benin.
The worst happened when they forced the Benin traditional institution to shift the original coronation date because the APC, in collusion with a compromised INEC and Police, needed to postpone an election that should have held on September 10th without hitch.
Now, they want to protest when our Oba is doing His iconic coronation. Who will step down for who – Oba or Obaseki? This is what the Obasekis have become known for in Benin history – challenging our king.
Agho Ogbeide Oyoo, the son of a former slave who was freed and made a chief in Benin with the title Obaseki, challenged the authority of the same king, Oba Ovonramwen, who elevated him from a slave to a chief.
Agho didn’t stop there. After Ovonramwen passed on, the same Agho challenged his son, Prince Aiguobasinmwin, who became Oba Eweka II, from ascending the throne of his ancestors.
The son of Agho Obaseki, Gaius Obaseki, in his time, also took after his father and challenged the authority of Oba Eweka II. All the Obasekis (a Benin title which the family of Oyoo from Nsukwa of Delta state has coveted and adopted as surname, rendering it now nontransferable) have made attempts to undermine the authority of the Oba. Here comes a new Obaseki, offspring of Agho Obaseki daring the offspring of Oba Ovonramwen.
In 1896/7, the battle that happened in Benin was because Obaseki’s friends, the white men, wanted to hold their ‘protests’ in Benin when the Oba was doing certain rites. This singular act led to a series of reactions that ultimately led the Benin and the British to war.
Once again, in 2016, this same Obaseki has brought his insensitive friends to go into our streets to protest against what we do not yet understand. This time, should another war happen, it is clear that the queen shall serve the king!
Our advice to the three insensitive Os of Edo state (Obaseki, Oshiomhole and Ojezua) is that all these attacks against our palace and people are being documented by both the palace and the people of Benin. At the appropriate time we shall ask you though our voices and the voices of our ancestors.
We wish to leave this message to Obaseki, Oshiomhole and Ojezua, “No army in the world can ever war against the Benin people and remain the same. Britain attacked the Benin in 1897 and that was the beginning of the end of the British empire.”
We call on Adams Oshiomhole, Godwin Obaseki, Anslem Ojezua and the APC to put off their insensitive protest now! And please stop being copycats.
