Oba Ovonramwen
(1888 – 1914 CE.) Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi was on the throne during the
British invasion of Benin City in 1897. To prepare the grounds before
the invasion, the British first sneaked military spies into Benin, to
infiltrate the nation’s security system during the Igue festival, a
period of acute spiritual sensitivity for Edo people, when their monarch
goes into seclusion for two weeks for spiritual cleansing and cannot
receive visitors. The spies were eliminated for their hostile
acts. The British then sent a delegation to Benin in March 1892. The
delegation was led by Capt. Henry L. Gallwey, the Vice Consul for the
Benin River District of the Niger Coast Protectorate, supposedly to
conclude a Treaty of Protection with Oba Ovonramwen of Benin.
The
British had deceived King Dosumu of Lagos to sign a similar treaty that
ceded Lagos to the British in 1861. They forced the same kind of treaty
on the Jaja of Opopo in 1887 to gain access and economic control of the
eastern coast of Nigeria. Quoting Capt. Henry Gallwey, who after
retirement became Sir Henry Gallwey, in a report on the 1892 visit to
Benin, for the Journal of the African Society of April 1930, under the
title: Nigeria in the (Eighteen) Nineties, he wrote in part: “Any idea I
may have had of being received by the king the day I arrived was very
soon dispelled. After being kept waiting for three days, I sent word to
say that I could wait no longer.
To support my threat, every
half-hour, I sent a carrier away with a load I did not require, telling
them where to wait for me. This artifice rather worried the king, and he
sent word to me asking me “not to be vexed,” as my interpreters put it.
However, that afternoon, it was arranged for me to have audience with
the king. I accordingly donned my uniform and sallied out with my
companions into the burning heat of the afternoon, a most unreasonable
time of day at which to hold a palaver. I am afraid, however, that the
kings of Benin were never renowned for their reasonable natures. In
spite of these pinpricks, it was all very interesting and amusing, and I
never gave a thought to the discomfort of being encased in a dress
intended to be won at levees and such functions in temperate climes…….”
After attempting to compromise the nation’s security earlier on, the
British delegation could not be received by the Oba of Benin immediately
they arrived because of the need to check out their real mission. When
the Oba signaled readiness to receive the delegates, they were in
“encased dress intended to be worn at levees,” to the palace. In other
words, they were in military uniform to the palace of an Oba who was
weary of visits of Europeans. After the incidence of the Dutchman,
Commandant Willem Hogg, who pulled a pistol and shot at Oba Oresoyen in
1735, while on a courtesy visit to the palace to discuss business
matters with the Oba and his chiefs, Benin Obas became a little more
careful about granting direct audience to European visitors.
This
is the genesis of the difficulties experienced by Capt. Gallwey while
trying to have audience with the Oba in 1892. At the palace, the
disposition and mannerisms of the visitors had to be carefully studied
before the Oba could receive them, since they were in military uniform.
Capt. Gallwey said the Oba was “unreasonable” and then generalized “… as
all Benin Obas are wont to be.” He had made up his mind before the
visit and was looking for excuses to set up Benin kingdom for British
invasion. To emphasize that Benin was a special case to crack,
the British rushed to force treaties on neighbouring territories. They
attacked the Nana of Itsekiri, in their ‘palm oil war’ in 1894 and
exiled Nana to Ghana; attacked the Koko of Nembe in 1895, and the
Ashanti Prempeh of Ashanti in 1896, to produce duress inspired spurious
treaties to take control of the kings' respective areas of influence. The British accused Oba Ovonramwen of lack of cooperation, and to look
good in the eyes of the rest of the world, added “human sacrifice,” as
their reasons for launching their full-scale war on Benin in January
1897. The real reason for the British Expedition was that the British
viewed the Benin kingdom as the main obstacle in their expansion drive
into the agricultural interior of the West African coast from the River
Niger.
The war lasted for eight days from January to early
February 1897, and went in their favour because of their big guns and
cannons, which the Edo army did not have. After capturing the ancient
city of Benin and slaughtering thousands of the natives in cold blood,
to grossly depopulate the city, and the few survivors had escaped to
farms and villages, the British ransacked the palace of the Oba, homes
of nobles and chiefs, artistes' workshops, and shrines, to rescue “pagan
art” and relieve Benin of the “evil.” Then the British burnt the entire
city down to the last house.
Akin Adeoya in the Sunday Guardian
of March 29, 2009, wrote: “There was a great kingdom of Benin that
lasted for centuries with a highly stable administration and a
civilization that built great highways and produced works of such great
significance that the British who invaded and ultimately defeated the
Ovonramwen’s gallant forces, nearly went mad with envy that not all
their Christian piety or civility could help them resist the urge to
steal these works of art, which their own civilization could not rival.
These works of art, till today, still grace the shrines of the British
Empire and civilization, the British Museum.”
The palace of the
Oba of Benin, according to Joshua Utzheimer, 1603, was about the size of
the German City of Tubingen.” This was razed down by fire by the
British invading force, claiming to be on a civilizing mission. Is
razing cities after the surviving few victims of their assault have
surrendered, not the epitome of barbarism? Can any thing be more callous
than this? Oba Ovonramwen who could not be captured but who surrendered
to the British in August, 1897, was exiled to Calabar (in south-east
Nigeria) where he died in January, 1914.
From accounts of members
of the British army that invaded Benin City in 1897, we learn that the
floors, lintels, and rafters of the council chambers and the king’s
residence in the palace were lined with sheets of repoussé, decorated
brass covered with royal geometric designs and figures of men and
leopards. Ornamental ivory locks sealed the doors and carved ivory
figurines surmounted anterior. A brass snake, observed for the first
time by a European in the early eighteenth century, was still to be seen
on the roof of the council chamber house. All of these, along
with other invaluables, including precious works of arts, the invading
British stole in the name of their king and country. What they could not
steal or burn, they destroyed, including invaluable records of the Bini
scintillating civilization, to allow their historians to falsify human
history and African contributions.
According to Prof. Akin
Ibidapo-Obe in: A Synthesis of African law, “the British stripped Benin
of its pagan art treasure…..almost 2,500 of the famous Benin bronzes,
valuable works of art such as the magnificent carved doors in the
palace, were carried off to Europe for sale. Today, almost every museum
of the world possesses an art treasure from Benin. It is important to
relate the account of British brigandage and deliberate and wanton
stealing of Africa’s invaluable art treasures to show that our culture
was great and was envied.
The tradition and way of life that
spawned such great achievement was deliberately destroyed and history
was falsified to justify the introduction of their obnoxious laws, some
of which purported to forbid our traditional religion.” This is
how Prof. Felix Van Luschan, a former official of the Berlin Museum for
Volkerhunde, described what the British deviously called Pagan art of
Benin; “these works from Benin are equal to the very finest examples of
European casting technique. Benvenuto Celini could not have cast them
better, nor could any one else before or after him. Technically, these
Bronzes represent the very highest possible achievement.” Only a highly
civilized nation could have borne the expenditure and facilities of such
marvelous works of art, some of the best masterpieces in the history of
mankind.
When the Nigerian government requested to loan a
replica of the Idia Ivory mask for use during the 2nd World Black and
African Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC) held in 1977 in Lagos,
Nigeria, from the British Museum of Mankind, the British authorities
insisted on the Nigerian government depositing a sum of three million
dollars before collecting the loaned copy. A 17th century Benin bronze
head (nine inches high) stolen from the palace of Oba Ovonramwen, by the
British invaders in 1897, was auctioned by Sotheby, New York, for
US$550,000 in July, 2007.
Despite the British abuse of Edo
culture and marginalization of Edo history, the splendour of Edo
civilization continues to this day to astound and excite the world.
Benin artifacts are among the most exquisite and coveted in world’s
history, and the kingdom of Benin remains famous for its sophistication
in social engineering and organization. The Bini Obaship institution is
still one of the world’s most revered apart from being one of the most
ancient. Edo was incorporated into what the British called the
Niger Coast Protectorate, later known as the Southern Protectorate, and
after annexing Arochukwu (Igboland) in 1902, and Hausa Fulani emirates
in 1903, merged what they called Southern and Northern Protectorates in
1914 to form what in now Nigeria.
NAIWU OSAHON Hon. Khu Mkuu
(Leader) World Pan-African Movement); Ameer Spiritual (Spiritual
Prince) of the African race; MSc. (Salford); Dip.M.S; G.I.P.M; Dip.I.A
(Liv.); D. Inst. M; G. Inst. M; G.I.W.M; A.M.N.I.M. Poet, Author of the
magnum opus: ‘The end of knowledge’. One of the world’s leading authors
of children’s books; Awarded; key to the city of Memphis, Tennessee,
USA; Honourary Councilmanship, Memphis City Council; Honourary
Citizenship, County of Shelby; Honourary Commissionership, County of
Shelby, Tennessee; and a silver shield trophy by Morehouse College, USA,
for activities to unite and uplift the African race.
No comments:
Post a Comment