MESSAGE TO OBA EWUARE THE OBA OF BENIN reads;
A land that truly belongs to your forebears will be deforested by strangers and occupied for over a thousand years without exerting traditional authority over the land and people.
How can all the Obas reign over this so called great kingdom and only realized that oh, Ologbo community is Bini land after over a thousand years? Only unseriously minded people and judges will entertain such jokes as a matter for the court to decide in the 21th century.
A sound minded judge will understand that lapse of time also known as leech and acquiescence will operate to estopped such a waste of judicial energy and time. It is on this note that we wish to state categorically that the latest move to once again use the court in your backyard to determine who is the traditional ruler in Ologbo community, is another exercise in futility like all your previous ones.
The Movement-MPIHDH is using this opportunity to ask the Oba to carefully find out the kind of tragedy that happened right inside the Oba palace during the reign of Oba Akenzua that made him to vehemently refuse to impose an Enogie in Ologbo community before he died despite the enormous pressure. Doing this will be in the best interest of the Oba and his subjects.
The Oba might not want to say it out because of his current illegal quest to use all forms of under dealings to silent those who he sees as major obstacles to his brazen invasion of Itsekiri homelands in Edo State. But truth be told, when a king who ought to promote truth and justice turn around to use the throne to perpetrate evil, the end will always be disastrous.
"Ighemieuna" Osanubua" "Ighemieuna" "Ogiewien" which translate to ''We have not seen this before," "God", "We have not seen this before" "Wonderful thing".
For the information of Oba Ewuare, the above exclamations was the outbursts of Oba Akenzua, his palace chiefs some few months before he joined his ancestors. What transpired in the Oba palace on that fateful day has continued to remain one of the strongest reason some honest Binis, have decided not to partake in the desperate plots to annex Ologbo community land.
The gathering was a meeting in the Oba palace over Ologbo community land ownership. The issue at that meeting was that some stubborn Bini chiefs just like we are seeing now, had gone to meet Oba Akenzua, Oba Ewuare grandfather to install an Enogie in Ologbo community.
Oba Akenzua told them right in front of some of the Itsekiri inside the palace that he is aware his forefather, Oba Osewende had a boundary with Ikaye of Ologbo along the Benin-Sapele road at IYANOMO and it will be tantamount to inviting evil to Bini land by trying to reward Ikaye descendants with evil after Ikaye saved the Benin kingdom from the hands of Oba Arakale, the Deji of Akure at that time. Oba Akenzua said, he was rightly informed of Ikaye of Ologbo community exploits during the Akure-Benin war of 1818 by his forefathers and he cannot sit on his father throne to unjustly undo what his father had done through blood covenant and sacrifices.
In that meeting, a particular Bini chief( name withheld) who was the arrow head of that wicked campaign was talking violently and boasting that an Enogie must be installed in Ologbo community whether there was an agreement between Oba Osewende and Ikaye of Ologbo or not. His argument just like the one some naive Binis are putting up now, is that there is no paper or documents to show that Ikaye owns the place. Oba Akenzua reminded them that in those days, there are different ways of showing appreciation. A young damsel or virgin can be given out. A talisman/powerful medicine, a plantation or a land. He said, once an Oba pronounced a reward, it is binding on all his successors and subjects for life. He insisted he can not dishonor his ancestors. It is very instructive and very imperative to emphasize here that this insistence by Oba Akenzua to follow what his ancestors did with Ikaye, made many wicked Bini chiefs and indigenes never to love the Oba. To permanently kill the Ikaye story in Ologbo community, the gang of liars now put money and resources together and covertly went behind to remove all historical records and documentary evidences that mentioned IKAYE in Ologbo community and Benin kingdom relationship. What they could not erase however is the land itself, Ikaye/Ityasere descendants and most importantly, the war songs that the Itsekiri sings in burial ceremonies, which are ancient traditional songs sang by the great Ikaye heralding his triumphant entry back to Benin after victory in Akure in 1818.
It is authoritatively on record and we challenge those dubious Bini historians who choose to use loud speakers to dish out falsehood about Benin kingdom, Oromiyan and several other tribes on the 26th October, 2016 during the coronation of this Oba that brought so much anger and embarrassment to so many first class monarchs in that event, to deny this open secret in their history. Then we will shock them. The Chief died on the spot right before the Oba, the Itsekiri and Bini chiefs. The ranting Bini chief was transfixed to the spot where he was arguing that Ikaye matter should be thrown away. Great fear gripped everyone present in that meeting including Oba Akenzua. This was the first ominous signs and several others that occurred at that time that made the Binis to abandon that plot.
This shocking development suddenly brought the meeting to an abrupt end and the news spread across the length and breadth of Bini and Mid West despite the spirited effort to cover it up. That was where the above surprise, shock and exclamations as stated above, by the Binis that heard this news of the Chief death inside the Oba palace became the most trending response of every Bini person that heard this news.
The Movement-MPIHDH wishes to remind the Oba of Benin, that such events is likely to happen again except he change his evil plots against the descendants of Ikaye which he is bent on persecuting without just cause. Ologbo community land, is not an ordinary community land. So also is Kolokolo, Ajoki, Ajamogha, Ajatiton, etc. Ologbo in particular is a land gotten through BLOODSHED and BLOOD COVENANT and BLOOD SACRIFICES.
It was done between one of the progenitors of Oba Ewuare 11. Right at the boundary between Oba Osewende and Ikaye at IYANOMO, it was a life human being and lots of other traditional sacrifices that was used to seal the agreement before the two parties drank, ate, took an oath not to cross that spot to trouble the other before departing each to their respective homelands. Oba Osewende to Benin, and Ikaye to Ologbo community, a land and community that was far far in existence before the Akure-Benin war.
This is the truth. This is the fact. This account for the reason why each time there is a crisis in Ologbo community in the past, the Itsekiri people and the Benin people will always use wisdom to settle the issue as brothers amicably. That Oba Erediuawa the currently Oba's father fraudulently brought an Enogie to Ologbo community in 1988, a year after the demise of Olu Erejuwa and the coronation of a new Olu, Atwatse 11 while the Itsekiri people had not fully settled down from mourning, does not mean that the Oba owns Ologbo community. The presence of the Enogie in Ologbo community is liking to that of an Agbero that loads a bus in the motor park and then hand the money to the park chairman. He cannot become the traditional ruler in a community that was existing before he was born. The Itsekiri nation and Ologbo community indigenes only accepted that arrangement which the Oba is using to hunt our people today, simply because, an average Itsekiri man sees the Bini man as his brother. Today, that believe is fast been eroded with this Oba illegal assault on our people in Edo state.
Before the Akure-Benin war, Ologbo community was far far already in existence. Its formation is almost out of human memory. From the very beginning, even from the time of Olu Ginuwa 1 around 1480, Ologbo community has been designated and known historically as the ancestral homeland and headquarter of ALL ITYASERE OF WARRI KINGDOM. This is very true because previous Ityasere of Warri kingdom have ruled unchallenged as such even when both Itsekiri and Benin was still under one political administration in Mid West and Bendel State. No Oba went to court asking for frivolous declarations as we see today. While the Oba reigned over Bini people, the Olu reigned over his own people.
When Bendel state was divided into Edo and Delta, ALL ITYASERE of Warri kingdom are all descendants of the Ityaseres of Warri kingdom. Chief Johnson Amatserueleghe is not the first Ityasere of Warri kingdom that is exercising control over all the Iyatsere descendants Itsekiri homelands in Edo state on behalf of the Olu of Warri. He will not be the last either. They all ruled and collected royalties and sold lands in Ologbo community as Ityasere of Warri kingdom. All the peace and reconciliation papers signed during and after the various crisis, were all signed by Ityaseres of Warri kingdom including other prominent Itsekiris. If the past Obas saw no reason to go to court or question that traditional representation then as signatories to documents executed by the Obas, why then is Oba Ewuare raising dust? Oil money and contracts maybe.
Therefore, it is very embarrassing to see that From 1818-1988 when the so called illegal Ologbo dukedom was allegedly created, a period spanning over 173 years, ALL the past Oba, and the entire Benin people sat down with all the battles that they were said to have won, allowed Itsekiri to have Ityaseres in Ologbo community their wishful land. From 1988-2020 is about 32 years. How on earth can the so called great Benin kingdom that fraudulently claimed to be older than ILE-IFE, the cradle of civilization, convince the world and even the most gullible judge that they just realized Ologbo community is Benin land under Oba after just 32 years since our father Adam first stepped his foot on earth. Imagine, a dukedome that owns a whole sets of communities of over a thousand years is just 32 years old. Amazing indeed. The Oba should finish his dance first, but we will puncture all his lies with logic and facts that he cannot rebut. It one thing to bribe a judge. It is another thing to give a sound judgment.
So it is now that one of our own son and brother Mr Sunny Etchie who is alleged to have been gruesomely murdered by some unscrupulous and wicked persons mostly of Itsekiri extraction that the Oba through his stooge, the Enogie is asking the court to determine who is the traditional ruler in Ologbo community? What a shame?
The desperation is serious. What is the nexus between the alleged gruesome murder of an innocent Itsekiri prince with the aggressive move by the Oba to takeover our homelands? There is no single connection at all. The Oba must know that we have seen through his game to use the internal crisis among our people as a subterfuge to annex our homelands in the pretentious guise of fighting for justice over the alleged murder. This will not work.
The Movement totally condemn in the strongest terms possible the unlawful killing of any person especially Itsekiri sons and daughters under any guise or excuse whatsoever. As a group that has zero tolerance for human rights abuses and violations including bad leadership, we will never advocate that those who truly participated in the alleged gruesome murder of Mr Sunny Etchie be left off the hook. We believe firmly that life and indeed every human life is sacrosanct and no man should deprive another of his life unlawfully. But what we will resist is the audacious attempt to use the loss and death of one of our own to criminally annex our ancestral homelands in Edo state by the Oba and his team.
Allowing such a situation to happen will amounts to double jeopardy for the Itsekiri nation. We will not allow Itsekiri to loss Sunny Etchie without seeking justice over his death, and also loss our ancestral homelands to the Oba and his team who was very instrumental in deceiving those who thought by running to him for protection, they will become Binis overnight. Unfortunately, the harsh realities is gradually dawning on some of those who took that unwise decision to fight to finish instead of resolving their differences as brothers.
The Oba is therefore reminded of the events that happened during Oba Akenzua reign in the same palace he is currently plotting these evils against Itsekiri. If the Oba fights against other Itsekiri from other Itsekiri homelands, he may get away with some serious bruises. But when the Oba and any Bini man fights any Ityasere or Ikaye descendants of Ologbo community as they are currently doing, it is only a metter of time, a strong wind and storm of unexplainable evil will befall the Benin kingdom because, Ologbo community land is not an ordinary land. It is a land that everything was risked for and blood was used to seal it forever.
The Oba cannot take our lands. We cannot see him as one of our own while he encroaches into our homelands the way he cannot do in Gelegele and other Ijaw enclaves in Edo state. He must begin to use his tongue to count his teeth because there is more to Ologbo community land than he is currently been blinded from seeing because of oil money. He must tread carefully. The spirit of Ikaye is still alive and he will fight all who are behind this evil. When the repercussions start happening, we all will see it. The Oba must reflect on the event that led to the mysterious death of that Bini chief in the Oba palace. A stich in time saves nine. The Oba cannot use our brother death to takeover Itsekiri homelands. We will resist it to the end as we have seen where he is going.
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