By GBENGA SALAU

Like the Oba of Benin, Omo n’Oba n’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewuare II predicted before uttering the comment that it would snowball into a controversy, it has actually since he made the comment that the Binis founded Lagos.

The Ewuare, recently, visted the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu and while addressing his host and others who had come to welcome him to Lagos, he said: “I don’t want to say something that will now drag me into the controversy of Benin and Lagos. But I cannot help but say that it is in history books that Benin founded Lagos. But when some people hear it now, they (will) go haywire that ‘what is the Oba saying there again?’ But it is true. Go and check the records. Maybe not all of 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. Everyone knows it, (that) the source of Lagos is Benin whether the Ooni of Ife likes it or not.”

One of those that has vehemently responded to the monarch’s position is Professor Rasheed Kola Ojikutu stating that by virtue of its socio- economic endowments, Lagos is more prone to those frivolous and unsubstantiated claims than any other location in Nigeria.

“History for example claims that the Benin Kingdom founded Onitsha, but you rarely find Oba of Benin make a claim in this regard. To be associated with Lagos is glorious. Statistical indicators show that the Lagos gross domestic products is more than the combined GDP of Ghana and Rwanda. In fact, it is more that the combined GDP of some five African countries. The initial claim was that Benin defeated Lagos but when this frivolous claim failed, the narrative changed to ‘Benin founded part of Lagos’.”

He observed further: “Is it not surprising that the Oba of Benin, who rarely venture out of his domain had to travel all the way to Lagos, sit in our state house only to tell us that part of Lagos belongs to him? Ordinarily one would have requested him to show the land that belongs to him in Lagos. I hope he knows the boundary of Lagos as opposed to that of Lagos State.”

Providing some historical insight and formations within the geographical locations regarded as today’s Lagos, Ojikutu said: “Clearly and unambiguously, Eko that is, Lagos Island, a word derived from Ereko and which simply means Oko, statutorily belongs to Aromire. Lagos Mainland legally and historically belongs to the Oloto. If we are to include Ikoyi and Victoria Island (Iru). Evidently, Ikoyi belongs to the Onikoyi who is the founder of Ikoyi Ile and Victoria Island belongs to Oniru. Oluwa is the owner of Apapa and Onisiwo owns Tomaro (The Oba of Benin can refer to the 1921 judgement of the Privy Council in London on Oluwa’s right of ownership to Apapa). The case was between Amodu Tijani Oluwa and the British government and it was won by Oluwa with cost awarded. The aforementioned areas house Eko which is the subject of interest to the Oba of Benin. He can for avoidance of doubt show us which one or part of these lands belong to him and on which of them he has direct authority and claim.

“Let me also mention that Olofin was widely claimed by history to have left Ile-Ife with the calabash (Awo) given to him by Oduduwa.It was this calabash that sank at Ise Erin ( where elephants are slaughtered which is commonly called Isheri today) .It was the sinking of the Awo, that is Awo Ri meaning the Plate sinks. That is Awori that gave birth to the name the children and acquaintances of Olofin bears today.”

Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Oba of Benin, HRM Omo N’ Oba N’ Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewuare II; Chairman of EnterpriseNGR, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede and Chairman of THISDAY Media Group and ARISE News Channel, Chief Nduka Obaigbena during the Oba’s courtesy visit at the Lagos House, Marina

He maintained that It stands to common sense that if Oduduwa gave Olofin Awo, it must have been done around the 7th and 9th centuries that Oduduwa lived and reigned in Isheri. He added that on the contrary, Benin grew out of Igodomigodo around the 12th or 13th century. “The question is “How would Benin Kingdom that was not in existence would have found a kingdom founded around the 7th or 8th century? In one word, there will continue to be altercation as long as leaders continue to dish out falsehood and untruth in the name of seeking undeserved historical advantage. This is the real cause of the quarrel in the public space.”

On what could be done to put an end to the controversy, Ojikutu stated that leadership at all levels should exhibit caution and decorum when it comes to public discourse, particularly, the one that has historical implications.

“Posterity will not forgive those of us who remain silent in the face of this unwarranted “provocation”.

The Yoruba says “Ojuniagbanya, agba kii ya enu” which means “elders are expected to sharpen their ability to see things but they should also be cautious in their utterances”. It is instructive that the Oba of Benin himself preceded his presentation with the fact that the issue would be controversial. So, you know your utterances would overheat the system and engender inter–sectional brouhaha, yet you went ahead to create the tension provoking environment. The choice of location also makes the intention of the Oba suspect. It was as if he deliberately booked an appointment with the Governor to hound the people of Lagos State.”

He noted that elders should be circumspect and avoid unnecessary flippant utterances, observing that the joy of it all, is that the highly intelligent and accommodating governor took him through the process of showing and explaining Lagos artifacts and culture to him through the museum. “The curator also did a fantastic job showing him those things he didn’t know. If Lagos is your domain, you wouldn’t have to go through such rigorous schooling on her culture.”

On the lessons to be taken from the controversy going forward as a people, Ojikutu said that the lessons are in two folds. “The first is that the Awori nation to which we belong and the factual history of which we would continue to defend should come together to ward of the expansionists and neo- colonialists that abound in our midst in Nigeria. You come to a man’s land, thrive and progress on daily basis and yet wake up one morning to claim that the place is “No man’s land”. Yet, you do not expect a reaction. Awori intellectuals and traditional institutions must come together to update their ancestral history from time to time.

“Our people should remember that we should not take kindness to the level of idiocy and stupidity. In Awori idiom “If snake does not have venom, it is not outside the behavior of humanity to treat it as ordinary rope that could be used to bind firewood”. We, as Awori cannot continue to sit on the fence while the wrong and distorted version of our history is placed on the bookshelf.”

Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu (left) and Oba of Benin, HRM Omo N’ Oba N’ Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewuare II (second left) during the Oba’s visit to the John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History, Onikan on Sunday, 26 November 2023.

He, however, has some words for Benins whom he called siblings, saying, “we should avoid stiring the hornet net. The respected Oba of Benin knew ab-initio that he was delving into a contest that would be difficult for him to win. The worst part of the issue is the unserious claim that Lagos does not belong to the Yoruba. What an audacity? Are the Benin not Yoruba. The title of “ Omonoba” itself is a Yoruba word that means “Prince”.

“It is not by accident that the past Oba of Benin were buried in “Orun Oba Ado”, a few yards from Odo-Ogbein Ile Ife. This practice stopped during the reign of Oba Orhogbua. He was banished to Calabar. He was the most educated of all the Benin Obas before Oba Akenzua. Why Calabar? Why not Lagos,” he asked rhetorically.

Commenting too, the Olofin of Isheri and Adimula of Awori Kingdom, Oba Sulaimon Bamgbade, said that listening to the Oba of Benin during his recent visit to the Lagos State House reminds him of the Irish poet and playwright Oscar Fingal O’Fflahertie Wills Wilde who says “Anybody can make history only a great man can write it”.

Bamgbade said it is a fact of history that Lagos was founded and established by Olofin Ogunfuminire, the legendary progenitor of the Awori people. “He left Ile-ife to settle at Isheri before migrating with his wife, Ajaiye to present day Iddo in the heart of Lagos. It was at Iddo that Ajaiye was blessed with the fruits of the womb. Her offsprings are the Idejo who are the actual traditional land owners of Lagos. The spatial region of the land owned by the Idejo spans from Lagos Mainland (Iddo) to Lagos Island and up to Eti-Osa which he allocated absolutely to his children and other descendants.

“In this regard, he assigned Iru to the Oniru, Ikate to the Elegushi, Lagos Island to Aromire, Iganmu to Ojora, Otto and mainland to the Oloto (up to Odo – Iya Alaro). Isheri was the dispersal point where other Olofin Ogunfunminire descendants left to found other Awori towns. For instance, Akeredun left Isheri to establish Igbesa, Odoyi left Isheri to found Agboyi, Osolo and Eleidi Atalabi left Isheri to found Ota. These facts are firmly established and supported by extant literature written by foreign authors and researchers such as Kristin Mann who in his book titled “Slavery and Birth of an African city: Lagos 1760- 1900” wrote and I quote:

“Migrant fishing people first settled in Lagos and from the beginning, water and canoes had a prominent role in the lives of its inhabitants. Prior to the sixteenth century , Aworis, the southern most of the Yoruba- speaking people, dispersed from Isheri, a village twelve miles up the Ogun river. A group of them settled at what is now Ebute metta, on the mainland. Until the need for greater security drove the community to a smaller island in the lagoon opposite Lagos island. There, they established two settlements, Otto and Iddo, and soon attracted fresh immigrants. In time , people from Iddo moved to the north western corner of the larger island opposite, which eventually became known as Lagos, looking for land to farm. The settlers recognized the paramount ruler called the Olofin, based at the more populous community of Iddo but tracing mythical descent from Isheri and via the founder of that village to Ile-ife, the cradle of Yoruba civilization.”

Bamgbade stated that the Benin who later came to Lagos as mere traders met Olofin and his descendants on the island of Iddo and its neighbourhood where they, the Benin settled down and were well received and hosted by the community. “As time went by, a feud broke out between the Benin and their hosts. Facing imminent defeat, they called for reinforcements and assistance from the Oba of Benin. Olofin Ogunfunminire and his mentees vehemently and successfully repelled these attacks.

“As a compromise, and as part of the tolerant disposition which is the character of the typical Awori, the Benin were eventually relocated to live with Aromire on his pepper farm on Lagos island at Iga idungaran (Idungaran in Awori means pepper farm) where they after a while and probably due to the indifference of the original land owner introduced a more structured organisation.

“The Oba of Benin’s reference to the speech of the present Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu is rather unfortunate. The late Oba of Lagos, Oba Adeyinka Oyekan II to whom Oba Akiolu is a successor granted an interview to the media on May 11, 1982. The highly revered monach said and I quote:

“The first settlers were the Aworis . They settled at Isheri on the river Ogun about 32 kilometers from the Island of Lagos. Their leader, when something was heard about the place, was said to have built Isheri. He took the title Olofin presumably after Oduduwa. A part of the settlement at Isheri soon scattered and followed the downward course of the river till arrived at that part of the mainland which is over the island of Lagos where they named Ebute metta. Because of the threatening danger, the inhabitants of Ebute metta soon broke up their town and moved to Iddo.”

Bamgbade, therefore, insisted that the first settlers in present Lagos are Awori and the dispersal point of Awori is Isheri. “As the Olofin of Isheri and Adimula of Awori Kingdoms, I implore the Oba of Benin to retrace the origin of the Benin kingdom to Ile Ife, like the Awori have always done.”

A consultant on Benin Study Development, Aiko Obobaifo, disagreed, insisting that there are historical documents to expantiate the position of the Oba of Benin. He further said: “The people going back and forth over this issue are just deliberately stiring up controversy. Yet, there is no controversy over this. It has been so well-documented, even in Yoruba historical documents. Though we know that a lot of the historical documentation were tilted by the earliest Yoruba historians because they have access to formal education earlier, aside they formed alliance with the people that destroyed Benin.

“So, it was expected that they would render the history to favour hegemonic considerations. Be that as it may, there is no doubt in history at all, because by the time Benin was going in expansionist movement on the west coast of Africa, there was nothing like Yoruba it was only being put together by the duo of Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther and James Holy Johnson.

Those were the people that started organising the western part of Nigeria in recognised groups into a synergy to be called Yoruba. There were people in clusters of clans and hamlets. By coming round to Yoruba that was non-existence. For example, until Lagos came into reckoning that it was being drawn into by the British. Before the formation and realisation that Lagos was a force to be reckoned with, that is when they really started drawing up histories and these histories were only to favour a particular set of people.

“Adversely, the people that were in Lagos were scattered because they were not organised under a leadership or recongnised leaders. We have the Nupe, Awori and Awori came with remnants of Benin warriors from upper south, Ife, Oyo and other parts of present day Yoruba. The people that were right there recognised the Benin as rulers and owners to which other people were paying tributes and royalties to.

“It is very clear and these things are well documented. If some people pay royalty to some people, it means those paying recognised those receiving as partial or part owners as it were. I cannot meet you in a place and tell you to be paying royalties to me”

I must have some claims to ownership from which you too can recognise that for you to give up some of your rights to boost my rights. That is a strong means of identification of concluding this issue. At a certain time, the awori were paying tribute to the Benin, which means that the Awori themselves recognise the leadership and ownership by the Benin in the whole set up.”

Just like the revered monarch said that there are history books to prove that Binis founded Lagos, so also are the Aworis, who insisted that their ancestors, were the first settlers in what is now known as Lagos. Which of the histories is truly correct? (The Guardian)

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