History of the oba of benin

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The Oba of Benin Kingdom: A history of the monarchy

Who is the Oba of Benin Kingdom in Nigeria and why is he so important to so many people?

The palace chiefs kneel for the crown prince before they perform the coronation ritual [Femke van Zeijil/Al Jazeera]

Benin City, Nigeria – A wooden staff thumps on the landing in front of the temporary palace. “Long live the king!” bellows Chief Osa, as he raises his fist. The sun reflects off the golden decorations on his horn-shaped red hat.

The other Iwebo chiefs who have followed Osa in a procession onto the palace grounds and now stand behind him say “Isee” in agreement. 

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Then Osa and Chief Osuan, the crown prince’s escorts on his way to the ascension, enter Usama palace, a nondescript bungalow on fallow terrain in the centre of town.

It is 8am and it will be at least seven hours until Crown Prince Eheneden Erediauwa shows himself in public, but his subjects have already come out in great numbers. Thick crowds clog the roads in the heart of Benin City in the south of Nigeria, in expectation of the coronation of the new Oba of the centuries-old Benin Kingdom.

Coronation day in Benin – not to be confused with the West African country that used to be known as Dahomey – on October 20 was preceded by 10 days of ceremonies and rites. 

Banners with the crown prince’s portrait and flags with his name fluttered all over the city, the pavements received a new daub of black and white paint and the lawns in front of the cultural centre were trimmed. It didn’t matter which local radio or TV station you tuned into, all of their bulletins started with what the crown prince had been up to that day on his way to the throne.

“The Oba is a father to all of us,” says 24-year-old student of mass communication Esosa, who left home at 5am on coronation day to get a good view of the proceedings.

The Oba's subjects wait outside the coronation hall to see their new king [Femke van Zeijil/Al Jazeera] 

The Oba’s subjects wait outside the coronation hall to see their new king [Femke van Zeijil/Al Jazeera] 

‘The king’s court is as large as the city of Haarlem’ 

Nigeria is a constitutional democracy that elects its representatives.

But the 250-plus ethnic groups that have been gathered into one country by the British colonisers also acknowledge their own traditional rulers. Of these leaders, the monarch of the Bini people of Benin is among the most respected. But what kind of power does the Oba of Benin wield? And what is his influence on the development of Nigeria’s Edo State, of which Benin City is the capital?

When the Portuguese first set foot there at the end of the 15th century, Benin was a city-state in the middle of the rainforest that surpassed many late medieval European cities in urban development and where the streets were lit at night by palm oil lanterns.

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“The king’s court is as large as the city of Haarlem, and … divided into many magnificent palaces, houses and rooms of the courtiers, and … galleries, about as large as the Exchange at Amsterdam,” the Dutch geographer Olfert Dapper wrote in 1668 about the Oba’s court, based on accounts of explorers and missionaries who had visited Benin.

At the time, the Benin Kingdom was at the height of its military and political power and stretched far into the east and west of modern-day Nigeria.

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That supremacy strengthened Benin’s position towards the European intruders, explains history professor Osarhieme Benson Osadolor of the University of Benin.

“The Oba maintained his independence despite pressure from the Portuguese, Dutch, and British.”

There was, however, a lively intercontinental trade relationship, during which Europeans provided the Oba with firearms and other items in exchange for slaves that his army brought back after their conquests.

The wives and daughters of the chiefs sing praise to the Oba, one of the few roles women have to play in the 10-day long coronation process [Femke van Zeijil/Al Jazeera] 

From the 19th century onwards the empire went downhill. The slave trade had been replaced by the trade in palm oil and the Oba enforced a personal export monopoly that did not make him popular among his chiefs and the general population, says the historian.

Therefore, when Oba Ovonramwen kept resisting annexation by the British – as one of the few local leaders who still maintained their independence at the time – he did not receive the usual military back-up from his chiefs.

On February 18, 1897, the once glorious city fell within a day. In the process, the British set a large part of Benin ablaze – though only after ransacking the palace’s treasures, of which the famous bronze sculptures can be seen in the British Museum to this day.

Following the defeat, Oba Ovonramwen was banished to Calabar town, not far from Nigeria’s border with Cameroon.

But the Oba’s opposition to Benin’s invaders contributed to the almost mythical status of the monarchy in modern times, says Osadolor: “He wasn’t popular at the time he came to the throne, but his resistance made him hugely popular afterwards.”

Contemporary subjects of the Benin Kingdom often quote the royal resistance as one of the reasons for their appreciation of the monarchy.

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After Ovonramwen died in exile in 1914, the British, who needed a traditional leader for their indirect rule, convinced his son to ascend to the throne. This great-grandfather of the current crown prince had none of the powers of his father, but was presented by the colonial rulers as the new authority, Osadolor explains: “The Oba had become a ceremonial position, but people saw him as the one deciding.”

Even after independence in 1960 the monarch did not regain his previous absolute power. So, on what then is his influence on Benin society based?

The ekasa dancers ritually cleansing the ground the crown prince will soon walk on [Femke van Zeijil/Al Jazeera] 

A long chain of coral beads, a gift from the Oba, decorates the bare chest of barrister Godwin Aigbe, the Enogie of Ukhiri. It is two days until the coronation and together with the other traditional leaders in the village of Useh, the chief is waiting for the arrival of the edaiken, the crown prince. It is ancient custom that the crown prince choose the name he will answer to as Oba in this dense little forest in front of which an expectant crowd has gathered – a name that won’t be divulged until his coronation.

As a lawyer, Aigbe explains how the Oba’s authority relates to Nigerian law. “In our legal system we recognise traditional law, as long as it is not repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience.” Simply put: the constitution recognises customary law, and as long as he remains within the boundaries of the law, the Oba’s voice still counts for something. He can mediate, but not adjudicate.

“The Oba settles disputes and is a peacemaker. He cannot legally punish anyone, but he will make you realise when you have committed an offence and you will learn from it,” the chief adds, as he tightens the white fabric wrapped around his waist.

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The Oba has some authority over land issues, when it concerns land owned by indigenes in the south of Edo State, and his decisions are quoted in regular court. To many Nigerians, property is a matter of life and death: land equals wealth and the possession of it is often their only pension plan.

In addition to that, the Oba’s subjects consult him about family feuds and community disputes. The inertia of the Nigerian justice system – the average length of a court case is four to 10 years – turns the relatively quick arbitration by traditional rulers into a welcome alternative form of justice.

That explains part of the Oba’s popularity in the modern Benin City society. But there is more.

The newly crowned Oba with a handkerchief he placed in front of his mouth, a sign that he does not speak in public regularly, but when he does, his word is final [Femke van Zeijil/Al Jazeera] 

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