Oba Ewuare 11 coronation speech as the
40th Oba of Benin Kingdom
Thursday 20th October 2016
Full transcript
Today marks the
end of activities described by custom and tradition for my ascension to the
revered throne of this ancient kingdom. I accept with faith and humility
the destiny which ordained that henceforth I shall be the embodiment and the
expression of culture and aspirations and history of our people.
As the principal
actor in the event of several months that led to this position, I have had the
unique opportunity to reflect on the values and essence of our historical
continuum. What royalty represents to our people are justice, peace and unity.
These ideals shall be reawakened and be sustained in the dispensation that will
soon unfold.
The time tested,
rancour free succession process bequeathed to us in our customs and tradition
is a great tribute to the far sightedness and wisdom of our fore-fathers and
our people. This collective achievement is a veritable proof of our ability to
manage our own affairs. It makes us very proud of our heritage.
Distinguished
Ladies and Gentlemen, let me begin by paying deserved tribute to my illustrious
father, Omo N’oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Erediauwa, CFR, who joined his
ancestors after 37 years of glorious reign. With all due modesty, I must admit
that as a son and heir, that I enjoyed and benefited from his fatherly love and
wisdom more than anyone else. His visionary leadership, courage and dedication
to our cultural heritage ensured that the legacies of several century were
preserved. He was a true symbol of our cultural identity. Throughout his reign,
his palace was a warm and welcome home for all who had need for good counsel,
guidance and material assistance. Traditional rulers from far and near
consulted him for clarity on touchy issues. Or to resolve a vast range of
socio-cultural problems. Ethnicity, religion and social status were no barriers
to reaching him for advice and support. He was a good and caring father to us
all. He led our common cause with dignity, tact and wisdom. In the community of
royalty, he was exemplary and hence he was revered throughout this kingdom and
beyond. Though for him, our culture and tradition was his priority but he was
open to new ideas and respectful of progress made through social and scientific
innovations. Time constraint will not allow me to give full account of all my
father’s achievement or the benefit his reign brought to Benin Kingdom, our
state, our country and indeed, humanity.
Our responsibility
for us now is daunting, but I am confident that with the blessing of God
Almighty, the love and support of my family, my people, Nigerians in general
and my friends in the international community, we shall succeed in this mission
of building upon the legacies of our fathers.
Let me crave your
indulgence to also make few remarks about my late mother, Princess Eghiunwe
Akenzua of blessed memory, who passed on to the great beyond in 1976, when my
father was still the Crown Prince. It was my dear mother who taught me to work
hard for success in everything I set my mind upon to achieve. Circumstances and
act of faith did not allow her to enjoy the status of a Queen in her life time.
But she was a Princess in her own right. By my coronation, today, she is now
entitled to be bestowed with the title of Iye Oba (Queen Mother). Which customs
allow us to confer posthumously. This will be consummated at the appropriate
time.
History also
reminds us of the importance of the present time which is the only opportunity
we have to take the different and too often fragmented components of our
collective past to prepare the foundation for a unifying and collective future.
A long line of
succession of kings in the Kingdom known as Benin, started in the 12th century
by modern recording. There may be some different views about the origin of some
of our ancestors, but there is unanimity in the shared heritage between
the people of Benin and lle lfe in identifying Oduduwa as a forebear of
kingship in many kingdoms in some part of Africa and the part called Nigeria
today. Historians all agree that Oduduwa sent his son Oromiyan at the request
of elders of Benin to return to them as ruler of their realm. Oromiyan staying
in Benin may have been short, but before he left, a child was born to him, who
was later crowned Oba and he is known today as Eweka the 1st. Oromiyan’s time
in Benin, however short-lived, he was an Oba and so he was the first Oba after
the Ogiso dynasty came to an end. He established Obaship in Benin, by
implication the listing of past Obas should therefore begin with Oromiyan as it
is listed in the line of Obas. This actually made my revered father the 39th
Oba of Benin, if the listing is counted from and should be counted from
Oromiyan. I therefore stand before you today as the 40th Oba of Benin. A direct
descendant of Oromiyan, the son of Oduduwa who the Benin people of that era
knew as Ekharaderan, their self exiled prince who later became
ruler in IIe Ife, the Benin people recognized Oduduwa and his origin but it is
not in our place to force this recognition on others outside our boundaries.
The history of the world, is a shared one and there will certainly be
unexpected connections in future.
This is a time for
unity and not divisiveness’. A time for mutual respect, recognizing that our
wholeness as equals is so much more than the sum of our parts.
Now, what does the
new dispensation hold for us? The Oba remains the channel through which the
powers of the ancestors continue to guide and protect the kingdom and its
people.
To that extent, we
shall faithfully discharge this sacred responsibility, we shall pay due
attention to all manners of all our customs and traditions, focusing on real
issues of security of our communities and welfare of our people.
We shall carry out
our reforms in palace administration in order to be adequately responsive to
our people’s sincere and deep longing for justice, equity and stability.
Using culture as
unifying factor, we shall strive to ensure that conflicts are resolved between
individuals, families and communities along the principles of social justice.
We shall use
cultural diplomacy as a veritable tool for the promotion of harmonious
relationship with our neighbours far and near.
I also strongly
advise my Benin people, we should strive to maintain our culture, especially
our language by insisting on its use in communicating with our children and
each other.
You will agree
with me that the Benin empire which encompasses part of Lagos, across to Asaba,
even to the then Dahomey, has now reduced to one state. To survive, it is
imperative that we maintain our culture which is now the only unifying force
for our people. Our culture and tradition remains the grand main factor that
the entire country and the international community respects us for. And I
appeal to our Benin people to uphold and respect our traditional institutions
at all times. I employ government to also include Edo language and Benin
history in our schools curriculum.
We shall forge
links with other traditional institutions here in Nigeria, in Africa and
beyond. We must especially acknowledge how honoured and gratifying we are to
have in our midst today, representatives of monarchs from other parts of the
world. The Zulu King in South Africa, the Kabaka of the Kingdom of Bugunda, as
well as the Queen of England and the monarchs of Sweden, Denmark and Norway are
all represented in this event by the Ambassadors of these countries.
I hope this will
provide an opportunity to strengthen contacts and build linkages and will
compliment and enhance excellent bilateral relationships that already exist
between our countries.
We shall uphold
and maintain the principle of neutrality and none partisanship in political
party activities.
While our people
remain free to play politics in the political party of their choice, we shall
however continue to pray for and always support the right kind of political
leaders who will safeguard the welfare of our people, provide for their basic
needs and who will accord due recognition to the traditional institution.
We will initiate a
cultural renaissance that will focus on tourism promotion, through arts and
craft.
To drive this
initiative, we have already established two purpose vehicles, namely the Benin
Royal Family Trust, in collaboration with the Benin Traditional Council has established
an office in Igun, Iguewon quarters to enhance the productivity of the bronze
casters.
The Benin Royal
Academy for performing arts will train youths and develop their talents. They
will reach out to international choreographers in different parts of the world
for the purpose of transforming Benin dance into an international brand.
Through this
initiatives, we hope to attract tourism to our land and provide jobs for our
teeming youths.
We shall also
support efforts to build partnership and seek international assistance for the
restoration of Benin monuments including revival of the creative and artistic
talents of the Binis, which are already globally acknowledged through our rich
artifacts.
It is pertinent at
this point to express our deep concern about poverty and the rise in crime and
juvenile delinquency in our society. The problem is both a consequence, and it
is aggravated by wild spread youth unemployment.
The solution will
require a well-articulated and structured youth development and empowerment
programmes with active support of government at all levels.
We shall partner
with government to attract domestic and international resources for the
establishment of clusters of agro based industries in each of our seven Local
Government Areas. In this regard, the transformation of Gelegele into an export
processing zone. Agro allied industries shall remain one of our major projects
in the state.
With the support
of the Federal Government, we shall join forces with government at all levels
and other well-meaning individuals in pursuing poverty alleviation strategies
which will be driven by the Royal Dynasty Trust.
We will also
partner with relevant government agencies to pursue programmes for the
preservation of our forest endowment. To this end, we will establish a prize
for the local government in Edo state that is best in annual tree planting
competitions.
Today is an
important day for us. It marks a turning point in our lives. We will therefore
do two important things to mark this day.
First, to honour
the memory of our illustrious father. We establish today Oba Erediauwa Annual
Lecture series. For this, the sum of N10million will be invested in a Trust
Fund and the proceeds will be used to support an annual well researched work on
any subject in Benin history, public administration or Edo language.
Secondly, we will
unveil a new crest which states my motto, meaning no reward without industry.
