Currently, the mood in Benin, the capital city of Edo State, and neighbouring towns inhabited by the Benins, is joyful. This follows last weekend’s hosting of a United Kingdom contingent comprising Mark Walker, Steve Dunstone (both Britons) and Timothy Obagbemiga Awoyemi (a Nigerian) by the Benin monarch, Omo N’Oba N’Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Erediauwa in his palace. Their mission was to return two Benin Bronze works (the bell and Ahianmwen – Oro) which formed part of those stolen by British naval men during the invasion of Benin kingdom in 1897.
In this exclusive chat with SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT Isaac Olamikan hours before the artefacts were formally returned in an elaborate ceremony inside the Benin palace, HRH Prince Edun Akenzua, the Enogie of Obazuwa, the younger brother to the monarch, gave background information on the historic face-off between the two sides plus other related issues. Excerpts:
Sir, can you play back the story of the invasion of Benin kingdom by the British some 117 years ago, and why is it that of all the artefacts stolen by the British from the kingdom then, it is only these two Ahianmwen-Oro and the bell are being returned now?
They (the British) have no legal or moral right to come and punish the people here (Benin). From our point of view they came because of their territorial ambition and greed. There was a letter by the British Vice Consul in the Oil River Protectorate, James Philips, who wrote a letter to the British Home Office that there were lots of bronze works in the Oba of Benin’s palace. He was seeking permission to come and wage a war on Benin. The objective then was to remove the Oba of Benin. They saw that Oba Ovonranmwen was not easy to cajole. He was asking them to pay a reasonable price for portions of oil instead of just going, taking the oil and paying what they like. On the basis of this the British and their middlemen felt that the Oba was too tough and as such, plotted his removal. We believe that Philip deliberately provoked the war. At Ugbine, there were nine British invaders but seven of them fell. Today, we cannot really tell who drew the first blood. The White men drew their guns though Philip asked them to keep their revolvers in the boxes they had with them. The Europeans and the early writers have been describing what happened as an ambush. But that wasn’t what happened.
So what really happened?
Philips and his people were at Ughoton, they sent a message to the Oba in Benin that they were on their way to the palace. This period happened to be when the Ugie festival was been held. During this period the Oba does not receive visitors. The Whitemen got a reply that they should reschedule the visit. The Oba told the chiefs to get some of their boys to go and clear the pathway to make it passable. The chiefs were not particularly happy at the decision. They felt he was too lenient. They were not happy that the Oba was going to allow the Whiteman to defy Benin customs. Some of them went outside the palace court to talk about it. They agreed that if they (the chiefs) went to meet the white people at Ughoton seeing them the White men would believe them. They didn’t know that Philip and his men had started moving to Benin immediately after he sent the message not waiting for response. The two groups – Benin chiefs with their boys and the white men – were surprised to meet each other at Ugbine. What ensued there I believe was an argument between the two groups. At the end of the day seven white men (including Philips) were killed.
Is that how the Benin kingdom fell to a reprisal attack?
Yes, few weeks after that, the British had mounted an armada of 123 officers in five warships under the command of Admiral Harry Rawson in our territorial waters. They brought in cannons, rocket launchers etc. and the Benin people were not prepared for war. We are still asking all those who keep those cultural properties of the Benin people to return them. We would be happy if they do. These two being returned are not from the government of Britain. They are coming from an individual – Dr. Mark Walker, whose grandfather was one of the soldiers who fought in the British invasion of Benin in 1897. Those two items he is bringing now are the items he took away as souvenir and they have been lying in their family house ever since that time. He feels he does not want to keep them there any more. He wants to return them to the rightful owners. He is more or less donating them to the Oba of Benin.
What are the efforts by the palace to secure the return of the remaining artefacts?
The palace is doing all it can. Some years ago the palace sponsored my trip to the UK on this issue. I testified before the British House of Commons which set up a committee to look into the case. The whole issue is particularly complicated now. The time Abacha was head of state we went to Vienna. Many of the people we talked to in Europe were willing to talk with the Oba of Benin but were not willing to talk with the military government. We couldn’t encourage such people to come and talk with the Oba so that the military would not misinterpret what was going on and feel the Oba does not recognise the military government. Even up till now some young men, some friends of Benin have suggested that we should go to The Hague. The Oba has not been particularly keen on going to The Hague to start with for obvious reasons. The Oba himself is a lawyer. He knows the implication. Going to the Hague now will be very precarious. The Hague can only listen to government not individuals. I feel the case is going to be a very difficult legal battle. At the time those things (artefacts) were stolen from Benin there was no place called Nigeria. So, technically, Nigeria cannot really claim to be the owner of those things (artefacts). This is my own interpretation. I believe that is why government has not decided to go to The Hague.
How do we then describe the mood in the kingdom now as regards this good tiding?
We are all quite happy; everybody not just in the palace but also everywhere, including outside the shores of Nigeria. Most of the people who have been demanding that these artefacts should be brought back, many of them are not Nigerians, when they hear that these things are coming voluntarily they are happy. They are not selling them to us. Dr. Walker just felt that he doesn’t want to keep them, he wants to bring them. So, we’re all quite excited about it. We regard Walker as a gentleman. We’re hoping that others will emulate his example and return what they have.
There is this belief in certain quarters that some of these artefacts if not well handled could cause a lot of havoc to the people harbouring them. Is it true?
I wouldn’t know. There are people who believe in such superstitions. In Africa, it is generally believed that anything that doesn’t belong to you and you forcefully remove from the owner will cause repercussion.
What do the two artefacts that are being returned Ahianmwen-Oro and the bell stand for?
They don’t stand for anything special. The bird is an ordinary bird. It is among those birds that fly around in the tropical forest. The story is that as King Esigie (of Benin) was going to war he was passing a particular route and they got to a place they rested for a while. As they were resting this bird was on top of a tree nearby and was chirping ‘oya o! oya o!’ which when translated in Benin means suffering or punishment. Esigie heard this and called the bird a prophet of doom for prophesying that he and his team will suffer where they were going. Esigie ordered that it should be killed. They went to the war and came back victorious. He was elated that despite the bird’s message of doom they ended up been victorious. He ordered the bronze sculptors to cast an effigy of the bird. He created a festival in memory of the bird and its doomsday message. Till date the festival is still being performed.
How is it done?
During the performance of the festival, all the participating chiefs would hold a replica of the bird and use a stick to caress the beak of the bird. For the bell, we usually have bells on our different altars. Another use of bell is when the king wants to issue out a piece of information, the bell/gong boy (town crier) would go around town, announcing the king’s message while hitting the gong.
The post How Benin recovered stolen artefacts, by Akenzua appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.