By Prince Ephraim Odiakaosa Nwabuokei
Of Ikhonmioto – A History of Onicha Olona.
LITERARY CRITIC:
Tony Abolo
In doing this book review I am mindful of certain things. As it is being done in Benin, I have taken time to make it an interesting affair that reveals, not only the connection between the Benin Empire, the Benins and the Onicha-Olona Kingdom – an offshoot of the Benin Empire, but also the uncanny replications of events in Old Benin and how the DNA of those who left Benin, expressed themselves faithfully in Ikhonmioto, the today Onicha-Olona.
If I was making this review in where today is Anioma, I would take a different argument and presentation, as I would be raising certain historical questions which the Anioma people have to answer and address.
But whether in Benin or in Anioma, being a sociologist, we look at history and cultural history and records differently. I will take a sociologist view of this 399 page book and do what is best – which is to examine history and not tell things in a chronological order, as historians would, but distill what caused the events, the consequences and what we could learn from human beings in their actions in history.
I am tempted to start this review, by asking and revealing why this Book at all. A great, great, great grandson of Oba Ewuare I is pained that his lineage is not on the throne of the House of Ugbe in Onicha-Olona.
It therefore becomes necessary to set the records straight, by telling how the Ikhonmloto Kingdom, which derives from the ancient history of kings in Benin, got into what is Onicha-Olena, in today’s Anioma, and but for the fact of the resistance of the Onicha-Olona people or the Ikhonmloto Kingdom people against the British in the Ekumeku War.
The British may not have intruded a system when the rightful owners of the throne were resisted usurpersassisted through the aid of the British, and hence Warrant Chiefs of the Obi reigns became what people confuse as Oba in Onicha-Olona or Obi in Anioma.Sounds a lot like Benin History?
Benin averted that tragedy as Eweka 1 was able to come to the throne after Oba Ovoranmwen at Urhokpota Hall and the Lineage continued to Oba Ewuare II today.
Till date, Onicha-Olona, once the disruption of 1900, the House of.Ugbe has not been able to get back on the throne.
It is therefore to set the records straight of what happened, the curse of Prince Chika which affected all usurpers and the need for all Onicha-Olona sons and daughters to unite and restore proper order of succession and to see peace and genuine progress in Ikhonmioto Kingdom or Onicha-Olona.
But for the accident of History, the author seated here may not have been an Engineer, he may not have been in Benin today, he could have been in the Palace as Oba in Ikhonmioto Kingdom.
Hopefully this book may stir the conscience of nativesand all who hear the story in order to restore the Monarchy in Onicha-Olona.
This book is also available in a soft copy version and is available in amazon. Copious references to corroboarate every account toed on pages 345 – 346. For years, it is common knowledge as to the widespread scope of the Benin Empire, as it extended – to Lagos, up to Togo, up to Southern part of Nigeria up to River States.
However, aside Dr Asuen, Chief Edebiri, the late Esogban and Dr. O.S.B. Omoregie, there are hardly enough books to fill the gaps to help us make sense of the oral history. This book, the third volume, Ikhonmioto fills some gaps as to the connection between the Benins and places like Ubulu-uku, Obior, Ogwashi-uku, Issele-uku, Onitsha, Ibusa and Onitcho-Olona.
After reading this book, you would appreciate why Oba Ewuare II has objected to why places like Igbanke cannot be carved out into the proposed AniomaState, and even you may appreciate the logic of Senator Ned Nwoko – who wants the proposed Anioma State to become one of the states to join the Eastern States.
However today we have one account of Ikhionmioto –Okhonmina, the ancient name for Onicha-Olona kingdom in Delta State.
In writing this book, the 3rd volume, with hope for a 4th volume, the author, Prince Engr. Ephraim Odiakaosa/Nwabuokei, describes it as an ontold story of the ancient illustrious kingdom, an ofshoot of the ancient Benin kingdom, driven by a philosophy, to defy the institutional falsehoods and speak the truth of the House of Ugbe, the Royal Home of Onicha-Olona.
The book is in four sections, not chapters, but arranged according to chronicles and events and towards the end the last two sections deals with the derailment of the House of Ugbe and emphasis on what should guide young Olona people and guide the Delta State Government to take the right trajectory to restore the Ikhonmioto kingdom.
For those not too familiar with Benin history and present day Anioma, a historical epochal arrangement would make the book an easier understanding and read.
The opening appendixes has a sweep of history when a herbalist Chima came from the eastern flank of the empire in the time of Ewuare I. He endeared himself to the kingdom that the king gave his daughter Uvbi to him as a wife.
But human greed for what it is, Chima wanted the wife to join in the plot to kill the father, the king. For refusing to join his yahoo yahoo plus, plot, Chima murdered the wife.
Naturally he escaped and Benin warriors were inhot in pursuit, as we read in section one.The pursuit took the warriors to places earlier called Obvior (now Obior), to a place they rested called Ogbe Oba (meaning Oba owns the place), now corrupted in Ibo to Ogbe Obi.
Chima who was earlier made an Enogie in Benin fled with his staff of office. The warrior party went in that pursuit, a party in which Ohaeze, the grandson of Oba Ewuare participated, to places now known today as Akukwu Igbo, Atuma, Obompa, Ezi.
The warriors after the pursuit only stopped when Chima submitted to the authority of Oba Ewuare I. As you would expect, in those days, the warriors settled in far away place like Ishiakpe (a corruption of the Benin, Ehaekpen).
How did Onicha-Olena kingdom came about? This is the connection. Oba Esigie passed on at about 1547,Orhogbua who was in Olona had to return to Iduu Edo to became the next Oba.
Orhogbua’s younger brother, Ugbe was left to take care of the land in the East of the Empire while the OfoAhaeze that was lost in the bush, when sent to Oba Orhogbua, he sent words through Prince Issele back to Ugbe to make Aliminiugo the Iyase as reward for finding the Ofo, now called IhuaniOhaeze, a shrine still in Onicha-Olona till date.
All the towns and villages under the rule of Oba Ugbewere christened ‘EnuAni’ – These were the towns and villages, communities surrounding Onicha-Olona as headquarters.
The name Onicha-Olona has some interesting story around it. After the Benin Warriors crossed the River (Today’s River Niger) and subdued Ohaeze and his father’s followers, Umu Ewuare (children of Ewuare) learnt from Ohaeze that he abandoned the staff of Office in the forest, the Benin warriors kept some warriors to guard round about them while the rest of the warriors headed back to their camp, on the western side of the river.
On their way back, they saw an oil bean tree called Ukpaka. They realized the Ukpaka or Olomina tree was dead.
Hence they named the place Ikhonmioto Okhonmina, translated later as Onochie. Olomina signifying, conquest of enemies as well as the evil tree – Olomina.
The tree location is the present-day Onicha-Olona, so it was through migration and military expedition that Olona and the other eastern location got Benis as settlers.
The Kingship of Ugbe commenced on 1550 – as the first king in Onicha-Olona and the entire today Anioma, then called Oba Li Isi Ka or Oba na iduul Edo. Knowing the importance of the Ofo, he divided up the Ofo into Six, in order to designate the headship of the surrounding towns, while Prince Issele with his Ado Odibo handed him from Oba Orogbua was made leader of Issele-Oligbo village, today’s Issele-Ukwu.
The King Oba created a hereditary succession plan, following a geroncratic order and are listed out on page 48- and all belong to the Idumu-Ugbe Quarters.
Traditional offices were instituted. Leading was the King, Oba, then there was Omu-Iyeki, head of all women. Interestingly, there was Oka Igun – Chief Technologist.
Then there were Obu Nze Ogbes, the Edionwere, usually the oldest man in the village.
All seem so similar to the known system of organization among the Benin’s – such names that resonate ancestry and affinity with Benin.
There are interesting pages in the book which reveals pictorials of the Layout of what is today Onicha-Olona – which is similar to even today Benin layout – with the Ring Road and circular Roads – a direct copy from the ancient City Iduu.
The equivalent of the ring road is where they call Abu Ano, a circular ring road from which, four roads extend out.
A goggle earth map pictorial of today’s town outlay reveals the settings.
Another pictorial further displays Ukhure, called OsisiUkhure, Royal caps, Ada and Eben of the first Oba – Oba Ugbe, which the author’s father inherited, a statue in honour of the first Omu of Onicha-Olona, HRH Princess Olo, the sister of Oba Ugbe and daughter of Oba Esigie are all pictorial displayed.
Something the book does not fail to deal with is the famous Ekumeku War against British invasion, which brought the town to prominence.
Just like we have honoured Asoro in a statue in Benin, there was a listing off the heroes of the war, in a Hall of Fame kind of listing.
Wish we find that that kind of listing in Benin Historical books. We also have a chronicle of the kings. From Idumau Ogbe Ogbele and the order of succession.
There was a list of seven kings up untill Oba Okpoko who when he died, was embalmed in a system called Mgbidi. It was while the embalmment was on that Osakwe Ani who was made a regent, attempted with the aid of the British between 1900 – 1901 to ascend the throne.It was from then on – Olona started to have Obis– not Obas.
But what is most interesting, is that Prince Chika who was to have rightly ascended the throne after Oba Okpoko laid on a curse on all irregular persons who claim the ancestral throne.
The curse persists till date as we read of one mishap or the other in all usurpers. This takes us to where the author has found it necessary to detail what befell the throne and why there will be no peace and orderly progress in Ikhonmioto (Onicha Olona) until the error is corrected and the rightful heirs to the throne are restored to their rightful inheritance. And interesting development occurred in the history of Onicha Olona.
There was the listing of the Obis, right after Prince Chika’s ascension was aborted, from the 1900s right up to 1994 when Obi Okwuzi, the recorded 17th king, and beyond, was the rise of the Mkpalor group – a group of men of money and influence who wanted to influence the making of a king.
They were aided by the British, who found it helpful to destroy the Obaship and create Obiship who would do their bidding.
The Mkpalor/Ikpalo/Okpala Bisi society that created the disruption to the orderly succession in Ikhonmioto is from the influence of the Igbos who migrated into now part of what today is Anioma from Nyi.
Today Ibusa – is actually Igbo-no nu uzo, Ogwashi – Uku, Ubulu-uku all these are the migration and intermarriages and influences that persist even till today,You may want to ask – what did the inheritors of the Ugbe kingdom do?
In 2019, the Delta State government was to present a staff of office to one Chief Christopher Uzu Deji. That was not to be as in 2020, Prince Ephraim Nwabuokei the father of the author instituted a legal action asking the Government to revert the throne to his family.
While the court proceedings were on, on June 26th 2024, just last year, Chief Diji died an event the author describes as God’s intervention. Or do we say prince chuka’s course?
It is now abundantly clear that denying the rightful inheritors of the Ikhonmioto Okhonmina throne is fraught with risks. What else could be done? It is the hope in the concluding part of the book that the Onicha Olona Youth Association under the author’s guidance, would nudge the Delta State government to act on what is historically right, in concert with the Elders in order to bring this historical contentious issue to a close.
This book, which aside its factual recording would provide a safe anchor plus, as the author often referred in the book, for those who want to authenticate the facts, they can be corroborated in the archives of Ugbe Royal family of Onichaolena.
So much has been mentioned of House of Ugbe. The Ugbe is merely on abbreviation of Ugbekun. So you see, the fruits of the tree does not fall from the tree. And hence in Section 4 of the book, agenealogy of kings is stated out of the earliest reigns of Obas in Ikhonmioto.
The list sets out from the Pre-Imperial Benin 1180 – 1440 AD starting from Emeka I who reigned for 34 years from 1200 to 1244 AD.
The imperial Benin began from the days of Ewuare the great, 1440-1475 AD right up to Orogbua. The records traverses to the first Ikhonmioto (Onicha ani kingdom from 1550-1900 – ending with Oba Okpoko 1845 -1900. We are able to see the records when the British rule intersected from 1900 – 1960, Olona had Obis (not obas) who the author describes as warrant Chiefs (a period covering Okpala Bisi era, to the post colonial era inclusive of Chief Christopher Uzu Diji (Onihe) (2007 – 2024) – all showing the connection between Benin history and where it bifurcates into the Onicha Olena history.
In terms of style, the author look at the history as told him by his father and first tells the history in simple straightforward narrative from its origins to the disruption and brings it up to 2024.
It has notes set out for emphasis of narration and each section ends with a summary for those who either want a recap or cannot zoom through the book easily.
The Author acknowledges that there could be errors. I found some, but they were more of spelling errors, but not so many though.
I would recommend the book for those sociologists and historians who are interested in finding more about Benins and the Diaspora Benis.
But importantly I would commend it to all Anioma persons as they try to understand their identity, but importantly all Onicha Olona citizens that they seek to bring to closure the dislocation that occurred in 1900, so that when the rightful princes want to come to the throne, they will come to Benin, to perform the needed rites to ascend the throne a ceremony the Obis do not do, and hence ancestral blessings are not upon them. This is a book on unity, peace and progress and the continuation of the House of Ugbe Kingdom.
Nice one.
Nice work
Very good