By Osaigbovo Iguobaro
The recent deft move by Mrs Blacky Omoregie to maintain her grip as the (Iye Eki) — Head of the Edo Market Women Association, through protestation before the traditional Emotan and Queen Iden shrines, both at the King’s square in Benin City was seen as being smart as it was hypocritical.
Madam Omoregie, a scion of the Ogiamien family led other protesters in prayers from Urhokpota Hall to the King’s square where she smashed an egg at the Emotan shrine and thereafter invited Benin ancestral spirits to bear her witness at the traditional heritage sites in Oredo Local Government Area.
The reason for the protestation was the alleged planned installation of a rival Iye Eki to be addressed as “Iyaloja” — a Yoruba coinage meaning ‘Head of market’, which Madam Omoregie described as an aberration.
Interestingly, while addressing Journalists at the NUJ Centre in Benin, the embattled market leader said members of the association were not partisan but had always aligned with any ruling political party in the State.
In her determination not to play a second fiddle to external influence, she sought to enjoy tacit support and public sympathy. Madam Omoregie, declared that the Oba of Benin is the traditional owner of all markets within the Benin speaking areas of the State.
Reiterating that the association had been in existence for many decades, since the time of Oba Akenzua, Madam Omoregie explained that whenever any leader of the association died, her deputy is expected to take over.
She disclosed that she became the leader of the market women during the reign of Oba Erediauwa and had overseen the affairs of the association without any crisis.
She also said, “Na Oba of Benin na him get us for here; na him get market. Na him be our grandfather. Na Governor, any Governor wey come, na him be our small papa.”
No doubt that here is a truism to Madam Omoregie’s assertion with regard to ownership right of markets and the selection process of Iye Eki.
However, her obvious subtle manipulation and support for the State government on the supposedly clear issues of recent market demolition and the fire incidents, pitched her against members of the Association.
Madam Omoregie’s alleged insensitivity to the plight of the vast majority of members of the association obviously created sharp cleavages between her leadership and the followership.
The build up to this loss of confidence in Madam Omoregie’s leadership began from the time she allegedly deceptively heeded the State government’s directive to persuade the distressed traders who lost millions in stocks to the burnt Oba and Ekiosa markets to relocate to nearby alternative markets without providing adequate and commensurate succour.
The distressed traders, abandoned by the Iye Eki, subsequently obtained loans from banks to continue to eke a living following government’s dilly dally tactics on the promised construction of ultra modern markets.
In April 2023, the aggrieved traders in their thousands cried to the Palace to appeal to the Oba, Ewuare II, being the Grand Patron of Edo market women association, to urgently prevail on the State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki to suspend the planned demolition exercise.
However, while talks were ongoing, Madam Omoregie refused answering several Palace invitations for engagement over the matter, while the State Government rolled out earth moving equipment to demolish the markets, leaving the heavily distressed traders traumatised and abandoned by their beloved association.
The last straw was the humiliation of the traders in Edo Government House when a certain male trader was beaten up by suspected political thugs, and arrested and made to sign an undertaking to back out of the peaceful agitation before he was set free. He was accused of wanting to instigate the traders against the State government.
The obviously flustered traders had no option than to seek better leadership alternative, which brought about the lingering internal leadership tussle.
Commenting on the nagging leadership tussle, a Benin based lawyer, Mr Jefferson Uwaoghiren on his Facebook page that: “It’s deeply concerning to note that Edo APC wilfully allowed Madam Iyabo Tinubu to play leadership politics in our ancient markets in an election year. It’s going to be complicated o”.
The traders’ loss of confidence and rejection of Madam Omoregie’s leadership only snowballed into the recent speculation that Iya-loja of Lagos State had concluded plans to inaugurate a new leadership among the aggrieved Edo market women whose sudden alignment and realignment has unsettled not only Mrs Omoregie, but the State government.
Edo top market women leaders, loyal to the Iya-loja wing of the factional group behind the mask have chosen to lie low in their plans to overturn a political order and mount pressure to persuade State actors to act having secretly inaugurated the parallel Edo market traders executive, knowing the difficulties in making an omelette without breaking eggs.
Apparently buoyed by government support,
Madam Omoregie’s recent heavy-handed tactics is no doubt meant to attract the sympathy of the Benin Royal Court, which several invitations for engagement and amicable resolution of the face-off between her executive and aggrieved market women she had flagrantly ignored few months back.
Will Madam Omoregie be able to wallow out of this her latest socio-political diametric conundrum theatrics she has staged or will it be a mere situation of just dancing on the head of a pin?
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