Good Morning and Happy Friday POU!
The Oba of Benin is the traditional ruler and the custodian of the culture of the Edo people and all Edoid people. The then Kingdom of Benin (not to be confused with the modern-day and unrelated Republic of Benin, which was then known as Dahomey) has been and continues to be mostly populated by the Edo (also known as Benin ethnic group).
In 1897, a British military force, of approximately 1,200 men, under the command of Sir Harry Rawson, mounted the Benin punitive Expedition. The force dispatched in retaliation to the ambush of a British party, at Ugbine village near Gwato, on the 4th January 1897, by a group of Benin soldiers, acting without orders from the Oba; the ambush had led to the deaths of all but two of the British party. The British force captured the capital of the Kingdom of Benin, sacking and burning the city while forcing the Oba of Benin, Ovonramwen, into a six-month exile. The expeditionary force consisted of both indigenous soldiers and British officers based in colonial-era Nigeria. Numerous artworks (collectively known as the Benin Bronzes) looted from the city palace were stolen and sold off to defray the costs of the expedition. Ovonramwen died in 1914, his throne never having been restored to him. His son, grandson and now his great-grandson, however, all preserved their title and status as traditional rulers in modern-day Nigeria.
Oba Of Benin Palace
Ewuare II (born October 20, 1953) was crowned the Oba of Benin on 20 October 2016. He is the 40th Oba, a title created for the Head of State (Emperor) of the Benin Empire at some time between 1180 and 1300.
Eheneden Erediauwa, as he was known before becoming Oba of Benin, attended Edo College in Benin from 1965 to 1967 and Immaculate Conception College from 1968 to 1970. He got his A-Level Certificate from South Thames College, London. He graduated with an Economics degree from the University of Wales, UK and holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Rutgers University Graduate School, New Jersey, USA.
Ewuare II chose his name as tribute to the 15th-century Ewuare I. Since his ascension to the throne, Ewuare II has worked closely with Godwin Obaseki, the current governor of Edo State. Like many of his predecessors, he started his rule by demanding that the spiritually and historically important Benin Bronzes that were stolen in 1897 by the British Empire be returned to his people.
In 2021, the University of Aberdeen approved the repatriation of one of the Benin Bronzes, which was handed to a delegation that included representatives of Ewuare II on 28 October 2021. He received it, and a bronze cockerel returned by Jesus College, Cambridge, at a ceremony in the royal palace in Benin City on 19 February 2022.
The Oba’s wives, at his coronation in 2016
By the time he was crowned Oba, Ewuare was married to Queen Iroghama (Obazuaye N’erie), Princess Iyayiota (Obazuwa N’erie) and Princess Ikpakpa (Ohe N’erie).