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Monday, May 06, 2019
Monday, March 04, 2019
NIGERIA OOO!- NEW ABUJA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TERMINAL IS "MIND BLOWING"!
Dr. Joe Abah (@DrJoeAbah) tweeted at 2:04 PM on Sun, Mar 03, 2019:
Good afternoon. I have some good news. The new Abuja International Airport terminal is...mind blowing! As we alighted from the aircraft into the glass tunnel, you know that smell that usually hits you when you land in Nigeria? It wasn’t there. The AC in the tunnel worked.
https://twitter.com/DrJoeAbah/status/1102192922206916608?s=03
Muhammad Ali on mixing up the Black Race oooo!
Friday, February 22, 2019
Monday, February 18, 2019
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
MALCOLM X SPEAKS 9DAYS BEFORE HE WAS KILLED !
Friday, January 25, 2019
BACK TO AFRICA OOO!-Dynast Amir (@searchforuhuru) tweeted at 6:00 PM on Sat, Jan 19, 2019: This is video of James Speights being welcomed home to Africa as a prince. James is a Black American who recently traced his roots back to the Kingdom of Allada in Benin-THEN THEY MADE HIM A PRINCE OOO!
Check out @searchforuhuru’s Tweet: https://twitter.com/searchforuhuru/status/1086669749822676992?s=09
Dynast Amir (@searchforuhuru) tweeted at 6:00 PM on Sat, Jan 19, 2019:
This is video of James Speights being welcomed home to Africa as a prince. James is a Black American who recently traced his roots back to the Kingdom of Allada in Benin. He then was able… https://t.co/VuFwoSRHS4
(https://twitter.com/searchforuhuru/status/1086669749822676992?s=03)
Get the official Twitter app at https://twitter.com/download?s=13
Wednesday, January 16, 2019
OBAMA OOOO!- Immortalized Outside United States in 3 Places!
Thursday, November 15, 2018
BLEACH AND DIE OOO- OMOTOLA WILL NOT DIE CAUSE SHE HAS STOPPED BLEACHING ATI RETURNED TO HER ORIGINAL BEAUTIFUL BLACKNESS OOO!- FROM 9JAHYPER.COM
BLACK MAN OOO!--MILLION MAN MARCH OOO!-A VIDEO TO REMEMBER THE BLACK MAN EVENT!
As Salaam Alaikum (Peace be upon you) | Over 80 years of service and counting
About The Million Man March
A Glimpse of Heaven
The Million Man March, Oct. 16, 1995
Inspired and led by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, more than a million Black men gathered in Washington, D.C. to declare their right to justice to atone for their failure as men and to accept responsibility as the family head.
On that day, Monday, October 16, 1995 there was a sea of Black men, many who stood for 10 hours or more sharing, learning, listening, fasting, hugging, crying, laughing, and praying. The day produced a spirit of brotherhood, love, and unity like never before experienced among Black men in America. All creeds and classes were present: Christians, Muslims, Hebrews, Agnostics, nationalists, pan-Africanists, civil rights organizations, fraternal organizations, rich, poor, celebrities and people from nearly every organization, profession and walk of life were present. It was a day of atonement, reconciliation and responsibility.
“The Million Man March was one of the most historic organizing and mobilizing events in the history of Black people in the United States,” said Chicago-based Dr. Conrad Worrill, who was a main organizer of the March and the current president emeritus of the National United Black Front.
Congress shut down that day and President William Clinton was “out of town.” Mainstream media in American and media outlets from around the world were watching. The world did not see thieves, criminals and savages as usually portrayed through mainstream music, movies and other forms of media; on that day, the world saw a vastly different picture of the Black man in America. The world saw Black men demonstrating the willingness to shoulder the responsibility of improving themselves and the community. There was neither one fight nor one arrest that day. There was no smoking or drinking. The Washington Mall, where the March was held, was left as clean as it was found. Two of the best descriptions of the Million Man March include the word “miracle” and the phrase “a glimpse of heaven.”
Along with those who attended, many men, women and children spent the day at home watching the event on television and participating in the day of fasting and absence. Workers did not go to work that day, children did not go to school that day and no one engaged in sport or play.
During Min. Farrakhan’s message to the millions gathered in the mall and those watching on television around the world that day, he explained to the world the need for atonement and he laid out the eight steps of atonement. Thus, for the past 18 years, people gather, reflect and observe the Holy Day of Atonement.
At the conclusion of the March, the millions of men repeated a pledge given by Minister Farrakhan that focused on a personal commitment to be responsible and active in improving the Black community. The purpose was for Black men to take responsibility for their own actions and to help develop their own communities, and to atone for their lack of responsibility. Many of the men assembled took the pledge given that day seriously and have been actively involved in making their word bond ever since.
“The March changed my life and my perspective of life in so many ways. I (gained) a tremendous commitment to the betterment of my culture, and a heightened capacity to care and to love. I am now trying to live by the code of honor and the right conditions set forth in the pledge that I took,” said Glenn Towery, owner of Fairy God Brother Productions and Film Company, LLC that produced the DVD, Long Live the Spirit, a documentary about the Million Man March.
“I have formed my own company and am striving to create culturally enriching productions for African Americans and the world. Thank you Minister Farrakhan for being a conduit to God that allowed such a magnificent idea as the Million Man March to come through your person into fruition. Thank you Benjamin Chavis and all of the organizers, planners and conveners of the Million Man March.”
Immediately following the March, roughly 1.7 million Black men registered to vote and organizational memberships skyrocketed—the NAACP, churches and mosques reported huge increases and the National Association of Black Social Workers reported a flood of 13,000 applications to adopt Black children.
The spirit of the March continues to this day.
“Since the Million Man March, October has become a special month for me,” said Dr. Ayo Maat, Organizer in Green and Disability Issues. “During the first march, I kept my children out of school and they stayed up all night and watched the event the entire day without complaint or fatigue. Since then, I have been working to instill the spirit of atonement and uplift of the race.”
“The spirit, energy, and the ideas that were articulated on that day still resonate among the activists and organizers and thinkers and the masses of Black men who participated in 1995,” said Dr. Worrill. “Although it may not appear that the energy and spirit and impact of that day is still with us; it has manifested itself with us today as Black men are engaged in numerous projects inspired by the Million Man March that can be documented.”
In another public display of accountability, the Million Man March was the first ever public march to provide an independent Financial Audit of its operations.
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DIABETES IS KILLING AFRICANS OOO!-EAT WHITE PEOPLE'S FOOD, GET WHITE PEOPLE'S DISEASES!
Jooo nobody mentions the real reason AFRICANS are dying of diabetes ooo! They now eat white people's food-white sugar,sweets, white bread, biscuits...Eat their food you get their diseases!
Monday, November 12, 2018
Watch "ESU Is Not The Devil: Mistranslation Has Africans Demonizing Their Own Spirituality" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/iYx9YWxfOjk
Tuesday, November 06, 2018
BLACK MEN OOO!-IDRIS ELBA-"SEXIEST MAN ALIVE"?-PEOPLE MAGAZINE COVER OOO!
Every year, People magazine designates its “Sexiest Man Alive.”And every few years, we agree with them; the last time being in 2016, when the magazine rightly honored Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
This year, we’re saying a collective “yasssss!” at the sight of perpetual thirst trap Idris Elba flashing his incredible grin from the coveted annual cover for 2018, after many years in the top 100 (including a #2 spot in 2013).
In fact, it’s an honor many would say is long overdue for the multi-talented Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award winner—especially those who’ve been following Idris since his breakout role as Stringer Bell on The Wire. Since that time, his swoon-worthiness has only increased, along with his prestige. Matter of fact, do you know that he’s an Officer of the Order of the British Empire? That officially makes him a “Sir”—to which we say, “Yes, Sir.”
Of winning the title this year, Idris was adorably real with People about his initial reaction: “I was like, ‘Come on, no way. Really?’ Looked in the mirror, I checked myself out. I was like, ‘Yeah, you are kind of sexy today.’ But to be honest, it was just a nice feeling. It was a nice surprise — an ego boost for sure.”
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Frankly, it’s an ego boost for us, too—if only to validate our excellent taste. So, how did it (finally) happen? Let People’s editorial team tell you below, as Idris gets revealing about his celebrity crush (Serena Williams, who he says is “pretty hot—and badass”); the last person who (enviably) saw him naked, fiancée Sabrina Dhowre; what inspired his impromptu proposal; how fatherhood factors into his high-profile life; and how he grew from an awkward kid into his well-muscled physique—which he now credits to his kickboxing regimen.
PeopleTV
And while all that is great, after seeing a tease of his photo spread, we’re pretty sure we won’t be doing much reading of the article when the issue hits stands on Friday, November 9.
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But first, the midterms—which Idris agrees is even more important than drooling over him. Frankly, we’re considering his honor a good omen, because if People can get this right, maybe people can get it right at polls, too.
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https://thegrapevine.theroot.com/yes-sir-people-magazine-names-idris-elba-sexiest-man-1830251715
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maiysha Kai
Maiysha Kai is Managing Editor of The Glow Up and your average Grammy-nominated goddess next door. Minneapolis born, Chicago bred, New York built. Nuance is her superpower.
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Sent from my iPad. DUDU DUN ooo!
Sunday, November 04, 2018
BLACK MAN RUNS FOR GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA OOO!--WANTS TO KILL"STAND YOUR GROUND LAW"!!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BpsVIn3DRbW/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=9mk8cygx9krp
Saturday, November 03, 2018
FARRAKHAN SAYS "BLACK MAN-YOU ARE CHOSEN"OOOO!
BUHARI OOOO!-OBASANJO'SON JOINS BUHARI OOOO!
https://twitter.com/DeleMomodu/status/1058277054079291398?s=09
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. SPEAKS ON "NEW PHASE OF CIVIL RIGHTS STRUGGLE"-11 MONTHS BEFORE HIS ASSASSINATION!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xsbt3a7K-8&feature=youtu.be
MLK Talks 'New Phase' Of Civil Rights Struggle, 11 Months Before His Assassination | NBC News
Published on Apr 4, 2018
In 1967, at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, Martin Luther King spoke with NBC News' Sander Vanocur about the "new phase" of the struggle for "genuine freedom".
Top comments
Kurt Willems6 months ago
Just have to say this: The fact that there are (at this time) 14 people who have given this a thumbs down is heartbreaking. I pray for all of my neighbors of color.
Reply 166
View 23 replies
A FACE FOR RADIO5 months ago
A meme about MLK said: MLK wasn’t killed for having a dream, he was killed because he WOKE UP. FACT!!!!
Reply 100
View 2 replies
Jaiafrica6 months ago
I find these videos of him way more impactful than the I have a dream speech.
Reply 203
View 16 replies
Ian Sun6 months ago
This should be required and repeated viewing in all public schools.
Reply 212
View 20 replies
CRC Singleton6 months ago
This should be a mandatory study in our schools. The entire country should know their history.
Reply 149
View 8 replies
Chaylen Patricia5 months ago
This is why he was assassinated! Martin was not assassinated because he had a dream, but because he woke up ! And they will never play his last speeches of his life because he whole philosophy changed to more of a Malcom x approach. This is why they always just play the I have dream speech
Reply 22
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CRC Singleton6 months ago
His mild, intelligent, clear and strong voice speaks louder even today.
Reply 140
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TYRONE THOMPKINS6 months ago
51 years later the same thing
Reply 112
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Purpose Driveñ6 months ago
He was definitely called by God and anointed for this purpose. Intelligence is incredible.
Reply 83
David W. Johnson6 months ago
Awesome footage. He would have made a great president.
Reply 28
View reply
Natlleata Williams6 months ago
Every time I hear him speak, my spirit is moved. So eloquent, with a tone of honesty and integrity. He is still, very impactful. His ability to articulate in such a simple, yet profound way is amazing. Amazing man
Reply 53
View reply
ROMEY RUSH6 months ago (edited)
Every word used via question and answer had absolute significance. One of the best interviews I have ever seen.
Reply 32
Dereka H.6 months ago
Every issue he is speaking on is still going on.
Reply 23
Sama Alghali6 months ago
This is so relevant today, 2018. It's a referendum on the difference between overt conservative racism and liberal covert racism, and how both are detrimental to the success of the black man/woman.
Reply 25
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Merrill Scott6 months ago
He is so intelligent.
Reply 22
A FACE FOR RADIO5 months ago
Malcolm X spoke about how viscous and racist the North was.
Reply 15
Libra Smith6 months ago
I’m so triggered when people say that slaves were immigrants. There are still people today who’ve convinced themselves that.
Reply 14
Flat Foot6 months ago
Amazing he is so ahead of his time
Reply 42
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KEENster D6 months ago
He was incredible. What a brilliant man and everything he said is so true. His death was such a huge loss.
Reply 20
Ignigma6 months ago
And yet incompetent Caucasian male squandered $16 trillion in a few years
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ORIGINAL BLACK INDIANS FROM INDIA-THE ANDAMANESE PEOPLE ARE DYING OFF -FROM FACE2FACE AFRICA
From Face2Face Africa
BY FARIDA DAWKINS, at 05:00 pm, October 23, 2018, HISTORY
The almost extinct dark-skinned Andamanese people of India who are also called the ‘Negritios.
Andamanese children
The Andamanese people are referred to as the ‘Negritos’ that reside in India’s Andaman and the Nicobar Islands in the southeastern portion of the Bay of Bengal. The name ‘Negritos’ is derived from their dark skin tone and physique. They settled in their current location during the Last Glacial Maximum, approximately 26,000 years ago and lived in isolation up until the 18th century incorporating little to no contact with the outside world.
After mingling with other civilizations, most Andamanese died and 7,000 survived. Now it said that only 400 to 450 Andamanese people live today. They are made up of the Great Andamanese, Jarawas of the Great Andaman archipelago, the Jangil of Rutland Island, the Onge of Little Andaman and the Sentinelese of North Sentinel Island.
The Andamanese are considered a scheduled tribe or belonging to a caste of disenfranchised Indians.
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The Andamanese are comprised of the five large tribes mentioned above; the Great Andamanese on Strait Island are speculated to be 50 in number, the Jarawa of the Jarawas of the Great Andaman archipelago, the Jangil of Rutland Island, the Onge of Little Andaman, and the Sentinelese of North Sentinel Island now residing in the West Coast and central parts of South and Middle Andaman Islands are 380 in number as of 2011, the Jangil or Rutland Jarawa of Rutland Island were extinct in 1921, the Onge of Little Andaman have 101 members as of 2011 and the Sentinelese of North Sentinel Island is estimated to have 100 to 200 tribe members.
History
Theory suggests that during the Great Coastal Migration or the Southern Dispersal, populations along the southern coast of Asia, the Arabian Peninsula via Persia and India to Southeast Asia to Oceania crossed East Africa through the Bab-el-Mandeb straits 70,000 years ago.
Though Chaubey and Endicott (2013) disagree and say that the Andamanese people migrated from Africa due to the time frame, what else explains their physical features of dark skin, frizzy hair and short stature? One can venture to say their way of life and attributes can be compared to the Pygmy people.
Dental structure states that the structure the Andamanese people’s teeth showed that they were from Africa and South Asia. Further study concluded that dental morphology was similar to that of South Asians.
The cranial formation of the tribe indicates it is similar to that of Africans.
Originally, the Andamanese were hunter-gatherers hunting pigs and fish using bows, adzes – which are cutting tools similar to axes that date back to the stone age and wooden harpoons. They did not know how to generate fire, instead, they used preserved embers from carved out trees as a result of lightning strikes.
The Andamanese, having no permanent or temporary housing structure instead slept on mats or leaves. They also used leaves and hibiscus fiber to make clothing.
They have been documented to also use paint on their bodies.
Oko-pai-ad or tribal members thought to have super-natural powers assisted other members with healthcare using herbal medicine made by medicinal plants.
The Andamanese people speak Aka-Jeru, Ongan or Jarawa-Ongan and Sentinelese – which can be spoken by 50 individuals. Not much is known about the Sentinelese language because tribe members are completely cut off from the rest of the world.
During the British invasion of the southeastern regions of South Andaman from 1789 to 1793, the majority of the Andamanese people perished due to alcoholism, pneumonia, measles and influenza. In 1867 during what was dubbed the Andaman Islands Expedition, British colonialists avenged the death of sailors by the Andamanese by killing them off the Onge. By 1875, the tribe was close to extinction.
In a full-on attempt to obliterate the tribe, the British and Indian governments worked together to establish punitive codes that allowed them to impinge upon Andamanese territory. This exacerbated the dwindling population.
The Andamanese have no formal governance structure and make decisions using group consensus.
When visited by outsiders, the instinct of the Andamanese is to attack, in some cases, some have been killed. In 1996, attacks ceased when settlers took a Jarawa teenager named Enmei to the hospital to nurse his broken foot.
The Andamanese continue to keep strangers at arms-length so there is no current information on how they live their life presently.
FARIDA DAWKINS , Staff Writer
Farida Dawkins is a blogger, video content creator and staff writer at Face2Face Africa. She enjoys writing about relatable and controversial lifestyle issues that pertain to women in Africa and the African diaspora.
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
THE BENIN MONARCHY AN ANTHOLOGY OF BENIN HISTORY: A BOOK REVIEW
 Vanguard News
Benin: The ancient kingdom of warriors
By Osa Mbonu
My task here is to rewrite, in just one newspaper page, this 569-page historical, cultural, artistic and monarchial encyclopedia printed in 8 or 9 point size letters, so that my readers, as usual, will feel they have read the entire compendium. It is such a daunting task that can only be achieved by a master. Yet, no such successful compression of this 1,500-year of history of one of the greatest ancient civilizations can compensate for the knowledge derivable from reading the entire volume. But do not be deceived, reading of the entire volume of “The Benin Monarchy: An Anthology of Benin History” is not a day’s job, perhaps not weeks’ or months’ depending on the reader’s passion and time available to him. In any case, it is a book no one can afford not to read. Muted, yet so glaring, instructive and worthy of reflection in the history of Benin kingdom, is how a little piece of technology – the firearm – in the hands of the British conquered all the physical strength of Benin warriors, their voodoos, mysticisms, magic, incantations, shrines, human sacrifices and many other forms of superstitions generally associated with Africa, even up to this day in some p-laces. It is a credit to the throne of Benin kingdom that educated Obas have, to a very large extent done away with many of those negative aspects of the Benin culture. If those shrines and human sacrifices could not save Benin people in 1897 from the hands of the British and their muskets and mortars, of what point is it to keep them? An English historian had argued that history is not just the record of past events but the record of change. There is no history in the movement of the hands of the clock since it was invented many centuries ago, for instance, because the movement has ever been clockwise. There could have been history there if at some point the hands of the clock started moving anticlockwise. The history of Benin people, like the history of man, is the history of change. When we sift out fables about men like the first son of Osanobua and Oduduwa dropping from heaven and of the Benin or Ile-Ife being the center and cradles of the world, what we have left are factual stories of ancient men who migrated from other places, settled down in the rain forests around the land known today as Benin, and established small pockets of settlements called villages. Man had led a wandering life in search of food until he was compelled by agriculture to settle down at one place. Those splinter settlements, after existing for a long time without any central ruler like a king, either voluntarily agreed to surrender their independence to one powerful warrior or group of warriors in exchange for protection, or were forced to do so. The result was the emergence of the Ogiso dynasty established around AD 500 beginning with King Ogiso Igodo which saw the reign of 31 Kings before the collapse of that dynasty after King Ogiso Owodo was banished and a period of interregnum followed. At this point, some sequence of events occurred which became, up to this day, subjects of controversy between Benin and the Yoruba people. The Benin people believe that Oduduwa, called Prince Ekaladerhan, was the only son of that exiled King Ogiso Owodo. They believe that Ekaladerhan (or Oduduwa) exiled himself from Benin even before his father, King Ogiso Owodo was banished from Benin. Ekaladerhan or Oduduwa went to and founded Ile-Ife where he became King. After King Ogiso Owodo was deposed and banished, Benin people went in search of the only son of the King, Prince Ekaladerhan (Oduduwa) with the aim of persuading him to return to Benin to succeed his banished father. Instead, Ekaladerhan (Oduduwa) sent his son Prince Oranmiyan to Benin. But there was an administrator named Ogiamen, appointed by the people of Benin to administer Benin during that period of interregnum. Like what the late Gen. Sani Abacha did during Ernest Shonekan’s interim government, Ogiamien was nursing his own ambition – to create his own dynasty. He appointed his son to succeed him. Even though he was resisted by Benin people, Ogiamien and other warlords who contested the throne troubled Oranmiyan and made his stay uncomfortable so much that Oranmiyan decided to return to Ile-Ife, describing Benin as Ile-Ibinu (the land of vexation). The Benin account has it that Oranmiyan reigned as Benin King from AD 1,170 though his palace was at Usama, an outskirt of the city, due to the crisis. When he eventually left, he left behind his Benin queen, Erinmwinde who gave birth to a son, who later became Oba Eweka the First in the year AD 1,200. Historians regard the beginning of the reign of Oranmiyan as the beginning of the second dynasty of kings in Benin kingdom. One implication of the Benin line of history is that Oduduwa, whom the Yoruba claim as their father, did not fall down from heaven after all as they claim. Nobody has ever fallen down from heaven. Even Jesus who is believed to have come from heaven had to be born into the world by a woman. Yoruba people believe that Oduduwa who fell down from heaven had a son who went on a military campaign and founded the Benin Kingdom. But from the Benin perspective, we know that before the return of Oranmiyan to Benin, the Ogiso dynasty in Benin, which saw the reign of 31 kings, had already come to pass. Of these two conflicting historical accounts of the Benin and Yoruba Kingdoms, the Benin version appears to be more tenable. Between AD 1440 and 1606, was the era of warrior kings. This corresponded to the period of Oba Ewuare the Great and Oba Ehengbuda. Apart from the brief reigns of Oba Ezoti and Oba Olua, the rest of the kings that fall within this period were all warrior kings who led their own military forces to battle. These fierce warrior kings went on military campaigns, conquering other peoples and expanding Benin territories and influences which resulted in empire building. Alake urges politicians to put people first The Benin capacity to successfully overrun other people’s lands has been attributed to their trade with Europeans at Ughoton, the Benin port, which bequeathed them with guns and ammunition. The Benin Empire at its zenith was said to have extended to River Niger in the east and south, into Yoruba lands (Oyo) and what came to be known as Dahomey. The 1897 British Invasion The British invasion of Benin in 1897, or what is popularly called The Benin Punitive Expedition, is certainly the most narrated aspect of the Benin history. Needless to recount it here in detail, there are, however, tremendous lessons to be learned from that sad historical event for those who are wont to learn. For men never learn from history. First, the Benin, as that time of British invasion, was an Empire. An Empire is just a fanciful word that describes a bully geographical entity that takes pleasure in overrunning and pillaging other geographical entities for economic and political gains. Britain was also an Empire, in fact, the biggest Empire in the world as at then. While Benin, the lesser empire was happily overrunning and pillaging her neighboring enclaves, it did never occur to her that a higher human power (not even God) was at hand to emasculate her for similar motives. Prince Idugbowa who became the Oba Ovonramwen N’Ogbaisi (1888-1914) was the unfortunate King on the Benin throne when series of events brewed and culminated in war between Benin and Britain. The war, in summary, was caused by economic factors – the British traders and most of their African collaborators wanted unimpeded access to the forests and lands of Benin which they saw as land flowing with milk and honey, but the powerful and independent Oba refused to allow that to happen. The Oba, as usual, was bent on controlling trade and charging custom duties. Before the punitive expedition, however, Oba Ovonramwen N’Ogbaisi had acquired a notorious reputation as a tyrant king whose domain was littered with the skeletons and bloods of those he had either used for sacrifice or political opponents he had executed. Truly, Oba Ovonramwen N’Ogbaisi had carried out a somewhat large scale purge of his enemies – those whom he had considered threats to his throne, those with who he had contested the throne and those who had opposed him as crown prince before his coronation. This was usual in those days of monumental intrigues occasioned by struggles for the throne. Partly in an effort to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it, Benin was described by Europeans as ‘City of Blood’, ‘City of Skulls’ , and as land strewn with ‘huge pits filled with the dead and dying’. In 1862, the first consular visit was undertaken by Sir Richard Burton who returned with description of Benin as a place of ‘gratuitous barbarity which stinks of blood and as having a ‘bloody custom’. After numerous efforts (including tricking the Oba into signing the Gallwey Treaty of 1892) to peacefully get the Oba to allow the British traders and their local guides unimpeded access to the natural wealth of Benin forests, the British resolved to forcefully remove the Oba. Several other British officials like Vice-Consul Copland Crawford tried to reach Benin but failed because the King was unwilling to receive them. All these people were infuriated with the Oba and therefore mounted pressure on the Colonial Administration for military action to be taken against the Oba, “so as to open up,” in the words of merchant James Pinnock of Liverpool, “the road and country (of Benin) teeming as it does with every natural wealth of the great hinterland of the world”. Oba Ewuare II Foundation commences free feeding for less-privileged in Benin Sir Raph Moor, who succeeded Macdonald as the Consul General stated that “in the event of the foregoing peaceful means proving of no avail, it then becomes necessary to resort to force. “In the Benin and Warri districts,” Moor continued, “all developments except existing trade is completely prevented by the attitude of the King of Benin, who still declines to receive government officers or to allow them to enter his country in any direction peaceably. He punishes severely those of his people who even in outlying districts venture to receive them and arbitrarily stops trade from time to time without assigning any reason. “At the present time trade has absolutely been stopped in Benin by his orders…without giving up his evil practices the king knows that he cannot admit the government into his country.” After these report, Moor recommended that an expeditionary force should be sent in January or February “to remove the king and his jujumen from the country.” •Oba Ovonramwen N’Ogbaisi…during his exile days in Calabar. When Moor went on leave, Acting Consul General, Lt. James Philips, “after asking for the Foreign Office permission to use force against Benin in November 1896, set out, before getting a reply, on a risky trip,” writes Philip Aigbona Igbafe. “I am certain that there is only one remedy,” James Philips had written, “that is to depose the King of Benin from his stool. I am convinced from information which leaves no room for doubt as well as from experience of the native character, that pacific means are now quite useless, and that the time has come to remove the obstruction. I therefore ask his Lordship’s permission to visit Benin City in February next to depose and remove the King of Benin and to establish a native council in his place and take such further steps for the opening up of the country as the occasion may require.” 2018 QMA cultural pageant: rebranding culture According to Igbafe, Philips had erroneously believed that Benin people would be glad to be rid of a king who was a ‘tyrant’ and a ‘despot’”. Although the Foreign Office did not approve of a military action against Benin due to the financial cost and insufficient troops, Philips calculated that the cost of the expedition could be offset by sale of large collection of ivory and other artifacts that would be looted from the king’s palace. The disapproval, writes Igbafe, “was communicated to Consul General Philips in a cablegram of 8 January 1897 followed by a dispatch of 9 January 1897. Before messages got to the Niger Coast Protectorate, Philips was already dead, for he hurriedly set out to Benin on a mission, defying the warnings of the Itsekiri traders, the advice of Chief Dogho, the Oba’s communicated preference to receive him a month later and insistence of messengers from the Oba not to proceed with the journey. According to Igbafe, “on 2 January 1897, Philips set out from Sapele for Benin, accompanied by several Protectorate officials, representatives of the European trading firms and numerous carriers. At Gele Gele, on the night of 2 January, messengers sent earlier to the Oba arrived with the Oba’s thanks and requests to defer the visits by one month as he was engaged in the traditional Igue festival.” The Itsekiri traders at Ughoton also warned Philips against proceeding with the journey, reporting that Benin soldiers were lurking in the forests along the route. But Philip was bent on proceeding. He sent messages back to the Oba informing him of his intention to continue the journey. “On 4 January, the expedition left Ughoton, and marching in a single file, the party ran into the ambush laid by Benin soldiers near the village of Ugbine. All the European members of the party were killed except two with military experience, Commander R.H. Bacon and Captain Alan Boisragn who went down on their bellies when the firing began.” The backlash of the killing of Philips and his party was the Punitive Expedition. Nine ships and soldiers drawn from Her Majesty’s army from all over the British Empire were congregated against the Oba and the Benin people. Moor’s leave was cut short and he was assigned to lead the troops to Benin. “He arrived at the Warigi base operation on 9 February 1897 and on the 10th the advance on Benin began. Capturing Sapoba on the 11th and Ologbo on the 12th, the troop advanced from Ologbo on the 14th with Benin soldiers heroically contesting the route in a running fight all the way. Benin was captured on 18 February, after the British troops had fired some rockets tubes into the city. The rockets broke the resistance of the Benin soldiers. The Oba and most of the chiefs ran from the city after being bombarded by what they believed to be invisible enemies. The British then entered the palace and looted all its wealth – ivories, artifacts and many other valuables which were transported to Europe, many of which could be seen today in the British Museum and other parts of Europe and America. Traders’ groups, drivers’ unions, others gear up for 2018 Alaghodaro Summit The Oba and his chiefs were put to trial. Some of the Benin warriors chose to suicide in preference to public hangings. At a reconvened trial on 9 September 1897, Oba Ovonramwen N’Ogbaisi was sentenced to exile from his fallen kingdom. His wives were disbanded and he was chained, handcuffed, gagged, strapped in a hammock and taken away from Benin on 13 September 1897 on the Protectorate yacht Ivy to Old Calabar where he became seriously ill on 9 January 1914 and died on 13 January 1914. The banishment of Oba Ovonramwen N’Ogbaisi, though it ushered in another round of period of interregnum in the history of Benin Kingdom, did not bring an end to it. After that interregnum, Oba Eweka II (1914-1933) and the 37th Oba arose. Then from 1933-1978, Oba Akenzua II, described as the grandeur of royalty and the first educated monarch in the history of Benin, was installed on 5 April 1933. He ran a transparent monarchy in terms of removal of human sacrifices, especially in the burial of his father, Oba Eweka II. From 1979-2016, Oba Erediauwa, the 39th Oba, called the Philosopher King, sat on the throne. He was an author and writer of repute. He was instrumental to the creation of Edo State. From Oba Erediauwa, the Benin Kingdom fell into the hands the present King, Oba Ewuare II, the Philosopher and Diplomat King. He has a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the United States and has served as Nigerian Ambassador to several countries. Although His Royal Majesty, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewuare II, has made a lot of significant achievements, his reign and life are still on the trajectory of time and as such, no complete assessment of his achievements or failures, as the case may be, can be made. Any such assessment, besides being incomplete, may also border on praise-singing by the assessor aimed at courting and currying the favor of the King.
