…How they ‘fortified’ kingdom
By Ozioruva Aliu
As early as 6:30 am, diviners, sorcerers, priests, princes, princesses and palace chiefs, among others, gathered in front of the palace of the Oba of Benin to perform the historic ritual of laying curses on kidnappers, cultists and other criminals terrorising the Benin Kingdom, other parts of the state and the country at large.
July 2 had been fixed for the exercise after a meeting between the Oba and the diviners, during which he directed them to invoke curses on the criminals.
This was followed by another meeting with youth leaders, known as Okaighele in Benin Kingdom, where he instructed them to form committees to secure their communities from marauders.
The atmosphere at the gate of the palace was charged, with several fetish items, including a live fowl, on display.
Chanting incantations and speaking in unfamiliar languages, the men and women, dressed largely in red and touches of white, danced, sang, chanted and prayed.
The high point was when one of the chiefs held a live fowl high and walked in front of the men and women, who had formed a U-shaped line stretching from the front of the palace to the road leading to Ring Road.
Afterwards, the diviners placed their items at the foot of the gate before setting them on fire. The spiritual exercise, intended to complement the efforts of government in tackling the menace of insecurity, also featured fortification of the land against any invasion by bandits and other criminal elements.
Thereafter, prayers were made for the well-being of people who seek the good and development of Edo State and Nigeria.
Directive
Speaking about the situation, the Head of Ewaise Palace group, Chief Osemwonta Iguezigbon, said: “What happened here today is on the directive of His Royal Majesty, Oba of Benin. Considering what is happening, not only in Edo State but in the entire country, our Oba thought it is wise to put a stop to those things. Benin is known as a peaceful kingdom, and our Oba does not want such negative things to be happening. All that he is interested in is that peace, for which the kingdom is known, is sustained. It is to this end that we are all here to place a curse on the criminal elements, including boko haram, bandits, kidnappers, ensuring all these are cleared from the kingdom. We want to have peace in our land.”
Sanitise
Also speaking, the Chief Priest of Ayelala deity, Clement Edegbe Ighodaro, said “I came with my members to help to sanitise the land. A lot of things have been going wrong in our kingdom. There are a lot of kidnappings and a lot of killings. So, the Oba of Benin has deemed it necessary to organise a curse party, and that is what we have come to do this morning. We want to place a curse on those who do not want Edoland to progress. Those who import kidnapping, those who import destructive elements to our kingdom, must go. Today, we have to assist the Oba and our ancestors to place a curse on them.”
Peaceful land
Also a princess of one of the goddesses in the land, Princess Eyinemawin Igbinegie, told Sunday Vanguard: “Our monarch called us, saying the things happening around us are not good. We want to put a stop to them. We are here as a traditional person, we are here to call on our goddess because we believe in our goddess and we believe that when we call on her, she will answer.
“God created our monarch right from heaven. God said while you were in your womb, I know you. The ancestors are with our monarch, and Edo State is a peaceful land, and we need peace. We believe in our ancestors, that is why we are here today to tell our ancestors to wipe away all our enemies.”
Fortification
The Oyeoba of Benin and a member of the Iwebo Society in the palace, Chief Isaac Oghafua Ogiemwense, said the essence of the spiritual assignment was to fortify the land against insecurity traditionally.
Ogiemwense said: “The essence of what we are doing is to fortify this land. As you are aware, throughout the country and Benin in particular, there are so many problems: assassinations, kidnappings, cultism, people are killing people anyhow, people are coming from neighbouring states into Benin, killing our children and our people cannot go to farm anymore. Consequently, His Royal Majesty deemed it fit to put a stop to it once and for all. Given that our Oba is God’s representative on earth, he has put a stop to it with these incantations. He called on who is who in the Benin Kingdom to put a final stop and curse on all the bad people, those planning to invade, those who are here, these curses will go to their head. He has done it before.”
Reference
Corroborating the historical allusion by the palace, a socio-cultural activist and Convener of Concerned Edo Citizens Forum (CECF), Roy Oribhabor, commended the decision of the monarch.
He referenced a similar action against human traffickers carried out in the past that had consequences on those who tried to undermine it.
His words: “It is a welcome development because it is the spiritual that controls the physical. Once we are able to take care of the spiritual, there is nothing anybody can do in the physical realm. This is not the first time the palace, under the leadership of His Royal Majesty, is doing something like this. You remember when human trafficking was also at its peak in this town, he mobilised towards that, and if you remember, some people who were thinking that it was a mere symbol, got caught in the web.
“This is one of the strongest potencies we believe can regulate or eradicate the spread of terrorism, kidnapping and other crimes. For the Oba to mobilise all the spiritual forces, I think it is a development that will put an end to this terrorism that is affecting us in this part of the world. I commend the traditional institution for coming out strong. It is not just symbolic, it is only the people who are ignorant that will say it is just a symbol, it will have a massive impact on those who believe that they can continue to perpetuate evil in the land. With this, you will see what will happen in the days ahead and you will see what will happen to these terrorists. If they don’t disengage from such unholy activities, the gods will be after them and they will have themselves to blame.
“We must continue to encourage our traditional institutions to do the needful. Before the westernisation with which we now hobnob, we had our internal mechanism of protecting ourselves or securing our society, and that is what the Oba has just unleashed. Therefore, we must talk to our children. This is because one unique thing about this curse is that, if you are aware of the plan; second, if you partake in the activity; and third, if the proceed gets to you, all of you put together will have yourselves to blame. We should believe and commend the Oba for coming out hard on these criminals.”
