Mau Mau victims’ compensation and the Benin massacre Posted on Tuesday, June 25th, 2013 maumai-1Recently, the British Government announced a 13.9 million pounds compensation for survivors of the 1950’s Mau Mau insurgency in Kenya. Sequel to the development, Eric Teniola, a public affairs analyst writing from Lagos, revisits the plight of the victims of the Benin massacre under the British Colonial Government… Britain has expressed regret for the abuse of Kenyans by colonial forces during the 1950s Mau Mau insurgency and announced compensation for 5,228 survivors, but stopped short of apologising. The deal, settled out of court after elderly Kenyan torture victims won the right in October to sue the British government. “The British government recognises that Kenyans were subject to torture and other forms of ill treatment at the hands of the colonial administration”, Foreign Secretary William Hague told parliament. “The British government sincerely regrets that these abuses took place.” The 5,228 claimants are due to receive 13.9 million pounds ($21.4m), about 2,600 pounds each, or about 340,000 Kenyan shillings. Lawyers representing the veterans will separately receive six million pounds in fees for years of work on the case. London will also pay for a new memorial in Nairobi to the victims of torture and ill-treatment during the colonial era. A British diplomat said Hague stopped short of offering a formal apology because that could be interpreted as the government accepting responsibility, which would have had legal implications. Mau Mau veterans danced, prayed and ululated to celebrate news of the agreement at an event in Nairobi. The question is, if the British could reward the Mau Mau in Kenya, how much are they going to pay people of the old Benin Kingdom. For, what the British did to the Mau Mau in Kenya, is a child’s play compared to what they did to the old Benin Kingdom, the last Empire in Nigeria. .My late grandfather Joseph OlatubiTeniola, who established Ufosu town, used to tell me beautiful stories about the Old Benin Kingdom before his passage in 1969. The Benin Kingdom at its zenith stretched from Lagos in the west,along the coast of Nigeria to the River Niger in the east, which equates to about a fifth of Nigeria’s current geographic area. The Benin Kingdom dynasty is believed to have been founded in the 13th century and has a direct linege from the founders to the current Oba of Benin- Solomon Erediauwa II, who still holds strong political and spiritual power, in Edo and Delta states. The mythic origins of Benin Kingdom state that it was originally under the rule of Ogisos, meaning “King of the Sky”. When the last Ogiso died, the nobles and chiefs disagreed over who would be the next Ogiso, so the Benin sent a message to Ife to the Ooni of Ile-Ife. Oba Oduduwa, the mythic ancient first king of Ife. The Benin pleaded with him to send them a king; eventually Oduduwa sent to them his grandson, Prince Oranmiyan. When Oranmiyan came to Benin, he struggled with the culture and customs of the Benin people. However, before leaving Benin,Oranmiyan had a son, Eweka, by Princess Erewinde who could not talk. When Oranmiyan heard of this, he sent to him seven marbles for the child to play with. One day,as the prince was playing, one of the marbles broke. He immediately said “owomika!” or “eweka”, meaning “I succeeded!” He immediately became the first true Oba of Benin, Oba Eweka I. Oba Eweka was the first to reject the title of the native Benin “ Ogiso” and took the title “Oba”, meaning ‘king’ in the Yoruba language. Allegedly Oba Eweka later changed the name of the city of Ile-Binu, the capital of the Benin kingdom to “Ubinu”. This name would be reinterpreted by the Portuguese as “Benin” in their own language. Around 1470, Ewuare changed the name of the state to Edo. This was about the time the people of Okpekpe migrated from Benin City. The Portuguese visited Benin City around 1485. Benin grew rich during the 16th and 17th centuries due to the slave trade with the Dutch and the Portuguese, as well as through the export of tropical products. The Bight of Benin’s shore was part of the “Slave Coast”,from where many West Africans were sold to slave who enticed them to sell able-bodied men into bonded servitude. In the early 16th century, the Oba sent an ambassador to Lisbon, and the King of Portugal sent Christian missionaries to Benin. Some residents of Benin could still speak a pidgin Portuguese in the late 19th century. Many Portuguese loan words can still be found today in the languages of the area. The Ancient Benin Empire, as with the Oyo Empire which eventually gained political ascendancy over even Ile-Ife, gained political strength and ascendancy over much of what is now old Mid-Western and Western Nigeria, with the Oyo Empire bordering it on the west, the Niger River on the east, and the northerly lands succumbing to Fulani Muslim invasion in the North. Interestingly, much of what is now known as Western Iboland and even Yorubaland was conquered by the Benin Kingdom in the late 19th century – Agbor (Ika), Akure, Owo and even the present day Lagos Island, which was named “Eko” meaning “War Camp” by the Bini. The present day Monarchy of Lagos Island did not come directly from Ile-Ife, but from Benin, and this can be seen in the traditional attire of the Oba of Lagos and his white cap High Chiefs, and in the streets and area names of Lagos Island which are Yoruba corruptions of Benin names (Idumagbo, Idumota, Igbosere,IgaIdunganran, etc.). Till he was assasinated a few months ago, the late Onimole of Lagos,High Chief KayodeAdeshina, cousin to Murphy Ojikutu, Mrs.DerinOsoba,GbengaTiamiyu and Major General Leo Ajiborisha wore traditional dresses similar to the ones worn by the High chiefs of Benin. By the last half of the nineteenth century, Great Britain had become desirous of having a closer relationship with the Kingdom of Benin. Several attempts were made to achieve this end beginning with the official visit of Richard Burton in 1862. Following that was an attempt to establish a treaty between Benin and the United Kingdom by Hewtt, Blair and Annesley in 1884, 1885 and 1886 respectively. However, these efforts did not yield any results. Progress was finally made by Vice-Consul H.L Gallwey’s visit to Benin in 1892. This mission was significant in several ways. It was the first Official visit after Richard Burton’s in 1862 when he was the consul at Fernando Po, and it would also set in motion the events to come that would lead to Oba Ovonramwen’s demise. In February 1897, the British sent Lt. James Phillips to see Oba Ovonramwen for his stubborn opposition to trade with Britain on their terms. Lt. Phillips wrote to the Oba stating his intention to travel to Benin City, on receiving no reply he set off uninvited. The arrival of the British convoy was treated by the Oba as an act of war and the ensuing hostilities resulted in the Benin soldiers wiping out the British detachment including Lt. Phillips. Britain responded by sending over 10,000 soldiers to Benin, where they massacred many civilians and razed the city to the ground, in the process looting countless pieces of art and antiques. The Oba was exiled to Calabar. Over 50,000 Binis were killed in the process. Half of the Benin City was burnt down. It was the worst war ever waged by the British on a single empire and that ended what we now refer to as the Benin Empire. The British force, under the command of Admiral Sir Harry Rawson, razed and burned the city, destroying much of the country’s treasured art and dispersing nearly all that remained. The stolen portrait figures, busts, and groups created in iron, carved ivory, and especially in brass (conventionally called the “Benin Bronzes”) are now displayed in museums around the world. Certainly, this is a case of great massacre inflicted by the British on the Benin Kingdom. If the Mau Mau could be compensated, why not the Benin Kingdom? For the aftermath of the massacre launched on the people of that kingdom are still being felt today. The British claimed that Oba Ovranmen defaulted in the treaty he signed with them between 1884 and 1886, hence the attack on his kingdom. But the Benin chiefs still insist up till today, that the Oba never signed any treaty and that it made no sense at all for the Oba and his chiefs to accept the terms laid out in articles 4 and 9 of the so called treaty by bestowing their Kingdom to Queen Victoria at that time. The Benin chiefs claimed that Oba Ovranmen was in the middle of an important festival which prohibited him from doing anything, including signing a treaty. The Oba himself said later in Calabar,in exile, before he died in 1914 that he did touch the “white man’s pen”. After his death, the mornachy was restored under his eldest son Eweka II and after the war the new Benin was fused with the protectorate of Northern Nigeria to become an entity that is now called Nigeria. No doubt the British were driven by greed. They wanted to own all that belonged to Benin Kingdom and they were envious of the Portuguese who traded freely with the Benin Kingdom. My sympathy today is to the people of old Benin Kingdom. Nothing could be worse than the destruction of their empire, civilisation, resources and culture. And so, the British ought to pay like in Kenya, for according to Jonathan Swift (1667-1745),” what’s sauce for a goose, is sauce for the gender”.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Jun 2013 14:42:30 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015