[caption id="attachment_31851" align="alignright" width="305"] Prince Rich Arisco Osemwengie[/caption] There is crisis within Benin Kingdom over the installation of a parallel monarch. By Jethro Ibileke/Benin. The Benin Kingdom, which dates back to several centuries and traversed the entire West African region at its pick, has always been known to be peaceful. In recent times, aside from cases of crime, which is very peculiar to any modern city of its status, Benin City, the administrative capital of the kingdom in particular, and the entire Kingdom, has not witnessed any major disturbance for a long while. The Benin Royal Institution, symbolised by its head, the Monarch, is one of the most respected all over the world. In fact, the Benins revere their Monarch, His Royal Majesty, as second, only to God the creator, God’s visible representative on earth. Even known to be tolerant and accommodating, an average Benin man does not play with anyone on an issue bothering on his king. The Benins are always passionate about Oba of Benin, Omo n’Oba n’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Erediauwa, and the traditional greeting “Oba gha to’kpe re e,” to which they respond with a resounding “Ise e.” It was no surprise then when on 17 September, the entire Benin Kingdom, the dukes, traditional chiefs, men, women and youths from all nooks and cranny of the kingdom, gathered at the royal palace in Benin and stood up as one to condemn what they termed abomination, rebellion and desecration of their Monarch, and by extension, the entire kingdom, by one Richie Arisco Osemwegie, who coroneted himself as “His Imperial Majesty, the Ogiamien of Utantan Benin Nation.” A kingdom could accommodate as many palace chiefs as it chooses to have, but certainly not two Royal Majesties at the same time. That was why the Benin people did not take it lightly, the seeming usurpation of authority and traditional coup planned and executed by the self imposed traditional ruler. Trouble started when the Ogiamen family placed an advert in the Nigerian Observer newspaper of Friday, 14 August, 2015 with the title “The Great Ogiamen Palace Utantan Bini Nation,” in reaction to an earlier statement by Secretary to Benin Traditional Council, Frank Irabor in which he gave reason that Ogiamen, a chief of the Oba palace should not be addressed as “His Royal Majesty.” In the Observer publication, the Ogiamen family alluded to an alleged treaty signed by Chief Ogiamen and Oba Eweka I in which it was agreed that Ogiamen sold half of Benin to Eweka I in return for homage that the Oba’s family should pay to the Ogiamen family in perpetuity. Also that Ogiamen, being the first King in Benin, none of his children should bow or kneel before the Oba of Benin and that an Ogiamen cannot be the Oba’s palace chief. The controversy generated by the Ogiamen family’s publication was yet to die down when the family claimed that they could not locate the reigning Ogiamen, Osarobo Okuonghae who they said disappeared 17 years before and therefore they pronounced him dead. They went to the police to get a clearance for the coronation of Richie. With the clearance in hand and in defiance of the warning from the Benin palace, Richie Arisco Osemwingie, in collaboration with Patrick Osabohien and other members of his family, gathered at their Sakponba-Road family compound in Benin, to coronate him Ogiamen on 9 September, in a ceremony that lasted for five hours amidst drinking and dancing by family members. [caption id="attachment_31853" align="alignright" width="400"] Oba Erediauwa of Benin Kingdom[/caption] Spokesman for the Ogiamen family, Monday Wehere, had said that they installed a new Ogiamen because the family wanted to re-position itself to reclaim what belongs to them. He added that it became necessary as the family has not heard from the last Ogiamen Osarobo since he left in 1998 and was not sure whether he was still alive, adding that the family decided to appoint the next in line as Ogiamen because Ogiamen Osarobo has no child known to the family, hence the reason they deviated from the traditional ritual of appointing an Ogiamen by primogeniture. “We need to put our house in order. The Ogiamen we have suddenly disappeared and we cannot trace him. If we do not put our house in order, who will renegotiate Ekiokpagha treaty. The whole of us have resolved that Osarobo cannot rule us again. He just disappeared. He has Master Degree in History. He left 1998. He has no child as at the time he left. Because of embarrassment, Ogiamen title has been moved to another lineage. Prince [Osemwengie] is a direct scion of Ogiamen. Osarobo cannot come to this palace again. It took us five hours to install the new Ogiamen. The head of the family pronounced that he (Osarobo) is dead,” Wehere said. Dependable sources in Beini however informed the magazine that the former Ogiamen was alive and studying; he is on scholarship at an undisclosed country abroad. Secondly, a section of the Ogiamen family in Benin is not in support of the coronation of Richie Arisco Osemwingie as Ogiamen. According to them, while it would gladden their heart to have an Ogiamen, they however argued that Richie Arisco Osemwingie is not qualified to be coroneted Ogiamen as he is not a direct son of Ogiamen, but his mother was. Not done yet, as a follow-up to their alleged belligerent posture to the Oba of Benin, the Ogiamen family was said to have, in a local tabloid, “OGIAMEN TRUMPET” published materials disparaging to the stool of the Benin Monarch. This informed why dukes, high-ranking chiefs of Benin palace declared war on the Ogiamen family for daring to declare himself “His Royal Majesty” and allegedly carved out the Ogiamien kingdom, from within Benin kingdom. They described the action as a ridicule and desecration of the sanctity as well as reverence of the throne of His Royal Majesty, Omo n’Oba n’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Erediauwa, Oba of Benin. Chiefs John Osamede Adun, the Ayobahan of Benin, who addressed journalists in Benin over the issue, described the action of the Ogiamien family as a taboo and an abomination as nobody has the right and powers to challenge the authority of the Oba of the kingdom, adding that the Ogiamien family has no blue blood (princely lineage) and therefore “its palace is non existence and cannot stand as it is a mere ‘cave.’” Chief Adun warned the Ogiamien family against attempts to drag the kingdom into a bloody war, even as he called on all market women, youths and elders to come out in large numbers to challenge the action of the Ogiamien whom he tagged as ‘slave’ after the then Oba conquered their forefather in the past. He berated Chief Arisco Osemwingie for championing the cause to topple the Oba of Benin by carving out a separate palace for himself; stressing that the throne is not for sale. “Ogiamien family was defeated in 19 AD by our forefather. He is not a chief; he is an (alleged) slave. He is not a prince; people who can bear prince in Benin are the children of Oba of Benin. Today I call on all Edo people, it is an abomination, and it is a taboo to the Benin people for anybody to challenge the authority of the Oba. He is challenging the authority of Benin, it’s not the Oba. Our Oba is not for sale and Oba is an authority. After God it is the Oba. If you go down the history of Benin kingdom there is only one Oba, nobody has the right to challenge the Oba. The Ogiamien’s family wants to cause war in the kingdom,” Chief Adun said. Following the publication in the “Ogiamen Trumpet,” Edo state government in its reaction, accusing the Ogiamen family of showing disrespect and to the Oba of Benin and for the installation of an “Ogiamen” threatened to invoke relevant sections of the Traditional Rulers and Chieftaincy Law, 1979 to deal with anyone who breached the law. Going a step further, the state government in a press statement issued on 11 September and signed by the secretary to the state government, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, threatened to invoke the relevant laws against anyone who proclaims himself a chief or traditional ruler in the state, saying anyone who does so will face criminal charges. The statement read thus: “The attention of Government has been drawn to a newspaper, OGIAMIEN TRUMPET, which came into circulation a few weeks ago. According to the publisher of the newspaper, it was established to be used as a medium for propagating the unity of the Ogiamien family members and to promote a renaissance of the family. Government recognizes the right of every citizen, to seek the advancement of his family members through legitimate and inoffensive manner. But government cannot watch on as a person or family maligns or assaults other citizens under the pretext that he wants to promote himself or his family. Government will take steps to prevent any act which is capable to cause a breach of the peace. Government condemns in totality the abusive language used in the publication. The family says it has forwarded a petition on their grievances to the State Government. The family is therefore advised to await Government response to the petition. Government condemns in strong terms, the disrespect the Ogiamien family has shown to HRM Omo N’ Oba N’Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba of Benin. The publishers are therefore admonished to desist forthwith, from showing such rudeness to a personage, the whole nation holds in very high esteem, our most revered monarch. Government will invoke the relevant sections of the Traditional Rulers and Chieftaincy Law, 1979 which prohibit any person or group to proclaim self as a Chief or Traditional Ruler, a breach of which is a criminal offence. Government will not tolerate any act calculated to disturb the peace of the State or any part thereof.” And true to the threat, relevant sections of the Traditional Rulers and Chieftaincy Law was invoked on the self-imposed king who was arraigned at a chief magistrate’s court in Benin on 17 September, alongside his brother, Patrick, on a six-count charge bordering on conspiracy and arrogation of traditional ruler title to the first accused (Arisco) without the approval of the state executive council. They were remanded in prison custody by the court. The Benin Traditional Council also issued a stern warned to the embattled Ogiamen and “his cohorts” asking them to “desist from “investing in, and supporting a course that could lead to self destruction.” The Iyase of Benin (Traditional Prime Minister), Chief Sam Igbe, who led hundreds of traditional chiefs, several society groups, women and youths who besieged the palace in solidarity with the Benin monarchy, described the action of Osemwingie and his collaborators as a “rebellion.” Igbe noted that the self coronation and publication of a tabloid wherein they “cast aspersion and insult on our revered Benin Monarchy, violates certain sections of the Traditional Rulers and Chiefs Edicts of 1979.”