Return of Two Bronze Stools of Ọba Ẹsigie & Ọba Eresọyẹn to Benin Kingdom

The Return of Two Bronze Stools of Ọba Ẹsigie and Ọba Eresọyẹn to the Benin Kingdom.

We celebrate our joy of the return of any of the stolen artefacts by the British invaders.

All the artefacts in Benin and Ife were done by the same artisans of Igodomigodo, and Benin.

As the base remained at Igun-Ẹrọnmwọn. And for the honour and reverence to the continuity of the lineage, such was accorded to Oduduwa in Ife when the whereabouts of Ekaladerhan was revealed as the Oduduwa in Ife. It was after the British subjugation of Benin in 1897 that the reverence and honour being accorded to the Ọghẹnẹ N'Uhẹ became altered to the superiority claim of the Yoruba under the false pretense of having Oduduwa as progenitor in 1100AD for the Yoruba. How can a stranger and migrant to Ife in 1100AD become a progenitor over the existing people in Ugboland and with five, six and seven theories of origin? Benin-Ife connections have nothing to do with the entire Yoruba linguistic identity or group. Their generalization was to distort traditional history in favour of their political history of dishonesty against Benin.

These were done along with the British template of subjugation over Benin and to dislocate the ancient traditional history and was replaced with the political history of dishonesty by the British and some oligarchies of the Southwest province which they had imposed on Benin Kingdom Empire. Their desire is to see that Benin Kingdom should be relegated and never to be recognised again in prominence of history. But they were too late, because Benin history had long been established for over 400 years of bilateral trade with the Europeans, especially with the Portuguese when Benin Kingdom Empire had reached its peak of greatness with noblest civility.

Yet the stolen artefacts by the British invaders further exposed their ill-will towards the Benin Empire, and had been the stigma of shame to the colonial masters and their stooges who became traitors that lost their pan Africanism to colonialism. By Dr. Paul Osa Igbineweka