Benin History & Research Centre in Diaspora

The Edo State Commissioner for Arts, Culture, Tourism and Diaspora Affairs, Hon. Dele Obaitan received an honorary award from the Organization of the Great Benin Kingdom (OGBK) in Benin City yesterday, January 14th, 2023. A well deserved award —bestowed on a diligent Commissioner, who continue to sacrifice so much to serve the great people of Edo.  The Commissioner wrote on his Facebook profile: I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to the Organization of the Great Benin Kingdom (OGBK) Worldwide for this beautiful award and recognition. I feel extremely blessed to be a foot soldier in Governor Godwin Obaseki's continued work to make Edo great again. Thanks to all the executives of this wonderful organization that continues to work to uplift the people of Edo anchored by the greatest of empires, the Benin Empire. Oba ghator Kpere……Iseeee! #ProudlyEdo  

  NEBO TV Canada — I would like to extend my appreciation to some of the special people, who contributed to my success story in 2022. If I have to mention the names of all the people that supported me this year, I will write a hundred pages. I thank you all especially! According to Alfred North Whitehead, "No one who achieves success does so without the help of others”. There are certain people in your life that will not hesitate to take a journey with you, no matter how rough the road is, they will walk with you to the end. I thank you all for being a part of my journey and success story in 2022. Cicero once said that “A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue but the parent of all the other virtues.” Some of my achievements this year include: (1) Through the support of the committee members of the Edo language program—in collaboration with the University of Benin—we initiated the first ever “Edo Language Day Worldwide” on August 13th, 2022—as an annual event worldwide. Hi...

Year-in-Review on NEBO TV in Collaboration with the University of Benin. Our achievements from January to December 2022. We produced eleven Edo language lectures, initiated Edo Language Day Worldwide, hosted four sessions of Benin folktale (Ibota), three discussion sessions on the Restitution of Benin Artifacts from some Western countries and more. It was, indeed, a successful year with a lot of accomplishments and exploits. We thank the Almighty God and our Ancestors for guarding and protecting us throughout the year, and we pray for a better and greater year ahead. Ọba gha tọ kpere, isee!

“Okuku” hairdo is a popular cultural hairdo of the Benin people of Nigeria. This beaded hairstyle is mainly worn by the Oba's (King) wives in the palace. “Okuku” hairdo can be dated back to the time of “Ogiso” meaning the “Sky Kings”in the Great kingdom of Benin. Women in the Oba's palace were mediated to wear this hairstyle. They wear different styles based on their titles in the harem.      The queen who gave birth to the first male child -the mother of the crown prince- wears unique style. This is to differentiate her from the other wives because, she is the most special woman in the harem. However, any woman outside the royal harem can also wear this beaded hairstyle but, the styles of the Oba's wives in the palace are very different from those worn by other Nigerian women across the globe. The special designs of the Oba wives are only available and accessible to the queens and other women in the palace.

  Scrupulous history book that chronically archived some eminent Benin warriors and personalities. The British colonial and imperial ideologies in Africa/Nigeria ( BENIN WARRIORS & THE BRITISH COLONIAL RULE IN NIGERIA ). One of its kind! Thanks to all the Elders in Benin that contributed to greatness of this historical book! The book would be available on Amazon in January 30th, 2023. The book titled Great Benin is available on Amazon. To pre-order, please email us at greatbenin2022@gmail.com. Books written by Nekpen Obasogie, PhD student at OISE, University of Toronto.

  In the old Oyo Empire, the system of “Ifa” (oracle divination) played a significant role in the belief system of the Yoruba people. But what happens if the people ignore the prophecy of the Ifa in Yoruba land? The history of the Yoruba and the Fulani ethnic groups in Ilorin is an example of how two defied Ifa prophecies impacted the old Oyo empire in the 18th century. Today in Nigeria, the Yoruba and Fulani inhabitants of Ilorin, the present capital city of Kwara State, Nigeria, have for so long been competing and battling over who should produce the monarch for the town. The Yoruba people in Ilorin claimed that the throne should always have a Yoruba king on the seat and backed this with historical references which point Yoruba ancestors as the founders of Ilorin. The Fulani section of Ilorin came up with a counterclaim that no Yoruba king has ever been enthroned from the onset, therefore the throne belongs to the Fulani ethnic group. The question is, what is the root of this con...

The Real Male & Female "Ewu Iwu" (Edo Dress). In one of our Ibota sessions on NEBO TV, our attention was drawn to the ongoing distortion of "Ewu Iwu" or "Edo Dress" popularly worn by Edo men! In a nutshell, the "Ewu Iwu" was invented by Dr. Ekhaguosa Aisien to substitute for the traditional Benin body-markings.  This astonishing Benin attire was approved and launched by Oba Erediauwa in 1986 at the Oba's Palace. The symbols in the male and female dresses are replicas of the original Iwu body-markings that were traditionally drawn (incision) in the body of the Benin people in ancient times.  Just a few years after the introduction of the Ewu Iwu, different (wrong) designs with the symbols ofAda and Eben gradually emerged. These distorted designs almost overshadowed the original styles. People are now sewing Ada and Eben symbols in their dresses to replace the original Ewu Iwu design.  THE WRONG DESIGN THE REAL MALE VERSION OF EWU IWU It be...