Summon My Ehi To Ugbine E-Book

Okpame Oronsaye

• Herausgeber: BoD - Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Seitenzahl: 162

Beschreibung

The Edo people of the Midwestern region of Nigeria believe every living thing has an Ehi (mystical or spirit twin). The Ehi ensures that the uhimwen, self-predestination of the lifespan of an entity on earth, is adhered to precisely as the entity had avowed the day it was created by the supreme creator God. The Edo perceive the Ehi as a guide, guard and witness to the earthly journey of the entity. Ugbine is a small town located a few kilometres west of Benin City and was thrust into the limelight of European history by an incident which took place there on January 4, 1897. Summon My Ehi To Ugbine is the story of the events that led to the defeat and destruction of a clandestine and unauthorised British invasion force on January 4, 1897, at Ugbine, a small town a few kilometres west of Benin City. Mr J.R. Phillips, acting Consul General of the Niger Coast Protectorate, led the invasion force. This defeat and destruction of the British invasion force, which became universally known as the Benin Massacre, gave the British government the much-needed excuse to invade Benin City earlier than was planned. To justify the invasion of Benin City, the British government embarked on a disinformation campaign that the destruction of the invasion force was an unprovoked killing of seven unarmed British envoys and traders on a peaceful mission to Benin City by a group of Benin chiefs. The story is neither a history reference book nor a critique of any publication of the Ugbine incident. Neither is it my personal nor an Edo view of the events,1892-1896, that led to the incident, the subsequent invasion, plundering and razing of Benin City and the reign of terror the British unleashed on the Edo people from 1897 to 1899. Also, it is not an expose of these events because those who consciously or unconsciously initiated, orchestrated and executed this tragic and painful chapter of the history of Benin, recorded and told the story long ago. For 127 years, except for three writers, historians, and art historians, including internationally renowned publications, have retold this story based on the British government disinformation template. Sadly, they retold the story(each with a different flavour) of the events shamelessly, prejudiced and massively distorted. Summon My Ehi To Ugbine is a let-the-truth-be-heard story. And nothing more.

Leseprobe

CONTENTS

Foreword

The Long Trail of Lies: January 4, 1897

The Europeans: Friends & Foes

Petitions: Marauders & Merchants

Ugbine: January 4, 1897

Benin City: The Sack That Was

Colonial Overlords: The Victor’s Song

A festering Sore: Still I Rise

Postscript

Credits

FOREWORD

The Edo people of the Midwestern region of Nigeria believe every living thing has an Ehi (mystical or spirit twin). The Ehi ensures that the uhimwen, self-predestination of an entity’s lifespan on earth, is adhered to precisely as the entity had avowed the day it was created by Orisa N’Oghodua, the supreme creator God. The Edo perceive the Ehi as a guide, guard and witness to an entity’s sojourn on earth.

Ugbine is a small town located a few kilometres west of Benin City on the Benin/Ekewan (Ekiohuan) Road. Ugbine was founded by Okhaemwen Ogbeide-Oyoo, in the early 19th century, as a farm settlement. Okhaemwen Ogbeide-Oyoo was then the Ine N’ Ibiwe (a high-ranking functionary in the Ibiwe palace guild), hence the name Ugbine(ugbo Ine or Ine’s farm settlement). Ugbine was thrust into the limelight of European history by an incident which took place there on Ugbine, which scholars and experts of African history and art history, mainstream media publications and writers chose to refer to as the Benin Massacre. The Benin Massacre, in their opinion, was the unprovoked killing of seven unarmed British envoys and traders, who were allegedly on a peaceful mission to Benin City by a group of Benin chiefs, whom they claimed were fetish and bloodthirsty savages.

Summon My Ehi To Ugbine is neither a history reference book nor a critique of any publication of the Ugbine incident. Neither is it my personal nor an Edo view of the events that led to the alleged January 4, 1897, Benin Massacre at Ugbine, the subsequent plundering and razing of Benin City and the reign of terror the British unleashed on the Edo people from 1897 to 1899. Summon My Ehi To Ugbine is not an expose of these events. The story has been recorded and told long ago by those who consciously or unconsciously initiated, orchestrated and executed this tragic and painful chapter of Benin history. However, for over a century, subsequent storytellers: professional historians, and art historians, including internationally renowned publications, have retold this story, unfortunately sadly shamelessly prejudiced and massively distorted. Summon My Ehi To Ugbine is a let-the-truth-be-heard story. And nothing more.

PREFACE TO THIS EDITION

My decision to write this edition of Summon My Ehi To Ugbine, with the subtitle, Benin Bronzes: The Long Trail of Lies, is because since 2017, when some museums began returning some of the looted Benin artefacts to the Benin King, Oba Ewuare II, European journalists, politicians, art historians and museum curators started a concerted campaign to forestall their return. They doubled down(each with a version) on the 127-year-old falsehood (the January 4, 1897 incident at Ugbine, which they call the Benin Massacre) to justify the invasion, looting and destruction of Benin City by the Benin Punitive Expedition. Their arguments against the restitution were, “The Benin bronzes are every bit as much an expression of the wealth created by slavery than a plantation house in the American South”, “Benin kings benefited financially from slave trading”, and “ The manufacture of the Benin bronzes left a long trail of blood”.

In March 2023, the Nigerian government officially proclaimed the Benin king, Oba Ewuare II, as the legal owner and custodian of all looted Benin Bronzes. Several German politicians, journalists, art historians and museum curators, especially those involved in a project they call the Edo Museum of West Africa Arts, received the proclamation with dismay. Their reactions and utterances were hysterical and, in some cases, quite offensive. The headlines of the publications and texts of some of the articles were, “Ambiguity of ownership of the Benin Bronzes”, “Benin Bronzes goes to the Oba of Benin: Was that the point of the restitution?” “Fiasco: Returned Benin Bronzes given into private ownership instead of on display”, “That (returning the Benin Bronzes)would be wrong because the story is much more complicated” and “Baerbock returned them: Now Nigerian President is giving them to a king.” They also stuck religiously to the narratives of the Benin Massacre and Benin Punitive Expedition in line with those their predecessors have peddled since 1897. I wrote to the publications to register my displeasure about their disingenuous language about the Benin King, the Nigerian President and the Benin Bronzes. In May 2023, after an interview with an editor of one of the publications and after a short discussion with an official of a museum in Frankfurt a few days later, it was clear they would not entertain any other views of what led to the January 4, 1897 incident at Ugbine.

It is for this reason that I added more content to some chapters. In addition, I am using this opportunity to remind these anthropologists, art historians, historians, journalists, and museum curators who are writing about the Benin Massacre and the Benin Punitive Expedition, the words of Elie Wiesel.

“For the survivor who chooses to testify, it is clear: his duty is to bear witness for the dead and for the living. He has no right to deprive future generations of the past that belongs to our collective memory. To forget would be not only dangerous but offensive; to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time”.

Okpame Osawamienghemwen Oronsaye June 2024. Wächtersbach, Germany.

Dedicated to Ologbose Erhabor, Ekhaemwen Obakhavbaye, Oviawe, Uso, Obaradesagbon and Obayuwana. Ekakuo Ebeikhinmwin, Urugbusi and Izibiri. Omuada Asoro and all unsung Edo warriors who died fighting the British imperialist between January 1897 and May 1899. You are not dead. You are honoured Ancestral spirits and deified heroes

‘If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it people will eventually come to believe it.’

- Joseph Goebbel, Nazi Propaganda Minister. (1933-1945)

THE LONG TRAIL OF LIES: JANUARY 4, 1897

1897 Jan. 16: Capt. H. L. Gallwey, Vice Consul to Foreign Office. Reporting disaster to and failure of the Benin Expedition. CSO 3/4/1 Vol. 7. p. 1

1897 Jan. 21: Capt. H. L. Gallwey to Foreign Office. Reporting the disaster to pacific Expedition to Benin. CSO 3/4/1 Vol. 7, p. 18

On January 10, 1897, the British Colony of Lagos dispatched an urgent telegram to the British Foreign Office in London. According to the message, on January 4, 1897, the acting Commissioner and Consul-General of the Niger Coast Protectorate, Mr. James Robert Phillips, and several British officials and traders on a diplomatic mission to Benin City, the capital of Benin Kingdom, were ambushed by a group of Benin chiefs. The message further claims that the British men, including their African porters, were taken to the city and sacrificed to the gods of the Benin King. In response to this incident, which became universally known as the Benin Massacre, the British government declared war on the Kingdom of Benin. On February 19, 1897, a combined British Navy and Niger Coast Protectorate Force code-named Benin Punitive Expedition captured and plundered Benin City. On February 21, 1897, the invaders set the already plundered palace on fire.

Essentially, for more than a century, writers, historians, especially those acclaimed as eminent scholars and experts of African art history and history, and mainstream publications have upheld the British government's official position that Mr. Phillips was on a peaceful and unarmed official mission to the King of Benin, which was,

“Phillips as acting Consul-General had to pay a necessary visit to the Benin King in order to avoid resorting to the use of force and complete every peaceful means towards resolving the economic and political impasse in the Benin River region”.

Some historians, publications and writers argued that Phillips’s mission was peaceful undertaking, and this were,

“The (Phillips) expedition was quite unarmed and was endeavouring to enter by peaceful means the King’s city (Benin)” - The International Herald Tribune, January 13, 1897.

“Phillips was determined on a peaceful mission” - Ling Roth. Great Benin: Its Customs, Arts and Horrors. 1903. p. 3.

In the opinion of some others the Phillips's mission was a diplomatic undertaking by British envoys. The claim was,

The 1897 expedition was ostensibly launched in retaliation for the massacre of a British diplomatic mission to Benin earlier that year. - David Frum Who benefits when western museums return looted art?. The Atlantic, October 2022.

There are some other publication and writers that contended the mission was a trade venture of British traders, which were,

“the Phillips’ mission was to persuade the Benin King, who had threatened death to any white men who attempted to visit him, to remove obstacles he was putting the way of trade.”- The New York Times, January 22, 1897.

Britain was eager to trade with forbidden Benin in the interior, and acting Consul General Phillips had sent a message to grinning black King Overami (Ovonramwen) of Benin, asking permission to visit his capital to arrange a treaty”. -Time Magazine. City of Blood. December 16, 1935.

In order to induce the Oba to carry out the terms of a treaty he made in 1982 with the British Government allowing Europeans to trade freely with his people, a political and trade mission consisting of Acting Consul General (Mr Phillips), and eight other Europeans and two hundred and forty native carriers started for Benin City on 1 January, 1897. He(the Oba) sent chiefs Ologbosere, Obakhavbaye, Uso, Obadesagbon, and Ugiagbe to escort the Europeans visitors to Benin city. They did not carry out the Oba’s orders but massacred them on January 1897 -J. U. Egharevba. A Short History of Benin. p 49. 1968.

In January 1897, James Phillips the newly arrived Acting Consul General of the southern protectorate of Nigeria, without the permission of his superiors, embarked on an expedition to discuss trade agreement with the king. He was accompanied by eight unarmed English men and about two hundred African bearers. .. and he and his party was ambushed on the road to Benin. Most of the Africans, and all but two of the Englishmen were killed. - Kate Ezra. Royal art of Benin: The Perls Collections. p. 16. 1992.

The British, who wanted to profit from the palm oil trade, settled on the coast of Benin in the second half of the 19th century. The Oba, however, evaded all overtures and proposals for an agreement, and always found new excuses to delay the signing of an agreement. Finally, the young deputy to the British Consul-General, John R Phillips, decided to go unarmed and accompanied by nine other Britons and two hundred black porters to the Oba’s palace. The Oba allowed the white men to visit, but he was ignored by his tribal chiefs, who had the small expedition massacred by their people- Laure Meyer. Black Africa: Masks, Sculpture and Jewellery. p. 33. 1992.

The year preceding 1897 saw the British monopoly over trade threatened by the Oba of Benin. Phillips insistence on seeing the Oba despite warnings that he was performing the ague festival fell on deaf ears Phillips The Phillips party set out to see the Oba and was ambushed on the way. Of the nine Europeans who set out on only two survived the attack. - Adepeju Layiwola. The Benin Massacre: Memories and Experiences. Benin Kings and Rituals, Court Arts from Nigeria. p. 83. 2007.

Led by the young Vice Consul James Phillips, the group set out to visit the king of Benin to persuade him to abide by the treaty of protection concluded in 1892 that ensured free trade and restricted the sovereignty of the king.. it (Phillips party) was a peaceful mission, which wanted to persuade King Ovonramwen to keep to the terms of trade agreement that was concluded in 1892 ”.- Barbara Plankensteiner. The ‘Benin Affair' and its Consequences. Benin Kings and Rituals, Court Arts from Nigeria. p. 199. 2007.

These developments placed Benin under increasing pressure and explain the attack on a peaceful British mission, which wanted to persuade King Ovonramwen to keep to the terms of the trade agreement concluded in 1892. As retribution for the murders of members of the British mission a punitive expedition was organised that occupied the royal city of Benin in 1897. - Barbara Plankensteiner, Introduction: Benin Kings and Rituals, Court Arts from Nigeria. p. 25. 2007.

In early 1897 ,Acting Consul-General, James R Phillips attempted to visit the Oba in order to convince him to follow the obligations of the 1892 Treaty. - Philip Igbafe. A History of The Benin Kingdom. Benin Kings and Rituals, Court Arts from Nigeria. p. 51.

“In 1897 a British Trading expedition arrived in Nigeria to explore the potential for conducting business with the region for various items such as Palm oil. An initial party of some 9 British officers arrived in Benin City in an attempt to open negotiation with the Oba and his Council of Chiefs. This meeting was a disaster and resulted in the death of the 9 British Naval officers”. - www.richardlander.org.uk. Benin Bronzes.

Some writers and publications even claimed the mission was a humanitarian venture. The claims were,

“A large part of the purpose of the Expedition (Phillips) was to suppress the practice of human sacrifice”. - William Fagg. Benin: The Sack That Never Was. 1931.

This was the same view adopted by which was, “Objecting to the sale of slaves and human sacrifice, a consul general set out in 1897 with eight men to halt the annual ritual of slaughter”.- Time Magazine. The Bronzes of Benin. August 6, 1965.

“Phillips was appalled by the human sacrifice in Benin City and was determined to visit Benin City and persuade the Benin King to abolish it”. -Raymond Tong. The Village of Ghosts. 1993.

“The conquest of Benin in 1897 completed the British occupation of south-western Nigeria. The incident that sparked the expedition (Benin Punitive Expedition) was the massacre of a British consul and his party, which was on its way to investigate reports of ritual human sacrifice in the city of Benin”. - U. O. A. Esse. A Catalogue of the Correspondence and Papers of the Niger Coast Protectorate. 1988.

There are writers, art historians and historians, and publications who also claim that the Phillips’s mission was a routine visit. Their opinions were,

“In January 1897 a party of nine white colonial officials and 250 or so African porters set out for the Kingdom of Benin”. - Michael Mosbacher. Why Jesus College shouldn’t have returned its Benin bronze. The Spectator, October 27, 2021.

In that year 1897, the British Vice Consul J. R. Phillips, sent a message to the king of Benin saying that he wished to visit him. The Oba in reply asked him not to come then, as he would be engaged with the years most important ceremony, Igue. Phillips decided to set out nevertheless. Without the knowledge of the king two of his chiefs arranged an ambush, killing all except two of the European members of the expedition and all their porters. - Ekpo Eyo and Frank Willett. Treasures of Ancient Nigeria. p. 18. 1980.

“...Outrage back home in the UK was fuelled when a group of officers dispatched to see the Oba on the orders of the governor of Britain west African Niger Coast Protectorate were ambushed and killed.” -The Guardian. Museums In Talks To Return Benin Bronzes To Africa. 12 August 2017.

Some writers, art historians and historians, and publications also claimed the Benin people are bloodthirsty savages. And their views were,

“...the members (of the British Expedition) went unarmed into a Savage Country and were ambushed and killed without mercy”. - The New York Times, 22nd January 1897.

“... In 1897, a party of British traders entered the lands of Benin only to be ambushed and massacred”. - The Oba’s Palace: Historical Accounts.

A London punitive expedition sent to avenge the murder of British envoys conquered Benin City.” - Geo Epoche Nr. 66. Afrika 1415-1960. Die Magie der Kriegerkönige.

“Most of the plaques and other objects were taken by British forces during the Benin Expedition of 1897 as imperial control was being consolidated in Southern Nigeria. This Expedition was positioned by British sources as retaliation for a massacre of an unarmed party of British envoys and a large number of their African bearers in January 1897”. -Wikipedia. Benin Bronzes.

“In 1896 the inexperienced Robert Phillips was sent to Lagos as Deputy Consul General, who immediately had to stand in for the experienced Consul General during his home leave. He made the decision to pay a visit to the Oba (King) of Benin; “on a peace palaver”. - Richard Schröder. What is neglected in the debate about looted art. WELT-Online, 18 September 2021.

In January 1897, a British force was ambushed whilst on the road to Benin City, resulting in the deaths of eight Britons. Consequently, the British sent a punitive expedition in the following month. The expedition was led by Sir Harry Rawson, and involved 1,200 British soldiers, several hundred locally recruited African troops, and thousands of African porters from the British military base at Sierra Leone. - Wu Mingren. The Walls of Benin: Four Times Longer Than The Great Wall of China. Ancient Origins, 2021.

The artworks now reside in London's British Museum, far from their ancestral home in Nigeria, due to an act of retaliation by British colonial forces in 1897. After an ambush on a British expedition, the forces attacked Benin City, deposed and exiled the king, set the royal palace ablaze, and looted the brass plaques and statues that once adorned the palace walls. - Joanna Gillan. Western Reactions to the Controversial Benin Bronzes. (Video)Ancient Origins, 2023.

There are also cleverly positioned disingenuous views, such as,

The British presented the Oba with a free trade agreement in 1892, which he signed but did not keep. A diplomatic mission was to deal directly with the Oba, but it was clear to the British that he would later be deposed and replaced by a council that acted in the interests of the British colonial powers. At first the Oba did not want to receive the mission that had been scheduled at short notice because he was performing a sacrificial ritual for his deceased father. But he finally agreed. He seemed to have instructed his chiefs to leave the mission unmolested. But the war chiefs decided to kill the ten Europeans and over two hundred African porters and guides. Apparently Itsekiri had also spread the rumor that the British were coming with warlike intentions. The chiefs attack with rifles and machetes on the unarmed delegation – as one of the war chiefs involved in the attack confirmed – happened on January 4, 1897 . -Brigitta Hauser-Schäublin. Should the trophy heads be returned? The Long Trail of Blood of the Benin Bronzes. NZZ Magazin, 20 April 2021.

In January 1897 an allegedly peaceful but clearly provocative British trade mission was attacked on its way to Benin City, leading to the deaths of seven British delegates and 230 of the mission's African carriers. - British museum website