The Benin royal palace announced on April 29 that His Royal Majesty Omo n’Oba n’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo Erediauwa I, the 38th Oba of Benin, had joined his ancestors. This foremost traditional ruler of the Edo people in Edo State was Crowned on March 23, 1979, in accordance with Edo culture of primogeniture to succeeded his father, Oba Akenzua II.
Oba Erediauwa can be described as the first “modern” Oba of Benin. Born on June 22, 1923, he was known as Prince Solomon Aiseokhuoba Akenzua. Unlike his predecessors he was not confined to growing up in the palace but was well educated and had a distinguished career in the public service. He attended Government College, Ibadan and Yaba College Lagos before going to King’s College, Cambridge to study Law and Administration.
He joined the Eastern Nigeria Civil Service in 1957 as a District Officer and later moved to the Federal Civil Service from where he retired as Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health in 1973. For a time he was the regional representative of Gulf Oil. He became Commissioner for Finance in the defunct Bendel State in 1975. Upon ascending to the throne he chose the name Erediauwa I rather than Akenzua III. Although not a politician, Erediauwa was known for his political sagacity. His words were law in Benin Kingdom and he enjoyed tremendous respect and exercised power within and outside the state.
Many times during his reign, he acted as peacemaker between politicians. Following the controversy that trailed governorship elections in 1992 and the assumed support he gave to the eventual winner Chief Oyegun, Erediauwa got a subpoena to appear before the Edo State Election Petition Tribunal. Binis were incensed when the Oba trekked to the tribunal to give evidence, an action which led to street protests.
In 1998 the then Edo State Military Administrator, the late Navy Captain Anthony Onyearugbulem suspended Erediauwa as Chairman of the Edo State Traditional Rulers Council for alleged partisanship in endorsing an APP governorship candidate. The Administrator tried to make the Chairmanship of the Council of Obas rotational but Erediauwa resisted it. In 2007, Oba Erediauwa threw his weight behind Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, and his tacit support enabled Governor Oshiomhole to carry out an urban renewal programme in Benin-City.
Expansion and rehabilitation of the Airport Road required the demolition of part of the palace walls. Oba Erediauwa gave his permission even though the opposition alleged that Oshiomhole, who hails from Edo North, wanted to destroy Benin’s cultural heritage.
Oba Erediauwa also put pressure on the Federal Government to fix the Benin-Lagos road whose poor condition was one reason why he declined to support the PDP-led Federal Government. The Oba monitored reports and he never failed to express his disgust at the number of lives lost on that road. He once summoned Ministers of Works Chief Tony Anenih and Engr. Chris Ogiemnwonyi, who are indigenes of the state, over the state of the road. In 2011 Erediauwa openly shunned the PDP delegation, led by President Goodluck Jonathan, when they visited Edo during the presidential campaign. After waiting for half an hour, only Jonathan was ushered into the palace’s inner chambers of the palace where he met with the Oba for 10 minutes.
Oba Erediauwa fought for the return of Benin artefacts stolen by the British in 1897. On June 22, 2014 his agitation paid off when he received two bronze artefacts looted by the British from Dr Andre Walker, the great grandson of Captain Philip Walker, one of the soldiers who invaded Benin Kingdom in 1897 and carted away the artefacts.
The Edo State Government declared a five-day public holiday from Tuesday May 3 to Monday May 9 in honour of Oba Erediauwa. The state’s Commissioner for Information and Orientation Kassim Afegbua said the national flag would be flown at half-mast across the State and only workers on essential services were exempted from observing the public holiday.
