Oba of Benin visits Rivers

OBA of Benin kingdom, Omo n’oba n’Edo uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II, yesterday evening paid a thank-you-visit to Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The visit was the first to the state since his installation as the Benin monarch in 2016.

Chairman, Degema Reconciliation and Chieftaincy Committee, Mr. Ebel Egaton, who was among dignitaries at the airport to welcome the Oba, told newsmen, that the visit would further unify Rivers and Edo people.

According to him, the visit is an appreciation for their contributions and the roles they played during his coronation.

The Edo tribe across states of the federation, earlier converged on the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, before the arrival of the monarch.

Egaton, who was in the entourage of King Reuben Zachariah, the king of Degema kingdom, said the Degema people migrated from the ancient Benin kingdom.

According to him, they migrated in the 11 century AD and settled in Degema area in Rivers.

“We were the first settlers in Degema and we have over the years preserved our identity, our language, culture and tradition until this day. We received a letter that the Oba of Benin was coming to Rivers. As brethren, we had to come to show our solidarity and identify ourselves as part of the Edo group domiciled in Rivers.

“During the coronation of the Oba, the Edo group in diaspora and those across the six geopolitical zones of the federation were also all in attendance.

“On arrival to Rivers, the Oba will visit Governor Nyesom Wike and also meet with the Rivers Traditional Rulers Council, South South chiefs and the Edo groups in diaspora.

“In our divers ethnicity, we have realised ourselves and are together forging ahead in unity, as this visit would further foster unity among the Edo groups across the country,” he said.

The visit of the Oba to Port Harcourt, according to some traditional leaders, who came to receive him, was a thank-you-visit which followed his coronation on November 12, 2016.