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The Uniqueness of Olomu and of Its King, HRM Richard L. Ogbon,

Ohworode R’ Olomu

By Professor Peter P. Ekeh President, Urhobo Historical Society

Personal Preamble

Permit me to approach this grand subject-matter with a narrative of my personal encounter with Olomu. In 1947, I was in Standard II of British Colonial educational system at Catholic Central School, Okpara Inland. In a Geography class, there had been some discussion of the towns of Agbon clan. Then information came to us that Agbon, the eponymous ancestor of the Agbon people, was going to be worshipped within a day or two. Indeed, we saw the cow that was to be slaughtered for the sacrifice of the worship being led to the Agbon headquarters at Isiokoro, some two miles away from our School. Two of my friends and I decided to walk to Isiokoro to watch the events of the worship of Agbon.

In the company of my two elementary school friends, I did watch the solemn events of the worship of Agbon in 1947. In my recollection, I was very much impressed with the seriousness of the worship. The adults, who carried out the functions of the sacrifice, and the elders from all Agbon towns, who were the presiding authorities, approached their work with intensity. The prayers for the welfare of Agbon people were remarkable. By far, however, what stood out to me in my vivid recollection were two related pronouncements. The first extraordinary announcement, for the mind of a school age boy anyway, was that the

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head of the sacrificial cow would be sent to Isoko. The second announcement was that the leg of the sacrificial cow would be sent to Olomu. There were no explanatory notes as to why these parts of the animal were being sent to Olomu and Isoko.

On returning home from Isiokoro, I did tell my father what transpired. I asked my father why the head and leg of the sacrificial cow were being sent to Isoko and Olomu, respectively. His answer was a terse explanation. He told me that they were being so dispatched to Isoko and Olomu because “Agbon people came from there.” I must add here that Isoko was a very distant place for Agbon boys in 1947. As for Olomu, I never heard of that place before 1947.

My second encounter with the notion of Olomu occurred seven years later, in 1954. I was in Class III at St. Peter Claver’s College, Aghalokpe. In that year I met a very nice man, a bricklayer, who became a friend of mine. He told me that he was from Okpẹ in Olomu. I was surprised that there was another Okpẹ in Urhoboland other than the large Okpẹ Clan, next to Agbon Clan, both of which border on the Ethiope River.

In my adult years, I did become much more familiar with Olomu, especially with respect to my work in Urhobo Historical Society. Let me mention one instance of that familiarity. In 2004, in my preparation for the first Conference of Urhobo Historical Society in Urhoboland, I told my host at Warri, my cousin the late Mrs. Victoria Oti Akpobome, that I planned to visit the Ohworode of Olomu. She screamed with joy, saying: “I must go with you. He is my favorite king.” I did ask why she said so. Mrs. Akpobome replied, “You will see for yourself.”

On getting to the King’s Palace at Ogoni in Olomu, we saw the Ohworode presiding over a session with a lot of simple women and men fully engaged. They were all trying to resolve family issues, apparently. At one moment, I heard the King encouraging a woman to learn to forgive those who had obviously offended her. It was a profound lesson for me on the meaning of rulership. Yes, Mrs. Akpobome was right. This was a unique

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King. As she so quaintly and metaphorically phrased her admiration for the King of Olomu in our native Urhobo, Ona no Ovie ro na bọ vvwie.

A Map of Olomu Showing Towns and Roads

Original Sketch of Olomu Towns and Villages by HRM Richard L. Ogbon, Ohworode R’ Olomu. Map

Made by Professor Francis Odemerho, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, Illinois USA. Copyright by Urhobo Historical Society 2010.

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My Intellectual Encounter with Olomu

Such were fragments of my spontaneous encounters with Olomu and its King. To varying degrees, these experiences from my childhood, adolescent, and adult years, stayed with me in my memory bank. They did surge forward into the forefront of my consciousness in 2012 when Urhobo Historical Society decided to celebrate, in Olomu Kingdom, Urhobo history and culture with emphasis on the contributions made by Olomu and its colonial centre-piece of Okpare to Urhobo history and culture.

That self-assignment was a major test of our responsibility as interpreters of Urhobo history and culture. Lying before us and the academic community was what we regarded as a false history of the origins of the Urhobo people, which used Olomu as a handle in its misinterpretation of Urhobo migrations. Its source was Benin Palace historiography pioneered by Chief Jacob Egharevba (1934) of Benin and expanded by Reverend J. W. Hubbard (1948), a Church Missionary Society (CMS) advocate of Benin imperial history. According to Egharevba and Hubbard, Urhoboland was first settled by migrants from Benin who crossed dense forests and the River Ethiope, settling in Okpẹ, Agbon and Avwraka. According to Rev. Hubbard, the rest of Urhoboland was peopled by internal migrants from Okpẹ, Agbon, and Avwraka who moved southwards to southern Urhoboland.

It is noteworthy that Egharevba’s and Hubbard’s history of Urhobo migrations completely reverses the folk self-history of migrations by Agbon and Okpẹ people of northern Urhobo. Whereas Egharevba and Hubbard pushed the idea that Okpẹ and Agbon people are the ancestors of Olomu and the rest of southern Urhobo, the northern Urhobo people of Agbon and Okpẹ claim Olomu as the land of their ancestors from which they themselves migrated. Whereas Egharevba and Hubbard insisted that the lands of the Urhobo people of Avwraka, Agbon and Okpẹ were the first settled Urhobo lands from which the lands of

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southern Urhobo were later developed, Agbon and Okpẹ people concede that primacy to Olomu and the Urhobo lands of southern Urhobo as areas that were first settled before their own lands of northern Urhobo.

In preparing for the UHS Conference in Olomu in 2012, our aim was to move beyond the folk history provided by Agbon and Okpẹ people to a clearer study of the context of Urhobo migrations. To begin with elementary statements, we reject the view that Urhoboland was first settled from the north or the associated view that Benin was the source of Urhobo migrations. It is our contention that these false views all emanated from the deceptive conception which ties Urhobo migrations to the Eweka Dynasty of Benin Kings that began in the 13th century and its Benin Empire that began in about 1440 (see Ekeh et al 2012). Before the Eweka dynasty of Kings assumed the reins of power in Benin history, Urhobo people had long settled in their lands (thus see Ekeh 2000). The best estimate by linguists is that Urhobo and Benin languages separated from each other and from a common proto-Edoid language about 2000 years ago (see Armstrong 1964: 12-14; Williamson 1979; Elugbe 1979). We contend that the first migrations of Urhobo people into the Western Niger Delta were tied to the separation of Urhobo and Benin languages from a common proto-Edoid language some 2000 years ago.

Permit me to outline the conclusions that we reached on Urhobo history of migrations in our book titled Olomu and Development of Urhoboland & Western Niger Delta. Ancient and Modern Versions. These conclusions are as follows:

1. Urhobo migrations into the Western Niger Delta were through the waterways of River Niger’s tributaries. The first habitation of the Urhobo migrants in the Western Niger Delta was most probably on the western banks of Patani River and Ase River.

2. Internal Urhobo migrations pushed northwards, organized by kinship cohorts who conquered the rainforests of the Western

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Niger Delta. These bands of kinsmen founded clans of varying sizes, with the largest clans occupying northernmost Urhoboland – particularly Agbon and Okpẹ.

3. Of these clans, Olomu emerged as exceptional because it occupied a unique terrain which was accessible through ample waterways.

4. Four other clans in Urhoboland and Isokoland were launched from the bountiful grounds of Olomu. They are as follows: Agbon in northern Urhobo originated from ancient Agbon Town in Olomu; Okpẹ in northern Urhobo originated from ancient Okpẹ Town in Olomu; Okere on the banks of Warri River originated from Okpare in Olomu; and Olomoro in Isoko originated from the ancient Town of Okpẹ in Olomu. [Note: Okpẹ and Agbon are neighbouring towns of Olomu which have grown into each other in modern times. They are probably among the oldest human habitations in Urhoboland.]

5. Of the four clans that claim Olomu as the land of their ancestors from which they migrated, two trace direct descent from legendary Igboze of Okpẹ Town in Olomu. Both Okpẹ Kingdom in northern Urhobo and Olomoro in Isoko forcefully claim Igboze as their progenitor. [Note: The only other Urhobo subculture that rivals Olomu in the number of clans that are resulting migrant clans is Agbarha. Agbarha-Ame, in modern day Warri, was founded by migrants from the Agbarha homeland. Similarly, Oghara and Idjerhe in northernmost Urhobo originated from Agbarha. It is noteworthy that the names of these resulting clans -- – Agbarha-Ame, Oghara, and Idjerhe -- were taken from Agbarha and its towns in the Agbarha homeland, just as Okpẹ and Agbon in northern Urhobo adopted the names of towns in Olomu from which they migrated.]

6. High regard for the uniqueness of Olomu stretches to more recent times. When the British seriously embarked on the colonization of Urhoboland, starting in 1900, they quickly discovered the favourable uniqueness of Olomu, with its ample waterways well connected to the Urhobo landmass. Okpare in Olomu rapidly

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emerged as the political and commercial headquarters of Urhobo and Isoko territories. It was from Okpare that the British Colonial Government moved the headquarters of what was then known as Eastern Urhobo (including Isoko) to Ighwreko in neigbouring Ughelli in the early 1940s.

These elements of Olomu’s uniqueness and exceptionalism, which I have outlined above, have benefitted Urhobo history and culture in various ways. There is one more instance of Olomu’s uniqueness -- of current value to Urhobo history and culture -- that illustrates the sublime nature of Olomu’s political culture. This attribute falls into the realm of the history and high culture of kingship in Urhoboland. I will provide some historical background.

The units of Urhobo culture -- which have variously been called subcultures, clans, and now kingdoms – were developed in prehistoric times. Each of them had two marks of distinction. First, each Urhobo clan had its own dialect or inflection of the Urhobo language. Second, each of them designed its own political system for the rulership of its realm, including a place for a king (Ovie in Urhobo). With respect to kingship, each clan had its own system of selecting kings if it wished to exercise that authority. In the distant past, well into the 1930s, instances of real kings were rare, although their notional role was acknowledged in the constitution of each clan.

The Olomu System of High Chiefs and Kingship

The Olomu system of High Chiefs and kingship has its unique particulars. The signal title of the highest office holder in Olomu is Ohworode. The construct Ohworode embodies many virtues – some obvious from the literary meaning of Ohworode (Great One) and others more subtle and nuanced – all of which are desired by Olomu people as rightful qualities in their leaders. Although in modern times the position of Ohworode is rotated among three ruling houses, it is the quality of character of a person who seeks the office and his achievements before coming to the

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office that are of high premium. They presage his future as Ohworode of Olomu. The qualities of the Ohworode of Olomu may be listed as follows:

First, a lot is attached to the preparation for the office of Ohworode. An untested young man does not occupy the office of the Ohworode. Second, the Ohworode must be a man of some means, preferably successful in the pursuit of a career. Third, he must have demonstrated interest in the affairs of Olomu. That is, there is clear indication of the candidate’s patriotism. Before Richard Layeguen Ogbon ascended the Olomu throne in 1988, the model Ohworode with whom all his successors were measured was Ovedje of Ovwor. Let us now devote the conclusion of this lecture to Ovedje’s most remarkable successor, HRM Richard L. Ogbon.

HRM Richard L. Ogbon, Ogoni-Oghoro I, JP., OON

Ohworode R’ Olomu

By the time he became the Ohworode of Olomu in 1988 at the ripe age of 71 years, Richard Ogbon was unquestionably the most prepared for the office of Ovie of any kingdom in Urhoboland. He had grown up in the tough environment of the early beginnings of British Colonial Times in Urhoboland. Born in 1917, Richard Ogbon as a child obviously survived the Great Influenza of 1918 which destroyed many young lives in Urhoboland and worldwide. Richard Ogbon went on to become a

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pioneer in educational attainments in Olomu and indeed Urhoboland. He completed his elementary school education in the famous CMS Central School, Okpare, where he was a classmate of another great Olomu pioneer, Michael Uti. For his further education, Richard Ogbon trained at St. Michael’s T. T. C., Oleh and St. Mark’s T. T. C., Awka – both of them top-class Anglican schools of great distinction. Then Richard Ogbon went further to attain higher qualifications in Rural Education College, Awai-Asaba, and at Headmasters Institute, Benin City. It can be rightly said that Richard Ogbon devoted his working career to classrooms -- training to become a teacher, serving as a headmaster of schools and as an inspector of schools.

It was as a headmaster of schools -- particularly St. Luke’s Anglican School, Sapele, and CMS School, Okpara Waterside -- that Richard Ogbon was most celebrated. His fame at Okpara Waterside is worth a full narrative. Before Richard Ogbon came to Okpara Waterside as Headmaster of its CMS School, children of the School were always happy if there was heavy rainfall on school days. This was because on such rainy days, children excused themselves from school. It was a practice that the new HM stopped with a little help from his whip. Dr. Aruegodore Oyiborhoro, who was a pupil in CMS School, Okpara Waterside in 1957, testified that Richard Ogbon was the best Headmaster that his school ever had and that he was a disciplinarian of the first order.

Beyond his achievements in the field of education, the other area of distinction which prepared Richard Ogbon for the throne of Olomu was his pioneering services to his Olomu people. It is probably best to quote the words of the man who has an unrivalled record of service to ordinary Olomu people in periods stretching over several decades. This is how Richard Ogbon paraphrased his record of service in this respect: “I have been a community servant and leader since [my] youth . . . . I also championed community development and empowerment programmes through the establishment of Okurame Farmers’ Multi-purpose Co-operative Society in 1978 and founded the Olomu Patriotic Movement

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(O. P. M.) in the 1950s which metamorphosed into Olomu Kugbere Union (OKU) and Olomu Union (O.U.) in the 70’s and 80’s respectively.” What a splendid catalogue of achievements. What more can prepare a patriot to become a King of his people?

Richard Ogbon became Ohworode in 1988, some 29 years ago. There is no doubt that the good Olomu people chose well. Who can doubt that HRM Richard Layeguen Ogbon, Ogoni-Oghoro I, will be recorded as one of the greatest of Urhobo monarchs? In Olomu annals of High Chiefs and Kings, HRM Richard Ogbon will proudly sit side-by-side with his great predecessor, the Great Ovedje, Son of Osadjere of Ovwor.

The historian has a responsibility for saying why he makes this choice to put HRM Richard Ogbon on such a high pedestal. What qualifies the reigning King of Olomu to belong to an elite class of Great Kings? Let me list reasons for my classification.

1. We must view this issue as fellow humans, as God’s creation. We are endowed with much by the Creator. But we have great limitations as biological creatures. By the age of 70, many people have difficulties managing their thoughts. By their 80s many men and women have difficulties managing their bodies and thoughts. In their nineties, few people can boast of putting their affairs together in any coherent way. But just consider the fact we are here to celebrate the 100 years of a man who can outsmart most of us in this forum. He is out with a new lucid biography in celebration of his 100 years on this Earth (see Ogbon 2017). As for his physical health, our Royal Celebrant can endure long hours of meetings – which many young people cannot bear. He presides over meetings of Council of Urhobo Traditional Rulers with sublime grace. Yes, God has given us this man because he is valuable to the Urhobo people in his advanced years.

2. In 1942, another Traditional Ruler from Olomu led Urhobo and Isoko Chiefs to Ibadan to attend Western Region’s Conference of

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Chiefs. The Great Ovedje of Ovwor also attained an advanced age and was of sound body and mind. Like the Great Ovedje, his remarkable predecessor as Ohworode, HRM Richard Ogbon is a wise man. Like Ovedje, HRM Richard Ogbon is a great Leader of his fellow Traditional Rulers, a sage who has presided over the affairs of the Council of Urhobo Traditional Rulers with distinction.

3. Up to the 1950s, even 1960s, it was difficult for devout Christians to be Urhobo Monarchs. The functions of the office of Ovie essentially entailed performing pagan rituals. One of the greatest cultural transformations in the last several decades in Urhobo high culture is the acquisition of Christian values and protocols by Urhobo Kings and Chiefs. I cannot say for sure what accounts for this dramatic change. However, I have a strong suspicion that HRM Richard Ogbon has had a large role to play in this huge cultural transformation. Just consider three pieces of evidence for this opinion. First, at the entrance to the Palace of the Ohworode at Ogoni is emblazoned the text of Psalm 138 verse 4: “All the Kings of the Earth Shall Praise You O Lord when They Hear the Words of Thy Mouth.” Second, HRM Richard Ogbon has been designated Royal Cannon of the Anglican Communion. Third, one of the strongest aristocratic entitlements in Olomu, namely Olorogun, has been transformed from an award made in a shrine to an environment with Christian symbols, prayers, and songs.

4. Finally, HRM Richard Ogbon has strongly worked for and has attained the goals for which great Kings exert their energies: peace in their realms. Olomu has experienced a sway of peace and tranquility during the 29 years of the reign of HRM Richard Layeguen Ogbon as the Ohworode of Olomu. Yes, he is a Great King. May his peace spread to the rest of Urhoboland.

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References

Armstrong, R. G. 1964. The Study of West African Languages. Ibadan: Ibadan University Press.

Egharevba, Jacob. 1934. A Short History of Benin. Ibadan, Nigeria: University of Ibadan Press, 1960.

Ekeh, Peter P. (2002) Ogiso Times and Eweka Times: A Preliminary History of the Edoid Complex of Cultures. Monograph 3. Benin City: Institute for Benin Studies.

Ekeh, Peter P., Onoawarie Edevbie and Peter Ishaka, editors. 2012. Olomu and Development of Urhoboland & Western Niger Delta. Ancient and Modern Versions. Lagos, Nigeria: Urhobo Historical Society.

Elugbe, B. O. 1979. "Some tentative historical inferences from comparative Edoid studies." KIABARA; Journal of Humanities, Volume 2, Rains Issue, pp. 82-101. Hubbard, J. W. 1948. The Sobo of the Niger Delta. Zaria: Gaskiya Ogbon, Ovie HRM Richard Layeguen. 2017. My Memories of 100 Years. Ibadan: Kraft Books Ltd. Williamson, Kay. 1979. Linguistic Evidence for the Prehistory of the Niger Delta. Unpublished Manuscript. Cited at page 38 of Onigu Otite, The Urhobo People. Second Edition. Ibadan [Nigeria]: Shaneson C. I. Limited, 2003. This paper was presented as a Centenary Lecture on the occasion of the Celebration of 100th Birthday of HRM Richard Ogbon, Ohworode of Olomu, on 19/1/2017 at the C onference Centre of Petroleum Training

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Centre, Effurun, Delta State. Olorogun Moses Taiga, President-General of Urhobo Progress Union, was Chairman of the Ceremony.