Ogbidi Okojie
Encyclopedia
Ogbidi Okojie, Onojie of Uromi
(1857 - February 3, 1944) was a ruler of the Esan
people in what is now Edo State
in Nigeria
, still remembered for his opposition to British
rule.
in 1900. In Nigeria
, at the end of nineteenth century, the old order was crumbling, yielding to the new British colonial system. After the Royal Niger Company
transferred its territories to the British government, the latter expanded and strengthened its control, unseating the traditional rulers. In 1900, Uromi was invaded by the British troops. Unlike Chief Nana of Brohimie-Warri, who opposed a strong resistance to the British troops when his domain was invaded, with 100 cannon, several shot-guns and over 5,000 slaves at his disposal, Okojie I, who had no modern weapons, but only Dane guns, bows and arrows, held out for six months, until he was betrayed by Iyahanebi, his "younger brother”, and had to surrender to the British. As a consequence of his stiff resistance, in 1900 he was exiled to Calabar
, where he met Oba
Ovonramwen
, late Oba of Benin, who had been exiled there by the British.
He survived the ordeal in detention and returned home to be crowned the 14th Onojie of Uromi in 1909.
Back home in Uromi, he adapted to the British system of government through "indirect rule
", establishing his court at Ubiaja
. Still, he did not fully accept the new system of government, countering it with passive disobedience and maintaining his opposition to British rule. He kept governing his subjects as his forebears had always done, until he was deported again, this time to Benin
, in 1917. His presence in Benin unsettled Oba Eweka II, the then ruling Oba, who objected to the British Resident at Benin against Okojie's presence there. In 1924, he was transferred to Ibadan
. In 1926, he made a dramatic escape to Uromi, was arrested and taken back to Ibadan
, until he was finally released in 1931. From 1931 until his death in 1944 he consolidated his power in Uromi. His first son Prince Uagbale Okojie was crowned Onojie of Uromi in 1944.
While alive, he was highly influential in Esan
, Agbor
and Benin
. In Esan
he was the supreme judge of the criminal court that sat and tried murder cases at Agbede, Esan and Ologhodo (now Agbor). He built schools and supported higher learning . He built the roads from Uromi to IIIushi, Agbor and Ehor. When he died, he left behind an undisputed heir to the throne, glorious memories of life in exile and the fulfillment of his aspiration for renewed independence for black Africa and Nigeria
.
Late Chief Anthony Enahoro
, one of his many grandchildren, who in 1953, initiated the self-government motion in the Western House of Assembly, which eventually led to Nigerian Independence on the 1st day of October, 1960. A younger grandson is Peter Enahoro, reverred pan-African journalist and author of How to be a Nigerian (1966). Another is Cardinal Anthony Okogie, the first Esan
Cardinal and Dr. Robert Okojie, a NASA scientist based in the U.S.
Okojie I, the Onojie of Uromi, was survived by over sixty wives, over forty concubines, and innumerable children and grandchildren. He is still remembered by his people as
Although he died many years ago, his legacy continues in many different parts of the world, from North America
to Europe
to Australia
where some of his grandchildren and great grandchildren currently reside.
Uromi
Uromi is an acreage city located in north-eastern part of Esan; an ethnic group in Edo state, Nigeria. At various points in Uromi's history, the city has being part of the Benin Empire.- History :...
(1857 - February 3, 1944) was a ruler of the Esan
Esan
Esan is one of the major ethnic groups in Edo State, South-south geopolitical zone of Nigeria.-Name:It is believed by many historians that the name 'Esan' owes its origin to Bini...
people in what is now Edo State
Edo State
Edo State is an inland state in central southern Nigeria. Its capital is Benin City. It is bounded in the north and east by Kogi State, in the south by Delta State and in the west by Ondo State.-History:...
in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, still remembered for his opposition to British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
rule.
Biography
According to Uromi lore, he was born in the seventh month of gestation, coming 14th in the line of succession to the Uromi throne. As an African monarch, he believed in his divine right to wield absolute power. Those beliefs motivated his opposition to British Rule, which led to his first exile to CalabarCalabar
Calabar is a city in Cross River State, southeastern Nigeria. The original name for Calabar was Atakpa, from the Jukun language....
in 1900. In Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, at the end of nineteenth century, the old order was crumbling, yielding to the new British colonial system. After the Royal Niger Company
Royal Niger Company
The Royal Niger Company was a mercantile company chartered by the British government in the nineteenth century. It formed the basis of the modern state of Nigeria....
transferred its territories to the British government, the latter expanded and strengthened its control, unseating the traditional rulers. In 1900, Uromi was invaded by the British troops. Unlike Chief Nana of Brohimie-Warri, who opposed a strong resistance to the British troops when his domain was invaded, with 100 cannon, several shot-guns and over 5,000 slaves at his disposal, Okojie I, who had no modern weapons, but only Dane guns, bows and arrows, held out for six months, until he was betrayed by Iyahanebi, his "younger brother”, and had to surrender to the British. As a consequence of his stiff resistance, in 1900 he was exiled to Calabar
Calabar
Calabar is a city in Cross River State, southeastern Nigeria. The original name for Calabar was Atakpa, from the Jukun language....
, where he met Oba
OBA
Oba or OBA may refer to:* Oba , an African ruler or king* Oba , in Yoruba mythology* Oba, an island in the North Maluku province of Indonesia* Oba-Igbomina, a town in Nigeria...
Ovonramwen
Ovonramwen
Ovonramwen Nogbaisi , also called Overami, was the last Oba of the Kingdom of Benin, which was dissolved following his rule.-Biography:Ovonramwen Nogbaisi came to be the Oba of Benin in 1888....
, late Oba of Benin, who had been exiled there by the British.
He survived the ordeal in detention and returned home to be crowned the 14th Onojie of Uromi in 1909.
Back home in Uromi, he adapted to the British system of government through "indirect rule
Indirect rule
Indirect rule was a system of government that was developed in certain British colonial dependencies...
", establishing his court at Ubiaja
Ubiaja
Ubiaja is a community in the Esan South-East Local Government Area , Edo State, Nigeria. It is at an altitude of 221 m. Most of the people belong to the Esan tribe, one of the major ethnic groups in Edo State....
. Still, he did not fully accept the new system of government, countering it with passive disobedience and maintaining his opposition to British rule. He kept governing his subjects as his forebears had always done, until he was deported again, this time to Benin
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
, in 1917. His presence in Benin unsettled Oba Eweka II, the then ruling Oba, who objected to the British Resident at Benin against Okojie's presence there. In 1924, he was transferred to Ibadan
Ibadan
Ibadan is the capital city of Oyo State and the third largest metropolitan area in Nigeria, after Lagos and Kano, with a population of 1,338,659 according to the 2006 census. Ibadan is also the largest metropolitan geographical area...
. In 1926, he made a dramatic escape to Uromi, was arrested and taken back to Ibadan
Ibadan
Ibadan is the capital city of Oyo State and the third largest metropolitan area in Nigeria, after Lagos and Kano, with a population of 1,338,659 according to the 2006 census. Ibadan is also the largest metropolitan geographical area...
, until he was finally released in 1931. From 1931 until his death in 1944 he consolidated his power in Uromi. His first son Prince Uagbale Okojie was crowned Onojie of Uromi in 1944.
While alive, he was highly influential in Esan
Esan
Esan is one of the major ethnic groups in Edo State, South-south geopolitical zone of Nigeria.-Name:It is believed by many historians that the name 'Esan' owes its origin to Bini...
, Agbor
Agbor
Agbor, also known as Agbor Boji Boji, is a town in Delta state, Nigeria. The indigenes of Agbor town are of Ika descent, an Igbo group with heavy Bini influence. Agbor was originally named Agbon a Bini word for "land", until the British anglicized it to Agbor. The people of Agbor have traditionally...
and Benin
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
. In Esan
Esan
Esan is one of the major ethnic groups in Edo State, South-south geopolitical zone of Nigeria.-Name:It is believed by many historians that the name 'Esan' owes its origin to Bini...
he was the supreme judge of the criminal court that sat and tried murder cases at Agbede, Esan and Ologhodo (now Agbor). He built schools and supported higher learning . He built the roads from Uromi to IIIushi, Agbor and Ehor. When he died, he left behind an undisputed heir to the throne, glorious memories of life in exile and the fulfillment of his aspiration for renewed independence for black Africa and Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
.
Late Chief Anthony Enahoro
Anthony Enahoro
Chief Anthony Enahoro, was Nigeria’s foremost anti-colonial and pro-democracy activists. He was born the eldest of twelve children in Uromi in the present Edo State of Nigeria. His Esan parents were Anastasius Okotako Enahoro and Fidelia Inibokun née Ogbidi Okojie...
, one of his many grandchildren, who in 1953, initiated the self-government motion in the Western House of Assembly, which eventually led to Nigerian Independence on the 1st day of October, 1960. A younger grandson is Peter Enahoro, reverred pan-African journalist and author of How to be a Nigerian (1966). Another is Cardinal Anthony Okogie, the first Esan
Esan
Esan is one of the major ethnic groups in Edo State, South-south geopolitical zone of Nigeria.-Name:It is believed by many historians that the name 'Esan' owes its origin to Bini...
Cardinal and Dr. Robert Okojie, a NASA scientist based in the U.S.
Okojie I, the Onojie of Uromi, was survived by over sixty wives, over forty concubines, and innumerable children and grandchildren. He is still remembered by his people as
- "Ogbidi the Uromi umbrella, the white son of OlokunOlokunOlokun is an Orisha in Yoruba religion, associated with the sea. Olokun is therefore considered the patron Orisa of the descendants of Africans that were carried away during the Transatlantic Slave Trade or Middle Passage, sometimes referred to in the United States by African-Americans as the Maafa...
, Okun the greatest native doctor that ever lived and ruled the native people of Uromi, who can turn into a girl, a lionLionThe lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
or a leopardLeopardThe leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
at will, the great doctor who can command the rain to fall and the air to stand still".
Although he died many years ago, his legacy continues in many different parts of the world, from North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
where some of his grandchildren and great grandchildren currently reside.
- UromiUromiUromi is an acreage city located in north-eastern part of Esan; an ethnic group in Edo state, Nigeria. At various points in Uromi's history, the city has being part of the Benin Empire.- History :...
- EsanEsanEsan is one of the major ethnic groups in Edo State, South-south geopolitical zone of Nigeria.-Name:It is believed by many historians that the name 'Esan' owes its origin to Bini...
- Edo StateEdo StateEdo State is an inland state in central southern Nigeria. Its capital is Benin City. It is bounded in the north and east by Kogi State, in the south by Delta State and in the west by Ondo State.-History:...