Written by Senator Ehigie Uzamere
The ongoing controversy surrounding the so-called coronation of the Iyaloja of Edo State Market Association is a sad reflection of how some of our people choose to remain silent in the face of cultural encroachment and debasing. Even worse, some Benin Generals in politics, traditional, business and social prominence are not merely silent. They are pretending to be asleep.
They’re like the House Negroes who do not see anything wrong when their masters sleep with their wives. Unfortunately, a man who pretends to be asleep is more dangerous than a man who is actually sleeping.
Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan once said, “You can wake a man who is sleeping, but you can not wake a man who is pretending to sleep.” That profound truth captures our current predicament. Too many who should speak out have chosen the comfort of silence, masking indifference as wisdom and cowardice as diplomacy.
This is not the sleep of ignorance but that of deliberate pretense. They see the erosion of our traditions, they hear the distortion of our history, yet they prefer the false peace of neutrality. But neutrality in the face of cultural subversion is betrayal.
The coronation of an Iyaloja in Edo State is not a harmless social affair; it is a symbolic intrusion into the sacred identity of the Benin Kingdom. The Oba of Benin remains the undisputed custodian of Edo culture and tradition. Any attempt to replicate or mimic traditional authority under the cloak of market organization is an affront to our heritage and a challenge to our collective dignity.
Why should such an inauguration be held in a government house rather than within the community it claims to represent? Why the use of a crown either fake or original, a sacred symbol reserved for royal authority, in a purely social association? These are questions that pierce the conscience of any true son or daughter of Benin land.
Let no one be deceived: this issue is not about politics or ethnicity. It is about the integrity of our culture and the need to guard it against subtle political manipulation.
Those pretending to be asleep today should remember that when the foundation of a people’s heritage is shaken, no one remains untouched. The silence of now may become the regret of tomorrow.
Our culture has survived over many centuries. We should not let it die in our hands. Our ancestors are watching. The Benins must awaken. Let us remember that the man dies in him who keeps silent in the face of tyranny.
“Oya aya sinmwien Evbuomwan” meaning you defend your nationality with all ferocity.
Oba ghato, Okpere!!!
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