10th September, 2015
Jethro Ibileke/Benin
Seventeen years after the sudden disappearance of the Ogiamen of Benin Kingdom, Osarobo Okuonghae, his replacement was appointed on Wednesday in the person of Prince Rich-Arisco Osemwengie.
The installation of Prince Rich-Arisco Osemwengie, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), followed the inability of the family to locate the missing Ogiamen, who the family claimed left his palace since 1998.
His installation caused much rejoicing among family members who took to the streets of Benin City, drinking and dancing.
Ogiamen family is famous in Benin Kingdom and is located along Sokponba road. The palace of Ogiamen was the only building that stood after the British invasion of 1897 in which ancient Benin City was burnt down.
Spokesman for the Ogiamen family, Monday Wehere, said they installed a new Ogiamen because the family wanted to re-position itself to reclaim what belongs to them.
Wehere said this became necessary as the family has not heard from Ogiamen Osarobo since he left in 1998 and was not sure whether he was still alive.
He explained that the family decided to appoint the next in line as Ogiamen because Ogiamen Osarobo has no child known to the family, hence the reason why they deviated from the traditional ritual of appointing an Ogiamen by primogeniture.
“We need to put our house in order. The Ogiamen we have suddenly disappeared and we cannot trace him. If we do not put our house in order, who will renegotiate Ekiokpagha treaty.”
“The whole of us have resolved that Osarobo cannot rule us again. He just disappeared. He has Master Degree in History. He left 1998. He has no child as at the time he left.
“Because of the embarrassment, Ogiamen title has been moved to another lineage. Prince [Osemwengie] is a direct scion of Ogiamen. Osarobo cannot come to this palace again. It took us five hours to install the new Ogiamen. The head of the family pronounced that he (Osarobo) is dead,” Wehere said.