I am fascinated by Patrick Obahiagbon's independence message to Nigerians not because of his bombastic English but because of the historical significance of his adopted name (alias) IGODOMIIGODO. Not many Nigerians are aware that before 1200 AD, the people that were thereafter referred to as Benin were known as IGODOMIIGODO people and their local leader was titled OGISO. Then came ÒRÀNMIYÀN, the grandson of ODÙDÚWÀ, and invaded the IGODOMIIGODO territory and subjugated the people. When ÒRÀNMIYÀN subsequently left IGODOMIIGODO in anger, he installed his son, EWÉKÁ as the King and changed the name IGODOMIIGODO to ILÈ-ÌBINU. Thenceforth, the King was referred to as OMO N'OBA N'EDO which in Yoruba means Omo Oba Ni Edo, practically implying the son of King ÒRÀMIYÀN IN EDO. The word 'EDO' in Yoruba means a base or a settlement. A new town settlement in Yoruba land is called, TE-ÌLU-DÓ eg. ÈPETÈDÓ.
When the Portuguese came in the second half of the fifteenth century, they corrupted ILÈ-ÌBÍNU to BENIN which the British colonialist continued to recognize as the true name of the city. Benin people say the word Oba means to shine but in Yoruba, Oba means ascending (landing) on the throne. Follow this link to read Patrick Obahiagbon's fantastic independence message to Nigerians:- https://www.tori.ng/news/131484/read-patrick-obahiagbons-independence-message-to-nigerians.html
 | Patrick Obahiagbon, a former Nigerian lawmaker has wished Nigerians a happy birthday on the country's 59th independence. www.tori.ng |
No comments:
Post a Comment