Owodo

Owodo , the 31st ogiso was the last Ogiso of Evhuoto and igodomigodo kingdom . During his reign the kingdom experienced alot of events both the good and the bad that led to 50 years of interregnum. He continiued from Ogiso Arigho when the kingdom was still recovering from the effects of hunger and starvation. After Owodo was crowned Arigho's money was still available in the bank.

Owodo was an open mineded person with a mindset to make everyone equal to their right and this cursed him to loss his political prowess unlike many other ogisos who showed ruggedity towards their reign. His good deeds spread across many Urhobo's across igodomigodo including the Erhowa people whom has sadly left the kingdom due to power tuzzzle between the Aka and Efa lineage. The Erhowa people are of the Aka lineage and considered as one of the Urhobo groups to migrate to the present Delta territory in 884AD. Erhowa is now part of the Isoko ethnic groups as many parted ways from their Urhobo identity in 1957 - 1963. Ogiso Owodo encourages many and brought back people that are considered as commoners to possess their rightful place . Due to this he lost control over the Edion, Enigie, Ekakuro etcs among others. The Enigie, and other title holders that were created by the past Ogiso since the days of Orriagba to Ehended dynasties had grown and became very wealthy, particularly through the use of slave labour. This couldnt be changed even to when the Aka lineage took abck the thrown from the time of Ogiso Ohuede. They had been encouraged since the reign of Obioye and Arigho to be independent of the palace and provide for themselves through farming. The knew Owodo to be a very generous person without a powerful authority to subject them to his rule. There after they ignored him entirely. They did what they like and get away . The towns and villages under the influence of these Nobles and title holders strove towards independence likewise the outpost of Igodomigodo seen as at then as uhumwhuduwun as part of the Urhobo people in the present Abraka territory and the Ukwaini in the far south became so free and stopped paying homage and tributes to igodomigodo kingdom. The Erhowa people became very powerful and was projected by Owodo resulting to their greatness overtime.

This events that took place was not beneficial to the Nobles, they started flouting the law of the land and , embezzling the sales tax or Arigho’s money which was kept for reserved purposes. Converting the kingdom’s land and properties into private properties and selling them. This practices made it difficult for the poor citizens to get land for farming in Igodomigodo kingdom. This further widened the gap between the rich and the poor and the rich become richer, while the poor become poorer. The worst affected were the slaves, who lost access to land and the rich people started selling them as a means of making money. People became concerned about accumulating riches and no longer took interest in the affairs of the Kingdom. There now existed social discontent in the kingdom. The Urhobo people who are outside the Igodomigodo like the Erhowa's became very prosperous overtime and became competitive to the kingdom due to the oppresive activities done in igidomigodo land. However Erhowa of the then Urhobo people and the present Oghwoghwa clan of Urhobo people regard Owodo and Ohuede among the best Ogisos of the later Ogisos of Igodomigodo kingdom. Prince Oghwowgha is a direct bloodline of Ogisos Owodo. The territory of the Urhobo people covering the present day Urhobo's and Isoko are majorly renamed after Ogiso Ovwodo . Ogiso Ovwodo was highly celebrated by the Urhobo' considered as the re-incarnation of Ogiso Ere and Ogiso Ohuede. Until date many kings of the Urhobo people of the past bear the names of Ovwodo including many towns named after Ovwodo in Ogor kingdom, Ughelli kingdom, Agbarha Otor kingdom, Idjerhe kingdom , Olomu Kingdom, Igbide KIngdom, Agbarha Warri Kingdom, Evwreni Kingdom and many more.

The 5 King makers reffered to as the Edionisen who would have helped Ogiso Owodo to restore order to the kingdom were no better than other title holders and had become outlaws themselves. Before Owodo came to the throne, the Edionisen had become very powerful, influential and proud of their hereditary position.

They had built for themselves palatial structures similar to that of Ogiso since the days of Orriagba who made their position hereditary Ogiso Oduwa, Ogiso Obioye, Ogiso Arigho were all conscious of the growing powers of the edionisen and their influence in the land. They tried to check their excesses and made them respect the crown without eliminating them from the palace. In this way they were able to retain their support and have peaceful reigns. Rather than use of tack and diplomacy, Owodo confronted the edionisen and other Nobles. He stopped them carrying Ada along the streets and when coming to the palace, stopped their wives having a special hair-do (okuku and ukpohokho) He forbade them from having their own chiefs without permission. He abolished slavery’, sale of land and sale tax, of Arigho money, and forbade people attaching themselves to Nobles: Edionisen stopped going to the palace. They were joined by other chiefs, Nobles and others to avenge for the withdrawal of slaves from them. The edionisen were of coürse mindful of their hereditary position and started plotting ways of dealing with Owodo But the slaves and poor people jubilated in the sreets in support of Owodo’s laws which freed them from slavery and: economic bondage.


Ogiso Owodo, Ekaladerhan And Esagho :
Ogiso Owodo married morethan 200 wives. This is a regular practices of the Aka lineage from avoiding any isues in other to continue the primogeniture system of ogieship by their sons. However the case of Ogiso Owodo it was otherwise because he have only one son named Ekaladerhan. He had only a son called Ikaladerhan who was the hope of continuing the dynasty. Among all the women only Imade had a son, Ekaladerhan. All efforts to make them have children failed. The wives led by the senior wife Esagho continued to clamour for children. Due to this pressure Owodo sent Esagho to an oraclist in company of his servants to find out the cause. The oracle claimed that Esagho was responsible for the barrenness of the women and unless Esagho was killed, the women would not produce children.

On their way back Esagho begged for her dear life and asked the servants to tell Ogiso that the oracle held Ikaladerhan responsible and Ikaladerhan should be killed Esagho promised them fantastic gifts and also threatened that if they failed to abide with her instructions, she would lie to the Ogiso that the servants had intruded into her privacy and slept with her.
The men knowing fully what Esagho could do became afraid and accepted to change the message of the oracle. When they arrived Esagho told her husband and other wives that Ekaladerhan was responsible for their barrenness and unless he was killed no one could bear any child and they would remain fever barren.

After much pressure, Ogiso Owodo agreed to kill Ikaladerhan, the only hope of the throne in order to have more children. This was the normal attitude of Owodo to bring justice as he wasnt concerned about the implication it would curse in the case of his only son. However Owodo was depressed, but as a king who stood for justice and equity, he ordered Ikaladerhan to be executed. The executioners saw Owodo as a thoughtless father who would take decision without giving it much thought and weighing the consequences. They took pity on Ikaladerhan and freed him at a village called Urhuokhokho along Ekehuan Ughoton road. They further killed a chicken and the blood was used to rub their swords to give the impression that they had really executed Ikaladerhan.
Ekaladerhan was instructed with a promise to never return back to Igodomigodo so as to save their lives from the hands from his father, Ogiso Owodo. They are aware that it was not Ikaladerhan that the oracle recommended to be killed.

Ekaladerhan purported execution are still remembered in a Benin song that;
Ede , ne a khun Ikaladerhan
Ame kaka maa rho
Oven kaka maa yunmwun
Ede susu aro vbe ne o khje
Errio agbon vbe erinmwin vbe khie

Meaning: On Ikaladerlian exile
Not a drop of rain did fall
And sun withdrew her ray
The day was dull with grieving
As it was set avenging.

Ikaladerhan wandered away and stopped at Ughoton. The Olughoton or Okeavho took him and cared for him. He finally left when news reached him that his father was already aware of his presence in Ughoton.

Three years passed after the purported execution of Ikaladerhan. None of Ogiso Owodo’s wives was still able to become pregnant. Investigation then revealed that Esagho had master minded the whole story. She was killed Attempts were made to bring Ikaladerhan back but he refused and continued on his wandering

OSOGAN
Another problem that arose during Owodo’s reign was the emergence of Osogan which terrorized the City and neighbouring areas. Osogan had been described as a man eating animal by J. U. Egharevba. It was a very huge animal - as big’ as an elephant. It suddenly appeared, at about 1090 A.D. in Okedo near Ikpoba river between the area of Eyanugie and third East circular road junction along Akpakpava area. Okedo is the main road leading to (Ekiogiso) Ogiso rnarket, now called Agbado market this market was a great commercial centre and the biggest in the capital city of Igodomigodo. Goods from trans-Sahara trade caravans and ‘other sister kingdoms Iike Ghana, Mali Old Ife (Uhe) Okene, Idah Ozigono Wadai, Kanuri, Zarja. Gombe, Kano,Gohir Kebbi and Katsina found their way to Abado market. More so materials from the South such places like Brass, Bonny Onitsha and Aboh, Wadah and Mahin were also brought there. So one can see that Agbado was a great commercial market that received goods from all over.North and West Africa in early days. That it was disturbed by a man eating animal, was of great concern to the people who wanted this problem solved. But Ogiso Owodo had no answer to it. At night around Okedo, people were afraid to come out and many people stopped going to the market. For fear of being attacked by Osogan and this led to the expression in those days when greeting in the market.

“A gba do
A ¡ gba rre”

Meaning “We trade together
We do not return together”

It is from this expression that .Ekiagbado or Aghado market was derived as a substitute for Ekiogiso the former name.

The destruction caused by Osogan remained both a prominent cause of problems and disaffection towards Owodo. The people wanted urgent solution to the problem of Osogan. One day one of the senior Nobles on iron smith, Evian, killed the terrible Osogan by throwing a burning hot iron into the monster’s mouth. It cried widely and ran into the bush. It never appeared again. That meant that it had died.

Evian therefore, killed Osogan. That feat brought Evian into prominence and people started looking upon him as their saviour and protector from the jaw of Osogan the monster instead of the king.

The final undoing of Ogiso Owodo was his killing of a pregnant woman which was an abominable act. Ehiosu was a, pregnant widowed woman. She was married to Ogbeifun a nephew of Oliha, one of the Edionisen. But the man was murdered and it is believed that Owodo has a hand in the killing. Day and night Ehiosu cursed Ogiso Owodo. with impunity.

When Ogiso Owodo did not react, Ehiosu was emboldened to go to the gate way of Ogiso palace and started weeping and cursing. Owodo ordered the woman to leave the palace gate but she would not. She demanded her late husband from him.” Where is my husband’? Where is Ogbeifun my husband? Give me my husband, Owodo give me my husband” was the cry of Ehiosu.

Those who were present at the palace even the Nobles or the Chiefs who would have told her to depart, sympathized with her and shared in her sorrow instead. This was the greatest provocation to an already distressed Owodo.

Owodo in his fury and high temper hit the woman and killed her If it were to be in normal circumstances, no one would dared accuse the king since he had power over life and death But this was a different case since Ehiosu was a pregnant woman. By this act, Owodo had Committed a crime ‘Kirri Kuviia” KimkuVua literary rneans the murdering of a pregnant woman In Igodomigodo or Evbuoto,Kirrikuvua was a crime punishable by death either by gallows hanging or Ostracizing. No one in the land was exempted from this law which must be upheld in all cases. Also it is a law of the land that no king should be hanged nor gallows But since Owodo was a king, the law was a bit relaxed and the resolution passed in the council of the Nobles was that Owodo would be banished Owodo was therefore banished from Igodomigodo throne to his village Ihinmwinrin He later died there after three years in 1100 A D Thus ended the reign of 31 kings 40 B.C. - 1100 A.D. The Nobles succeeded on the long run and removed Owodo from the throne.

THE USE OF POWER
Generally, Owodo was a weak ruler. He failed to utilize the various opportunities he had. For instance he could not direct the freed slaves to deal with the Nobles militarily. Thus vested with as much authority as someone wearing the crown could wield he relaxed and allowed the Nobles to intimidate him. This position was a test of character and ability to handle crisis. A king worth his sort might have used such situation to reduce the power of his rivals. The freed slaves and some trusted friends would have been helpful in that situation. He failed to appoint new councilors and to fill offices with his hunch men. To worsen the matter Owodo was generous to his enemies. He emptied the treasury of Arigho

Those who ate and dined with him called him an extravagant king. Although we have blamed him as a weak king, yet he wanted to avoid becoming a tyrant. He abhorred the methods by which blood would flow from the subjects as a means of dissolving the opposition. In the face of this problem he sought to enthrone persuasion and gentleness. His most striking efforts were the decree for the freedom of slaves in the kingdom. He endowed them with impregnable rights, the rights to be free, to own property, to speak their mind and to resist oppression.

With regards to his son: he was weak and failed as a king who should have known that an heir to the throne was not one that should be so treated. This was where he offended the Edionise more than anyone else. Hence it is said that he was punished by the ancestors for freeing the slaves and ordering the execution of his only son.