KING OGBIDI OKOJIE THE GREAT

KING OGBIDI OKOJIE THE GREAT

During the British invasion, the Esan kingdoms fought the British Empire for more than 7 years before the invaders were able to take over the whole of Esanland. This history is restricted to one kingdom in Esan, out of the 35 independent kingdoms that engaged the British expeditionary forces from 1898 to 1906.

In 1900 Uromi Kingdom was invaded by the British Army. With no modern weapon just with bows and arrows and Dane guns OGBIDI THE GREAT was able to resist them for a period of six months until he was betrayed by one of his brother Iyahanebi and had to surrender to the British.

He was arrested and exiled to calabar. In Calabar, he survived the ordeal in detention and came back to Uromi Kingdom where he was crowned the 33rd king.

Not withstanding, He refused to fully accept the British new system of government, countering it with disobedience and maintaining his opposition to British rule. He continued in the way of his forebear until he was deported again. This time, to Benin city in 1918.

In 1924 he was transferred to Ibadan, in 1926 he made a dramatic escape back to Uromi Kingdom, he was arrested and taken back to Ibadan, until he was finally released in 1931 and he died in 1944.

His first son Prince Uwagbale Okojie was crowned king of Uromi in 1944. while alive his influence went beyond Esan, Agbor and Benin City. In Esan he was the supreme judge of criminal court that sat and tried murder cases at Agbede, Esan, kukuruku(now Auchi), Ologhodo(now Agbor). He built school and supported higher learning, he built roads from Uromi to Illushi, Agbor and Ehor.

This promted the Nigeria founding father CHIEF ANTHONY ENAHORO one of his grandchild to initiate the self government motion in Western House of assembly in 1953 that led to the independence of Nigeria on the 1st day of October 1960.