Pupils Re-Enact Benin History With Agho Obaseki

The Drama Group of Childville Schools Ogudu, Lagos, recently brought to life the rich history of Benin Kingdom through staging the play Agho Obaseki.

That the different groups that make up Nigeria have rich histories is not in doubt, but seeing such history re-enacted on stage brings a lot of excitement and pride.

Moreover, the play filled up the knowledge gap particularly in history, which many young and adult Nigerians are do not know. The pupils acting skills lit up the prestigious MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos. The audience was held spellbound with the performance of the youngsters.

The school’s philosophy of getting young Nigerians to appreciate the rich cultural endowment of the nation plus concerns about the preservation of Nigerian history prompted the performance, according to the school’s administrator, Mrs. Ajijola Alokolaro. She said true education should be robust and all-encompassing in order to nurture total children who are proud of their heritage, adding, “Childville School is committed to and would always invest time and other resources to ensure sustenance of this ideal”.

The play is centred on the 1897 Benin massacre by the British which was another dark period for the Edo nation. After the 1897 Benin massacre, Oba Ovonramwen was exiled to Calabar and this partially broke the friendship between Chief Obaseki and his childhood friend.

The role Chief Obaseki playe in the aftermath of the massacre as a go between for the British conquerors, especially during the bitter trial, placed Obaseki in a precarious position.

Also, after Oba Ovonramwen was exiled to Calabar, the subsequent elevation of Obaseki to the position of control of Edo government by the British during the inter-regnum made the Edos very suspicious of Obaseki. Obaseki, on realizing Ovonramwen’s banishment into exile, ordered his second son to accompany Ovonramwen to Calabar to serve him in his place.

Obaseki’s second son never returned from Calabar to Benin until January 1914, after Ovonramwen joined his ancestors. But there was continued cordial relationship between the two friends long after Ovonramwen died in exile.

This was the history that pupils of Childville School interpreted with skill and dexterity, which really made the play illuminating and insightful. The school’s management ought to be commended for its passion for history preservation through re-enactment.