Iyaloja: Oba Ewuare Defend Edo Tradition, Culture

What was the daughter of President Bola Tinubu and Iyaloja-General, Mrs. Folashade Tinubu-Ojo thinking when she wanted to install Iyaloja in Edo?

Was she thinking that Edo State is part of Lagos or the South-west?

These were some of the questions that some persons asked penultimate week when Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, visited the palace of the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II to inform the monarch that she was in the state to inaugurate Pastor Josephine Ivbazebule as Iyaloja of all markets in the state.

Though the revered monarch took time to explain to her, the cultural role of market leaders in Benin Kingdom, he bluntly rejected the idea of introducing the Iyaloja title into Edo markets.

Oba Ewuare stressed that Benin culture recognises the Iyeki as the authentic market leader, not Iyaloja. He noted that the Iyeki’s role goes beyond coordinating traders and includes important cultural duties tied to the palace.

According to him, “Iyaloja is alien to us here in Benin. In Benin, you are in the home of culture, we have our culture here. I have discussed this matter with my chiefs and those that are knowledgeable. Do you know the role of Iyeki in Benin culture? Every Iyeki has a special relationship with the palace. Are you aware of that? Do you know that every Iyeki has a cultural role to perform inside every market?”

No doubt since Tinubu was elected president in 2023, Tinubu-Ojo has been spreading her influence.

First, he christened herself ‘Iyaloja-General of Nigeria – that is the godmother of Nigerian open-air markets.

She was also said to have updated her Twitter bio with the title, “First Daughter of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN)”.

She, thereafter, sent tongues wagging when a viral video where she positioned herself in what looked like a national broadcast, with Nigerian flags flying behind her, went viral. 

Days after the Oba rejected the move, a section of the market was said to have caught fire. This has to be thoroughly investigated to unravel the perpetrators. They should be arrested and face the full wrath of the law