Okpe Kingdom

H.R.M. Esezi I, King of Okpe

The Fourth Son of Prince Okpe

Reigned 1770-1779 (18th century)

According to the 1947 Okpe Chiefs statement on the traditional history of the kingship of Okpe, the Okpe people wanted to have a king to rule their domain so as to maintain peace, equity, and order in their traditional land, so Esezi, the son of Prince Okpe, was appointed as the Orodje of Okpe. He was installed by his senior brother, Orhue.

He installed Esezi because he was too old to rule and because there was a quarrel between the two other brothers Orhoro and Evwreke. Esezi ascended the throne as Esezi I, the Orodje of Okpe.

Esezi I’s installation caused controversy within the Okpes who felt he was not the right royal family member to be crowned. During his regime, Esezi I ordered his people to cut down large palm trees in order to see them crushed by the weight of the trees. He also ordered members of the ruling houses to break a huge bar of iron, and when they failed, ordered them killed. He was a ruler who violated his people’s human rights and did only as he wished.

In 1779, the Okpe people, tired of his brutal treatment of them, vowed to kill him. The people of Okpe secretly dug a pit, covered the pit with sticks and mats, and placed the king’s chair over the pit. They also prepared a pot of boiling palm oil. When they were ready, they called a meeting. When Esezi I sat on the chair, he fell into the pit. The people poured the boiling oil and water over him, and he died in agony, cursing the Okpes that they “will never be reunited under an Orodje” (Mebitaghan, 2001, p.6; Asagba, 2005).

Esezi I was killed for undermining the Okpe constitution and failing to work within its framework. He also failed to embody the hopes and symbols of unity and happiness which formed the basis of the monarchial government of the Okpe people. After his death, the Esezi family were unhappy over the assassination of their leader, and there was great unrest in the state capital city of Orerokpe. The capital was set on fire, and a consuming blaze swept through the city of Orerokpe. There was bloodshed and disunity between his descent group and supporters and the rest of the Okpes. The King’s relatives and supporters fled the capital city. Those who could not escape were either killed or driven from the city (Kerr, 1929).

According to Otite (1973), “the death of Esezi I occurred 150 years before 1929, that is, in about 1779” (p. 61). Fellows (1928) confirmed that Esezi I was killed in the year 1779 (p. 6). After the assassination of Esezi I, four chiefs—Odorume of Orhue ruling house, Owhere of Orhoro ruling house, and Eruohwo and Ogoni, both of Evwreke ruling house—dominated Okpe government and politics, and redivided the whole kingdom, leaving no portion for the Esezi ruling house (Otite, 1973, p. 67; Asagba, 2005, chapter 2). This period was known as the Okpe Revolution.

The assassination of Esezi I in 1779 and the revolution that followed prompted a split in the family and the migration of its branches to different towns and villages throughout Okpe Kingdom. Okpe Kingdom remained without a king for 166 years after the assassination of Esezi I. The kingdom was under the leadership of political representatives from the four ruling houses until the selection of H.R.M. Esezi II in 1945.

Esezi II was born John Deveno to the royal family of Mebitaghan of the Esezi family of Urhobo Kingdom of Okpe. In 1940, with the British indirect rule of the kingdom, the Okpe Union saw the urgent need to fill the vacancy created by the death of Esezi I. But the installation of Esezi II to the throne had to wait because the British Colonial government opposed his selection and refused to recognize him as the Okpe king. However, the Okpe people installed Esezi II as their king in January 1945, but it was not until June 1948 that the Colonial government declared that they would recognize him as the Okpe king and that the Okpe people were free to regard and treat the king as their leader.

British rule marked the reign (1945-1966) of Esezi II. He was the first Okpe king to rule under the British indirect government. During his reign, Esezi II worked to make the Okpe kingship a democratic and constitutional monarchy. On March 16, 1957, Esezi II approved and signed into law the Okpe Tradition and Constitution, which enabled the democratic processes to begin functioning within the Okpe Traditional Council headed by the king.

When Nigerians began seeking their independence from Great Britain, Esezi II was among the Nigerian delegates of traditional kings who participated in the 1957 Lyttelton Conference that was held in London to help seek Nigerian independence.

During his reign, Esezi II and his council of chiefs became members of the House of Chiefs under the Western region of Nigeria. In 1956, Esezi II was chosen to represent the Urhobo division in the regional House of Chiefs and retained his position until 1960.

Esezi II is remembered by the Okpes as a ruler who brought his ideology of social equality to the Okpe monarchy by introducing a democratic system of government and as the first Okpe ruler to work with the British Colonial officers. Esezi II died in 1966 at the age of sixty-four.