Esogban of Benin, Chief Edebiri Dies at 93

 

                       Chief Edebiri

Hendrix Oliomogbe

The Esogban of Benin,  Chief David Edebiri Thursday died at the ripe age of 93 in Benin City after a brief illness.

According to a family member, who craved anonymity, pending the formal announcement of the news, Chief Edebiri, who would have been 94 on September 2 died peacefully at about 12:20 pm in a private hospital in the Edo State capital, surrounded by close family members.

The family member said: “The Esogban has not been too strong and we took him to the hospital a few days ago where he passed on this afternoon. The family will follow the protocols for the formal announcement to be made.”

The Esogban who is next after the Iyase (traditional Prime Minister of Benin Kingdom) is often referred to as the Odiownere (elder) of Benin due to his top position in the hierarchy of chiefs.

His last major outing which was reported widely in the press was during the  March 18 Governorship and State House of Assembly elections where he was quoted as saying that the February 25 Presidential election was the very best since he started voting way back in 1951.

He said that the Benin high chief, a close associate of President Bola Tinubu immediate past governor of Edo State, Senator Adams Oshiomhole during his time as a member of the  ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), had never missed any election since he cast his first vote in 1951 as a 22 years old young and upcoming politician.

Edebiri, who had a stint as a journalist and a writer, had last year during the occasion of his 93rd birthday unveiled two books, “Tripod of Life: Essence of Benin Tradition and Culture” and “The Life and Times of Iyase N’Ohenmwen”.

Dismayed by the slow rate of development in the country after independence in 1960, the old politician who quit partisan politics a few years ago, remarked at the event that Nigeria derailed from the path of development when it adopted the American Presidential System of government in 1979 instead of the British parliamentary system of government which was practised in the First Republic.