e carved a legacy defined by courage. When foreign powers advanced with the arrogance of conquest, the Kingdom of Benin did not bend. It stood upright, proud and unyielding, defending its sovereignty with the full weight of its traditions and its throne. Though the British incursion of 1897 succeeded in toppling the physical structures of our political authority, it did not conquer the spirit of the Kingdom.
Our civilization was wounded, but it was not erased. Our monarchy was exiled but never extinguished. The fire that burned in the hearts of our ancestors did not die, it remained, waiting for restoration.
Today, the world around us is changing with a speed that threatens to sweep away the quiet foundations of identity. Global systems push toward sameness, toward a world with no distinctions, no sacred symbols, no ancestral touchstones.
People are encouraged to forget who they are, where they come from, and what lineages built their name. In such a climate, preserving our tradition and our monarchial structure is not nostalgia, it is an act of resistance, an assertion of dignity, and a declaration that we refuse to be washed away by the tide.
For the Benin people, our monarchy is not a ceremonial relic; it is the spiritual and cultural heart of our civilization. The Oba of Benin represents the continuity of our moral authority, the custodian of our customs, and the embodiment of unity among the Edo people.
When you defend the palace, you defend the memory of those who carved bronzes, built moats with their hands, and defended their homeland with their lives. When you stand with the throne, you stand with centuries of wisdom that guided our ancestors long before today’s world knew its own name.
Thus, I call upon every son and daughter whose lineage traces back to this Kingdom, whether you walk the streets of Benin City or live in the diaspora scattered across continents. Do not allow our heritage to be diminished.
Do not stand silent when our traditions are mocked. Do not permit the erosion of the monarchy that has held our identity together for a thousand years.
In times like these, silence is betrayal. Neutrality is surrender. To abandon what our ancestors built is to forsake who we are.
Let the world do as it pleases, but let the children of Benin stand firm. Let us guard our customs, honour our institutions, and defend our palace with unity and dignity.
The modern world may prefer people without roots, without loyalty, and without a sense of history, but that shall not be our fate.
The Benin Kingdom rose from courage. It survived conquest through resilience. And it will endure into the future because its people choose to rise, generation after generation, to protect what is sacred.
As long as we have breath, the legacy of our fathers will not be erased.
As long as we stand together, the spirit of the Kingdom will never fall.
For the heritage
For the palace
For the Oba
For the Benin Kingdom, yesterday, today and forever
Oba ghato kpere Isee
Prince Joseph Ogiehor