Architecture of Unforgetting

The Shy Warrior who saw the nymph Agbagbon with his naked eye, the punishment of Oboro-Uku and how the abduction of Adesuwa caused a war… The Esigie ban on the sale of humans was fully effective as early as 1516 for both genders. However in the mid to late 1700s, during the reign of Oba Akengbuda, the kingdom suddenly allowed itself to participate in a trade that Esigie had decreed forbidden. Why?  Let us recall firstly that the 1700s was the zenith of the European Slave Trade on the West African coastline and that, for much of the up and coming merchant European class, the sale of Africans was one of the most profitable and colony expanding enterprise. Whereas for the so-called ’Great Benin’ mentioned in pre-1600s texts, in adhering to its beloved king’s century old ban on the trade, experienced rapidly receding boundaries with the advent of slaving European traders stationed all around the outskirts of its fast shrinking empire.  Why then did the reclusive kingdom, refusing ...

MOWAA Part Three: Edo Paid First — Obaseki, Iheanacho, and the Donors Who Came After. INTRO: MOWAA was introduced to Edo people as a shared cultural legacy — a partnership involving Edo State, national institutions, and the Benin Palace. But documents tell a more complicated story. In this Truth Unveiled investigation PART 1 -3, we examine how MOWAA's structure evolved under the administration of Godwin Obaseki, raising serious questions about who truly controlled the project. From its registration in January 2020, to director removals in February 2022, and further trustee and board changes in October 2024, this episode follows the paper trail - the guarantors, the appointments, and the quiet changing of names behind the scenes. Why is ‘MOWAA’ a ‘private’ entity on paper with the public narrative that it is a “foreign” Donor project? Taken together, the documents establish a clear sequence: 1. Edo provided the land.  2. Edo paid first.  3. Edo unlocked donor particip...

Obaseki and MOWAA: A Public Legacy Wrapped in Private Control? Part One of the MOWAA investigation.  See also video. See _art Two below.  Also see :  MOWAA Part One:   https://www.facebook.com/reel/1501115394309824  MOWAA Part Two:  https://www.facebook.com/reel/891902693238787  MOWAA Part Three:  https://www.facebook.com/reel/1599433218163718  - by Osigwe Omo-Ikirodah   When the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) was unveiled, it was framed as a cultural rebirth — a legacy project rooted in Edo history and built on a partnership involving the Edo State Government, national institutions, and the Benin Palace. It was presented as public-spirited, heritage-driven, and institutionally anchored. However, a review of incorporation documents, amended governance papers, and Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) filings tells a more complex and troubling story — one marked by structural contradictions, quiet governance changes, and unresolved ques...