Promote The ‘Unique Agbor Culture Instead Of Igbo’ – Dein Keagborekuzi Tells Subjects
The Oasis Reporters
May 17, 2018
Paramount ruler of the Ika speaking people in Delta State, Nigeria, Dein of Agbor Kingdom, His Royal Majesty Dr. Benjamin Ikenchukwu Keagborekuzi I, has enjoined his subjects to stop promoting Igbo culture, describing the Agbor culture as ‘unique and peculiar’.
The Dein gave the admonition at his palace recently while giving his royal blessings to the new Iregwa of Ogbemudien Community, Pa. Bogi Abagi. He called on the good people of Agbor Kingdom to join hands with him to effect the changes he desires to be in place. According to him, “I am back and happy to be in the midst of my subjects. This kind of gathering gives me joy because it is an opportunity for me to learn more from my people. There is room for change, therefore my wish and desire for my subjects is that they adopt and respect every change that is being made. Going through the history of Agbor Kingdom, one will thank the gods for wisdom. Thus, everyone will join hands with me to reposition things the way they ought to be in order to restore our lost glory”.
He called on all Agbor indigenes to preserve Agbor culture and stop promoting Igbo culture. His words, “stop giving our children Igbo names. The native names given to our children should be pronounced and written in Agbor language and not in Igbo or Ika language as Agbor has its own unique language. The Igbo red cap should also be dropped as it is not a native cap for Agbor Kingdom. Soon, I will start driving away my palace chiefs who are fond of coming to the palace, wearing red caps. Agbor traditions should be respected and preserved for future generations. Parents and the elderly should teach our children and the youths the culture of Agbor”.
The Odion of Agbor Kingdom, Chief Julius Ochei who led the new Iregwa and the people of Ogbemudien to the Dein’s Palace for blessing, said the Iregwa title goes to the oldest man in Ogbemudien Community, stating that it is the turn of Pa. John Bogi Abagi who is 89 years and the oldest man. The Iregwa, according to Chief Ochie is the traditional head of Ogbemudein Community in Agbor Kingdom.
In a chat, the Chairman of Ogbemudien Community, Hon. Simon Okpali lauded the Dein for his wealth of knowledge and prayed the good Lord to empower him. He expressed his confidence in the new Iregwa of Ogbemudien to lead well and thanked the Dein for his blessings.
It will be noted that Dein Keagborekuzie became the monarch of the kingdom as a
mere 28 months baby, when as the only son of his father who died abruptly in 1979, the then Bendel State government (now Edo and Delta states) swiftly spirited him and his mother to England where he was raised and educated.
Recorded in the 1981 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest monarch of his native Agbor in Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State.
His fairy tale life has been the subject of quite a few Hollywood movies in the making like ‘A KING WITHIN’, about
the “alchemy between modernity and tradition epitomized flawlessly by the Dein of Agbor, His Royal Majesty Benjamin Ikenchukwu, Keagborekuzi 1”.
About four years ago, award- winning British filmmaker, Tamara Gordon, announced the production of a film titled ‘ The King Within’, centred on the variegated life of the acclaimed world’s youngest monarch, his growing up years in London and how he has balanced his traditional responsibilities in a 21st Century society. Gordon, in an interview in 2015, claimed that she was inspired to do the biopic because, “The subject matter proved fascinating. Nigerian monarchies have experienced massive changes in the last century, and although stripped of their constitutional power in the 1960s, they still rule their kingdoms and function not just as living symbols of customs and traditions, but as portals of ancient wisdom.” She continued, “I decided immediately that I wanted to make a film about Keagborekuzi’s life. For this is the story of a supposed ordinary kid from the streets of West London, who returns to his ancestral land and turns out to be a king.
The very good looking Dein clocks 41 this year.
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Additional Reporting :
Ika Weekly Newspaper
PressReader
Thisday
