Our Yam Festival Represents When Onicha-Ugbo Stood Against Benin: A Legacy of Courage and Freedom.

[00:00:00]on the Chaubu in Delta State still hold tightly their rich cultural heritage.

[00:00:07]This was evident when they celebrated their annual the inair festival to mark the end of the farming season and to commemorate their victorious battle of liberation from the Benin Kingdom in 1750. And CBC News Ekenda Amichi tells us more about the colorful display of culture and traditions of the predominantly agrarian people.

[00:00:39]Celebration of festivals is usually an opportunity for different tribes and ethnic groups to showcase their rich cultural heritage and also preserve their customs and beliefs by passing it from one generation to another.

[00:00:56]And here it is the most important day in onugu kingdom an agrarian community in acha north local government area of delta state. It is the in festival a new yam festival which is also a time to remember how they fought to gain freedom from the bin people.

[00:01:20]St. Pile's assist grammar school on the Chubu established in the year 1960 and this is the first place people of this ancient kingdom settled after leaving the Benin Kingdom in 1750.

[00:01:34]>> The our festival the one we are doing now is showcasing what happened then.

[00:01:47]That is our we are not just doing it because we have money or we and you see that is rough.

[00:01:55]People were rob shooting carrying cut glasses. That's was what happened then. That's what we were commemorating.

[00:02:08]Today is the day the soldiers who fought that war will come to give account of what happened, what they how they fought the war, [music] how they won, how everything happened in the warfront.

[00:02:24]This is the only day in the year that the the town eases tension and people allowed to insult their superiors. And one of the key ways of insulting your superior, especially if you have grudges, is to pour mud on the person.

[00:02:43]>> The whole town is in celebratory mode as the people from far and near return to their roots to celebrate with their kids and king in what is arguably the grandest celebration. In few weeks time again it might actually fall in September, late August, early September or maybe early October.

[00:03:14]This is a yearly festival in my village.

[00:03:18]I want you to go back to this video when I made it in 2025 to watch the complete episode. But there are something I want to point out in that history.

[00:03:31]For those who are following me for the first time, my name is Chukao.

[00:03:36]I am from Onub in North Local Government of Delta State is a G. [laughter] That is why I wear this clo. God negotiate me. [laughter] You know when I started making video a lot of people will tell me go to your king, go to your elders. It is what they say is the final small boy like you cannot change the narrative. You cannot tell the story. You listen to a live interview on national TVC documented where my king is stating the fact not just that we are in the but our festival depict the war that we fought with the bin kingdom.

[00:04:27]Hey Jesus JESUS MAKE I SHOUT AGAIN. HEY, COCO.

[00:04:38]And some people they shout during this festival, Coco.

[00:04:42]Which he said that the woman who saw the Bini warriors approaching the Sim clan shouted Coco to allow the soldiers.

[00:04:55]And my men Maybe you don't understand. Let me explain to you. They say my people now people be say when they see fight they will refuse to eat. They take fight as a food. And this same addage is also attributed to the people in Anra state.

[00:05:20]Tell me how we are not brothers or how we are notable.

[00:05:26]Juni the people that saw fight and refuse to eat until the fight is won they will not eat.

[00:05:35]You heard it that whatever transpire in their festival is a show and display of how our people were able to fight dirty and defeated the benines who were sent to to fight us. Now there is a primal question I want to ask you. Bani they fight Bani.

[00:05:57]This is not fighting about land. This is fighting about conquering, suppressing slavery. This is what the fight is all about. Bene they fight bini.

[00:06:09]If you hear two e land fighting, they are not fighting to conquer each other.

[00:06:14]They are fighting to grab land.

[00:06:18]But this fact is not that bene want to grab our land. This fact is that they want to dominate and win us and conquer us.

[00:06:26]That will tell you right from day when I've been saying it that we are not the same.

[00:06:32]If our king is Benin when the soldiers of Benini empire send their enter to come and visit him, he will not declare war. He will submit.

[00:06:46]But you can't come and be claiming people by force. Our king say nah it know they happen we resist you we defend our territory.

[00:06:56]So when they send the message back to the Oba, the Oba said no, we need to conquer this because he thought we are small that we are going to be people they will walk over and then he send soldiers and our people decimated them, put them hands down and kill them finish.

[00:07:13]That is what transpire and for information it took 4 days for the Benini kingdom to be decimated by 1,200 soldiers by the British government.

[00:07:26]But it took 31 years for the British government to be able to conquer the Anyoma people. That will tell you the strong warriors we have in clan.

[00:07:41]The war was fought between.

[00:07:50]This is where the war was fought majorly and 31 good years our people told the British government they have to send soldiers to back up from the from the from THE BRITAIN WITH HIGH ammunition to be able to finish after 31 years only 30 years 30 years now don't marry born They they tell things a joke. See I say evidence yakba I'm not the one who went to interview these people so that you not say I pay them you they pay them you don't give them money that's why they say this at national TVC owned by Euroba person came to do documentary for our festival and have to interview the kings and some others to find out why are we doing this festival what does it represent this war was given a In 1750 they give you the date of the war the year happened 1750 and we are told that bene not conquer so that you come on I say now bene people CONQUERED US THAT NO they did not we know that our forefathers there's a chief ran away from there because then his clan are not big but when he came back here and recruit as people they do with our brothers you weapon.

[00:09:26]People were able to fashion weapon. This in That is what happened. And this is the story I want you to hear because very soon the first will come.

[00:09:46]Some of you are doing this in in some of you they do this in in you don't know what he represent. This is the true story of what he represent. REMEMBER IS THE FIRST SON of a son. SO WHATEVER said remains.

[00:10:07]I know some people now be saying but this king recently went TO PAY HOMAGE.

[00:10:11]YES, I can go and bomage. That doesn't mean THAT I'M TRULY HIS BROAD. WE DON'T SHARE THE same DNA.

[00:10:20]We don't have the same culture. We don't have anything similar. People they pay homage to people. That doesn't mean we are the same. BUT WE UNDERSTAND WHY THE iselus are trying to fight their ancestry.

[00:10:34]MOSTLY THE PALACE OF THE king of Iseluku because we know there are some videos I've shared here about the lios some quarters in isu WHO ARE THE FIRST SETTLERS of Iselu land who have said they are deos they are not been but we understand mostly COMES A TIME WHERE on say no we are not going to allow to be playing identity politics there was a time always claimed to be the head of achievement clown. If you still reach their their sign board, their welcome gate, you see where it was written. AS OF THAT YEAR, I was small, what ono used to write is on Jesus town. If you go to gate, you see them right on Jesus town.

[00:11:20]But the day on said no, we want to take our rifle place. These people should not be doing this. Ono went and did their new gate, remove welcome to Jesus town and PUT JOBLESS ACHIEVEMENT. THAT PERIOD is started thinking that if they associate themselves to the bin, it will give them the the the superiority to overshadow the whole history going around here. They never knew that the 21st century where this kind of social media will be that people will people like us will come out and start telling the true story of their region. And I've told you people time after time I'm going to be here to bring fact and evidence. I've told you the reason why I'm motivated to make video is because of the lies that have been told about us. And if I have to counter lies, I have to bring fact and evidence which is a superior truth to everything we are saying. So you can't come and tell me now say go ask your king. Yes my boy go ask your elders. These are my elders, my village people. Because for this interview to be recorded like this, you would have known that the entire village believe this story. So you can't go to NOW AND SAY EVEN if you see any man who is still living identic crisis, he's playing politics with but he can't come to and saw the WISE WE WILL QUESTION HIM WHETHER he a truly son or imposer.

[00:12:44]THIS IS HOW TRUTHFUL it is and this is how it spread to all because we are the first son of which is a grandson according to history.

[00:12:58]However, I've also said that we are not he has said it in a video is in my page, in my Facebook, in my Tik Tok and in my YouTube constantly be lying. The time they use that spirality to play politics is over.

[00:13:22]No more divide and rule. WE'LL BE HERE to bring fact and evidence. will be hitting it on you people's head boo if you don't like him hog transformer you have to accept the truth I know it's going to be difficult for you to swallow what you have been believing for a very long time I said it time without number if you tell a child that your father you are living before after 30 years not your father is going to find it difficult if I bring a child I give it to you that listening to me after 20 years if I ask a child who is the father who the mother he will accept that you are the one then when I do DNA test show the child say that man that you are living with is not your father see who your father is he will find it difficult to believe even though the DNA is there he will question the DNA whether it's doctorred whether is a prank or how because he has lived his life with these people and nobody have ever told him see who is your father or who is your mother this is what is happening to you since you are born all have been hearing we are not including me that is telling you my father told me I have brought but when I grew up I make research because in me I cannot live with this lie how can I be bearing tua speaking I dialect practicing I culture eating I food having tribal mark go first if I even die they will bury me the way they burying ebo >> suddenly you are telling me I'm not e something must be wrong somewhere that is why people like us went into research to discover that all we have been told is a fabricated fallacy falsehood if you go to the book written by the late bini he said in his BOOK THAT THE QUERIES and the chair are typical if the custodian can say that so if you see an man coming to say we ARE NOT ABLE THAT is because you have been TRAINED WITH THIS LIFE for more than 20 years 30 years and that's why even when they bring DNA test like that child and show you it'll be difficult for you to accept but we're going to be here because they say reputation calls for emphasy if you have lived with this same with 20 years I promise you 10 years to be online till I'm able to conquer your belief system I'm out of here jaw