Akenzua II

Akenzua II
Akenzua II, c. 1936
Oba of Benin
Reign1933–1978
Coronation5 April 1933
PredecessorEweka II
SuccessorErediauwa
BornGodfrey Edokparhogbuyunmwun Aguobasimwin Ovonramwen
(1899-01-07)7 January 1899
Lagos, Nigeria
Died11 June 1978(1978-06-11) (aged 79)
Akenzua II's ancestral altars, 1936

Ọmọ n'Ọba n'Ẹdo Uku Akpọlọkpọlọ, Akenzua II (7 January 1899 – 11 June 1978) was the thirty-seventh Oba of Benin reigning from 1933 until his death in 1978.

Biography

Akenzua II attended Benin Government School from 1907, then King's College, Lagos, from 1918, passing the Junior Cambridge exam in 1921. Akenzua II was enthroned as Oba of Benin in April 1933 following the death of his father, Eweka II (r.1914 – 1933) in February that year. Oba Akenzua II was dedicated to the provision of western education for his subjects, the Edo people.

In 1936, he began the movement to return to Nigeria the Benin Bronzes looted from the royal compounds and ancestral altars in the punitive Benin Expedition of 1897. During his reign, only two of the 3,000 royal court bronzes were returned. However, two coral crowns and coral bead garment, thought to have belonged to Ovonramwen, were returned to him in the late 1930s by G.M. Miller a son of a member of the Benin expedition, who had loaned the pieces to the British Museum in 1935.

Oba Akenzua II died on 11 June 1978, when he was succeeded by his son, then Prince Solomon, who took on the title of Oba Erediauwa and duties as the traditional leader of the Edo people in Benin City, Nigeria.

Family

Statue of Akenzua II.

In 1923 his first son, Prince Solomon Aiseokhuoba Igbinoghodua Akenzua, was born. His chosen title was founded on the name Ere, relating to Oba Eresonye who is traditionally considered to be an incredibly wealthy Oba.

Akenzua's descendants include his daughter Princess Elizabeth Olowu, grandson Oba Ewuare II, great-grandson Crown Prince Ezelekhae Ewuare, granddaughter Peju Layiwola, and grandson Thompson Iyamu among others.

Efforts to recover Benin royal objects

Akenzua II sought the return of royal objects removed from the Benin royal palace during the Benin Expedition of 1897. Among the objects he sought were two royal stools, one brass and one wooden, which were in the collection of the Ethnological Museum in Berlin.

In February 1935, Akenzua II raised the issue of the stools with Ivor Windsor-Clive, 2nd Earl of Plymouth, during Plymouth's visit to Benin. The stools were located in Berlin in 1936. The German ethnologist and art historian Eckart von Sydow assisted in identifying them.

The Berlin museum authorities refused to release the stools but offered to have replicas made. The replicas were commissioned in 1938 and arrived in Lagos on 5 January 1939. Akenzua II paid 1,582 Reichsmarks for the production of the replicas, while the original stools remained in Berlin.

A further restitution request was made on 17 June 1943 by English barrister Philip Guedalla on behalf of Oba Akenzua II. The British colonial office, citing the stools' high value, recommended postponing discussion until after the war. Renewed restitution efforts emerged in the early 21st century, including petitions to the British Parliament and Nigerian art exhibitions between 2010 and 2015.

Germany committed to returning illegitimately acquired items in 2019, and announced full restitution in March 2021. A Joint Declaration between Nigeria and Germany on 1 July 2022 committed to returning 1,130 Benin Bronzes, including the two royal stools, alongside efforts to prepare conservation facilities and expertise in Nigeria. The stools were returned to Nigeria in December 2022 as part of the restitution of Benin objects from Germany. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock handed over 22 Benin Bronzes, including the royal stools, to Nigeria's Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed. On 18 May 2024, the National Commission for Museums and Monuments handed them over to Akenzua II's successor, Ewuare II, at the Royal Palace in Benin City.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "The Benin monarchy". National Daily. Lagos, Nigeria. 22 December 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  2. ↑ "Oba Akenzua II". www.edoworld.net. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  3. ↑ The Crisis. The Crisis Publishing Company, Inc. p. 161. ISSN 0011-1422. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  4. ↑ Hauser-Schäublin, Brigitta; Prott, Lyndel V. (2016-06-10). Cultural Property and Contested Ownership. Routledge. p. 139. ISBN 978-1-317-28183-2.
  5. ↑ "Edo history". edo-nation.net. 20 February 2017.
  6. ↑ Uche, Atuma (30 April 2016). "Life and times of Oba Erediauwa". The Sun. Lagos, Nigeria. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  7. ↑ Dr., Kwame Opoku. "Modernity And Tradition: Peju Layiwola". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Odutokun, Temidayo (3 November 2025). "The Restitution Efforts of Oba Akenzua II and the Significance of the Benin Royal Stools". Open Restitution Africa. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  9. ↑ Peraldi, Audrey (2017). "Die Rückgabeforderung des Oba Akenzua II". Kunst & Kontext (1): 23–33.
  10. ↑ Rogers, Thomas; Lassa, Rahila; Marshall, Alex. "How Germany Changed Its Mind, and Gave the Benin Bronzes Back". The New York Times. The New York Times. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  11. ↑ "22 Benin Bronzes Handed-over by Germany to Nigeria in Abuja". National Commission for Museums and Monuments. National Commission for Museums and Monuments. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  12. ↑ Braun, Stuart; Romaniec, Rosalia. "Germany returns looted Benin Bronzes to Nigeria". DW. DW. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  13. ↑ Egbejule, Michael (18 May 2024). "Looted ancestral stools return to Oba of Benin". The Guardian Nigeria. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  14. ↑ Igwe, Ignatius (2024-05-19). "Looted Ancestral Stools Return To Oba Of Benin". Channels Television. Retrieved 2026-08-12.
  15. ↑ Akinsanmi, 'Sola (2024-05-18). "'Looted ancestral stools' return to Oba of Benin". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. Retrieved 2026-08-12.