The Okpe people live in Nigeria’s Delta State and are a member of the Urhobo ethnic group. Okpe Kingdom is home to more than 240,000 people and occupies an area of roughly 200 square miles. Among the Urhobo states, it is the biggest kingdom. The territory of Okpe, Oghara, and Idjerhe are divided by the River Ethiope. The Urhobo states of Agbarho, Agbon, Ughienwe, and Uvwie are bordered by Okpe as well. The Okpe people own Delta State, which includes Sapele, the second-largest city. The following sources provide Okpe Kingdom its authority and power: The Otota (Speaker), The Orodje (King) and The Ekakuros (Chiefs).
The Orodje is the ruler of the kingdom and the head of the Okpe supreme council, the Udogun Council. The king serves as the president and head of the Okpe Traditional Council.
The Okpe spokesman is the Otota. The Speaker is the most significant spokesperson in Okpe Kingdom in the event that the Orodje passes away. Actually, he holds a role akin to that of a prime minister. The Chiefs are members of the four ruling houses in Council and serve as the people’s representatives. The Urhobo Okpe people’s royal family was founded by Prince Igboze. He was the Benin Empire’s Oba (king)’s son. He saw the Empire’s power waning in the middle of the seventeenth century and became determined to establish his own kingdom out of fear for its future. He acquired his title of Ovie (king) from his second cousin for this reason. The king of Benin at the time was Oba Ahenzae (1640-1661).
In the middle of the seventeenth century, he and his spouses, family, and several followers (slaves) departed from Benin Kingdom and headed south. He reached Orere-Olomu, his new territory. When Igboze’s new kingdom had been established for about ten years, an Ibo by the name of Olomu paid him a visit. Olomu cohabited with Igboze for a considerable amount of time and was able to gain his trust to the point where Igboze named him his heir.
At the time of his death, Igboze was the most powerful person in his new territory, having been granted the title of Ovie (king). Following Igboze’s passing, Olomu assumed the name Ovie. This led to a rift as Olomu and Okpe, the son of Igboze, argued over who should become king. Later, Okpe and his supporters left the area and made their home in the Isoko Okpe’s Agbarho quarters. Okpe was born and raised in Isoko Okpe. Okpe had four sons, Orhue, Orhoro, Evwreke, and Esezi, before he passed away. The royal members of the Urhobo Kingdom of Okpe are descended from those four sons.
Prince Igboze, the son of a Benin Empire king, was the father of Prince Okpe. Prince Orhue (d. 1772) was born in 1694. The Okpe people vowed to assassinate him in 1779 after growing weary of his harsh treatment of them. The Okpe people excavated a pit in secret, covered it with sticks and mats, and set the king’s chair over it. They got a pot of boiling palm oil ready as well. They convened a meeting when they were prepared. Esezi I fell into the pit when he sat on the chair. He passed away in anguish after the people doused him in boiling water and oil and cursed the Okpes, saying they “will never be reunited under an Orodje” (Mebitaghan, 2001, p. 6; Asagba, 2005.
Because I disregarded the Okpe constitution and didn’t operate within its bounds, Sezi I was executed. Additionally, he was unable to represent the aspirations and ideals of harmony and joy that served as the cornerstone of the Okpe people’s monarchical government. Following his passing, there was a great deal of unrest in Orerokpe, the state capital, as a result of the Esezi family’s displeasure over the murder of their leader. The entire city of Orerokpe was engulfed in flames as the capital was set ablaze. Between his descent group and supporters and the other Okpes, there was violence and division.
Supporters and family of the King left the capital city. Those who were unable to flee were either put to death or expelled from the city (Kerr, 1929). Otite (1973) states on page 61 that “the death of Esezi I occurred 150 years before 1929, that is, in about 1779″ (1928) verified on page 6 that Esezi I was slain in 1779. Following Esezi I’s assassination, Okpe government and politics were dominated by four chiefs: Odorume of the Orhue ruling house, Owhere of the Orhoro ruling house, and Erohwo and Ogoni of the Evwreke ruling house. These chiefs divided the entire kingdom, leaving no part for the Esezi ruling house (Otite, 1973, p. 67; Asagba, 2005, chapter 2). The Okpe Revolution was in effect during this time.
The family split up and its branches dispersed throughout the towns and villages of Okpe Kingdom as a result of Esezi I’s assassination in 1779 and the revolution that ensued. After Esezi I’s murder, Okpe Kingdom was left without a monarch for 166 years. Up until H.R.M. Esezi Il’s selection in 1945, political representatives from the four ruling houses headed the kingdom. John Deven, the royal family of Mebitaghan of the Esezi family of the Urhobo Kingdom of Okpe, gave birth to Esezi ll.
With the British maintaining indirect control over the kingdom in 1940, the Okpe Union recognized the pressing need to fill the vacancy left by Esezi I’s passing. However, the British Colonial government objected to Esezi ll’s selection and refused to acknowledge him as the Okpe king, so the installation of the latter on the throne had to wait. But even though the Okpe people crowned Esezi ll as their king in January 1945, the colonial government did not acknowledge him as such until June 1948, at which point the Okpe people were free to accept and honor the king as their head of state.
Esezi I ruled under British rule from 1945 to 1966. He was the first Okpe king to hold office in the indirect administration of Great Britain. Esezi Il strove to establish a democratic and constitutional monarchy under the Okpe kingship during his rule. March 16, 1957, The Okpe Tradition and Constitution were accepted and ratified by Esezi ll, allowing the king-headed Okpe Traditional Council to start operating democratically. Esezi lI was one of the Nigerian delegates of traditional kings who attended the 1957 Lyttelton Conference in London with Funmilayo Ransom Kuti to support Nigeria’s independence movement when the country started to seek its independence from Great Britain. Esezi Il and his council of chiefs were elected to the Nigerian House of Chiefs for the Western region during his reign. Esezi Il was elected in 1956 to serve as the Urhobo division’s representative in the local House of Chiefs, a role he held until 1960.
