On 24 July 1935, a remarkable photograph was taken inside the palace of the Oba of Benin. Among the distinguished chiefs gathered for the visit of the Earl of Plymouth was Chief Okoro-Otun, the Iyase of Benin.
The photograph, preserved in an archival collection documenting Benin and Nigerian history, captures Okoro-Otun during the reign of Oba Akenzua II, who had ascended the throne in 1933. Behind the assembled chiefs were the walls of the palace, while the image recorded a generation of Benin traditional leaders during the colonial period.
But the man standing in that photograph had an unusual personal history.
A Benin Man Shaped by Yorubaland
Okoro-Otun's earlier life was closely connected with Yorubaland.
Several accounts identify his original name as Omokhua, while another historical account identifies him as Omokhanunuomwan. Later traditions also associate him with the name Okoro-Otun. Because the available sources do not agree on every detail of his early biography, it is safer not to treat every version of his personal name and birthplace as equally established.
What is considerably clearer is his connection with the Benin royal restoration after the British occupation of Benin in 1897.
Historical accounts describe Okoro-Otun as one of the Benin men who had lived for a considerable period in the Yoruba-speaking regions and later returned to Benin. A local historical account places his return around 1915, during the period when Prince Aiguobasimwin was working towards restoring the Benin monarchy. A later account describes him as having served as the Esama before eventually becoming Iyase.
His experience in Yorubaland appears to have influenced his identity and manner. One account specifically remembers that he had difficulty speaking Edo when he returned, yet became deeply involved in Benin affairs.
That mixture of Benin ancestry and Yoruba cultural influence would later become particularly significant.
From Esama to Iyase
Okoro-Otun eventually rose through the hierarchy of the Benin traditional system.
Historical accounts agree that Oba Eweka II appointed him Iyase, although the precise year is presented differently in some secondary accounts. A scholarly study of Benin's political crises states that Eweka II made Okoro-Otun Iyase in 1928. Other accounts connect his appointment with the period following the death of Iyase Agho Obaseki in the early 1920s.
The office was far more than an honorary title.
The Iyase occupied a powerful position in the Benin political structure and traditionally functioned as the leader of the Eghaevbo N'Ore, the group of chiefs associated with the administration of the kingdom. Historical scholarship describes the office as providing a traditional counterweight to royal authority and as having a role in defending popular interests against possible abuses of royal power.
This helps explain why the relationship between the Iyase and the Oba could become politically sensitive.
Under Eweka II, Okoro-Otun enjoyed considerable influence.
Under his successor, however, the relationship changed dramatically.
A New Oba, A Different Relationship
When Oba Akenzua II came to the throne in 1933, he inherited a powerful Iyase whose personality and political influence had already developed during the previous reign.
The relationship soon became strained.
One of the clearest recorded disagreements concerned Okoro-Otun's use of a beaded Yoruba-style head-dress.
A scholarly study of Benin's political development records that in 1935, Akenzua II refused to allow Okoro-Otun to appear publicly wearing the beaded head-dress that Oba Eweka II had permitted him to wear.
The dispute went further.
Akenzua II also prevented the Iyase from carrying the ceremonial ada, the sword traditionally associated with his office when he visited other chiefs. The Oba seized the sword, and it remained in his possession for approximately four days before the colonial Resident, Mr White, intervened and it was returned.
The incident was not simply about clothing.
It represented a deeper disagreement over authority, tradition and the limits of the Iyase's independence.
Okoro-Otun had spent years in a Yoruba environment before returning to Benin. Some aspects of the culture he acquired there remained visible in his appearance and conduct. Akenzua II, however, increasingly sought to assert the authority of the palace and reinforce the expectations surrounding Benin traditions and institutions.
The head-dress consequently became a symbol of a much larger struggle.
The Iyase Becomes an Opposition Figure
The disagreement between the two men eventually extended beyond ceremonial matters.
During the late 1930s and early 1940s, Okoro-Otun emerged as one of the most prominent figures opposing aspects of Akenzua II's administration.
The Benin water-rate and taxation disputes became particularly important. According to historical accounts, Okoro-Otun was among the chiefs who led opposition to unpopular taxation and administrative measures. Jacob Egharevba's A Short History of Benin records that the Benin Tax-Payers' Association was headed by chiefs including Okoro-Otun, the Iyase, during the water-rate agitation.
The disputes were not merely palace quarrels. They involved ordinary Benin residents who objected to taxation, building regulations and aspects of the Native Authority system.
By 1940–41, the confrontation had become particularly serious.
A historical account records that Okoro-Otun's house became an important meeting place during the disputes, rather than the palace itself. In the building-rules crisis of 1941, the conflict became serious enough for threats to depose the Oba to emerge. Intervention by the colonial authorities and traditional rulers eventually helped bring the immediate dispute to an end.
In 1941–42, opposition associated with Okoro-Otun and other political figures became even more intense. One scholarly account states that supporters of the Iyase called for a boycott of the palace and even threatened to depose Akenzua II. Eventually, the Oba attended a meeting at Okoro-Otun's residence, where other traditional rulers helped mediate the dispute.
Thus, the man once trusted by Eweka II had become one of the strongest checks on Akenzua II's authority.
The Legacy of a Controversial Iyase
Okoro-Otun died on 27 July 1943. His death marked the end of an unusually powerful chapter in the history of the Iyase institution.
Akenzua II subsequently refused for several years to appoint another Iyase. Eventually, in 1947, he attempted to abolish the title and replace it with another office. The decision generated considerable opposition and became known as the Iyase title crisis. In 1948, Gaius Ikuobase Obaseki was eventually appointed Iyase.
The controversy demonstrated just how powerful the institution had become.
Okoro-Otun's life therefore cannot be reduced to the story of a chief who wore a Yoruba cap against the wishes of a Benin Oba. His story illustrates the complexities of identity and political authority in early twentieth-century Benin.
He was a Benin man whose life had been profoundly shaped by contact with Yorubaland, a returnee who became a major traditional authority, a trusted figure under Eweka II and eventually a formidable political opponent of Akenzua II.
His story also reveals something important about the Benin political system: the Iyase was not simply a subordinate of the Oba. The office possessed its own traditional responsibilities and could serve as a powerful counterweight to royal authority.
The photograph from 1935 therefore captures more than an elderly traditional chief standing among other palace dignitaries.
It captures Chief Okoro-Otun at the height of a career that had placed him at the centre of Benin's political life — a man whose journey from Yorubaland to the Benin palace would ultimately put him on a collision course with the very institution he had sworn to serve.
Photo caption: Chief Okoro-Otun, Iyase of Benin, pictured among Benin chiefs during the visit of the Earl of Plymouth to the Oba's palace on 24 July 1935. The archival photograph is attributed to S. O. Alonge.
Photo source: Northwestern University / archival collection, as supplied with the photograph by Can dy.
Sources
Northwestern university
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