A review of Nekpen Obasogie’s book, Great Benin: The Alcazar of Post-Colonial Culture by Hendrix Oliomogbe- Benin
There is still definitely so much to be written as regards the account of the contact between Great Benin Empire and Europe, even though a lot has been recorded by historians right from the beginning of the relationship some 621 years ago.
The latest chronology is from Lady Nekpen Obasogie, a Canada-based indigene of Benin Kingdom, Edo State.
“Great Benin: The Alcazar of Post-Colonial Culture attempts to critically examine the relationship between the Europeans and Benin Kingdom in West Africa starting from the first contact in 1400 AD to when Benin was invaded by the United Kingdom in 1897.
Obasogie chronically lists some of the important events that transpired between the Europeans, such as the Portuguese, Dutch, French and the British colonists for the period of 400 years with the Benin Kingdom and some other West African nations.
She asserts that knowing what was transacted in the past will help to understand the present and define the future.
In the 200-page book, she also highlights her lived experience growing up in post-colonial Benin in the 1980s. The cultural practices of the Benin people and other indigenous cultures that she was exposed to in her early childhood were enviably impressive and heavily impacted in her up to adult years when she travelled abroad in search of the proverbial golden fleece.
Some of the themes in the book include imperialism, patriarchy ideology, colonial violence in the 19th century, the intergenerational effects of colonization, acculturation among others.
Obasogie writes: “A few of my admirers described me as a cultural traditionalist. This description was due to the deep cultural orientation which was embedded in me. These ideas resonated so well with me for a long time that it helped to shape my perspective of life in general as a most proper disposition to which I was born.”
She continues: “My lifestyle was so wrapped around these forms of enculturation that even now it reflects on everything I find myself defining.
“It is indicative of my rich family upbringing, which permeates every aspect of my adult life.”
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