Two of the Oba of Benin's ancestral altars, 1936 - 03270015

Ọmọ n'Ọba n'Ẹdo Uku Akpọlọkpọlọ, Akenzua II (7 January 1899 – 11 June 1978) was the

Oba of Benin The Oba of Benin is the traditional ruler and the custodian of the culture of the Edo people and all Edoid people. The then Kingdom of Benin (not to be confused with the modern-day and unrelated Republic of Benin, which was then known as Dahome ...

(traditional leader of the Edo people, in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

) from 1933 until his death in 1978. 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

the

Benin Bronzes The Benin Bronzes are a group of several thousand metal plaques and sculptures that decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin, in what is now Edo State, Nigeria. Collectively, the objects form the best examples of Benin art and were cr ...

looted from the royal compounds and ancestral altars in the

punitive Punishment, commonly, is the imposition of an undesirable or unpleasant outcome upon a group or individual, meted out by an authority—in contexts ranging from child discipline to criminal law—as a response and deterrent to a particular acti ...

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,

Family

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, granddaughter Peju Layiwola, and grandson Thompson Iyamu.

References

External links

*https://books.google.com/books/about/Oba_Akenzua_II_C_M_G.html?id=Sr0MAQAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y *http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/exhibitions/benin/artwork/190979 1978 deaths 1899 births Nigerian royalty Place of birth missing Place of death missing Edo people 19th-century Nigerian people 20th-century Nigerian people Akenzua family Obas of Benin {{Nigeria-bio-stub

Family

See also

References

External links