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00:06–00:16 Godfrey asked: What can we say was the impact of the 1897 British punitive expedition on Benin Kingdom and for the people?

00:16–01:02 Well, the punitive expedition took place about 120 years ago, in which four generations of Benins have come and the fourth one is living. It can be summed up in one word: devastation.

After over a hundred years, the Benin psyche is still suffering untold hardship, a deep feeling of inadequacy, and an overwhelming feeling of loss – loss of authority, loss of respect – but above everything a loss of self-respect. Prior to 1897, Benin was the centre of power in what is now the eastern part of western Sudan. From the cape coast in Accra to Fernando Po in the east, then from the coast of the Atlantic to the confluence of the Niger and the Benue to the north. In a stroke everything was wiped out, a thousand years of civilization, six hundred years of empire building disappeared in one day. The Benin man says ‘Ebo gha rre, ẹmwẹ rre’ (When the white man comes, crisis follows). It was … the city fell, yes, the palace was burnt, looted and burnt, yes. But the devastation that followed the two years of the resistance put up by Ologbosere created an impact that vibrated across the empire. That till date, the word ‘I ma gbe ovbiebo’ signifies a plea of innocence. The worst that can happen to a Benin man, as far as he is concerned physically, spiritually and psychologically, is ‘U gbe ovbiebo’ (You kill the white man). And, like I said, till date, till now, the average Benin man still lives under that shadow of the devastation of a single act. The king was removed – the king is next to God. The system was destroyed, the white man turned our society on its head, the chiefs that were created were indiscriminately assigned centres of power, thereby destroying what had been arranged and operated for eight hundred years. In a nutshell, the British punitive expedition was a total disaster that Benin has yet to recover from. It is not the issue of returning artworks, it is not the issue of paying reparation or repatriation. It is the issue of psychological repair. That is all.