Commemorating Oba Ovonramwen Poem 1

Oba Ovonramwen the Great was the last king of the old Kingdom of Benin. He was disposed of by the British in 1897 after their punitive expedition. He died in exile on Tuesday 13^thJanuary 1914.  These weekly poems commemorate him.

Have you heard it tell?

Have you heard it tell that:
His Majesty Oba O’s country 
Was abundantly rich in, 
All manner of natural resources,
Rubber, cocoa, cotton, palm kernel and more. 

Have you heard it tell that:
His Majesty Oba O’s country
Received annual tributes from 
All neighbouring countries;
Yams, fabric, palm wine, kola nuts and more.

Have you heard it tell that:
His Majesty Oba O’s country
Had many elephant tusks;
Everyman gave one to the king,
Kept the other for himself.

Have you heard it tell that:
His Majesty Oba O’s country
Grew rich in ivory; 
Oba O stacked ivory in his storerooms,
Instead of selling them to make money for himself.

Have you heard it tell that:
His Majesty Oba O’s country
Used ivory and imported expensive metal,
To record their history
For future generations to learn about. 

Have you heard it tell that:
His Majesty Oba O’s country
Was vandalized by some savages;
They ransacked the storerooms
Taking all that history with them.

Have you heard it tell that:
His Majesty Oba O’s country’s
Crafted history in ivory and bronze,
Are in museums all over the world
For all generations to come. 

Have you heard it tell that:
His Majesty Oba O  died
One hundred years ago;
That he will be remembered
For generations to come.

Have you heard it tell; 
On January 13th  1914.
Oba Ghato, Okpere;

Long Live the King

Ise!

Source:  http://kingdomofbenin.weebly.com/oba-ovonramwen-poems.html