Oba Ehengbuda was the heir apparent to Oba Orhogbua. The first Oba to be visited by English explorers while enthroned was Oba Ehengbuda. Chief Ezomo Agban, a renowned warrior who led the Benin army to conquer Agbor, grew stronger in combat under his rule. The warrior kings of Benin history came to an end when he was killed in a storm at sea while returning from a visit to his colony in Lagos. The Obas who followed him gave their chiefs command of the military. When the rainy clouds rumbled, the chief was said to have believed that a troublesome man lived in the sky above and would disturb the peace of Benin Kingdom.
Owing to this belief, the unflappable general of the Benin army was rumored to have started constructing a ladder to the heavens in order to engage the “troublesome man” in a brutal struggle before he died. During his rule, Otun Ekiti established the border between the Benin and Oyo empires following numerous battles between them. About 1578 AD, Ehengbuda, the eldest son of Oba Orhogbua and Iyoba Umelu, became the eighteenth Oba of Benin. A senior chief named Uwangue of Uselu accused him of trying to usurp the throne while his father was away at war.
His mother Umelu committed suicide in a pond within the Oba’s harem out of fear for her son’s life, and his steward Ake was put to death for allegedly giving him bad advice. Nevertheless, an inquiry revealed Ehengbuda’s innocence regarding the charge. About 1578, Ehengbuda took the throne and renounced the title Uwangue of Uselu. In addition, he gave his chiefs and warriors new ranks and titles, and he instituted the title of Ohennika of Idunmwu-Ebo, whose bearer conducts funeral ceremonies for any Benin City suicide victim. Ehengbuda commanded his army to annex and subjugate neighboring states. He engaged in combat with the Nupe, the Yoruba states, the Oyo Empire, and the towns and villages of the Igbo people. He established the Benin-Oyo boundary at Otun in the Ekiti regions after routing an army of horsemen sent by the Oyo or the Nupe to invade Benin. Along the western bank of the Niger River, he engaged in warfare with the Igbo and subjugated numerous towns and villages. The first town he took, Igidi, was renamed Agban (corrupted to Agbor) in honor of Agban, the warrior and elder town chief Ezomo. Ehengbuda had to deal with opposition from his family members and chiefs.
The execution of his only son, who had committed adultery with one of the Oba’s wives, infuriated his Iyase (prime minister), Ekpennede.
He started a massacre of the populace after killing every member of his own household, including his wife, the only daughter of the Oba. In the end, he killed himself by hanging. Since then, it has been forbidden for the Beninese Iyase to live in the Ogbe neighborhood or to go back to Benin City after subduing a large town. Uwangue Osokhirikpa, a different chief, was found guilty of having an affair while intoxicated with one of the Oba’s wives while working under his supervision. After serving four years in prison, he received a death sentence.
But just before his execution, he vanished and was never seen again. Consequently, an edict was made mandating that no Uwangue be put to death or any of the Oba’s wives given to any member of the House of Iwebo’s Royal Society. The Owo people sent a young prince named Osogboye, who would eventually inherit the Owo throne, to Benin City so that the Oba could educate him. He was chosen to be one of the states swordbearers, or emada, and he held this position for a long time. He went to Owo to take his father’s throne after the Owa of Owo passed away, without being formally dismissed and without theOba’s knowledge.
A year later, Osogboye was crowned Owa of Owo (later known as Olowo of Owo). He started building the trenches that surround Owo town, to prevent the Oba’s forces from entering, should he send them to bring him to Benin City. He also sent gifts to the Oba, informing him that he had recovered from his illness and asking him to approve and confirm his installation as the Owa. The Oba was upset by this and sent people to bring him back to Benin City. In addition, he asked the Oba to confirm and approve his installation as the Owa and sent gifts to let him know he was well after his illness.
The Oba acknowledged this but urged him to keep paying homage to the Oba. Ehengbuda continued the European contacts, especially with the Portuguese and the English, that his father had started. They paid him multiple visits during which they traded and gave gifts. In 1590, an English merchant named James Welsh gave him a telescope. Ehengbuda asserted that he could see many things through this glass that were not visible to the naked eye. He added that he could use the glass to communicate with celestial beings. He was believed by his followers because he was a recognized physician and spiritualist. He was dubbed Ehengbuda N’Obo, which translates to “Ehengbuda the doctor” or “Ehengbuda the physician.”
In addition, Ehengbuda settled conflicts between the Yoruba Obas, who were related to him through a common dynasty. He intervened on behalf of the Oba Atakunmosa of Ilesha, who had been driven from his throne and banished by his subjects due to his despotism and sought sanctuary in his court. He convinced the Ilesha elders to reclaim their throne by sending for them. In addition, he presented him with a coral collar or neck beads (odigba) as a token of his dominance. The following Obas adopted this as their hereditary title; their subjects called them Arun-aza (Arun-aja). During a storm at sea on his way back from a visit to his colony in Lagos, Ehengbuda perished approximately in 1606. He had gone there to examine the Lagos Island war encampment (eko) his father had constructed. He intended to paddle his chiefs and warriors back to Benin City.
Nevertheless, after traveling by canoe for roughly six days from Benin and two days from Lagos, an unexpected storm flipped his canoe in the Agan River. The bodies of him and his companions, who perished in the river, were never found.
For Ehengbuda’s people, whose mourning lasted a long time, his passing was a momentous occasion. His passing also signaled the end of Benin’s history of warrior kings, as succeeding Obas handed military leadership to their chiefs and placed a greater emphasis on the ceremonial and spiritual aspects of kingship. The Oba grew more reclusive inside the palace and was regarded more as a supernatural figure than a fighter.
Ehengbuda strengthened the Benin Kingdom’s authority over numerous tributary states and increased its territory and influence, leaving a lasting legacy. He continued to communicate and trade with the Europeans, from whom he also received gifts and technological advancements. He settled disagreements among the Yoruba Obas, who were related to him through a common dynasty. For his chiefs and warriors, he established several new titles and ranks as well as some still-observed traditions and customs. He was a well-known doctor and spiritualist who asserted to be able to see the invisible and speak with angelic beings using a glass.
He was dubbed Ehengbuda N’Obo, which translates to “Ehengbuda the doctor” or “Ehengbuda the physician.”