OzikoroThe Seventy Benin Chiefs: The Role of the Noble Sons Who Accompanied Ginuwa in Forming the Itsekiri Aristocracy
The early formation of the Itsekiri aristocracy is deeply tied to the migration of Prince Ginuwa, son of Oba Olua of the Benin Empire, during the late fifteenth century. Oral tradition recounts that Ginuwa did not journey alone; he was accompanied by a group often referred to as the “Seventy Benin Chiefs,” a body…