Come let me gist you about Egedege N’Okaro and what it means to you. In 2022, I had followed through from an audition at Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub to our group WhatsApp set up by the producers. I did not even know the title of the film project. So I called up the Project Manager for the location and came in from Ring Road till I got to the film set for King Asemota. I saw our film stars: Angela Eguavoen, Ebony Obasuyi, Badaiki E. Shaggy and a host of others.

My experience

The film set was a storeyed building but looked made up entirely by mud according to the ancient architectural design of its time. But there was something peculiar about it which cannot be put into words. Perhaps it was because of my love for old things. So I came home and began to make research and found out that I had just visited Egedege N’Okaro. That is, the first storeyed building in Benin City. Wow! My mind was blown.

Brief history

Egedege N’Okaro was the first storey-building in Benin City. It was built in 1906, by High Chief Osawe Iyamu, the then Inne of Benin Kingdom. Today, Egedege N’Okaro is at House No 30, Erie

Street, off Sakponba Road, Benin City. The width and breadth and height of this architectural structure that is rich with the essence of cultural heritage! A classic historical site incomparable to its counterparts from the colonial era.

Appreciation

In the end, my personal appreciation and sense of pride for my cultural heritage deepened from the experience. Several profound questions regarding cultural identity and, by extension, my personal identity rang in my ears for months. Truly you cannot know who you are if you don’t know where you come from. And you cannot know where you come from if you don’t visit sites and structures set up by your ancestors gone by.

Identity, legacy, purpose and heritage

This is not merely about Egedege N’Okaro, it’s more about our connection to the past and our cultural heritage and identity. The Benin people are innovative, highly creative, culturally sensitive, and resilient just like the structures they build and create. My visit gave me an idea that my ideas are not that new. Whatever I might have thought about, an ancestor had probably thought about before me. It gave me a sense of coherence like everything and everyone is connected to everything as we all serve the cause of generational continuity. There are no mistakes in life as everything serves some purpose of a kind, and we are collectively driven towards that ideal. And as such, disregarding the past is disregarding ourselves and stunting our own futuristic development as there is really nothing new under the sun.

Inspiration

As a Nollywood screenwriter, I often find that the films from the past tend to have a great deal of meaning. Whenever you run out of ideas, you can always tap into the past and learn something new which, paradoxically, solidifies the originality of your art. Even those in fashion will agree with me that old styles from the past can seem new again when someone goes snooping around in their mother’s “camphor-smelling” box of clothes and digs up some attire to wear. Our history is definitely a rich source of inspiration, transformation and power.

Longevity

Another perspective is that Egedege N’Okaro is a symbol of our cultural longevity. Personally I adore and love to create whatever can withstand the test of time. An eternal ideology, a culture, an artistic expression, an ancient city, an architectural structure, a language, a profound relationship, and of course a classic film I can never get tired of watching.

Filmmaking

As Edo State has now become a darling choice destination for filmmakers, a historic site like Egedege N’Okaro would be ideal and perfect for producers and filmmakers who would love to explore the richness, the gorgeousness and depth of the Edo culture via storytelling. It is, after all, an open secret that Edo culture sells.

Food for thought

It’s a common joke of irony that tourists often travel and know more about your country than the indigenes themselves. However, there are so many cool historical sites in Benin City that each tell a story for themselves and for us too. I will call these places a window into the past and a window into ourselves. For how can anyone know where they are headed if they don’t know where they come from?