By Ademola Adegbamigbe

Before “Great”- as if by a universal decision- was dropped as a prefix of “Great Britain,” that country carried its nose in the air all over the place like a supercilious camel. It strutted with the aplomb of a peacock, believing in its invincibility in the comity of nations. This was depicted in, Invasion 1897, a 2014 Nigerian movie produced and directed by Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen, which re-enacted the historical overthrow of Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi.

Trouble started when two men among the British-led party under Acting Consul General James Philips were ambushed and killed by some Benin soldiers. To punish the “natives”, the Benin Expedition of 1897 was raised under Admiral Sir Harry Rawson. It was a battle that gave no quarter! They ravaged the kingdom and sent the Oba to exile. After the conquest, the British soldiers sang with gusto:

Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves!
Britons never, never, never shall be slaves.
https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2019/0...ts-in-britain/