The idea of constructing three massive entrance gates in Benin City, to commemorate the history and role of the Great Benin Empire is overdue. The great Benin Empire in its glory influenced the world in all aspects of human endeavors; Science, philosophy, arts, and creative writingshttp://beninempire.org/about-benin-empire/
Question: What is the significance of City gates?
Answer: In the past, massive gates in ancient cities around the world, including the ancient Benin Walls formed an integral part of an ancient city’s defense.. Massive gates or Walls were constructed to serve as the first line of protection against invaders.
Secondly, in the past, city gates were also places of central activity. For example, in biblical times. It was at the city gates that important business transactions were made, court convened, and public announcements were heralded. The first mention of a city gate is found in Genesis 19:1. It was at the gate of Sodom that Abraham’s nephew, Lot, greeted the angelic visitors to his city.. In the Law of Moses, parents of a rebellious son were told to bring him to the city gate, where the elders would examine the evidence and pass judgment (Deuteronomy 21:18-21). This affirms that the city gates played a central role in community affairs.
Contemporary Significance:
The proposed construction of these three entrance gates into Benin City will help restore the historical role of the ancient city and contribute to the development of the long-abandoned terrorism industry in Nigeria and Edo state in particular. Now, there are people that may ridicule this idea and are quick to say that a huge project such as this will never get the funds and support it needs from the Federal or State government. I have thought long and hard about that, thus I propose that this project be funded solely by private and corporate funds.
This project if approved by the office of the Palace shall have three individuals designated to be the only members of the project committee to approve and control the project bank account. No other person, political or otherwise shall have any access to the said bank account. All fundraising events and money donated to this project shall be directly paid into the said project bank account. Approved by the King (Oba’s ) Palace.
I believe that this project will serve as a testament of what we as individuals and as proud Africans can do to promote our image and history for our future generations to emulate.
The author: Osayande Aghaze. US-Expert on Global Policy matters, and Human Rights can be reached at : Editor@afroworldnews.com
