Prince Osasuyi Uwensuyi
Edosomwan, accomplished surveyor and one of the founders of New Benin, died
on May 9. He was 72.
AS a blue-blooded man and one of the earliest people
to open up and settle in the present New Benin area of Benin City which was
then heavily wooded and largely uninhabited in the 1950s, Prince Osasuyi Edosomwan
who passed away on May 9, deserves a worthy goodbye. A descendant of the Elawure
royal house of Usen in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State, Edosomwan's
father was the Ayobahan of Benin and had a close and loyal relationship with
the Benin palace which earned him the regency of Ofunama and Oza areas of Benin
Kingdom as well as one of the judges in the court of Oba Eweka II.
His forefathers having been titled chiefs in Benin
Kingdom, it was only natural that Edosomwan was initiated into that honored
society following the transition of his father, the Ayobahan, in 1935. Losing
his father at a tender age of seven, he grew up under the tutelage of his much
older cousin, the late Pa. Ogbebor.
He attended St. Andrew's Primary School in Warri
where he was baptized into the Anglican faith with the name Osasuyi, meaning,
'God is worthy of honor.' His contemporaries at St. Andrew's include Chief
Alison Ayida, a former permanent secretary and head of service of the federation.
Edosomwan subsequently had his secondary education
at Government College, Ughelli which was then located in Warri. Some of his
school mates are late Chief Demas Akpore, a former deputy governor of the defunct
Bendel State; G.A.T. Aggrey, Major-General David Ejoor (rtd), former Chief of
Army Staff; Chief S.E. Nakpodia; a guru in the private sector, Chief Gamaliel
Onosode among others.
On completion of his secondary education, he joined the
Survey Office of the then Benin City Council after a brief stint at his
alma mater. He later proceeded to the School of Survey in Oyo as a trainee
surveyor and returned to the Survey Office of the Benin City Council which
coincidentally was at that |