Whereas some kingdom’s in precolonial Africa were absolute monarchies, the founding fathers of the Okpe Kingdom of today’s Delta State Nigeria, established a limited monarchy where the balance of power was in four Ruling Houses known as Orhue, Orhoro, Evbreke, and Esezi (names of the four sons of OKPE the progenitor of the Okpe people described as ADENE which means FOUR GATES). These four gates or houses were made up of the descendant families of each of the original Okpe four sons and had their separate elders’ councils, and chiefs headed by their separate most senior okakuro (chief).
When the four houses decided to have a king, they chose a representative from the youngest gate and crowned him Esezi I. He was to have approving powers with his central council of chiefs called UDOGUN OKPE. For serious matters, the four Ruling Houses Councils first table the matter and send their positions to the Udogun Okpe for final decision.
The original Okpe polity was therefore a federation of four component parts with a limited central authority. It was the attempt by Esezi I to convert the Okpe administration constitution to an absolute monarchy that saw to the collective decision of the Okpe people to end his life in the few regicides of precolonial Africa which ultimately led to the interregnum in Okpe Kingdom between the late eighteenth century and 1945 when the Okpe people, mobilised by the Okpe Union, resuscitated the Okpe Monarchy with the coronation of HRM, Esezi II.
-Akpederin Kingsley Ehensiri Esq.