By DADA AYOKHAI
But exactly what is the relationship between the world-famous Buckingham Palace and the lesser-known Okpe kingdom?
However, the first give-away, if any, of the possible cozy and cordial relations between the two royal kingdoms, though miles apart in several ways, came in the speed with which the present Olokpe of Okpe, HRH Oba Okhishimede Eshimokhai, Idogu III (OON), despatched both his congratulatory and condolence messages to the bereaving British royal family.
Soon, facts started to emerge that these two kingdoms have indeed enjoyed cordial relations dating as far back as the 1950s before Nigeria gained its independence from the British colonialists.
One of the oral traditions later revealed that the late Olokpe of Okpe, Oba Patrick Eshimokhai, Idogu II, also the father of the current monarch, was among the few chosen by the defunct Western Regional government to represent the country at the coronation ceremony of the late Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1953.
And, after that particular encounter, the relations between the two royal kingdoms soared and blossomed to the extent that the late Queen was said to have bestowed the late Olokpe with the prestigious honour of the Member of the British Empire, MBE.
Back then, the former Olokpe was physically present to witness the coronation of the Queen Mother in 1953 but the current Olokpe did not have to follow the same path as the late father.
The advent of technology and its application in more than liberal doses in various spheres of life, has dramatically changed the way of doing things.
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For instance, without having to step out of his cozy Akoko Edo palace or physically travel to the UK, Oba Eshimokhai was still able to partake in the final transition of the late Queen Mother and the ascension of her son, Prince Charles, as the new King of England.
