In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the peace and tranquility generally experienced in Ora land was disrupted by events in Europe. European convicts and indigenous laborers were not as strong as their black counterparts in their sugar plantations needed for the running of their industries.
When the first sets of West Africans shipped to Europe arrived there in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, their sugar plantations experienced a great boom, thus the Europeans concluded that such boom must not be allowed to abeit. This then led to further depopulation of the African continent.
This great inhumanity against the Africans was perpetuated with the active connivance of African middlemen who enjoyed the wealth and prosperity the sale into slavery of their brothers brought to them.
As these slaves were carted into slavery they sang.
O gracious God, see what the white men done when he first came here, he gave us looking glass. Then he said to daddy, come go see fanciful thing then he said to daddy, come go see fanciful thing when we go to the boat he pulled out his gun and said come in.
Get on board, you black men nigger
Get on board, you think am joking,
Get on board
And we started to cry and they started to laugh.
And so they rolled along into slavery and rolled along to Missippi
(Quoted from the Rise of Christianity in Mid-Western Nigeria by Chief J.W.Omo Amu).
With the advent of slavery, so many Ora sons and daughters were carried away into slavery in Europe and the Americas until the abolition of slavery and the emancipation of such slaves.
While some of these emancipated Ora sons and daughters could not find their way back to Ora land some did and with them came their newfound religion-Christianity. Thus on the 10th of February 1895 the first batch of freed Oras arrived home amongst whom are John Usiokhai Alegbeleye of Eme-Ora and Isaiah Okaingbuan Akinluyi, the following years some others arrived who were of Evbiobe descent and these include Akhimie and his wife Ejerua.
Since these have been converted to Christianity in their different place of enslavement, they came with their different Christian names such as John, Isaiah etc.
With these “evangelists” came the gathering of people to hear the word of God, which was proclaimed according to the knowledge available unto them. These “Powerful preachers” laid the foundation of Christianity in Ora land to whom we are eternally grateful. The works they started caused others to follow suit and held the forth until the arrival of the firebrand men and women of God who carried fire in their bones.
These fore- runners were the fathers of Anglicanism whose evangelistic work and effect extended as far as all the present Edo North and into Benin.
Thus in 1902 the first set of Ora converted to Christianity were baptized by Rev. T.A.J Ogunbiyi of Lagos, they were given certificate of “full Christian” membership.
Accordingly the first Christian marriage in the whole of Edo North was that performed by Bishop Tugwell and it was between the Anglican catechist Isaiah Okaingbuan Akiniluyi and Miss Joanah Aina nee John Usiokhai Alegbelekye. No doubt this marriage heralded a wonderful but glorious effect on the populace who before now has celebrated marriage in their own native law and custom.
When a heathen (native) dies he is carried away into the bush for burial but with the advent of Anglicanism, this soon changed.
The corpse of the Christian instead of being wrapped in a piece of cloth is now placed in a coffin, taken to the church for service before being buried in the church premises. It is believed that every one thus buried goes straight to heaven and anyone buried in the native way cannot enter the kingdom of God. This also was a “full Christian sermon” and who will want to go to hell for eternity, thus the Ora land began to experience a great conversion of its people into “Christianity”.
The above view was held unto so vehemently and people began to be “Saved, baptized and confirmed” and thus became legible to participating in the Lord’s super and except a man goes through the above mentioned “rituals” he is not a Christian and if he dies he cannot be buried in the church and of course he is “automatically disqualified” from entering into the kingdom of God neither would Christian wake be held at his residence on his demise.
EME-ORA
The Cradle of Christianity in Ora Land
(A) ANGLICANISM
Eme-Ora by right is the cradle of Christianity in Ora land and actually from here Christianity spread to the entire Edo North, Benin and to some parts of present day Ekiti State. The Anglican Church was established here in 1895. Somehow it did not thrive as it should be and in 1919 the provisional Headquarter of the Anglican Church was transferred from Eme- Ora to Evbiobe Ora (Sabongidda-Ora) through the decision of the Provisional council held at Okpe. Anglicanism blossomed in Evbiobe-Ora.
(B) ROMAN CATHOLISM
The Eme-Ora people were greatly unhappy since their “Church” was moved to Sabongidda-Ora and therefore to spite the Anglican Church, they invited the Roman Catholic Church to establish a mission in Ora in 1922.
The Roman Catholic Church promptly responded by sending Rev. Father J.Lynuth who traveled from Ubiaja to Ora. Before then they (the Eme-Ora people) had invited the African Church to set up a mission here, the African Church responded quickly by sending one of its clergymen by name Rev. Gbayewa. In his evangelistic outreaches within three weeks he got well over 200 people “Converted” through baptism.
The African Church could not continue because of persecution from Alegbeleye who could not contain nor understand why his people of Eme- Ora could “abandon”. Anglicanism and embrace another “religious” belief. Thus Eme had come under influence of three main churches between 1895- 1922 (a period of 27 years).
Though Roman Catholism was established in Eme in 1922 after the death of Mr. Alegbeleye, Roman Catholism did not grow in Eme as it should and the “greatness” of catholism in Eme-Ora is the Roman Catholic church established in Evbiobe Ora and up till the time being the branch at Evbiobe Eme Ora is feeding the parent church at Eme financially.
(C) OTHER CHURCHES
The other churches established in Eme but did not do well include Celestial Church of Christ (this later died completely leaving behind a relic- an abandoned house).
Christ Apostolic Church. Christ Apostolic Church was established about eight decades ago and as expected it is struggling up till date to survive in Eme-Ora.
In the early seventies, the Church of God Mission established a branch Church at Eme. The converts were subjected to much persecution, it finally moved out of Eme to Sabongidda-Ora where it blossomed and became the seat of its provisional Headquarters for the whole of Owan (West and East Local Government Areas). This has been reduced to provisional headquarter of Ora due to its present reorganization. The Church of God Mission in Eme- Ora, after about three decades has just been able to build its own church building through the help of a philanthropist.
Other churches equally came to establish in Eme but one after the other fizzled out.
What could be responsible for all these misfortune of Christian churches in Eme-Ora? I will venture to draw up a hypothesis for this. The progenitor of Eme-Ora is named Ofebe which means a herbalist I should have reasons to believe that a herbalist that is good at his work must be a diviner and consulter of familiar spirits (Spiritism) It could also mean that a curse was brought upon Eme-Ora as a result of Ofebe’s spiritism.
It is important to recall here God’s statement in relation to spiritism and all other idolatrous practices. “There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times or an enchanter or a witch, or a charmer or a consulter with familiar spirits or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee”. Deuteronomy 1810-13
Could this be the reason why these churches could not thrive at Eme- Ora since Christianity gives rise to civilization and prosperity which Eme Ora was denied because of spiritism? Thou shall have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me” Exodus 20-5 Could this be the visitation of God’s anger upon the children of Ofebe the progenitor of Eme- Ora?